Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers

This Is How You Do It

2012-01-27T19:59:00.000-08:00

Ruben Navarette seems to be visiting Israel with a group sent by "America's Voices In Israel". I found out about this when I opened the Oakland Tribune to find an article of his about a recent High Court decision, "Israel's Wrong Turn On Citizenship".

Navarette believes that the Israeli court made a bad decision when they upheld a law preventing Palestinians from gaining Israeli citizenship through Israeli spouses. Depending on your feelings about this issue, you may want to write to Mr. Navarette and tell him he's right on, or totally wrongheaded and stupid. Personally, I'm a little torn on the issue, but I'm not linking and commenting on this article because of my take on Navarette's take on Israeli immigration law.

I'm linking it because it's a rather unusual piece of reporting. Unfortunately.

It's a criticism of an Israeli policy. That's all. It does not accuse Israelis broadside of racism or atrocities. It does not question Israel's right to exist. It does not question whether Israel can be considered a democracy. It does not carefully include any heart-tugging dubious anecdotes.

It reports on a specific Israeli policy, accurately, and then discusses, with some practicality, and realistic reference to reasons why such a policy exists, why he does not believe it is a good one. He acknowledges that he does not live in Israel, but that he believes that this was a poor call.

And he manages to describe the decision as 'troubling', without throwing in a wholesale dismissal of Israel's legitimacy among nations. Even that headline: "Israel's Wrong Turn ON CITIZENSHIP", not "Israel's Right Wing Takes Over Everything Even More".

You know how rare that is? I was almost puzzled when I finished reading it. It was as though something was missing. If you spend enough time reading about Israel in the papers, you get used to the myriad small buzzing stings of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism that leave poison all over the most innocuous article topics if only Israel gets involved. I kept waiting. And waiting. And waiting. For the second shoe full of malice to drop. It didn't. I think Navarette is just...for real, not in the sarcastic, malevolent sense it's usually used...criticizing an Israeli policy.

That's not to say that this is a perfect piece. I think the connection he tries to make to U.S. immigration issues is clunky and forced, the situations too dissimilar to make a good parallel. I think that it's inevitable that he would try to make a connection to U.S. immigration policy, both because it's familiar to his readers, and is a topic he frequently discusses, but I don't think it works. I also think that some of the consequences he envisions are, similarly, not terribly relevent to the situation.

Nevertheless: for all the whiners who complain that if you 'criticize Israel's policies', you're immediately marked an anti-Semite, please take note of Mr. Navarette. I think he did a good job.

Israel Develops a Black Tomato. The world asks "Why?"

2012-01-27T17:42:00.000-08:00

I'm fond of Israel. Its a fondness that runs deep- like a Jungian archetype, an ancestral memory that I can't escape from. I know its history. I see its flaws. I remember my last visit- was it really 5 years ago? I was moved to tears at the sight of a homeless encampment lighting Shabbat candles. A Jewish state has all the issues of any other state. The same, yet different. A state with a Yidishe Tam.

This tiny nation has few natural resources other than the creativity and the tenacity of its people, yet has managed to win 10 Noble prizes. Israel, at war with its neighbors for 63 years has managed to beat the odds and has become a major player in the global economy. Israel is one of the world's hubs of entrepreneurship . This ingenuity and creativity promises a cancer vaccine by 2017 and a non-invasive test for detecting lung cancer.

The talent and energy that fuels Israeli innovation extends beyond the world of high tech and medicine. Drip irrigation was perfected in Israel.

The latest astonishing development from Israel has me shaking my head in astonishment, with a side of nausea thrown in.
Israeli farmers have developed a black tomato.

Why, Israel, why?

I envision a lasagna, smothered in bubbly mozzarella cheese and covered with a black tomato sauce. Fail.

I envision a Bloody Mary, viscous and black, festooned with a branch of celery. Fail.

I envision a bowl of creamy tomato bisque- the consummate comfort food. And no, it just doesn't work in black.

From YNET

"The new tomato, which sports the name "Black Galaxy," was developed by Technological Seeds DM. The company says that the color is the produce of a special pigment, which was derived from blueberries and introduced into the new species."

The black tomato will make its debut at the Arava Agricultural R&D Exhibition next month. Over 250 companies from Israel and the world over will participate.

I may just sit this one out

Understanding the BDS Movement

2012-01-26T18:52:00.000-08:00

From an article by Avishai Don in the Harvard Crimson

Avisahi, processing strong intestinal fortitude has endured the reading , cover to cover of Omar Barghouti's book “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions.”

"Next weekend, the University of Pennsylvania will host the second national BDS conference, an event that will advocate for the “growing global campaign to boycott, divest from and sanction (BDS) the State of Israel.” Last April, Omar Barghouti, a leader and spokesperson of this campaign, spoke at Harvard. He insisted that anyone wanting to learn more about the fundamental tenets of BDS should read his recently released book, aptly titled “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions.”

So I followed his advice—I bought a copy of Barghouti’s book and read it from cover to cover. He writes some things in this work about the aims of BDS that lead me to believe that the movement is being far from forthright about its ultimate goals.

The Penn conference states that the purpose of the global BDS campaign is to isolate Israel economically “until it complies with its obligations under international and human rights law.” Understanding this to mean ending the Israeli occupation and fostering a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, a number of Zionists—that is, individuals who believe in the Jewish state’s right to exist—have either joined the BDS Call or implicitly sanctioned it. Two years ago in the Los Angeles Times, for example, an Israeli professor insisted that he supports BDS because it is “the only way to save his country.” Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization composed of both “Zionists [and] anti-Zionists,” considers itself “proud to be a part of the BDS movement.” Last year, J Street, an American liberal Zionist organization, held a panel at their national conference on the efficacy of this movement’s tactics “as a means to end the occupation.” Although J Street does not endorse the BDS movement, J Street’s president describes it in his book as a group of “activists who seek to raise pressure…against Israel to end the occupation.”

Clearly, these individuals have not read Barghouti’s work.

“A few Israeli and international activists have a tendency to make the [BDS] struggle Israel-centric, arguing that ending the occupation is good for Israel, above everything else,” Barghouti writes. “We totally reject that ‘save Israeli apartheid’ view.” He goes on to say that although BDS should coalesce with diverse political forces, “caution should be exercised in alliances with ‘soft’ Zionists, lest they assume the leadership of the BDS movement in the West, lowering the ceiling of its demands beyond recognition.”

So what, then, are BDS’s demands? Although Barghouti insists that BDS is neutral on the debate about a one-state versus two-state solution, even a cursory glance at Barghouti’s book reveals that this movement considers the existence of a Jewish state in the region patently unacceptable. For example, Barghouti explains that his movement cannot ally with Israeli peace groups, because even “the most radical Israeli ‘Zionist-left’ figures and groups are still Zionist, adhering to the racist principles of Zionism” that “maintain Israel’s character as a colonial, ethnocentric, apartheid state,” which BDS seeks to dismantle.

If the BDS movement were more open about its aims to purge the Jewish state from the Middle East—rather than just end some of its policies—I could have written an op-ed decrying the movement for its distortion of international law rather than its duplicity. I could have asked, for example, how the movement could possibly believe that a liberal democracy cannot have an ethnic identity when democracies across Eastern Europe—including members of the European Union like Finland, Slovenia and Germany—explicitly privilege one ethnicity over others in areas like immigration and culture. I could have also noted how odd it is that the movement vocally opposes the ethnic nature of the Jewish state, yet says nothing about the myriad Arab states that surround it.

But the BDS movement hides its ultimate goal of dismantling the Jewish state behind its public rhetoric. As a result, it has co-opted numerous individuals—and quite possibly donors—who desire to see both a Jewish and Palestinian state flourish into supporting its campaign. Although some members of the movement might actually support the Jewish state’s continued existence, as Barghouti makes abundantly clear, the Palestinian BDS National Committee—the “reference and guiding force for the global BDS movement”—cannot do so under any circumstances.

So because this movement will not broadcast its ultimate aims loud enough, I will do it for them. If you support the BDS movement, you are supporting an organization that is actively working to undermine the Jewish state. Utilizing the vocabulary of international norms, the movement actually systematically attempts to undermine the international consensus that recognizes Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. And if you support this right—regardless of your politics, regardless of your stance on the occupation, and regardless of your feelings towards the current Israeli right-wing government—then there is only one moral option. Boycott the BDS movement."

Thank you, Avishai.

Stanford is also resurrecting the divestment movement. The anti-Israel group on campus is sporting a new and improved politically correct name "Stanford Students for Palestinian Equal Rights" and a thinly disguised BDS agenda of "targeted divestment".

We will keep you posted.

Palestinians Reject BDS, find jobs at SodaStream

2012-01-25T20:45:00.000-08:00

With the already discredited PennBDS conference approaching, and their ubiquitous claim of being supported by Palestinian civil society, I just need to ask "Does the Palestinian civil society we keep hearing about include the workers of Sodastream"?

Sodastream, a beverage carbonation system is widely available at stores such as Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond and Sur La Table. It is under attack because one of its production facilities is located in Mishor Adumim. Yet of the 700 employees at least 160 are Palestinians.

The Palestinians working at Sodastream receive full social and health services in accordance with Israeli law. This includes pension contributions and insurance. Labor law in Israel requires an employer to pay wages and contributions 4 times higher than those required by the Palestinian Authority. In addition, SodaStream also provides benefits that include daily hot meals, clothing, transportation and overtime pay up to 200% as required by Israeli law.

Do the 160 Palestinian Sodastream workers really want you to boycott their company? Do they want their livlihoods put at risk?

Sodastream has been one of the objects of the BDS'er ire recently, but apparently the flash mobs had zero impact on consumers.

From the Sodastream Form 20-F(Annual and Transition Report -foreign private issuer
(Filed 06/30/11 for the Period Ending 12/31/10)

"We currently sell our products through more than 40,000 retail stores in 41 countries, including 25 new countries that we have entered since the beginning of 2007. We distribute our products directly in 12 countries and indirectly through local distributors in our remaining markets."

The song and dance routine and repeated spamming of retail websites clearly doesnt play in Peroia. Or Paris, for that matter, as Sodastream continues to grow and expand.

"From 2008 through 2010, our revenues grew at a compound annual growth rate of 26.8% from €99.9 million to €160.7 million. We had net income of €530,000, €7.1 million and €9.7 million in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively. Similarly, from 2008 through 2010, our revenues from soda makers and exchangeable CO 2 cylinders grew from €31.4 million to €74.2 million, while our revenues from sales of consumables grew from €59.8 million to €80.4 million. Although we are only in the early stages of our United States marketing investment plan, our sales in the United States have increased from $4.4 million in 2007 to $39.8 million in2010, more than doubling in each of 2009 and 2010 as compared to the prior year."

If the American and European activists leading the jihad against home carbonation really cared about the Palestinians, why are they encouraging this boycott? A growing, prospering Sodastream will provide new opportunities for Palestinian workers. A rising tide raises all ships.

And yes, of course. BDS fail. Again.

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Shuhada Street?

2012-01-24T23:08:00.000-08:00

Hebron is the oldest Jewish community in the world, and is the second holiest city to the Jewish people. According to Jewish tradition, Abraham purchased the field where the Tomb of the Patriarchs is located as a burial place for his wife. Our forefathers and mothers- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah are all buried there.

From Jewish Virtual Library

"Hebron has a long and rich Jewish history. It was one of the first places where the Patriarch Abraham resided after his arrival in Canaan. King David was anointed in Hebron, where he reigned for seven years. One thousand years later, during the first Jewish revolt against the Romans, the city was the scene of extensive fighting. Jews lived in Hebron almost continuously throughout the Byzantine, Arab, Mameluke, and Ottoman periods. It was only in 1929 — as a result of a murderous Arab pogrom in which 67 Jews were murdered and the remainder were forced to flee — that the city became temporarily "free" of Jews. After the 1967 Six-Day War, the Jewish community of Hebron was re-established. It has grown to include a range of religious and educational institutions. "

After the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement ("Oslo II"), authority for most civil affairs regarding Hebron's Arab residents was transferred from the Israeli Civil Administration to the Palestinian Authority and the (Arab) Municipality of Hebron.

From The Israeli ministry of foreign Affairs

"Providing security for Hebron's Jewish residents is a particular challenge since Hebron's is the only Jewish community in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza which is situated directly in the midst of a city with a large Arab population. Moreover, the community is not concentrated in a single area or bloc, but is, rather, comprised of dispersed and separated sites. Terrorists could thus threaten one individual site, or isolate one site from the others by creating pressure on the roads (traffic jams, etc.) and thus impede the arrival of Israel security forces should one site be attacked, or could attack the roads joining the sites. Additionally, some of the sites are situated lower than the surrounding areas, and thus face clear threats. "

Under the Hebron Agreement, the city was divided into two areas: H-1, under full Palestinian Authority, and H-2, under full Israeli control. At the outset of the second intifada in 2000, the IDF resumed operations in the H-1 area.
Map From Elder of Ziyon :

Whats the real story of Shahuda (King David street)?
This road was open to Arab traffic prior to the Intifada. It was closed to Arab traffic following numerous terror attacks, including a suicide bomber who exploded and killed two people on this road. A bypass route is accessible. Except for a kilometer and a half of Shahuda st, all of Hebron is open to Arabs. Does this constitute Apartheid in Hebron? According to the "Israel must go" crowd, it does.

The week of February 20 will be a "Week of Rage", directed against the second holiest city in the Jewish tradition

Their event announcement:

A CALL TO ACTION!!!

“Youth Against Settlements” invites you to participate in the
3rd annual Global Day of Action to Open Shuhada (Apartheid) Street!

This year, Palestinian activists in Hebron are planning a week of activities to commemorate the Baruch Goldstein Massacre and demand the opening of Shuhada Street. The planned activities in Hebron are as follows:

Monday : 20/02/2012 : Photo Exhibition about the Ibrahim Mosque Massacre and Non-violent Resistance in Palestine
Tuesday : 21/02/2012 Tour For Israeli Parliament Members (if Possible )
Wednesday : 22/02/2012 Film screening about Shuhada Street
Thursday : 23/02/2012 Presentation about Apartheid System in Hebron
Friday: 24/02/2012 Main Demonstration
Saturday : 25/02/2012 Visit to The Families of the Massacre Victims and Families in H2
As we have done for the past few years, we urge all people who are against Israeli Apartheid in Hebron to organize solidarity actions on February 25, 2012. Below is a list of suggested solidarity actions that we hope you will consider.

1. Demonstrations, Marches, Vigils, Flashmobs
2. Presentations about Apartheid in Hebron
3. Photo Exhibitions concerning Apartheid in Hebron
4. Twitter: Use this hashtag #OpenShuhadaSt to spread the word and educate the masses about Hebron. This is especially important during the week of actions.
5.Video Message: Create and send video messages to community forums, media, and social media outlets urging the international community to use diplomatic pressure to re-open Shuhada Street.
6. Letter-writing and Petitions to the Israeli Ambassador and elected officials in your country asking them to intervene
7.Write letters to the Palestinian Families in Hebron to show solidarity
8.Close roads to show the public the effects of closing the main road in Hebron.
9.Visit Hebron to gain an understanding of the situation and the daily suffering of the people living there.
10. Any other non-violent activity you feel supports the cause, be as creative as possible!!

For more information please contact : Media.YAS@gmail.com

*************

TERRORIST ATTACKS AND VIOLENT INCIDENTS IN HEBRON SINCE 1929

(The following list is intended to provide a representative -- not exhaustive -- summary of terrorist attacks and violent incidents which have occurred in Hebron since 1929.)

23.08.29 67 Jews (including women, children, and the elderly) were murdered, and 60 injured in a vicious pogrom which had been well-planned by Arab rioters. In the course of the pogrom, women were raped, homes and synagogues were plundered and burned, and Torah scrolls were desecrated and burned.
09.10.68 A 17 year-old Arab youth threw a grenade at Jews praying on the steps of the Tomb's main gate. 47 Jews, including an eight month-old baby, were injured.
05.11.68 A Jewish man and his son, an elderly Arab man, and three Arab children were injured by an explosive charge near the Tomb.
29.12.68 Terrorists attack a security post near the Tomb. One terrorist was killed; the others fled. No Israeli soldiers were injured.
07.08.76 Two Jews were wounded when terrorists shot at a tour bus in the city.03.10.76 On the eve of Yom Kippur, a mob of Arab youths burst into the Tomb and desecrated several Torah scrolls. Three soldiers fired in the air in an attempt to prevent their entry. 61 rioters were arrested in the Tomb.
02.05.80 Arab terrorists ambushed a group of Jews returning from the Tomb to Beit Hadassah. Six Jews were murdered and 20 wounded.
21.05.80 A Molotov cocktail was thrown at an Israeli vehicle in Hebron. A Jewish woman was wounded.
02.06.80 11 Arabs, including four schoolchildren, were injured when a booby-trapped grenade exploded in the Hebron market.
16.12.80 An Arab resident of Hebron was wounded by a bomb at Glass Junction in Hebron.
10.02.81 A Jewish resident of Kiryat Arba was stabbed and wounded in the Hebron casbah.
07.07.83 Beit Romano Yeshiva student Aharon Gross was attacked and stabbed by three Arab youths in the market area. He later died of his wounds.
25.07.83 Jewish terrorists opened fire at the Islamic College in Hebron. Three students were murdered and approximately 30 wounded.
10.08.85 A Jewish resident of Kiryat Arba was stabbed and wounded in the Hebron casbah.
25.04.86 A 16-year old Jewish youth was stabbed and lightly wounded in the casbah.
06.06.86 A Jewish resident of Kiryat Arba was stabbed and wounded in the casbah.
14.09.86 A young Arab woman, the daughter of a local mukhtar, stabbed a soldier at the entrance to the Tomb. She was shot and killed.
16.10.86 A Jewish resident of Kiryat Arba was stabbed in the city.
25.10.92 Three Arab terrorists shot at soldiers guarding the Tomb's generator. One reserve soldier was murdered; two were wounded.
28.05.93 Yeshiva student Erez Shmuel was stabbed to death approximately 500 meters from from the Tomb, while on his way to Friday evening prayers at the Tomb.
06.12.93 Mordechai Lapid and his son Shalom were shot to death near Glass Junction in Hebron. Hamas claimed responsibility.
25.02.94 Kiryat Arba resident Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim worshippers inside the Tomb, murdering 29 and wounding 125.
07.07.94 Sarit Prigal (17) was shot to death in a drive-by shooting, when terrorists opened fire from a passing car near the entrance to Kiryat Arba.
19.03.95 Nahum Hoss (31) of Hebron, and Yehuda Partus (34) of Kiryat Arba, were murdered by shots fired at their bus from a terrorist ambush near Glass Junction in Hebron. Six others were injured.
26.03.01 - An Israeli infant, Shalhevet Pass, age 10 months, was killed by sniper fire at the entrance to the Avraham Avinu neighborhood in Hebron.
11.03.03 St. Sgt.Tomer Ron, 20, of Moshav Moledet, was killed and an Israel Defense Forces officer and two soldiers were injured when Palestinian snipers ambushed their IDF patrol in Hebron.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. Keep Hebron in your thoughts as well.

Envelopes filled with white powder sent to Jewish, Israeli institutions

2012-01-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

From the Boston Globe:

Hazardous materials crews went to the Boston Park Plaza hotel and towers today after a report of a suspicious white powder being found in an envelope at the Consulate General of Israel.
Security officials at the consulate found an envelope with a “powder-like substance” on the exterior. Inside the envelope, officials found a smaller envelope with a powder and the word “anthrax” written on it, according to an e-mail from Kelly Anne Smith, head of press and political affairs at the consulate.
In the e-mail, Smith said the State Department and the FBI will “further investigate the situation, identify the suspicious substance, and properly dispose of it.”
“The item was field tested and indicated no immediate threat to public safety,” FBI Special Agent Greg Comcowich said. “Additional testing will be done.”
Following the initial response, the Israeli consulate closed for the day.
“Pending the results of testing to determine what exactly the substance reported at the Israeli consulate this afternoon, the office has been closed for the day,” Smith said in an e-mail.
According to police, the initial call came in at 12:19 p.m. The police, fire, and EMS departments are at the scene. A police spokeswoman said shortly before 1:30 p.m. that crews were shutting down Columbus Avenue in the area.
Boston Fire Department officials and hotel managers were not immediately available for comment

There have been scattered reports that other Jewish and Israeli institutions in America have been targeted as well.

Update:
From Jpost:
Envelopes arrived Monday at the Israeli embassies in the Hague, Brussels and London, as well as the consulates in New York, Boston and Houston, according to Israeli media reports. The only mission to be evacuated as a result of the suspicious envelopes was the consulate in Boston, according to the report.

The white powder eventually proved harmless.

Tefillin Banned In Jordan

2012-01-22T22:15:00.001-08:00

Further putting the regional conflict into context. At IMRA:

Makor Rishon correspondents Avinadav Vitkin and Asaf Gabor reported in the 19 January edition that Jordan continues to ban the entry of tefillin (phylacteries) into Jordan by Israeli tourists.

A veteran tour guide recommended that religious tourists enter Jordan via the Eilat-Aqaba border as the ban is not strictly enforced there.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry told the reporters that they are in contact with Jordanian authorities trying to lift the ban but that there are a number of elements in the Jordanian establishment who are preventing it.

I'm curious to know what the worst thing that could happen if Israelis bring tefillin into Jordan. Actually, I'm kind of curious to know if there's any way at all to spin this as being something other than simple anti-Semitism.

Iranian pastor sentenced to death. Sacramento Sabeel remains silent

2012-01-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, languishes on death row in Iran. A 2010 brief from the Iranian Supreme court stated that his sentence was based on the crime of apostasy, renouncing the Islamic faith. Pastor Nadarkhani, a member of the Protestant evangelical Church of Iran has been offered leniency if he agrees to renounce his Christian beliefs. He has refused.

From the Jpost

"...Giulio Meotti, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio and author of the book A New Shoah, wrote “After the ethnic cleansing of Jews in 1948 from the Arab countries, Islamic fundamentalism is now trying to push away the Christians from the region. They want to establish a pure Islamic environment and the mass exodus already began under our noses.”

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Christian Post wrote last week on its website, “The Christian community in Syria has been hit by a series of kidnappings and brutal murders; 100 Christians have now been killed since the anti-government unrest began."

From Dr. Richard Landes, an associate professor of history and director and cofounder of the Center of Millennial Studies at Boston University:

"There’s a bizarre, eery, indeed terrible (a-)symmetry between the nearly hysterical concern of the media and the ‘progressive’ NGOs etc. about Israeli violations of the Palestinian ‘human rights’ and the nearly total silence about the horrendous things happening to Christians in Muslim majority countries, not necessarily at the hands of their neighbors but of Salafists, Jihadis, etc.”

Indeed there is.

Sacramento Sabeel Conference workshop and Plenary topics

• Palestine-Israel: History and current developments including Arab Spring.
• Children & Youth in Palestine & Israel: Living under occupation and apartheid.
• Christian Zionists to Mainstream Christians: Their role in maintaining support for Israel despite its human rights violations.
• Kairos Palestine: Reflecting on and applying this document written by Christian Palestinians about what is happening in Palestine.
• Islamophobia: What it is and what is behind it.
• Black Perspectives on Apartheid in Palestine: Connecting Palestine to other social justice & peace issues.
• Bias in the Corporate & Independent Media: How it works and how to overcome it.
• Congress/U.S. Administration: Understanding America’s Pro-Israel Lobby (AIPAC) and other influences on U.S. policies towards Israel
and strategies for changing those policies.
• Boycott & Divestment: Using this historic strategy on campuses, in the faith community, and in the community at large.
• Direct Action: How and when to do it (and have fun!).
• Public Advertising Campaigns: How, when, and where they can be effective.
• Communicating about Palestine: How to talk about the issue (including doing presentations).
• Organized Silencing: Understanding the structure, funding and strategies of those who attempt to silence any criticism of Israel’s policies.
• The Palestine Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) Campaign: What is it and how to participate.
• Addressing False Charges of Anti-Semitism.

The Sacramento Sabeel Conference "organizes silence" and consistently ignores the injustice and persecution of Christians in the Middle east. Clifford D. May describes the war against the Christians as "The most important story not being told ". In spite of their mission of pursuing "peace and justice", its not being told by Sabeel, either.

Dr. Martin Luther King jr once said "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Shame on you, Sabeel for your collusion in "organizing silence".

Muslim Brotherhood involved in Orchestrating the Global March to Jerusalem.

2012-01-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

Scheduled for March 30, 2012 The Global March to Jerusalem is the latest in a series of assaults on the borders of Israel. Like the flytilla and the flotilla (we'll be seeing more of those, too), the Global March represents an assault on the sovereignty of Israel, and on her borders.

The idea? Tens of thousands will gather on the borders of Israel, and attempt to overwhelm the nations' border defenses. Its a modern day crusade. The public is being whipped into a religious frenzy by those accusing Israel of the "Judaisation" of Jerusalem, and of plotting to destroy Al Aqsa.

Who could conceive of such an act?

The Muslim Brotherhood of course.

Six of the twelve individuals listed as sponsoring/endorsing the initiative are either leaders in or closely tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood:

■Zaher Birawi, leading Palestine activist, Britain (director of the Palestine Return Center in the U.K)
■Gretta Duisenberg, Chair Foundation “Stop the Occupation”, Board member Free Gaza Movement, Netherlands (widow of former European Bank president; works closely with Muslim Brotherhood leaders in the Netherlands)
■Dr. Hafiz al Karmi, Chairman Palestinian Forum in Britain (The PFB works closely with Muslim Brotherhood groups in the U.K.)
■Mohammad Kozber, British Muslim Initiative (The BMI is part of the U.K Muslim Brotherhood)
■Mikalis Lukianos, Ship to Gaza, Greece (The Gaza Flotilla movement is closely tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood)
■Ismael Patel, Chairman Friends of Al Aqsa, Britain (FOA and Patel work closely with the U.K. Muslim Brotherhood)

The close association with the Muslim Brotherhood, a recognized terror organization has not stopped American citizens from participating in the organizing of this event. Both Paul Larudee, of the International Solidarity Movement and Deppen Webber have been involved in organizing this assault on the sovereignty of our closest ally and the only real democracy in the Middle east. The extremist Bay Area Women in Black and the Wellstone Democratic renewal Club have also endorsed the march.

More Palestinian/ Israeli Cooperation

2012-01-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

Co-Coexistence. Pass it on

From the website: Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories

"Palestinian staff of the Civil Administration worked hand in hand with Israeli firefighters in Upper Galilee for the irrigation of recently transplanted trees.
For the construction of a new road within a national park in the West Bank, the Civil Administration had to move trees and planted them again in the forest next to Umm ar-Rihan village.

“Because of this delicate operation, we need to supply those trees with water every two weeks during one year if we don’t want them to die,” said Uriel Harari, the Deputy Head of the Agriculture Department of the West Bank.

Firefighters came voluntarily with a truck full of water and made their tools available for the Palestinian workers.

These kinds of operations are of primary importance for the environment and for the protection of all the forests in the area"

After transferring the trees from a national park to a forest next to Umm ar-Rihan in Upper Galilee, Palestinian workers of the Civil Administration cooperated with Israeli firefighters to water them. This Joint operation between the Civil Administration and Israeli firefighters is precisely the type of cooperation that builds a web of interdependance. More coperation. Closer ties. Stronger ties. This is the path to peace. Don't let the BDS'ers tell you otherwise.

Presenting Israel through the High Tech lens

2012-01-22T00:09:00.000-08:00

From Hussein Ibish : “The bottom line is this: if you can’t get divestment through UC Berkeley, you’re done.”

Oh, Yes.

Presenting Israel through the High tech Lens- an International Conference to be held at UC Berkeley Feb 1 and 2, 2012

The two-day interdisciplinary conference will bring together business leaders, scholars and policy makers from Israel and from the US to discuss business, legal, economic and social aspects of the Israeli High-Tech world.

The conference will have over 35 speakers and 10 diverse sessions addressing a range of topics including: models of tech-sector investment, green-tech trends, legal challenges to US-Israel business collaboration, global corporations' involvement in Israel, labor-market diversity, cross-border collaboration in the Middle East, and high-tech entrepreneurship.

The Conference will Focus on Two Key Themes

• Challenges and Opportunities of Local and Global Dynamics in the Israeli Technology Sector.
• Past Experiences, Present Trends and Future Directions - lessons from the past and challenges
for the Israeli technology world in the 21-century.

Speakers include

Kheir Abdel Razek. She's has been serving as Deputy CEO at "Kav Mashve" since April 2011. Kav Mashve ("the Equator") is an Israeli non-profit organization dedicated to promoting equal employment opportunities for Arab university graduates in the Israeli labor market. As Deputy CEO, Kheir is responsible for the organization's strategic marketing activities and cooperation with the business private sector.

Dr. Gilad Almogy brings more than a decade of experience leading global technology organizations. Mr. Almogy is the inventor of over 30 registered US patents and holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from the California Institute of Technology and a BSc in Physics and Mathematics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel.

Isaac Applbaum is a Founding General Partner of Opus Capital, an early stage venture capital fund. Previously, Isaac was a Partner and Managing Director for Israel at Lightspeed Venture Partners an early stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California.

Ambassador Ram (Ret) Aviram is an expert in the sphere of cross boundary water interactions. His experience is based on 25 years of multilateral and bilateral diplomacy, while serving in high ranking positions at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs including Chief of Staff of H.E. Shimon Peres, Ambassador to Greece and long term service periods in Europe and Asia

And many many others

Keynote speakers will include:

Dan Senor, co-author, Start-up Nation
David (Dadi) Perlmutter, Executive Vice President, Intel Corporation

Sound interesting? I thought so, too. You can register here.

Another week of BDS failures

2012-01-19T21:58:00.000-08:00

Pity the hapless BDS'er. Or don't. Its ok to snicker at them behind their backs. I know you want to.
They just can't win for losing.

This weeks epic BDS defeats:

British museum refuses call to boycott Ahava lab

A group of anti- Israel artists and academics has condemned the Natural History Museum in West London for its research collaboration with Ahava/Dead Sea Laboratories. The Museum has refused to submit to their demands and will not sever its working relationship with Ahava.

On Thursday, Prof. Ian Owens, the museum’s director of science, said that the museum will not heed to any boycott calls and that it is dedicated to expanding and sharing knowledge. Academic freedom is an important principle in pursuing this goal, he said.

“In this respect we are in broad alignment with the wider UK academic community. We work within the legal and policy boundaries established by politicians and policy makers, and would not participate in any academic or educational boycotts that could restrict academic freedom,” he said.

The other BDS failure that caught my attention was a bit more subtle. The BDs'ers claim their movement is sanctioned by "Palestinian civil society". We've seen quite the opposite however.

From Elder of Ziyon:

According to the head of the Federation of Trade Unions of Palestine, Shaher Saad, some 31,000 Palestinian Arab workers are now employed in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. This is a significant increase compared to the number of such workers in April, 2010 - estimated at 25,000 - when Mahmoud Abbas signed a law banning Palestinian Arabs from working in settlements.

And from Ha'aretz

Palestinians invest twice as much in Israel as they do in West Bank.
Private Palestinian investment in Israel, as of 2010, amounted to $2.5 billion in a conservative estimate, and according to a more optimistic estimate this investment possibly even amounts to $5.8 billion. For purposes of comparison, private Palestinian investment within the West Bank, as of 2011, was only $1.5 billion.

A poll recently released by a marketing research firm, Geocartography Knowledge indicated that , 85% of Palestinian residents in the West Bank were interested in cooperation with Israel

If Palestinian civil society truly rejected "normalcy" with Israel, and endorsed BDS, how do you explain this? There are Palestinian Arabs willing to serve in the IDF. What more visceral rejection of BDS could there possibly be that having non-Jews in Israel willing to fight and die for their country?

This Bedouin family has been serving Israel for generations. BDS fail, fail, fail.

From YNet:

"Can a person be both Arab and Zionist? The answer appears to be yes.

Ask Shirin Shlian, a 20-year-old IDF soldier from one of the Galilee's Arab villages, whose job in the Israeli army is to encourage high school students to enlist – and better yet, to join combat units. "

Remind me again about this "Palestinian Civil society"

"A Jewish Boy Is Going To Represent Turkey!"

2012-01-18T19:25:00.001-08:00

This nice young man is Can Bonomo. His family has lived in Turkey for 540 years, and now he's going to represent that nation at Eurovision this year. Oh, yeah, and he's Jewish.

Naturally, there's an element in town that objects:

Turkey’s Jews are pleased as can be that for the first time, a Jew will be representing their country at the Eurovision song contest.

But the singer, Can Bonomo, isn’t exactly trumpeting his accomplishment -- at least not the Jewish part.

“We would like to inform that Mr. Can Bonomo is bound to refuse answering all the questions about his religious beliefs, anti-Semitism and political subjects,” Bonomo’s spokesman, Ece Kahraman, wrote in a statement to JTA.

Bonomo has taken pains to tell fans that he will be participating in Eurovision as a Turk, not as a Jew.

“My family came from Spain 540 years ago,” Bonomo said in an interview on the "Aksam" news show in a video posted Jan. 11 that has gone viral. “I am Turkish and I am representing Turkey, I will go out there with the Turkish flag and represent Turkey. I am an artist, a musician. That’s all that everybody needs to know.”

Prior to his appearance on "Aksam," radical right-wing papers had accused Bonomo of being a tool of Zionists and Freemasons.

The way in which the anchor framed her question in the interview probably didn’t put him at ease.

“People might say you were chosen because Turkey wants to ingratiate itself with Israeli lobby groups,” she said. “I would like to get your comments.”

Bonomo is choosing to deal with this simply by emphasizing that he's going to Eurovision as a Turkish singer. That's probably for the best, and I can understand why a 24-year-old Turkish hipster musician doesn't want to wade deeper into the morass that is anti-Semitism and paranoia about Israel, not when he's on his way to Baku. (Yes, seriously, it's in Baku this year. A town I can never hear the name of without beginning to quote the opening lines of a poem by Zelda Knizhnik that begins (in Yiddish), "My husband's in America, a son is in Baku...")

It's worth noting, though, the ways in which anti-Israel and anti-Semitic threads are so casually drawn around a kid who's entirely apolitical, singing Turkish hipster music. This, the fact that this kid, whose family has lived in Turkey for over five hundred years has to be asked to prove that he's not a Zionist front man, this illustrates perfectly how foolish it is to imagine that anti-Zionism exists without anti-Semitism.

On a lighter note, here's Can singing "Mezcup". I have no idea what this song is about, but he's got some style. And he's just adorable.

HATIKVAH IN AMSTERDAM

2012-01-18T17:50:00.000-08:00

The Prime Minister of the only democracy in the Middle-East is on an official visit to the Netherlands. Naturally, this is important news. The Netherlands is one of Israel's oldest friends, and currently experiences much the same venom from many of the same sources as Israel and the United States.

Worthwhile youtube clip - The Israeli National Anthem as sung in the Gran’ Esnoga today:

HATIKVAH IN DE PORTUGEESCHE SYNAGOGE

[SOURCE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HigpVgHgc5k .]

There was a small protest by anti-Semites and pro-palestinians outside the house of worship.
Approximately four dozen haters opposing the visit of Benjamin Netanyahu.

The demo was charitably described as follows: "Kortom, Jose van het NPK was weer eens betrokken bij een onvoorstelbaar zielige vertoning. Gefeliciteerd daarmee Jose!"

[Translation: 'In short, Jose of the NPK was once again involved in an unimaginably pathetic display. Congratulations with that, Jose!']

NOTE: The NPK is one of the Christian denominations in the Netherlands. Jose van Leeuwen is one of the well-connected agitators for the Arab cause, who among other things has asserted that Jewish Holy days serve hardly any better purpose than to oppress non-Jews in Israel (article dated 11/14/11), and has described violence and stone throwing as 'peaceful protest'. Which is much like Kate (an activist from the Bay Area) informing a class of protest-volunteers a few years ago that smashing plate glass windows, pouring water on computers, trashing business offices, and resisting arrest qualified as "non-violent".
In one of his most recent pieces (01/12/12), Jose van Leeuwen shows himself absolutely obsessed with Orthodox Jews.

Frames

2012-01-18T09:52:00.000-08:00

{Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives}

I have been criticized for my alternative framing of the Israel-Palestine conflict or, as I like to call it, the Long Arab War against the Jews. The truth of the matter is that framing is very much at the heart of what I am trying to do here.

Framing is important and what is most important is recognizing the framing of one's own political movement so that we can change that framing when necessary. It should be obvious by this point that progressive-left framing on I-P favors Arabs at the expense of Jews, despite the fact that we represent a tiny population in comparison to either Arabs or Muslims, who tend to be far more hostile to us than we are to them.

{The progressive tendency toward moral equivalency also needs analysis, but that is a discussion for another day.}

Given the uncertain status of Jews in the world, we win or lose this fight before it is even begun via framing. The well-being of the Jewish people, and the survival of the Jewish state, is very much dependent upon how our concerns get framed in venues throughout the world. The reason for this is because we are so small. 13 to 14 million Jews. That's it. We represent a tiny percentage of the world population, so what the world thinks of us makes a very big difference on the question of Jewish survival. This should be obvious. At the same time, a non-stop anti-Jewish / anti-Israel propaganda machine has been operating out of the Arab and Muslim worlds for decades and it has poisoned Jewish-Israeli relations with the progressive-left in Europe and the United States. This is because the inclination among progressives is to feel Palestinian pain due to Palestinian and Arab framing of the entire issue.

Let's take a couple of framing questions and hold them up to scrutiny. Let's take the "West Bank" versus "Judea and Samaria" and let's take the very notion that the conflict is one between Israelis and Palestinians.

The fact of the matter is that for thousands of years Judea and Samaria were called Judea and Samaria. It was only when Jordan occupied that land when we suddenly started hearing about a geographical location known as the "West Bank." Jordan called Judea part of the "West Bank" because it did not want to acknowledge the Jewish nature of that small part of the world. From 1967 until the present, despite the failure of Oslo, progressive-left Jews have also used the term "West Bank" because doing so encourages the possibility of giving that land away in a two-state solution deal. For quite some time now it has mainly been conservative Jews, the Likud, who frames the area as Judea and Samaria, their traditional names. Just as progressives want to give away that land in a two-state end of hostilities, so Likudniks, traditionally, believed that holding that land is a requirement for security.

The times have changed but, unfortunately, our framing has not changed with it. Since the Palestinians have shown the world in no uncertain terms that they have no intention of allowing the Jews of the Middle East to live in peace, state or no state, the old Oslo-based framing is now entirely counterproductive toward Jewish well-being. Calling Judea and Samaria the "West Bank" does little more at this point than validate the Palestinian narrative. The reason that Jews are almost always on the rhetorical defensive when it comes to discussing the Arab war against us is because we have a tendency to be so open-minded that our brains have fallen from our skulls and are now rolling around on the floor like marbles.

We cannot win a fight if we perpetually have that fight on our enemy's turf. That is, we cannot win the I-P argument if we insist upon adopting Palestinian framing. Calling Judea and Samaria the "West Bank" is Arab framing. Every time we use that framing we've already lost the discussion because embedded in the idea of "West Bank" is the notion that it does not belong to the Jews, but it's impossible to get people to believe that Judea is not Jewish so they don't call it by its proper, long-standing name. The reason to call Judea by its proper name is not because we necessarily wish to keep the area, but because it is, in truth, traditional Jewish land and if Israel wishes to be so gracious as to gift that land to their neighbors, so be it. In the mean time, Palestinian propagandists scream from the hillsides that the "West Bank" was stolen from them by those conniving Jews. I say that we force them to make the argument that the Jews stole Judea from its rightful owners, a brand-spanking new type of Arab that the world calls "Palestinians."

Another very big part of the framing issue has to do with underdogs and overcats. Between 1948 and 1967, the non-Arab, non-Muslim world was mainly in sympathy with the Jews of the Middle East who they viewed as a scrappy underdog surrounded by enemies 100 times their number. This is still the case. Israel remains under siege and its towns continue to get rocketed by Arab forces, but the world no longer sees scrappy little Israel as an underdog. Progressives like underdogs much more than they like facts. If even the most heinous and guilty individual can get progressives to view him as the underdog they will take his side.

After 1967, the Arabs changed the framing from that of a conflict between the vast Arab nation versus the small, harrassed Jews to a conflict between the great Israeli war machine versus the innocent, indigenous Palestinians and this is the framing that progressives use to this day. This is why "progressive Zionists" constantly get kicked around on places like Daily Kos. It's because other well-meaning progressives no longer see Jewish people as worthy of sympathy because the framing makes of us a colonial, imperalistic, racist people oppressing the other. This framing is entirely false, but so long as it operates in the background as a given among those having the conversation then the Jews can never win the argument. So long as "progressive" Jews continue to employ Palestinian-Arab framing of the issue they will continue to be kicked around in left-wing political venues and on the university campuses.

I say that we create new framing that stays true to history, that stays true to current events, but that frames the argument in such a way that the Jews of the Middle East are not maligned before the conversation even begins. Progressives, following the lead of Arab propogandists since 1967, have framed the I-P conflict in a way that maligns Jews and "Progressive Zionists" catapult that anti-Jewish framing, whether they realize it or not.

I have suggested that it is imperative that we must free ourselves from the Palestinian colonization of the Jewish mind, but we can only do that if we rid ourselves of Palestinian framing.

Times are changing and it is long past time that we change with it.

Adapt or die.

.

Gaza Activist Stabbed After Exposing Hamas Use of Human Shields

2012-01-17T23:39:00.000-08:00

And the world is silent.
From UN Watch

"The stabbing in Gaza of a Palestinian rights activist after he exposed Hamas' contempt for its own people by using them as human shields, and after he criticized the radical Islamic group for torture, abuse and trampling free speech, should be strongly condemned by the United Nations—both as an attack on the victim’s human rights, and on the idea of freedom of expression.

Masked attackers on Friday stabbed Mahmud Abu Rahma multiple times in the back, leg and shoulders, it was revealed today.

This latest attack on a rights activist underscores Gaza's brutally enforced intolerance for any discourse other the anti-Israel mantras of Hamas, which rules the area with an iron fist.

The attack only proves the simple truth of the victim's words.

Abu Rahma's crime was publishing an article in the Palestinian press that dared to criticize Hamas' "outrageous attack upon free expression and peaceful assembly" over the past year, and the "hundreds of cases of torture and abuse."

Abu Rahma also dared to publish basic facts about Gaza that completely contradict the Hamas narrative, and that of the UN's Goldstone Report, which repeatedly found "no evidence" that Hamas used civilians as human shields.

What is remarkable is that with all of the massive UN resources ostensibly dedicated to protecting Palestinians—the 16-member Division for Palestinian Rights, the 20-odd resolutions on Palestinians last year by the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council's special agenda item on Palestinians at every session, resolutions on Palestinians by UNESCO, the WHO and numerous other agencies, the full-time post of "Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Palestine" held by Richard Falk—still, with all that and more, the world body somehow managed to turn a blind eye to the massive violations of Palestinian rights described by Abu Rahma

• Although Abu Rahma considers Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations to be “resistance groups,” he said they "show little or no care for people's life and well being.”

• “Military training sites function and are located in places very close to neighborhoods and/or schools, from where acts of resistance, including firing rockets, also occur.” As a result, “The population of these locations are inevitably vulnerable to Israeli attacks.”

• “Numerous people were injured from live fire coming from resistance groups training sites; including children and at least one man who lost his eye.”

• “There is a training site in the town of Beit Lahiya that threatens people every day, including a girl who was injured inside her school when an explosion occurred in this site on Sep. 20 2011.”

• “Explosions also occur frequently in densely-populated areas around Gaza, and have their victims, many of whom are children.”

• A man in the al-Nasser neighborhood in Gaza city, whose house is near a military training site, “complained to the resistance members many times. He explained the family’s fear for their life and house. But he was told the family could move out of the area, even if they had no resources to move. He died the way he feared most: tragically.”

• “The state of carelessness from the part of resistance is also causing continued victims of the misfiring of home-made rockets that fall on houses inside Gaza. Many of the victims are children and all of them are civilians who happen to be in their homes.”

• “There are more victims of shootings from, or explosions in, training sites. Many children are killed or maimed when explosive devices left in the streets or farms explode in their hands. And there is the young man who was shot in the legs for daring to publicly criticize a local resistance leader.”

If the UN's colossal pro-Palestinian infrastructure would have truly done its job and reported the above simple facts about Hamas perfidy to the world's attention, it is fair to ask whether Abu Rahma would have been assaulted for writing his article.

The incident raises serious questions about the ability of the Palestinians to create a democratic state where people feel free to question their government without fear of being seriously injured or killed for doing so.

The attack should be immediately denounced by Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, by Irina Bokova, the director general of UNESCO, the world agency mandated to uphold press freedom, and by Frank La Rue, the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression.

The attack is also serious enough for its implications that even the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, should personally condemn it."
Read it all here

USAID awards contracts for 750 million for the development of Palestinian infrastructure

2012-01-16T17:37:00.000-08:00

From US trade and Aid monitor

The first round of Palestinian infrastructure contracts worth upwards of $750 million was awarded this week by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Infrastructure Needs Project Phase II (Solicitation #RFP294-2010-108), as the USAID endeavor is known, will help the Palestinians build or improve public works initially in the West Bank and, "if conditions permit, in Gaza" at a later time.

Task orders could be awarded under this indefinite quantity contract (IQC) for initiatives including:

• Transportation networks such as primary and secondary roads, bridges and/or other transportation infrastructure;

• Water systems including the supply, storage, treatment, transmission and/or distribution of water;

• Sanitation infrastructure including solid waste management and disposal, wastewater treatment and reuse, pollution control, and/or ecological sanitation;

• Vertical infrastructure including schools, clinics, health facilities, public buildings, government buildings and facilities, sports facilities, warehouses, food storage facilities, youth and sports centers, and/or other vertical infrastructure designed to benefit the public interest;

• Electrical Power sector infrastructure to include alternative, sustainable and/or traditional forms of power generation (such as wind turbines, photovoltaic, solar thermal, geothermal, and/or fossil-fuel-fired thermal power plants), and/or electricity transmission and distribution systems in the West Bank;

• Other critical infrastructure that USAID may decide to support subject to USAID development objectives and/or the availability of funds;

• Operations and Management of Water Facilities;

• Design/Build contracts are anticipated under this solicitation;

• Procurement, transport, shipment, storage of equipment and materials;

• Drilling and Equipping of Deep Water Production and Monitoring Wells and Facilities

• Construction and Rehabilitation of Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution systems.

Gaza: Its not just Rocks any More

2012-01-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

Was it ever?

Hamas and Islamic Jihad weaponry has grown significantly more sophisticated and more deadly. New weapons continue to enter Gaza virtually unchecked.

From the J Post

"Hamas is believed to have a fighting force number over 20,000 armed men who are split into five brigades corresponding with different sections of the Gaza Strip. Each brigade is then split into a number of battalions. In addition, Hamas also has special teams for surveillance, anti-tank missiles, mortar and rocket fire and anti-aircraft shoulder-to-air missiles."

20,000 armed men? Wanna bet they are all civilians?

The IDF General Staff has ordered the Southern Command to prepare for a possible large Gaza operation that could occur within the next few months. Preparations include finalizing operational plans and distributing them between the various units that would be deployed inside Gaza.

In 2011, 680 rockets and mortar shells were fired into Israel, including 80 long range Grad-model Katyusha rockets. Only 2 Grads in 2010 were fired into Israel from Gaza in 2010

Why Israel needs checkpoints: Terror attack averted

2012-01-16T11:25:00.001-08:00

For the second time in two weeks, a massive terror attack on Israel was averted.

From the Jpost

"Border Police intercepted two Palestinians carrying eleven pipe bombs who were likely on their way to carry out an attack at the Samaria military court, as one of the murderers of the Fogel family was being sentenced.

The suspects, both in their 20s, were trying to cross the Salem checkpoint near Jenin, when their nervous conduct aroused the suspicions of a veteran Border Policeman.

"They were placed in a bomb-proof examination hut for a search, but did not cooperate," Border Police spokesman Supt. Shai Hakimi told The Jerusalem Post.

Security personnel became even more suspicious and declared a "situation bell," which is code for strip search of suspects thought to be carrying weapons.

The search revealed eleven pipe bombs, a homemade gun, and ammunition.

The suspects were arrested, and the explosives were neutralized by Border Police bomb squad officers"

And this, once again, is why Israel's needs checkpoints. Checkpoints save lives, civilians lives, innocent lives, every day.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on Israel

2012-01-16T00:31:00.000-08:00

Israel is the only country in the Middle East to commemorate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and his pursuit of peace, justice and equality.

"Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect her right to exist, its territorial integrity ..... Israel is one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security, and that security must be a reality.”

Spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr 10 days before his assassination

Israel acknowledges the legacy of Dr. King with a memorial in Jerusalem, and with a forest, planted in the Galilee. Currently, trees are also being planted to honor his wife, Coretta Scott King.

From the JNF

"In the summer of 2006, Hezbollah launched Katyusha rockets into northern Israel, destroying two million trees that covered thousands of acres of forest in the Galilee. As a tribute to Coretta Scott King and her message of peace and equality, a section of the Biriya Forest, which was destroyed by the rockets, will be replanted as the Coretta Scott King Forest. King, who passed away in 2006, was a distinguished human rights activist and leader. She devoted her life to social justice, alongside her husband, The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Coretta Scott King Forest is in addition to a forest that was planted in Israel in memory of her husband."

From Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King St. in Israel. Note the English, Hebrew and Arabic of the sign. What were you saying about "Jew only roads", again?

PA Mufti calls for genocide of Jews quoting Islamic Hadith

2012-01-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

Wasn't Fatah the "moderate" voice? Weren't they supposed to be our partner for peace?

From Palestinian Media Watch

Last week, the principal Palestinian Authority religious leader, the Mufti Muhammad Hussein, presented the killing of Jews by Muslims as a religious Islamic goal. At an event celebrating the 47th anniversary of the founding of Fatah, he cited the Hadith (Islamic tradition attributed to Muhammad) saying that the Hour of Resurrection will not come until Muslims fight the Jews and kill them:

"The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call:
'Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'"

The last time official PA TV broadcast a sermon during which this Hadith calling to kill Jews was quoted was in 2010.

The years of PA promotion of killing Jews and PA religious leaders' citing this Hadith to justify it, may have contributed to the high acceptance of it in PA society. A poll sponsored by the Israel Project last year found that 73% of Palestinians "believe" this Hadith. [July 2011, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.]

The moderator who introduced the Mufti at the Fatah event last week reiterated another Islamic belief; that the Jews are the descendants of apes and pigs:
"Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs (i.e., Jews)
is a war of religion and faith."

The Mufti did not distance himself from this hate statement that Islam is in a religious war with the Jews, but added to it that Islam's goal is to kill Jews.

Watch it here:

UPDATE:

Youtube has removed the film. It is still available at the Pal Media Watch site

"Chosen People Have To Be Perfect"

2012-01-14T13:39:00.001-08:00

If providing human rights to LGBT Israelis is 'pinkwashing', what is it when they provide excellent prenatal care to expectant mothers? "Blue-and-pinkwashing"? "Babywashing"?

I really cannot add much to this excellent dissection of an article that appeared in a Dutch paper, written by Yochanan Visser, and crossposted to CIFWatch, in which Israel's prenatal health program is cast as a sinister eugenics project:

Last week the Dutch Christian daily ‘Trouw’ reached a new low when it published a vicious article about prenatal care in Israel entitled: “The chosen people have to be perfect”.

The writer, Ilse van Heusden, gave birth to a healthy baby boy while temporarily living in Israel.

She succeeded in portraying the prenatal care in Israel as a government instigated ‘military operation’ aimed at the production of babies as perfect as possible.

Apart from distortions and lies the article contained many accusations and insinuations which are reminiscent of classic anti-Semitic rants.

Read the whole thing. This is a new classic in the subgenre of anti-Israel writing called, "I was in Israel, and nothing much happened, but I could feel it was all icky and fascist in my bones". (If anyone can come up with a shorter name for the genre, that would be much appreciated.) She is asked to do a lot of tests. She doesn't want to, but does anyway. The healthcare system is different from the one in the Netherlands, and she doesn't like the way they do things. She is asked to do the tests, even though she's healthy, and not Ashkenazi. She asserts, with no proof given, that the state 'demands' children. (They do seem to expend a lot of energy on hers, however, who isn't 'chosen', nor will he be an Israeli citizen.) She has a strange (and I think, fictional) encounter with another mommy, who tells her that the 'chosen people' must be physically perfect. (If I read the Dutch correctly.) Finally, her son is born healthy, with an undersized toe which she sees as some sort of personal triumph over Israeli medicine. (Really. He can take off his sock at BDS meetings for the rest of his life, and show how he defeated the Zionazi OB/GYNs.)

The overall effect is of a series of perfectly ordinary events, being dramatized through scary music and horror-movie lighting. Israel (like dozens of other countries), offers a small (smaller than the Netherlands') subsidy to families with children. (SCREAMING!) Israeli doctors are kind of test-happy. (MORE SCREAMING!!!) Israelis like children. (HYSTERICAL NONSTOP SCREAMING!!!)

This article is the perfect fusion of anti-Semitism and navel-gazing. Four stars.

Go & Learn: Seminars on Anti-Semitism in Sonoma county

2012-01-14T11:18:00.000-08:00

According to the 2010 FBI annual report on hate crimes

Of the 1,552 victims of an anti-religion hate crime:

■ 67.0 percent were victims of an offender’s anti-Jewish bias.
■ 12.7 percent were victims of an anti-Islamic bias.
■ 4.2 percent were victims of an anti-Catholic bias.
■ 3.0 percent were victims of an anti-Protestant bias.
■ 0.5 percent were victims of an anti-Atheist/Agnostic bias.
■ 9.1 percent were victims of a bias against other religions (anti-other religion).
■ 3.5 percent were victims of a bias against groups of individuals of varying religions (anti-multiple religions, group).

In January and February, Congregation Beth Ami in Santa Rosa will be presenting an exciting series on Modern Anti-Semitism. All events are scheduled in the Sanctuary, followed by an oneg in the Social Hall.

· Sunday, Jan. 15: Modern Anti-Semitism: Rabbi Jerry Danzig “Overview: From California to the World.” Starting at 2:00 pm and followed by oneg in the Social Hall.

· Sunday, Jan. 29: Modern Anti-Semitism: On California Campus. Tammi Rossman-Benjamin & Prof. Leila Beckwith of the Amcha Initiative “How to rid California colleges of their increasing anti-Semitism” Starting at 2:00 pm and followed by oneg in the Social Hall.

· Sunday, Feb. 12: Modern Anti-Semitism: Anti-Defamation League . Nancy J. Appel, Associate Director, Anti-Defamation League, Central Pacific Region:“Responding to US Anti-Semitism.” Starting at 2:00 pm and followed by oneg in the Social Hall.

· Sunday, Feb. 26: JIMENA Speakers' Bureau Member, Rachel Wahba, and JIMENA Director, Sarah Levin. Arab State-Sponsored Anti-Semitism. Starting at 2:00 pm and followed by oneg in the Social Hall.

Persecution of Christians in the World. Sabeel is silent

2012-01-13T23:14:00.000-08:00

Sabeel is coming to town March 16-17. Sabeel is a Christian liberation theology organization based in Jerusalem. It was founded by Palestinian Anglican priest, Rev. Naim Ateek, and has been widely denounced for its
one-sided anti-Israel rhetoric.

from the ADL:
Friends of Sabeel-North America (FOSNA): As part of the anti-Israel movement's effort to attract support from the mainstream, Friends of Sabeel—North America (FOSNA), the U.S. affiliate of Sabeel, a Jerusalem-based Palestinian Christian organization, has been particularly effective at forging alliances with a number of mainline Protestant churches. FOSNA-organized events, including multiple U.S. conferences and organized trips to Israel, regularly feature speakers who accuse Israel of racism, oppression and human rights violations. With a presence in two dozen U.S. states, FOSNA has played a central role in bridging the anti-Israel movement with mainstream American Christian groups. Some of these have responded to FOSNA's outreach by integrating anti-Israel efforts into their broader social causes, bolstering the anti-Israel movement's ability to spread its messages to wider and otherwise untapped audiences. In 2009 and 2010, Sabeel conferences from Hawaii to Washington, DC, attracted hundreds of participants, and smaller, local events take place throughout the year.

One aspect of Christian life in the Middle east that you'll never hear mentioned by Sabeel is the persecution of Christians under Palestinian rule.

From an interview with Justus Reid Weiner Palestinian Crimes against Christian Arabs:

•Under the Palestinian regime Christian Arabs have been victims of frequent human rights abuses by Muslims. There are many examples of intimidation, beatings, land theft, firebombing of churches and other Christian institutions, denial of employment, economic boycotts, torture, kidnapping, forced marriage, sexual harassment, and extortion. Palestinian Authority (PA) officials are directly responsible for many of the human rights violations. Muslims who have converted to Christianity are in the greatest danger. They are often left defenseless against cruelty by Muslim fundamentalists. Some have been murdered.
•Christian Arabs also fall victim to the chaos and anarchy typical of PA rule. This situation is fostered by societal rigidity, criminal gangs, lack of education, absence of due process, incitement, unreliable courts, and the denial of these problems-all running counter to Israel's desire for a prosperous and stable neighbor.
•Muslim attitudes toward Christians and Jews are influenced by the concepts and prejudices about their inferiority that the practice of dhimmitude has spawned in Islamic society. As dhimmis, Christians living in Palestinian-controlled territories are not treated as equals of Muslims and are subjected to debilitating legal, political, cultural, and religious restrictions.
•The human rights violations against the Christian Arabs in the disputed territories are committed by Muslims. Yet for political and economic reasons many Palestinian Christian leaders blame Israel for these crimes rather than the actual perpetrators. This motif of the transference of blame has been adopted by several Christian leaders in the Western world. Others there who are aware of the PA's human rights abuses choose to remain silent.

From the World Watch List (WWL)

WWL is a ranking of 50 countries where persecution of Christians for religious reasons is worst. The list covers persecution of Christians of all denominations

1.North Korea
2.Afghanistan
3.Saudi Arabia
4.Somalia
5.Iran
6.Maldives
7.Uzbekistan
8.Yemen
9.Iraq
10.Pakistan
11.Eritrea
12.Laos
13.Northern Nigeria
14.Mauritania
15.Egypt
16.Sudan
17.Bhutan
18.Turkmenistan
19.Vietnam
20.Chechnya
21.China
22.Qatar
23.Algeria
24.Comoros
25.Azerbaijan
26.Libya
27.Oman
28.Brunei
29.Morocco
30.Kuwait
31.Turkey
32.India
33.Burma (Myanmar)
34.Tajikistan
35.Tunisia
36.Syria
37.United Arab Emirates
38.Ethiopia
39.Djibouti
40.Jordan
41.Cuba
42.Belarus
43.Indonesia
44.Palestinian Territories
45.Kazakhstan
46.Bahrain
47.Colombia
48.Kyrgyzstan
49.Bangladesh
50.Malaysia

The Palestinian territories make the list- Israel does not. Yet we can take it as a given that there will be no mention at the Sacramento Sabeel conference of the suffering of the Christians in the disputed territories.

This photo appeared in the blog Silk Roads and Siamese Smiles: This is what welcomes Christian tourists into the Israeli town of Nazereth. It is near the Church of the Annunciation.

From Dexter Van Zile "Primer on Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center"

Sabeel ...broadcasts a dishonest narrative about the Arab/Israeli conflict that:

Promotes an obsession with Jewish sin;
Promotes ambivalence over Jewish power
Encourages listeners to ignore problems in Palestinian society that undermine the prospects for Israeli and Palestinian safety and freedom;
Ignores the role Muslim extremists have played in the decline of the Christian population in the disputed territories and the Middle East;
Blames Israel, and only Israel, for the suffering of the Palestinian people; and Promotes an indifference to Israeli suffering as a result of Palestinian terror attacks.

Indifference is not a Christian trait. We remind our Christian friends to reject Sabeel when it comes to Sacramento March 16-17

Tel Aviv Named Best Gay City

2012-01-12T20:07:00.000-08:00

Now, this is what pinkwashing is all about.

Israel's malicious campaign of pinkwashing--giving LGBT Israelis full civil rights, recognition of foreign marriages, health care for domestic partners, and all that other dreadful imperialist stuff they do...has paid off.

Tel Aviv has been named Best Gay City for 2011.

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Tel Aviv has been named the best gay city for 2011 in a poll sponsored by American Airlines and Gaycities.com.

The city was selected as the "Best City of 2011" in the "Best of Gay Cities 2011" poll. Tel Aviv garnered 43 percent of the votes, followed by New York City with 14 percent and Toronto with 7 percent.

"Winning this competition constitutes an additional strengthening of the fact that Tel Aviv-Jaffa is a city that respects all people and allows everyone to live according to his/her own principles," Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said. "Ours is a city in which everyone can be proud of who they are."

New York won in the Best Night Life category, San Francisco took the Best Pride city category, and Buffalo, N.Y., was the Most Up-and-Coming city.

More than 5,000 gay tourists visited Tel Aviv in June for its annual pride parade, according to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality.

If you go to Gaycities.com, and look at their map of great gay cities, you're going to notice something, and that's that Tel Aviv stands alone in the Middle East. I mean, entirely alone. That little pin in the map marks the lone gay party town of the region.

Kol ha-kavod, Tel Aviv!

You Can't Say That!

2012-01-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

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{Cross-posted at Israel Thrives}

I always find it interesting when I am told that something that I have said is not false, but simply offensive and therefore beyond the bounds of reasonable political discussion.

I have been told this a number of times about various things and have even created a list of That Which Cannot Be Spoken which is currently sitting on the right side of the page of my home blog.

Barry Rubin, one of my favorite analysts, just wrote this:

Someone had written an article in the left-wing British magazine New Statesman, which always bashes Israel sometimes in the nastiest terms, defending Israel’s 2008-2009 Gaza operation called “Cast Lead.” In the article, the writer had gone into great detail to set forth the facts of what happened and to rebut the wild allegations of war crimes and the many outright lies told about these events.

But here’s the relevant part for all of us: my colleague explained that there had been about 300 comments to that article, some positive and most negative. And, he recounted, not a single one of the negative responses cited a single fact. They did not say, for example: “Oh, you’ve gotten the numbers wrong,” or “Here’s a critical point you missed.”

No, the theme of every attack was that “only a fascist would say this” or “you cannot say such a thing.”

What these people were saying is that they don’t have to argue with you or pay attention to what you are saying. They can just close their eyes, put their hands over their ears, and scream: “Liar! Evil person! You have no right to disagree with us or else we will destroy you.”

You can see why this reminded me of the incident with Batatu. And George Orwell, too...

It is the lowest form of political discourse to merely label someone something negative in order to dismiss whatever point they may be endeavoring to make.

If, for example, I say that Palestinian national identity is the world's newest national identity and that most "Palestinians" did not consider themselves to be any such thing until the second half of the twentieth century, it is not sufficient to call me a "racist."

The truth doesn't care about whatever label you may assign to someone in order to dismiss them.

The truth is the truth and in this case it may be an inconvenient truth for pro-Palestinian activists who wish to see Israel dissolved as a Jewish state, but why should inconveniencing anti-Zionists bother me?

It doesn't.

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Why Progressives are Clueless on I-P

2012-01-11T00:35:00.000-08:00

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Karam

There are reasons why the progressive-left likes to smack around the Jewish state and one of the foremost of such reasons is their near total misapprehension of the source of the conflict. Progressives tend to think that the reason for the never-ending, and increasingly annoying, I-P conflict, is that the Jews of the Middle East are mean.

In the plainest terms possible, that is it. Progressives, as a rule, think that Israel is mean. The mean Jewish Israelis are oppressing the innocent "indigenous" Palestinians and they need to stop it. This represents the essential mental process of most progressives when they bother considering the Arab war against the Jews of the Middle East. It's all about underdogs. Whoever holds underdog status is considered to be the righteous "good guy" among the vapid progressive activist types.

In the summer of 1967 the Jews of the Middle East successfully defended themselves from Arab aggression and, in doing so, acquired the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt and the "West Bank" from Jordan. After both those countries refused to take back that land in return for peace, as they told us with the three famous "no's" at Khartoum, the Soviets, the Arabs, and their western progressive allies have successfully turned the Jewish David into the Israeli Goliath.

Of course, they get a little cognitive help among people who are paid to encourage them to think this way. NGOs, the United Nations, and various journalists and academics who specialize in spreading hatred toward the Jewish state... and G-d only knows how many anti-Semitic anti-Zionist bloggers who do it not for pay but out shear self-serving righteous indignation combined with willful ignorance of the subject... continually paint Israel as a racist, apartheid, imperialist, colonialist, rogue state.

So what is your average American liberal to think?

Day after day after day Israel gets clobbered by people either emotionally or financially invested (oftentimes both) in doing everything that they possibly can to demean and defame that country for its alleged crimes against the Palestinians and they are almost always on the left. This is, in fact, the product of untold billions of dollars in Arab oil revenue over the recent decades as a source of funding for non-stop anti-Zionist propaganda directed at gullible, usually well-meaning, western liberals.

If this were not true, surely Israel's defamers would not be defamers, but instead would be honest critics. For if they were honest critics they might note the 1,300 years of Jewish persecution in Muslim and Arab lands that directly preceded the long Arab war against the Jews of the Middle East from the 1920s until today.

But they don't.

The only way to make the acidic progressive case against the Jewish state, and thus against the Jewish people, is to ignore centuries of Jewish history in that part of the world. Unless you ignore the long centuries of Jewish second and third class citizenship under Muslim rule, it is impossible to portray the Jews merely as the callous oppressors of the innocent Palestinian-Arabs.

In truth, you have to ignore all sorts of things to maintain the typically progressive stance that the Jews are guilty and that the Palestinians should be free to react in any violent manner possible because they are the righteous victims.

Not only do you have to ignore 13 centuries of dhimmitude to paint the Jews in roguish colors, you also have to ignore all the various times that the Palestinian-Arabs have refused to accept a state for themselves in peace next to Israel. If you admit, as the historical record shows, that the Palestinians have never accepted a peaceful resolution to the conflict despite ridiculously good offers for statehood, such as the Peel Commission proposal of 1937, then you must conclude that the reason for the ongoing problem is not the Jews, but persistent Arab intransigence to this very day.

Yet the Jewish state is the only country on the planet that suffers daily attack in the progressive press and they do so under the guise of "social justice" and "human rights." 5.5 million people are dead in the Congo over the last 15 years, but the progressive-left does not care. Tibet remains under the brutal Chinese occupation, decade after decade, but the progressive-left does not care. In Darfur Muslims slaughter black Africans and use rape as a weapon of war, resulting in the dislocation of millions of people, but the progressive-left does not care.

Yet I am supposed to take progressive anti-Zionist hatred toward the Jewish state as something other than anti-Jewish racism?

Oh, please.

Drop By Israel Thrives.

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Women Now Majority in Israel Justice System

2012-01-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

In a week when there's been a lot of bleak talk about women in Israel, a reminder of how egalitarian Israeli society really is:

More than half of serving judges in Israel are women
Women account for almost half of lawyers in country

Jerusalem, Jan. 8 – The appointment over the weekend of new judges to Israel’s Supreme Court included Daphne Barak-Erez, a rising legal star who will be the youngest jurist on the top bench.

Barak-Erez, the dean of Tel Aviv University’s law faculty, was among the four nominees. Her background includes military service in the armed forces Military Prosecutors office, and a reputation for a strong stance against corruption.

More than half of the 646 judges serving on the benches of Israeli courts are women, and Israel’s Labor Court is also presided over by a woman, Nili Arad, with women comprising just over 60 percent of the labor court judges. Israeli female judges vastly outnumber their American counterparts, where in the U.S. roughly one fifth of federal judges are women, while at the state level that number goes up to only 26 percent.

Israel’s Supreme Court matches the United States in that one third of the judges are women, including the top judge, Dorit Benisch. Israel first appointed a woman, Miriam Ben Porat, to its top legal body in 1977, four years before Sandra Day O'Connor became America’s first female member of the Supreme Court.

On the other side of the bench, women comprise almost half the 49,000 lawyers in Israel, with women holding the posts of legal advisors in the Ministry of Defense, the Police force, the Histadrut National Trade Union and the Civil Service Commission.

The Israel Bar Association says it “supports and promotes the integration of women working in the profession,” and is happy with the current situation where there is an almost total balance between the numbers of male and female attorneys.

For reference: today, in the United States, women comprise 26.3% of the judgeships on state courts of last resort, 19.2% of federal district court judgeships, 20.1% of federal appellate judgeships, and 33.3% of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Aaron David Miller Tells Us Why Obama Doesn't Much Like the Jewish State

2012-01-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

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{Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives}

He writes:

Barack Obama has an Israel problem. Almost three years in, the US president still can’t decide whether he wants to pander to the Israeli prime minister or pressure him.

That Barack Obama has an "Israel problem" can hardly be in doubt, but it is mainly a problem of his own creation because, indeed, Obama does want to keep the pressure on Israel, but pressure to do precisely what is anyone's guess? After all, the Israelis long ago agreed to two states for two peoples while the Palestinian-Arabs have year after year, and decade after decade, absolutely refused to end their war against the Jews in the Middle East.

This, apparently, is what the Obama administration fails to understand.

Buckle your seat belts. Unless Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu find a way to cooperate on a big venture that makes both of them look good, and in a way that allows each to invest in the other, the US-Israel relationship may be in for a bumpy ride.

It is going to continue to be a bumpy ride because Barack Obama does not understand Israel, doesn't care to understand Israel, and most certainly does not understand the conflict in the Middle East. Obama, like most progressives, thinks that the Jews are mean and that if they would stop being mean then there would be peace between the vicious Israeli colonialist state and the peace loving indigenous population who want not nothing more on this earth than to tend their Sacred Palestinian Olive Groves and raise their children to be accountants and pastry chefs.

Unlike his two predecessors, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Obama isn’t in love with the idea of Israel.

I would say that this is a considerable understatement. President Obama, through his contempt for Prime Minister Netanyahu has demonstrated a distinct dislike for Israel and no amount of pandering to the American Jewish population before the coming election is going to change that. The truth of the matter is that Obama does not much like the Jewish state and I predict that if he gets reelected he will show that dislike, that contempt, in a much more open manner because he will have nothing to lose. It is then that we will really see the ways in which Obama has swallowed the fabled "Palestinian narrative" lock, stock, and barrel.

Intellectually he understands and supports the pro-Israeli trope – small democratic nation with dark past confronts huge existential threats – but it’s really a head thing.

Does he understand that, even intellectually? I tend to doubt it. From his behavior toward Israel it seems far more likely that he views Israel in much the same way that progressives in general view Israel, i.e., as a racist, imperialist, colonialist, apartheid state that needs to be pressured heavily in order to make it accept a Palestinian state in Gaza, and Judea and Samaria. Of course, just because Israel long ago agreed to such a state, and the Palestinians have never so agreed, does not faze the anti-Israel Obama one little bit.

He still seems hell-bent on pressuring Israel to accept what it already accepts and won't pressure the Palestinian-Arabs to accept what they have never accepted. Israel favors two states for two peoples and the Arabs do not, yet Obama thinks that the United States must pressure Israel. It's rather odd, actually. Or, perhaps, just simply ridiculous, but there it is.

It’s also a conflict that is vital to American interests. And those interests are being threatened by the divide between those who want a solution and are serious about moving toward one, and those who aren’t serious about finding a solution and throw out obstacles. After three years, the president has clearly placed the Israelis in the latter category and the Palestinians in the former.

Precisely. All evidence to the contrary, Obama blames the Jews of the Middle East for the ongoing conflict, despite the fact that it has been the Arabs, century upon century, that has persecuted its Jewish minority and now will not allow the Jews to live in peace and in sovereignty on Jewish land.

As for Bibi Netanyahu:

Obama doesn't like him, doesn’t trust him and views him as a con man. The Israeli prime minister has frustrated and embarrassed Obama and gotten in the way of the president’s wildly exaggerated hopes for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he’s been pursuing with more enthusiasm than viable strategy since his inauguration.

Quite right. Obama has an irrational disdain for the Israeli leader that matches his irrational disdain for the Jewish state. Furthermore, he has been pursuing an end to the conflict with far more enthusiasm than viable strategy. In fact, he has been pursuing an end to the conflict with no strategy whatsoever beyond trying to force Israel to accept what it has already accepted and through a racist policy of seeking to prevent a Jewish presence on ancient Jewish land.

To make matters worse, when the president went after a settlements freeze, Netanyahu called his bluff and Obama backed down – a terrible humiliation.

Is Obama humiliated? I tend to doubt that. He certainly should be humiliated because the demand that Jews should be allowed to live here, but not over there, is racist to the core. Any president of the United States should be thoroughly embarrassed if he honestly thinks that he has the right to tell an entire ethnicity where we may be allowed to live. Heck, I am embarrassed for him.

In the end, the Barack-Bibi relationship is likely headed south because the trust and capacity to give each other the benefit of the doubt has long ago evaporated.

The blame for this falls squarely on the shoulders of Barack Obama who, through his ingestion of the "Palestinian narrative" at the feet of Rashid Khalidi, believes that because Israel is almost entirely at fault for the conflict, only Israel can fix the situation, which is the exact opposite of the truth. This is also why Obama is entirely incapable of fixing the problem. He doesn't understand it, so how can he possibly fix it?

Without some common enterprise to bind them together and with a great many issues to drive them apart (settlements, the peace process), relations will get worse, taking their toll on the US-Israel relationship, Israel’s security, American interests and, for certain, any remaining hope for a two-state solution.

Yup.

And look for "progressives," including "progressive Zionists," to kick around the Israeli Prime Minister because of this, rather than understand that it is the American President, himself, who has entirely screwed up the potential for a negotiated settlement.

It is Obama who has failed, but they will give Netanyahu the blame.

Watch.

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Apartheid Poster Contest. Can we have some fun with this?

2012-01-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

The Hate cru, consisting of Badil, Code Pink, Palestine Solidarity Committee of South Africa, Friends of Sabeel North America, American Muslims for Palestine, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Committee, Artists Against Apartheid International Alliance, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), Students Against Israeli Apartheid (Canada), Queers Against Israeli Apartheid , Palestine freedom Project, Australians for Palestine. Palestinian Network for Children’s Rights, Pontifical Mission, the Papal Agency for Middle East Relief and Development, The Alternative Information Center, Birzeit University, Defense for Children International, Palestine Section, Alhaq Organization, Defending Human Rights In Palestine, NGO Development Center, Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid Faculty 4 Palestine
is sponsoring a poster contest.

The announcement follows:

“THIS IS APARTHEID” POSTER CONTEST

Art has always been an important part of liberation struggles. It can inspire and convey concepts beyond words. www.itisapartheid.org and its primary partner, Lajee Center, are sponsoring a competition for artists and graphic designers who are invited to submit posters on the theme of “Israeli Apartheid.” These posters should reflect the nature, realities, and/or consequences of apartheid policies in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Posters will be judged by a panel of distinguished activists and artists. The winning entries will be featured in an online poster gallery and disseminated widely on the internet and various other venues. Youth from refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank will participate in the contest.

Prizes

Expert Jury Prize made up of distinguished artists and activists: $400
Global Jury Prize from global internet voting: $400
Palestinian Prize (winner must be Palestinian): $3006
Honorable Mention prizes: $50 each
* As we raise more funds we will raise monetary amount of prizes.

Deadline for submission of all posters is June 1, 2012

Work must be original for this contest. Submissions should not exceed 2MB. If your work is selected, you will be asked to provide a high resolution (minimum 300 dpi), print-ready digital file to a maximum size of 38” x25”. All posters should include the phrase EndIsraeliApartheid.com in a prominent location.

Email submissions to info@itisapartheid.org

Can we take inspiration form our friend at Elder of Ziyon and submit some of our own entries?

Why Israel still needs Checkpoints

2012-01-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

From the Jerusalem Post

Border Police thwart major terror attack near Jenin

Border Police officers captured close to a dozen pipe bombs at the Salem Crossing near Jenin in the northern West Bank on Sunday, thwarting what appears to have been a major terrorist attack, possibly against a nearby military court.

Four Palestinians were arrested at the crossing and were found to be in possession of 11 pipe bombs, a homemade pistol and a commando knife. They were transferred to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) for interrogation.

The four were last in line to enter the Samaria Military Court when one of the soldiers stationed at the crossing, from the Military Police, spotted wires protruding from under his jacket.

The officers shut down the crossing and ordered the Palestinian to undress and discovered three pipe bombs. Another eight were discovered in his bag together with a homemade pistol, several bullets and a commando knife.

“I don’t remember such a large cache of bombs caught on one person,” Lt.-Col. Erez, commander of the Haruv Battalion said.

Three other Palestinians who were in line with the man carrying the weapons were also detained. The IDF suspects that the attack was planned against the Samaria Military Court, since the line the Palestinians were standing in only goes into the court and back out.

The thwarted attack came a week after the IDF captured a number of weapons in a home in Kfar Salem, near Nablus, including an M-16 and an Uzi and after the Shin Bet recorded an increase in the number of attacks in December in the West Bank.

PennBDS-Oy!

2012-01-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

PennBDS-Oy!
Our story so far:

The University of Pennsylvania is hosting a BDS conference. Well, 15 students out of 21,000 have formed a club, and they are hosting the conference. The University has already formally distanced itself from the event and issued a statement

"This is not an event sponsored by the University. The event is being sponsored by a registered student group, as is permitted of any student group on campus.

The University of Pennsylvania has clearly stated on numerous occasions that it does not support sanctions or boycotts against Israel. Indeed, Penn has important and successful scholarly collaborations with Israeli institutions that touch on many areas of our academic enterprise."

The Campus Hillel applauded President Gutmann's statement, declaring

"...we welcome the university’s statement distancing itself from the conference and affirming its strong rejection of boycott, divestment or sanction of Israel.
Penn Hillel is working assertively with the university to assure that the conference does not create a hostile or unsafe environment for the free exchange of ideas and for students to be openly pro-Israel.
Penn Hillel staff and student leaders are using this situation as an opportunity to educate students about Israel, inform them about the reality of the BDS campaign, and expand the coalition of Israel’s friends at Penn among both Jews and non-Jews."

The purpose of the conference? To "build momentum" . The conference seeks to beat the proverbial dead BDS horse, and to revive and energize a tactic that has been failing for over ten years.

Our friend Jon has set up a very special website PennBds-oy to address the UPenn agenda. Check out PennBDS-oy to learn more about:

PennBDS Back to the Basics in Palestine: Time for Unity, Synergy and Mobilization

PennBDS Successes, Challenges, and Options for 2012

PennBDS and the LGBT Community: Pinkwashing Apartheid

PennBDS: BDS Mind, Beginner’s Mind

PennBDS: BDS and Community

PennBDS – The Zionist Response

PennBDS – Hillel and Questions of JVP

And of course, the perennial favorite PennBDS: Hamsphire Conference Planning Transcript

New articles are added regularly

The BDS'ers regard this attention as a sign of their impending victory. Its all about the buzz after all. My prediction: When all is said and done ,the final press release/op eds and tweets will invariably state "UPenn students endorse divestment"

Go and Learn: Local Opportunities to learn about Israel, Zionism and the Middle east

2012-01-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

Professor Eli Pollak on A Zionist response to the delegitimization of Israel
Sunday, January 8 at 7:30PM @ CBI, 1630 Bancroft Way Berkeley

Professor Eli Pollak is Chairman of the Department of Chemical Physics at the Weizmann Institute. He is the founder and Chairman of Israel’s Media Watch and a member of the board of Professors for a Strong Israel. He has a weekly column (on Thursdays) in the Jerusalem Post, appears frequently in the Israeli media, is active in media related legislation, and has appeared frequently in the Knesseth as an expert on media related issues.

StandWithUs presents Dr. Mitchell Bard Discussing His Book The Arab Lobby
Monday, January 9 7:30 p.m.
San Francisco JCC, 3200 California Street San Francisco

Dr. Mitchell Bard, a scholar and foreign policy analyst, lectures frequently on U.S.-Middle East policy. Recently, he has appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, CBC, Al Jazeera and other local and national television and radio outlets. As a recognized authority on Mideast regional issues, Dr. Bard is the Executive Director of the nonprofit American- Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) and Director of the Jewish Virtual Library, the world’s most comprehensive online encyclopedia of Jewish history and culture. Dr. Bard’s book, The Arab Lobby, investigates the scope and activities of the Arab Lobby, exposing 70 years of coercion by Saudi Arabia and the impact on American education and policies—both domestic and foreign.
Dr. Bard will also be appearing January 8th at 9:30am at Kol Emeth in Palo Alto 4175 Manuela Avenue

Palo Alto, Start-Up Nation: Is the Party Over or Just Beginning?
When: Tuesday, January 10th, 6:30pm
Where: Fenwick & West, 801 California Ave., Mt. View
Cost: Members Free (join @ http://jhtc.org/memberships)
$15 Guests before 1/8/12; $25 @ Door
$10 Full-Time Students/Seniors (65+)

StartUp Nation is fast becoming Israel’s brand as its fame and success in creating startups spreads through the world of innovation. Yet is this success destined to be short-lived as Israel weathers the world’s economic crisis, faces increasing competition from other countries, a growing social protest movement and economic inequality internally, and political isolation potentially leading to boycotts and slowed economic growth. Jon Medved, a 30 year veteran of Israel’s Startup scene (both as a VC and entrepreneur ) will analyze this situation and tell you if the StartUp Nation party is about to abruptly end, or is it just gearing up for the next and bigger wave of accomplishments.

Jon Medved:
- Venture Capitalist
- Vringo CEO
- Founder and GP of Israel Seed Partners
- Israel’s unofficial Tech Business Ambassador

Co-sponsored by:
Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley
Congregation Shir Hadash

Israeli journalist Shmuel Rosner speaks at Congregation Beth Israel on Israel’s Political Landscape and Social Battles
Saturday, January 21, 2012, 6:30—8:30 p.m. @CBI, 1630 Bancroft Way Berkeley

Shmuel Rosner is Senior Political Editor for the Jewish Journal, columnist for Israel’s Maariv Daily and writer of the popular blog “Rosner’s Domain”. He is a frequent contributor to Slate Magazine and the Jewish Forward. His book Shetl, Bagel, Baseball, On the Wonderful Dreadful State of American Jews was published in Israel by Keter (Hebrew, 2011).
Sponsored by: Bridges to Israel-Berkeley, Congregation Beth Israel, East Bay Partnership for Israel, Jewish Community Relations Council, UC Berkeley Law Center for Jewish and Israel Studies and Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center of UC Berkeley.

Barack Obama is No Friend to the Jewish People or the Jewish State

2012-01-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

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{Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives}

It cannot be emphasized enough that the Obama administration is generally hostile to Israel and, perhaps more importantly, has acted in ways that have hurt that country by eliminating any possibility for a peaceful conclusion of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian-Arabs. As virtually everyone knows by this point, Obama destroyed the potential for a negotiated end of the conflict by placing the unreasonable precondition of "total settlement freeze" on the table, thereby driving Mahmoud Abbas up his tree, where he yet lingers.

That's the first thing that must be kept in mind when considering the various ways that Obama has been bad for Israel and thus bad for the Jewish people. Obama ruined any possibility for a negotiated settlement. This cannot be emphasized enough. Obama took whatever potential there might have been in negotiations and threw them into the garbage entirely. The only question is, why? What was he thinking? Or was he thinking, at all? It's hard to know what would motivate the president of the United States to destroy the potential for peace between Israel and the Palestinian-Arabs, but that he did so is not in doubt.

For this reason, if for no other, Jewish people and friends of Israel must prevent a second, potentially disastrous, Obama presidency. If Obama is this hostile and incompetent now, when he still needs Jewish support for winning a second term, how will he behave when he has nothing to lose?

Of course, ruining the "peace process" is only one reason why Jewish people and friends of Israel should vote against Barack Obama 11 months from now. Another reason to show Obama the door is because his demands that Jews not be allowed to live, and thus build housing for themselves in Judea and Samaria, is a policy that justifies Arab racism against Jews. Mahmoud Abbas has demanded that any future state of Palestine must be Judenrein and Barack Obama apparently agrees. Why else would he insist that Jews should not be allowed to build housing for themselves on what is traditionally Jewish land?

Although it is rather difficult for me to believe that Obama is a racist, his policy on Jewish settlement building is, in fact, racist against the Jewish people. Can you imagine if any high ranking government official suggested that in the United States Italians should be allowed to live east of the Mississippi River, but not west of the river? Any such statement would be met with slack-jawed amazement, if not complete and utter outrage, yet this is essentially what Barack Obama is telling the Jews of the Middle East. They may only be allowed to live where he decides. It's difficult to imagine, but we need not imagine it because it is now part of the historical record. Obama literally thinks that he has the right to tell Jewish people where we may be allowed to live.

Also, of course, it was Barack Obama who told the world that the Radical Jihadi uprisings throughout the Middle East were something akin to the American Revolution and / or the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s, as if Martin Luther King were a genocidal Jihadi Jew Hater. In this way, Barack Obama literally supports a movement that has genocidal intention toward the Jewish people. This is not hyperbole, but quite literally the case. As the Muslim Brotherhood and their fascist affiliates throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds rise to power, they are doing so with the blessings of the President of the United States. It's so outlandish that people have a hard time wrapping their brains around this fact. It just seems so unlikely. Why would the President of the United States support genocidal Islamist intentions toward Jews? Chances are that was not his intention, but if it was not his intention, just why did he do it?

In any case, I have gone over this ground many times in the past and will probably continue to do so in the future because, much to my astonishment, these facts are being whitewashed by Obama supporters. Those of us who care about the Jewish people, and thus the Jewish state, must do whatever we can do to remind Jewish people, and friends, just how rotten the Obama administration has been for Israel and, therefore, how rotten he has been for the Jewish people.

We need to bang this drum as often and as loudly as possible because if Obama gets a second term the potential consequences are absolutely horrendous. We will see Iran go nuclear and the Middle East ruled by the Radical Jihad.

Barack Obama may be comfortable with such an outcome, but we cannot afford to be.

.

Beit Shemesh and Israel Advocacy: Some Thoughts

2012-01-01T19:46:00.003-08:00

Like the rest of the Judeoblogosphere, I have been fixated for days on the situation in Beit Shemesh, where Israelis from all religious and political backgrounds are finally saying 'enough is enough' to the increasingly aggressive and violent Sikrikim gang, and other anti-Zionist, religiously fanatical groups in the Jerusalem area.

After months of increasing violence and petty harassment, largely against women, and other members of the haredi community, and struggle over gender segregation on the buses going through Mea Shearim and nearby areas, the Sikrikim upped their game by harassing little girls at the local Orthodox Orot Banot school in Beit Shemesh. The parents of one of these girls, Naama Margolese, age eight, who was spit on and called a prostitute, went to the media. And Israel responded.

Naama Margolese, with her mother, Hadassah

The last several days have been filled with demonstrations against the violence and intimidation of the extremist groups, along with voices speaking out against them from every corner of society.

Netanyahu declared: “Israel is a Western liberal democracy, and as such its public space is open and safe for all, men and women. There is no place in [Israel] for discrimination. The police will continue to arrest all those who spit, raise their hands, and harass.”

Chief Military Rabbi, Brigadier-General Rafi Peretz said: “The spirit of Jewish law does not allow discrimination or violation of women in any circumstance and on any grounds.”

Left and right, religious and secular, Israelis have found common ground, as have Jews across the Diaspora. The photographs coming out of Beit Shemesh have been inspiring:

The center sign quotes from 'Hatikva'--
Lihiot am chofshi. To be a free people.

Prominent Israelis spoke out. Netanyahu opened the Knesset, declaring: “Israel is a Western liberal democracy, and as such its public space is open and safe for all, men and women. There is no place in [Israel] for discrimination. The police will continue to arrest all those who spit, raise their hands, and harass.”

Chief Military Rabbi Brigadier-General Rafi Peretz said: “The spirit of Jewish law does not allow discrimination or violation of women in any circumstance and on any grounds.”

Yelling in the streets for justice.

This gentleman's sign makes me terribly happy.

I immediately became a member of Occupy Bet Shemesh on Facebook, friended the Orot Banot school, and began to send off letters and signing petitions, as is my custom when something in Israel or elsewhere has me riled up.

Other Diaspora bloggers were doing likewise. Vicious Babushka wrote an amazing blog post, from the perspective of a Chabad grandmother of 29, many of whom live in Israel, and appeared on a radio panel.

A young man in payos, and a young woman with her hair uncovered,
stand together, with gentle, thoughtful faces.

Seeing the unifying activist theory rising these past couple of weeks has been a remarkable and heartening experience. At the same time, I could see that people were nervous about the degree to which dirty laundry was being aired, in a world in which even the most positive story coming out of Israel can be quickly appropriated for Israel-bashing purposes. (See, 'pinkwashing'.) "How can Gentiles understand this?" one friend asked me. "I don't understand it myself." And sure enough, I saw people approaching the story understanding only that the 'ultra-Orthodox', a dimly envisioned group who are imagined to be universally fanatical, anti-Arab, anti-woman, and disproportionately politically powerful, were up to something. "How can Israel criticize religious fanaticism anywhere else in the Middle East," the line generally ran, "when they have this happening and home, and the government does nothing to stop it?"

That, of course, is the mistaken part. Actually, two mistaken parts--first, the idea that Israel goes around complaining about other people's religious fanatics, except when those fanatics are directly talking about wiping Israel off the map, (they don't), and secondly, that the government is doing nothing about it, or is somehow supporting these crazies by not doing what, say, many other governments in the Middle East would do if offended by an anti-government group like this, and arresting anyone connected to their movement, torturing them, and keeping them in lockup without charging them. My first instinct, regardless, was to compartmentalize--to speak out about Beit Shemesh, but not to connect it to my Israel advocacy, for fear of making 'a shanda for the haters'.

Ronn Torossian at Algemeiner explores the various ways in which the international media has gotten the wrong end of the stick on this story, in what I consider a very good article. Meanwhile, I'm thinking about a variety of conversations I've had with anti-Israel activists, in which I've told them, bluntly and repeatedly that in contradiction of their assumptions, I do not think that Israel is a perfect fairy-tale land, and that not only am I aware of problems within the society and the government, but I speak out against them, and am an activist against them as much as I am an activist against those who would destroy Israel from without. So I have determined to be as open about my joy at the demonstrations in Beit Shemesh as I am about any other positive event in Israel, as clear about my opposition to religious extremists terrorizing their neighbors, religious and otherwise, as I am about my opposition to the Israel-haters of the world.

The stickers on this boy's face read "Beit Shemesh is a Zionist city".
He is protesting against the religious extremists, who are anti-Zionist.

Denying the validity of a Jewish state.

One point I think we need to make, clearly and loudly, is that while people who are unfamiliar with Israel, and have been ably misinformed by Israel-haters, may think of Toldot Aharon and the Sikrikim as the 'ultra-orthodox' they associate loosely with the settler movement, these people are actually, among other things, rabid anti-Zionists, loosely connected to the Neturai Karta movement, and staunchly opposed to the idea of a secular, democratic, self-determining Jewish state. They are, in fact, the allies of the anti-Israel activists of the West, and closely resemble them in their histrionic sense of theater, willingness to traumatize innocent children, and general ugly behavior.

Secondly, while it may be reasonable to think that something could have been done to rope in the extreme behavior of this fringe group, as I said above, had they tried something similar to this in Egypt under Mubarak they might simply all have vanished off the street one day, and in other places in the world, their spiritual brethren are running the whole show. Israel, a democracy with rule of law, faces a more complicated challenge, similar, perhaps to the one that the American legal system has faced in dealing with groups such as the FLDS. There is a fine line between allowing people to worship and live as they like, and hold their own political beliefs, and preventing them from harming people both in and out of their group, and Israel, like every other democracy worldwide, has to walk this line.

Looking at events unfolding in Beit Shemesh I am proud of us. I am proud of the Israelis and the Diaspora bloggers, I am proud of the people Hadassah Margolese referred to repeatedly in her speech to one of the demonstrations as 'the chareidi, the chiloni and the dati leumi' members of the Beit Shemesh community. I am proud of the Zionists. This is not dirty laundry, this is washing day, and for me it is another reminder of what I love about Israel and the Jewish people worldwide.

How Do You Say "Jewfication" in Turkish?

2012-01-01T18:05:00.001-08:00

From Roi Kais at YNet News:

Hamas prime minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday received a warm welcome from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during an official meeting in Istanbul.

Palestinian media outlets reported that Haniyeh and Erdogan met in the prime minister's residence along with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and other officials.

Palestinian sources said the meeting lasted two hours, during which the leaders agreed that a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be reached without involving Hamas in the negotiations.

For some reason, I am not surprised that they came to this conclusion.

According to reports, Haniyeh and Erdogan discussed the "The 'Jewfication' of Jerusalem, and the cruel attacks against its Arab residents."

Erdogan, who expressed support for reconciliationefforts between Hamas and Fatah, spoke about "the necessary steps to preserve the holy sites for Muslims and Christians," and expressed hope that the Palestinians will have "an umbrella organization that will offer significant and democratic representation to all political groups."

Three guesses. Who's missing?

During the meeting, the two also discussed the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, and the May2010 IDF raid on the flotilla that aimed to break it.

Haniyeh thanked Erdogan for his firm stance on the Palestinian issue, praising him for demonstrating "solidarity with the residents of the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead."

The Hamas prime minister departed on his first official visit outside of Gaza since 2007 last week. He left the Strip through Rafah Crossing and is expected to also visit Egypt, Sudan, Qatar, Tunisia and Bahrain.

I hate to tell them this, but the "Jewfication of Jerusalem" started some three thousand years ago, and shows no signs of letting up any time soon.

White Phosphorus shells fired at Israel.

2012-01-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

For the fourth time, shells containing white phosphorus have been fired at Israeli civilians from Gaza.

From YNET

"The two mortar shells fired Sunday morning from the Gaza Strip at the Eshkol Regional Council contained while phosphorous, an examination revealed. The shells landed in an open field and caused no injuries or damage.

The Negev District Police bomb squad unit examined the shells and determined that they contained the substance, which is banned by international law for use inside dense population concentrations. Those exposed to white phosphorous might suffer from severe burns and other injuries....

Eshkol Regional Council Head Haim Yalin said in response: "This is the fourth time they fire mortar shells containing white phosphorous. We will complain to the United Nations, as we have done in the past, after we receive all the details."

Will the UN condemn this as a war crime? Will Amnesty International or human rights Watch even notice? Sadly, the answer will likely be "No".

The attack follows an Israeli air strike on Palestinian terrorists attempting to fire rockets into Israel on Friday. Muaman Abu Daf, commander of the al-Qaida-affiliated 'Army of Islam was killed in the air strike

Earlier last week, terrorists fired five Kassam rockets into Israel. Rocket strikes from Gaza have triples in 2011. According to The Israel Project’s count, terrorist fired 653 rockets and mortars at Israel this year as of December 29, compared with 238 in 2010.

Palestinian Intolerance and Racism

2012-01-01T10:38:00.000-08:00

from the J Post

"The Palestinian Authority banned a well-know Israeli Druse singer from appearing at a New Year’s Eve party in Ramallah.

The decision to ban Mike Sharif, known as “The Druse Boy,” was taken following strong protests and threats by many Palestinians who oppose “normalization” with Israelis.

Sharif was raised in a village in the North and is one of the popular singers not only among Israeli Arabs but throughout the Arab world. He started his career as a singer at the age of seven.

The Palestinians were angered by the fact that Sharif was presented as an Israeli and that some of his songs were in Hebrew. Some said it was unacceptable that Israelis songs would be sung in Ramallah on the third anniversary of Operation Cast Lead. Others said they didn’t like the fact that a member of the Druse community, whose sons serve in the IDF, would appear at a party in Ramallah.

PA policemen raided the hall where the party was supposed to take place and ordered the owners to cancel Sharif’s appearance, eyewitnesses said.

The organizers of the event were forced to replace the Druse singer with another performer.

Meanwhile, Hamas reiterated that it remained committed to all forms of resistance against Israel, including armed struggle."

So, how's that democratic secular state working out for you Palestinians?

The Virtues of Tel Aviv

2012-01-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

Our latest contributor, Mike from the Israel Thrives blog is visiting Israel for the first time. He writes "Tel Aviv is a terrific city, but Godawful ugly". Clearly Mike has not developed an appreciation for Bauhaus architecture- a celebration of function over form. In 2003 Tel Aviv was declared a World Cultural Heritage site, by UNESCO in recognition of the 4,000 Bauhaus buildings in the city. Bauhaus, from the German word meaning "Godawful ugly" architects reject "bourgeois" decorative details by using principles of classical architecture in their most pure form: without ornamentation of any kind.

This is likely not the appropriate forum to debate the virtues of Bauhaus architecture, but indeed, Tel Aviv is a terrific city, and has just been acknowledged by the Canadian Globe and Mail as one of the world's most creative cities

Steve Brearton writes:

The entire population of Israel may only number seven million—smaller than New York City—but this Middle Eastern state spends more of its GDP on research and development than any other nation. And it shows. In April, 2011, Israeli software start-ups PicApp and PicScout sold for a combined $30 million (all currency in U.S. dollars) to Indian and American buyers, respectively. A month later, cellular company Provigent was snapped up by U.S. chip maker Broadcom for $313 million, while Google paid $70 million for app developer Snaptu. In September, eBay bought e-commerce site The Gifts Project for a reported $20 million. All are start-ups. All have offices in or near Tel Aviv. In the first three quarters of 2011 alone, 422 Israeli start-ups raised $1.57 billion in venture capital, and an estimated 250 multinationals maintain R&D operations there. What makes Silicon Wadi—as the coastal region between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is known—so special? Some say that a service requirement in the country’s famously high-tech military has given many young Israelis a technological sophistication that bolsters creativity and inventiveness. What we do know is that while Tel Aviv is small, it’s one giant innovation engine.

Israel. Its full of surprises.

Talking About Dual Messages

2012-01-01T00:32:00.000-08:00

What we've been saying for years--that the difference between what Palestinian leaders say in English and what they say in Arabic represents a real and chilling issue for any kind of effective moves toward peace--is now the subject of a New York Times article, Finding Fault in the Palestinian Messages That Aren’t So Public.

JERUSALEM — A new book by an Israeli watchdog group catalogs dozens of examples of messages broadcast by the Palestinian Authority for its domestic audience that would seem at odds with the pursuit of peace and a two-state solution.
Instead, the authors say, their findings show a pattern of non-recognition of Israel’s right to exist, demonization of Israel and promotion of violence.

Of course, this is nothing new. For years, many Israeli and Palestinian analysts have said that what Palestinian leaders tell their own people in their own language — as opposed to English-language statements tailored to opinion in the rest of the world — is the truest reflection of their actual beliefs. This has had the effect of further entrenching the sides to the conflict and undermining confidence that it can ever be resolved.

“There is no doubt in my mind that in the mainstream of the Palestinian national movement, Israel is not considered legitimate,” said Shlomo Avineri, an Israeli professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reflecting a widespread sense of disillusionment. “This is the inner truth of the Palestinians,” he said. “They really mean it. It is not what they say on CNN, but it is what they teach their children.”

This is in some ways a very positive article, but there is enough poison slipped in that I feel the need to point some of it out. The next paragraph goes on:

But for many, the subject of incitement and media monitoring has become as contentious as some of the messages, especially since these pronouncements are often used to score propaganda points.

Well, yes, when people are talking peace out of one side of their mouth, and endless war out of the other, it does make an oddly good propaganda point.

I'm also bothered by some of the counterexamples of Israeli bad faith that are provided, particularly the comment about the education minister planning to take schoolchildren to Hebron on field trips. Given Hebron's enormous historical significance to Jews, this does not strike me as an action which should be taken as threatening to the Palestinian position. Another example given is of the arrests made over the endorsements of The King's Torah, something that should in fact be a point in favor of Israel's promotion of peace. Set against the large, public, and officially sanctioned gestures of respect toward terrorists such as Dalal Mughrabi, whose face graces the banner in the photograph accompanying the article, this seems like desperate reaching for equivalency straws.

And, of course, this raised my hackles: Mr. Marcus, who set up Palestinian Media Watch in 1996, says that he wants to foster genuine reconciliation. His critics, however, note that he is a settler who lives in the Gush Etzion bloc south of Jerusalem, a contested area of the West Bank that Israel intends to keep under any agreement with the Palestinians.

Note the logic here. (Actually, first note the anonymity of the critics, and the neutral use of the word 'note'. Itamar Marcus declares that he wants reconciliation and peace. Set again this is the criticism that he is living on disputed territory. Clearly, the 'critics' who 'note' this believe that any Israeli (although no Palestinian) who claims to want peace must prove it by living in undisputed territory. Ironic, given that the whole point of Mr. Marcus' work is to point out that, according what Palestinian leaders say in Arabic, all of Israel is 'disputed'.

Ancient Jewish Scrolls discovered in Afghanistan cave

2011-12-31T14:51:00.000-08:00

Ancient Jewish scrolls were discovered in a cave in Afghanistan’s Samangan province. This region is on the Silk Road, a trade route that connected Eastern Asia with the Middle East and Europe. The scrolls were part of a geniza, and may be up to 1,000 years old. A geniza, Hebrew for "hiding place," is a depository for sacred Hebrew books that are no longer usable. These depositories are often found in the attics and basements of synagogue.

from the Jpost:

Haggai Ben-Shammai, Professor Emeritus of Arabic Language and Literature at Hebrew University was quoted as saying. “In all, in my opinion, there are about 150 fragments. It may be the tip of the iceberg.”

One scroll, whose replica was shown to the cameras, is apparently a dirge written for an important person whose identity has not been determined.

“Where has he gone?” read the text. ”His family members are now alone.”

Besides the song of mourning other texts said to be found include an unknown history of the ancient kingdom of Judea, passages from the book of Isaiah and some of the works of Rabbi Saadia Gaon, a medieval sage.

This discovery may rival in significance, the discovery of the Cairo Geniza in 1896. The Cairo Geniza was located in the Ezra Synagogue built in 882 in Fostat

Cast Lead had the lowest ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in any asymmetric conflict in the history of warfare.

2011-12-31T10:27:00.000-08:00

Very Important information from New Statesman

From an article by Jonathan Sacerdoti

Cast Lead- the Israeli incursion into Gaza following thousands of rocket attacks directed towards Israel's civilian population had the lowest ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in any asymmetric conflict in the history of warfare

"In 2006, following the Israeli disengagement and pullout from the Gaza Strip, there was an increase of 436 per cent in the number of Palestinian rockets launched towards Israel from that very territory. For some time, Israel resisted a large-scale military response to such acts deliberately aimed at civilians. As a result, the attacks got worse, and every country, including Israel, has the moral responsibility to defend its people from such actions.

Increased Palestinian terror attacks from Gaza were the cause of Operation Cast Lead. Yet Israel's is a conscript army. Indeed Israel goes to extraordinary lengths to protect its young soldiers (witness the efforts make to secure the release of the kidnap victim Gilad Shalit), and does not send them to war easily.

In the three years since the operation, there has been an unprecedented 72 per cent decline in the number of rockets launched from Hamas-controlled Gaza. No surprise, then, that Israel's Defence Forces Chief of Staff should call the operation "an excellent operation that achieved deterrence for Israel vis-a-vis Hamas". (However, that deterrence is still not enough to have prevented Palestinians from launching 1,571 rockets since the operation, including one attack with an anti-tank missile on a clearly identifiable Israeli school bus.)

Just as Israel's erection of a security fence to prevent homicide bombers from infiltrating Jerusalem saw a bigger than 90 per cent reduction in such attacks, Operation Cast Lead was undeniably effective in reducing terror attacks from the Gaza strip. The numbers speak for themselves.

Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British troops in Afghanistan, has repeatedly commented that, "during its operation in Gaza, the Israeli Defence Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare." Furthermore, he points out that the steps taken in that conflict by the Israeli Defence Forces to avoid civilian deaths are shown by a study published by the United Nations to have resulted in, by far, the lowest ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in any asymmetric conflict in the history of warfare.

Kemp explains that by UN estimates, the average ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in such conflicts worldwide is 3:1 -- three civilians for every combatant killed. That is the estimated ratio in Afghanistan. But in Iraq, and in Kosovo, it was worse: the ratio is believed to have been 4:1. Anecdotal evidence suggests the ratios were very much higher in Chechnya and Serbia. In Gaza, it was less than one-to-one."

This policy of minimizing civilian casualties has continued, in the 3 years following Cast Lead.

Sacerdoti continues:

"Since the 22-day Gaza operation, Israel has also been demonstrably fastidious in its efforts to protect civilian lives while targeting combatants. The Israel correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly sites Israel's record this year, saying "the IDF killed 100 Gazans in 2011. Nine were civilians. That is a civilian-combatant ratio of nearly 1:10."

On Poetic truths and Narratives: The Narrative of Perpetual Palestinian Victimhood

2011-12-30T10:43:00.000-08:00

"The idea among Palestinians that they are victims means more to them than anything else. It is everything. It is the centerpiece of their very identity and it is the way they define themselves as human beings in the world. It is not an idle thing."

From an article by Shelby Steele, excerpted from a speech delivered September 22, 2011 in New York City at the conference "The Perils of Global Intolerance: The UN and Durban III," sponsored by the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and the Hudson Institute.

Read it here:

The following is The Arab-Israeli conflict, is not really a conflict, it is a war – a war of the Arabs against the Jews. In many ways, this conflict has been a conflict between narratives. We who strongly support Israel have done a poor job in formulating a narrative which will combat the story spun by the other side. We can do better.

The Durban conferences, the request for UN recognition of a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood, and the general animus in the Middle East and elsewhere toward Israel and toward the Jews, what are they really about? Is the Durban conference and the claim that Israel is a racist nation really about reforming the people of Israel and curing them of their racism?

I think their real interest is to situate the Palestinian people within a narrative of victimization. This is their ulterior goal: to see themselves and to have others see them as victims of colonialism, as victims of white supremacy.

Listen to their language; it is the language of colonial oppression. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas claims that Palestinians have been occupied for 63 years. The word oppressed is constant, exploited. In this, there is a poetic truth; like poetic license, in a poetic truth a writer will bend the rules in order to be more effective.

I will give you one example of a poetic truth that comes from my group, black Americans. We make the following claims: America is a deeply, intractably racist society. It may not be as conspicuous today as it was before. Nevertheless, it is still there today structurally and systemically, and it still holds us back and keeps us from achieving the American dream.

To contradict this claim, one can come forward with evidence to suggest that racism in America today is about 25th on the list of problems facing black Americans. One can recount one of the great untold stories of America, namely, the moral growth and evolution away from that problem. This is not to say that racism is completely extinguished, but that it no longer prevents the forward progress of any black in the United States. There is no evidence to suggest that it does. Yet, this claim is still the centerpiece of black American identity – this idea that we are victimized by a fundamentally, incurably racist society.

Poetic truths like that are marvelous because no facts and no reason can ever penetrate. Supporters of Israel are up against a poetic truth. We keep hitting it with all the facts. We keep hitting it with obvious logic and reason. And we are so obvious and conspicuously right that we assume it is going to have an impact and it never does.

Why not? These narratives, these poetic truths, are the source of their power. Focusing on the case of the Palestinians, who would they be if they were not victims of white supremacy? They would just be poor people in the Middle East. They would be backwards. They would be behind Israel in every way. So this narrative is the source of their power. It is the source of their money. Money comes from around the world. It is the source of their self-esteem. Without it, would they be able to compete with Israeli society....?

The question is, how do they get away with a poetic truth, based on such an obvious series of falsehoods? One reason why they get away with it in the Middle East is that the Western world lacks the moral authority to call them on it. The Western world has not said "your real problem is inferiority. Your real problem is underdevelopment." That has not been said, nor will ever be said – because the Western world was once colonial, was once racist, did practice white supremacy, and is so ashamed of itself and so vulnerable to those charges, that they are not going to say a word. They are not going to say what they really think and feel about what is so obvious about the circumstances among the Palestinians. So the poetic truth that Palestinians live by carries on.

International media also do not feel that they have the moral authority to report what they see. On the contrary, they feed this poetic truth and give it a kind of gravitas that it would never otherwise have.

Consequently, we need to develop a narrative that is not poetic, but literal and that is based on the truth. What would such a narrative look like?

It would begin with the presumption that the problem in the Middle East is not white supremacy but the end of white supremacy. After World War II, the empires began to contract, Britain went home, France went home, and the Arab world was left almost abandoned, and in a state of much greater freedom than they had ever known before.

Freedom is, however, a dicey thing to experience. When you come into freedom, you see yourself more accurately in the world. This is not unique to the Middle East. It was also the black American experience, when the Civil Rights bill was passed in 1964 and we came into much greater freedom. If you were a janitor in 1963 and you are still a janitor in 1965, you have all these freedoms and they are supported by the rule of law, then your actual experience of freedom is one of humiliation and one of shame. You see how far you have to go, how far behind you are, how little social capital you have with which to struggle forward. Even in freedom you see you are likely to be behind for a long time. In light of your inability to compete and your underdevelopment, freedom becomes something that you are very likely going to hate – because it carries this humiliation.

At that point formerly oppressed groups develop what I call bad faith. Bad faith is when you come into freedom, you are humiliated and you say, "Well you know the real truth is I am not free. Racism still exists. Zionism is my problem. The State of Israel is my problem. That is why I am so far behind and that is why I cannot get ahead."

You develop a culture grounded in bad faith where you insist that you are less free than you really are. Islamic extremism is the stunning example of this phenomenon. "I have to go on jihad because I am fighting for my freedom." Well you already have your freedom. You could stay home and study. You could do something constructive. But "No, I cannot do that because that makes me feel bad about myself." So I live in a world of extremism and dictators.

This is not unique to the Middle East. In black America we had exactly the same thing. After we got the civil rights bill and this greater degree of freedom, then all of a sudden we hear the words "black power." Then all of a sudden we have the Black Panthers. Then we have this militancy, this picking up of the gun because we feel bad about ourselves. We feel uncompetitive and this becomes our compensation. It is a common pattern among groups that felt abandoned when they became free.

This is the real story of the Palestinians and of the Middle East. They will never be reached by reason until they are somehow able to get beyond bad faith, to get beyond this sort of poetic truth that they are the perennial victims of an aggressive and racist Israeli nation.

Challenging their narrative with this explanation will enable us to be more effective. Until now, we have constantly used facts and reason and have not progressed....

The irony and the tragedy of all this is that it keeps these groups in a bubble where they never encounter or deal with the truth. This becomes a second oppression for all these groups. They have been oppressed once, now they are free and yet they create a poetic truth that then oppresses them all over again.

Read it all:

Bulldozing Jewish History

2011-12-29T21:49:00.001-08:00

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Cross-posted at Israel Thrives

Our friend Giulio Meotti has some words:

Threatened by Arab countries, Israeli authorities just closed the Mughabri Bridge, preventing Jews and Christians from entering Temple Mount. Historically it should be noted that only under Israeli rule was the site open for everyone, Muslims, Christians and Jews. The Waqf is now attempting to deliberately destroy all archaeological evidence of Jewish claims to this site, while using terror and intimidation to impose its exclusive claim to Temple Mount.

The Waqf has removed every sign of ancient Jewish presence at the site. At the entrance, a Waqf sign says “The Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard and everything in it is Islamic property.” Today Jews are barred from praying on the Mount and are not even allowed to carry any holy articles with them. With Muslim observers supervising visits, Israeli police have frequently arrested Jews for various violations, such as singing or reciting a prayer even in a whisper.

This week, a Jewish woman was arrested following claims by police and Waqf officials that they noticed she was praying on Temple Mount. Why is it a crime for a Jew to mention God’s name on Temple Mount? And why is the State of Israel complicit in enforcing this anti-Semitic rule?

European autocrats and the global media are also trying to downplay the Jewish connection to the site. Jewish archeologist Gabi Barkai stated that “it’s a lie more terrible than the denial of the Holocaust, yet connected to it.” UN and EU funded textbooks in the Palestinian areas all repeat the canard denying any Jewish legitimacy in the “Noble Sanctuary.”

The World Council of Churches, the largest umbrella for the Protestant Churches, in its “Promised Land” conference in Switzerland denied any Jewish connection with the Mount. Recently, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican’s Council for Interreligious Dialogue, just asked to place some Israeli holy places around Temple Mount under Vatican or international authority...

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama’s plan also designates the Old City as an “international zone.”

Is commentary even necessary?

Today we're off to Haifa.

.

Richard Silverstein exposed by Israellycool's Aussie Dave

2011-12-29T17:30:00.000-08:00

Someone, buy this man a beer for me.

Israellycool's Aussie Dave lay a trap for Blogger Richard Silverstein, in an effort to expose him as the shoddy and unscrupulous person that he is. And Silverstein fell for it, big time.

From Israellycool:

"For years, I have been posting about his hatred for Israel and nastiness, which makes a mockery of his blog’s name Tikkun Olam (“Repairing/Healing the World”). Recently, he was cited by the mainstream media, due to his posts blaming Israel and the Mossad for explosions in Iran and Lebanon, as well as for leaking online some FBI surveillance transcripts of conversations caught on F.B.I. wiretaps of the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Although I have demonstrated on numerous occasions the inaccuracies in his posts, I knew I had to step things up a notch to really show how unreliable and careless with the facts he is.

So I set a trap."

Did he ever.

In one fell swoop, Dave exposed the truth about Richard Silverstein:

From Dave:
So to summarize what we have here:

Despite claiming to want to “repair the world”, Silverstein reveals what he thinks is my name and address, potentially placing my safety and the safety of my family at risk
Silverstein posts this on the basis of an anonymous source he knows nothing about, and a Facebook Profile with my URL and one friend!
Silverstein does not recognize the photo of someone heavily in the news in Israel, despite his claims about being knowledgable about goings on there
Silverstein invents facts based on nothing more than speculation, despite being presented with a more realistic alternative interpretation
Silverstein lies about me publishing his personal details

But please, read the whole sordid tale at Israellycool

****

Oh, Yitz. I really did read your blog post on the mitzvah of the rebuke.

"It is called tokhachah (תוכחה) and comes from the Torah in Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:17 as both an expression of mutual concern and responsibility. The mitzvah calls upon every Jew to assist one another with constructive criticism based on love. Specifically, it states:

לא-תִשְׂנָא אֶת-אָחִיךָ, בִּלְבָבֶךָ; הוֹכֵחַ תּוֹכִיחַ אֶת-עֲמִיתֶךָ, וְלא-תִשָּׂא עָלָיו חֵטְא
Hate not your brother (sister) in your heart; you shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin (because of him/her)."

I understand, and it really is a virtue to aspire to. Yet I can't help but think that an exception should be made for the likes of Richard Silverstein.

US: $500 Million in aid for the Palestinians in 2012

2011-12-29T13:20:00.000-08:00

From the AP Newswire:

Members of Congress have made available $40 million in economic and humanitarian funding for the Palestinians, the State Department said Wednesday. The money is administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development and "has been vital to establishing and strengthening the foundations necessary for a future Palestinian state," the department said. It amounts to 20 percent of $187 million in U.S. assistance to the Palestinians that had been frozen over the Palestinian bid for U.N. membership.

The Obama administration had been urging lawmakers, with Israel's backing, to release the money as it contributes to Palestinian stability and Israeli security. "It is in the interest of the Palestinians, Israel and the United States, to ensure these efforts continue," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. "They help to build a more democratic, stable, and secure region."

The administration is pressing Congress to release the remaining $147 million that comes from the last budget cycle in which aid to the Palestinians was to total 545.7 million. New funding for the Palestinians will be subject to additional scrutiny and can be blocked if they win full admission to the United Nations before a peace deal with Israel is agreed.

The administration has asked Congress for $513.4 million in aid for the Palestinians in fiscal year 2012.

New Flotillas promised

2011-12-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

In spite of the lowest unemployment rate in a decade , and in spite of economic growth of 31 %, new flotillas are being planned for Gaza.

This time they aren't even pretending its about delivering aid, though.

Italian anti-Israel activist Germano Monti of "Freedom Flotilla - Italy," announced to Palestine Today the intention of resuming flotillas in an attempt to puncture the UN sanctioned maritime blockade of Gaza . Different ships will sail from different ports at irregular intervals, in an effort to stymie Israeli security precautions.

The planned launch, said Monti will include ten groups of passengers and cargo ships. The final plan will be developed in the meeting of the International Coalition for the Freedom Flotilla, which will soon be held in Stockholm, Sweden. The flotillas will be coordinated with other assaults on Israel's borders- including another Flytilla scheduled for the spring, and the Global March on Jerusalem

No, its not about humanitarian aid. It never was.

Gaza’s economy in the second quarter of 2011

*Gaza’s construction sector grew by 4,500 workers
*The GDP in Gaza reached 426 million dollars, an increase of 30.7% compared to the same time period the previous year

The latest developments in Gaza
*In the first nine months of 2011, 4,497 truckloads (on average) entered Gaza on a monthly basis; an increase of 96% compared to last year
*Gaza residents were permitted to export textiles, furniture and agricultural goods
*Approved permits for upgrading six hospitals and constructing seven new clinicals
*Approval of plans to rehabilitate and build 57 new schools and kindergartens
*One-hundred Gaza business men cross daily into Israel, as well as participants in conventions and conferences held outside of Gaza
*Thousands of Palestinians cross the border to receive Israeli medical care

And in spite of this, rockets and mortars continue to rain down on Israeli civilians. Over one million Israeli civilians remain at risk. According to The Israel Project’s count, terrorists fired 653 rockets at Israel this year as of December 29, compared with 238 in 2010.

Act locally. Think Globally. Third Anniversary of Operation Cast Lead

2011-12-28T20:52:00.000-08:00

This week marks the third anniversary of Operation Cast Lead. In response to rocket fire directed at her civilian areas, the Israeli air force began wide-scale attacks against Hamas targets. Hamas headquarters, smuggling tunnels, rocket factories were destroyed. Over 700 Hamas fighters were killed. The ojectives of Cast Lead were:

* To stop the bombardment of Israeli civilians by destroying Hamas' mortar and rocket launching apparatus and infrastructure.

* To reduce the ability of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza to perpetrate future attacks against the civilian population in Israel.

All throughout Operation Cast Lead, humanitarian aid continued flowing to Gaza, from Israel.

In the San Francisco Bay area, the weeks were marked by protests, organized by the usual groups. This clip, originally broadcast on the KTVU website, shows an enraged crowd of hundreds of Palestinian "peace" activists attempting to crash through police barricades to attack a handful of pro-Israel activists. Yes, this near lynching took place in America.

This edited version appeared on the Zombietime website

Arab Spring Drying up. Muslim Brotherhood "We'll ban alcohol"

2011-12-28T16:45:00.000-08:00

"Democracy" in Egypt is looking a bit dry.

From the Egypt Independent

“We'll prohibit alcohol,” said Sobhi Saleh, a leading figure of the Muslim Brotherhood at a Tuesday rally in New Valley, an area west of Cairo.

“Tourism does not mean nudity and drunkenness,” he added. “We Egyptians are the greatest religious people, and we don’t need that.”

Saleh also said the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party will apply Islamic Sharia law. “It was planned since 1928,” he said. “But Islam is the solution.”

He accused Mubarak regime remnants of inciting violence on Mohamed Mahmoud Street and in front of the cabinet building.

His colleague, Khaled Ouda, said they want to damage the economy. “They want the people to blame us when we find no money to pay wages when we come to power,” he claimed.

Libyan Commando Mahdi al-Haratia : a Mavi Marmara "peace activist" ?

2011-12-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

According to the Spanish daily ABC, Mahdi al-Haratia, a Libyan rebel commander who played a key role in overthrowing the rule of Muammar Qaddafi participated in the May 2010 Gaza flotilla aboard the Turkish-owned vessel the Mavi Marmara. "Peace activists" aboard the Mavi Maramara ambushed and attacked Israeli soldiers, beating them with clubs, and throwing them off overboard. The Mavi Marmara incident left 8 dead.

From John Rosenthal at the National Review

"The paper’s source for the story is the rebel leader himself: Mahdi al-Haratia, the commander of the so-called Tripoli Brigades, which are widely credited with having played a decisive role in the rebel conquest of the Libyan capital in August. After the seizure of Tripoli, al-Harati was named second-in-command to Abdul-Hakim Belhadj, the head of the newly formed Tripoli Military Council. Belhadj is the historical leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), the Libyan affiliate of al-Qaeda.

According to his December 17 article, ABC correspondent Daniel Iriarte unexpectedly ran into al-Harati and two other Libyan associates of Belhadj in Syria, where the Spanish journalist was working on a story on the “Free Syrian Army,” the recently formed rebel force that aims to overthrow Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. The Libyans made no attempt to hide their identities, Iriarte reports, explaining to him that that they were in Syria “in order to evaluate the needs of our Syrian revolutionary brothers.” Altogether “a few dozen” Libyans were in Syria to support the anti-Assad insurgents, they said.

Prior to the Libyan rebellion against Qaddafi, al-Harati was living in exile in Ireland. He is reported to have returned to Libya in February, at the very outset of the uprising. On his own account, barely eight months earlier he participated in the “Free Gaza” flotilla aboard the Mavi Marmara. “I was wounded on the Mavi Marmara and spent nine days in an Israeli prison,” he told Iriarte"

Israel Divestment Campaign: Another Epic fail

2011-12-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

On December 12th, members of the Israel Divestment Campaign submitted a divestment petition to the California Public Employees Retirement System. Of the 1.6 million members of CalPers, only 837 signed the petition.

The numbers were equally bleak for CalStrs. Only 545 out of the 852,316 Californians with their pension funds invested in CalStrs signed the petion. Its yet another epic fail for the California Divestment Campaign, which earlier this year had failed to get the even minimum number of signitures to have their divestment initiative placed on the California ballot.

Israel Divestment Campaign- Kiss my BDS.

Ali Abunimah's Twitter Tirade following U of Penn's BDS rejection

2011-12-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

Our story so far:
The University of Pennsylvannia has issued a formal statement distancing itself from the BDS conference scheduled to be held on its campus the first week in February.
In a press release, issued by StandWithUs, conference participant Ali Abunimah from the Electronic Intifada is quoted as saying “Ending the occupation does not solve the problem. The Jews do not view all human beings as equal. The 1948 borders were calculated to harm Christians, Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims.” (Chicago Sabeel Conference, October 7, 2005)."
In a very public Twitter tantrum, Ali takes offense at this quote. Is he retracting his lies? Its hard to tell.

From StandWithUs:
December 24, 2011

Ali Abunimah has denied he ever made the 2005 statement we attributed to him in our recent release about the extremism of speakers scheduled for the upcoming national BDS conference at the University of Pennsylvania in February, 2012. It is unclear which part of the statement he is retracting.

Members of a few organizations, including StandWithUs, the American Jewish Congress, the David Project and others attended the 2005 Sabeel event in Chicago, heard Abunimah’s talk and some took notes on the presentations. Three quarters of the time, the speakers told the audience stories about why they should despise Israel, and in the remaining time, encouraged them to initiate divestment campaigns in their churches. There was another speaker, George Rishmawi, who even told participants that the Israelis have a new gas that slows down the muscles of the Palestinians. These speakers did not support the Jewish and Palestinian national movements. Rather, they opposed the very existence of the Jewish state and wanted to contribute to its destruction through false accusations that lead to campaigns like BDS.

If Mr. Abunimah is retracting the statement attributed to him by those who attended the Sabeel conference in 2005, we welcome his recognition that his remarks are unacceptable and categorize him as an extremist. According to those who attended the Sabeel event, Abunimah is quoted as having said:

“Ending the occupation does not solve the problem. The Jews do not view all human beings as equal. The 1948 borders were calculated to harm Christians, Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims.” (Chicago Sabeel Conference, October 7, 2005).

We would like him to explain how the statement we quoted differs from what he actually said at the time, or why he no longer subscribes to these views.

We hope that Mr. Abunimah also retracts or distances himself from other, similar statements he has made, which are public record, such as:
“.....From its inception, the Zionist movement set out to turn a country where the vast majority of people were not Jewish into a country that gives special rights and privileges to Jews at the expense of non-Jews.....”(5/14/07)
“...In Palestine-Israel, this means abrogating all laws in Israel that systematically privilege Jews and harm non-Jewish citizens....” (10/16/07)
“Zionism’s hatred of diaspora Jews and its desire to see them removed from Europe and other places they live persists to this day.” (12/1/11)
“That is something Zionism shares with anti-Semitism, a disdain for actual Jewish culture and life as it existed.” (12/15/10)
“Supporting Zionism is not atonement for the Holocaust, but its continuation in spirit.” (10/25/10)
“It is precisely this basic insistence on equality that is perceived by Zionists as an existential threat to Israel, undermining its inherently discriminatory foundations which privilege its Jewish citizens over all others.” (12/30/07)

We hope that Mr. Abunimah confirms that he no longer subscribes to these views either.

Rolling Out

2011-12-26T10:51:00.000-08:00

(Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives)

Well, I am outa here, folks.

As Laurie and I get ready to hit the road for Israel, I am pondering some writing ideas, both short term and longer term. In the short term, I think I may write about how the Obama administration's hositility toward Israel and general failure in foreign policy may lead to a significant split in the American Jewish community. On the longer project, I will probably write on the administration's failure in regards the Arab war against the Jews from the beginning of his administration until the present moment.

However, before I do any of that, let me leave you with a Barry Rubin quote from an article that he published at the Jerusalem Post, yesterday:

Perhaps the most incredible aspect of all this is the numerous attempts by the Obama administration and its apologists –including Jews – to pretend that its policy is really good for Israel. Over and over again such people and their writings always ignore the regional strategic aspect of the damage that it is doing.

So what if the US government gives Israel military aid, which mostly consists of maintaining old programs? The Obama administration is building up the threat Israel faces to unprecedented levels. “I love Israel” statements don’t solve this huge strategic problem.

Indeed, the "regional strategic aspect." It doesn't much matter to me how many high-ranking Israeli officials say nice things about Barack Obama. And the fact that Israel and the United States maintain a high level of military cooperation is not surprising. What is surprising, or at least disappointing, is that the administration, like the progressive-left more generally, is turning a blind eye to the rise of the Jihad throughout the Middle East. What the administration should be doing about this very serious development is open to question, discussion, and debate, but what is not open to much question is the fact that this administration is simply denying reality.

There is no recognition that the "Arab Spring" is really the "Islamist Spring" and the administration is apparently standing by its contention that the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Islamist forces in the region, is something akin to the American Revolution and / or the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

I would like to suggest that Obama is probably just a tad mistaken on that question and that there is nothing to indicate that the he has even the slightest awareness of this mistake.

Well, the Jewish people have been around for over 3,500 years and I feel reasonably confident that we will survive this administration, as well.

And, with that, I am off.

Laurie and I head to Israel for a little while in our Quest for the World's Best Falafel. Some say Gina's in Tel Aviv while others insist upon Moshiko's in Jerusalem. We shall see, but I am still pulling for my friendly local food-truck guy at the Grand Lake farmer's market in Oakland.

We shall see.

.

University of Pennsylvania rejects BDS

2011-12-23T18:32:00.000-08:00

From a StandWithUs Press Release
December 23, 2011

We are pleased to report that just a few hours ago, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) officially announced that the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) national conference, scheduled to be held on their campus in February, 2012, does not have the university`s imprimatur. Penn also stated unequivocally that it "does not support boycotts or sanctions against Israel." (See the university`s official statement below.)

We congratulate the student leaders at PENN who are resolutely standing up against BDS on their campus. StandWithUs is a proud partner with Hillel, SPME and the ICC member team in supporting the pro-Israel community at Penn.

We applaud Penn for being one of the few universities to take a firm stand about bigoted events on campus. Penn is upholding the right to free speech while making it clear that the university disapproves of the content of that speech. Penn took the opportunity to lead by example, just as Columbia University`s President Lee Bollinger did when he wrote an open letter in 2007, excoriating calls for an academic boycott of Israel . Over 300 university presidents signed the letter. We urge other schools to follow Penn`s example when they face similar predicaments about how to uphold free speech while condemning hate speech.

We were extremely concerned because the line-up of scheduled speakers indicated that this event would be filled with age-old bigotry and prejudice to incite hatred against Israel and foment bitter divisions on campus. Our research has revealed that most of the scheduled speakers are extremists who oppose the existence of the Jewish state and irresponsibly spread propaganda, distort facts, whitewash or justify terrorism and the murder of Jews, and frequently lie about basic facts to demonize Israel and its supporters.

Some of the speakers also express blatantly racist views. For example, one invited speaker, Columbia University professor Hamid Dashabi, wrote the following about Israeli Jews:

"A half century of systematic maiming and murdering of another people has left its deep marks on the faces of these people, the way they talk, the way they walk, the way they handle objects, the way they greet each other, the way they look at the world.` They have a `vulgarity of character that is bond-deep and structural to the skeletal vertebrae of its culture." (Al-Ahram, September, 2004)

Another invited speaker, Helena Cobban, has claimed that Israelis are "incapable of empathy and compassion for other people." (January 2009, Georgetown University) Keynote speaker Ali Abunimah has declared that "Ending the occupation does not solve the problem. The Jews do not view all human beings as equal. The 1948 borders were calculated to harm Christians, Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims." (Chicago Sabeel Conference, October 5, 2005) Speaker Susan Abulhawa resurrects blood libels, claiming that: "Palestinians are killed as if insects not because of Hamas or Yasser Arafat before them...Palestinians burn and bleed because they are the non-Jewish natives of that land. There is no other reason." (Jan. 6, 2009 at http://www.ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/abulhawa.html)

We trust that if a white supremacist, Islamophobic or homophobic group held a conference on campus, university administrations would condemn the prejudice and bigotry of the messages. The same principle should apply when Israel and Jews are targeted.

BDS activities on campuses across America have caused bitter divisiveness. The hate mongering degrades discourse and creates a hostile, even threatening, environment for students and faculty who feel a connection to the state of Israel. It does not further understanding, promote reasonable, informed debate, or help the campus community consider what might bring peace to the troubled region.

Again, we applaud Penn`s public position.

*************

Penn Statement on Planned BDS Conference
A campus student group, Penn BDS, is planning a national conference in February that will encourage boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

This is not an event sponsored by the University. The event is being sponsored by a registered student group, as is permitted of any student group on campus.

The University of Pennsylvania has clearly stated on numerous occasions that it does not support sanctions or boycotts against Israel. Indeed, Penn has important and successful scholarly collaborations with Israeli institutions that touch on many areas of our academic enterprise.

Penn has always supported free expression and the free exchange of ideas. These are essential elements of a great university. These principles apply to this event, as they would any other student event, whether or not we agree with or condone the message BDS seeks to communicate.

University of Pennsylvania
1 College Hall, Room 100
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6380
presweb@pobox.upenn.edu

President Amy Gutmann
http://www.upenn.edu/president/meet-president/biography

A Chanukah Blessing

2011-12-22T19:39:00.003-08:00

Last year, and for too many years before that, we were lighting Chanukah candles in his name, praying that somehow he might come home alive.

This year he can light for himself.

Welcome home, Gilad.

Equivalence, and Lack Thereof

2011-12-22T19:22:00.001-08:00

So, Israel has objected to Mahmoud Abbas meeting with Amna Muna. This woman was released this week, as part of the exchange of prisoners for Gilad Shalit. She had been serving a life sentence for luring a sixteen-year-old boy named Ofir Rahum to meet her in Jerusalem, with a fake Internet identity and promises of romance. She took him to Ramallah, where he was murdered by her co-conspirators.

And now she's out, to be greeted by a warm reception from Abbas. Israelis are, understandably, a little agitated at yet another reminder that people who've committed horrific crimes against civilians are, in fact, considered heroes and freedom fighters by Palestinian leaders.

Palestinian leaders, meanwhile, feel that it's entirely unreasonable for Israelis to be upset about a little business of a continential breakfast or two between a president and a terrorist. Jibril Rajub, who the AP describes as a 'Palestinian official', but the liberal-left Ha'aretz more bluntly describes as a 'Fatah strongman', was quite iffy about the whole thing. "If she doesn't deserve to live, why did you let her go?" he demanded. "We can't he talk to her?" he went on, addressing Israel Radio. "There are Israeli parliamentarians and army generals who are worse than her."

That's the sort of insane, unaccountable logic that anti-Israel nuts on the Internet tend to favor. Warfare, terrorism, diplomacy...it's all the same thing, more or less, right? There are members of the Knesset who are just as bad as this woman who lured a sixteen-year-old civilian to his death in cold blood, and we know this because...well, because Mr. Rajub says so, and he ought to know.

A Facebook friend provided a 'what-if' that I think casts some light on this whole situation: what if Netanyahu had sat down with some of the recent 'price tag' vandals, for coffee and a photo op? Bear in mind that as little as I approve of these people, they have done nothing that even begins to approach what Ms. Muna was convicted of. What if his excuse was the same as Abbas', that he should 'be with his people', wherever they were? What would the people say who are going to look at this and shrug, because it's not important, and there are people worse than Amna Muna? I think we all know.

(Ha'aretz also notes that Muna was supposed to go to Gaza after her release, but refused, because she's a secular Muslim. There's a sort of sad fitness to learning that even terrorists don't want to set foot in what Fortress Hamas has become. Amna Muna may be evil, but she's apparently not stupid.)

Price Tag attacks. A Tale of Two Cities.

2011-12-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

In Israel, they are called "price tag" attacks.

From Patrick Martin of the Globe and mail:

Amidst a series of audacious attacks carried out apparently by young Israeli settlers this week, one of the extremists’ targets stood out. It was a site I’d never heard of right in the centre of the city: The Nebi Akasha mosque, built more than 800 years ago.
It’s situated, I would learn, where three ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhoods converge, on a small one-way street named Prague.
The mosque itself is a simple single-storey stone building, with most of its barred windows bricked up – no longer active as a place of worship since 1948. Attached is a modest, attractive stone minaret that stands about two and a half storeys high.
Across a courtyard dominated by a playground filled with children on swings and climbers sits an equally old domed mausoleum. Inside this stone structure are three graves, believed to be those of some of Saladin’s commanders who perished in the taking of Jerusalem in 1187.
The mosque is named for Akasha Bin Mohsin, a 10th century Muslim, whose tomb was on the site when the stone buildings were constructed.
It was to this unused historic structure that the young extremists came before dawn on Wednesday. They threw a gas bomb through a small opening of one of the bricked up windows, scorching the stone all around the window and doing minimal damage inside.
They spray-painted on the outside stone walls and on the green metal doors things written in Hebrew such as “Mohamed is dead,” “Mohamed is a pig,” and “price tag,” a reference to the costs that Muslim and other Arab institutions will pay if Israel moves to dismantle any Jewish settlements or outposts in the West Bank.

Reports of the vandalism attack spread throughout the country and the act was widely condemned. But words are one thing. Actions are another. Two young men, Avi Mayer and Arie Hasit showed up. They painted over the graffiti and scrubbed smoke off the exterior walls.

“What happened here is unconscionable, and I don’t think it is representative of Israeli society, this neighborhood or Jerusalem,” said Avi Mayer, a Jerusalemite who works for the Jewish Agency. I found the entire incident deplorable and felt I had to try and right this wrong..."

Thank you, Avi and Arie. May you go from strength to strength, and continue to be a source of light to all.

In Berkeley, there appears to have been a local version of a price tag attack. The fence surrounding Michael Lerner's home in the Berkeley Hills has been vandalized again.

From JTA:

The northern California home of Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the progressive Tikkun magazine, was vandalized for the fourth time in the last year.
In an e-mail sent to Tikkun supporters, Lerner said that on Tuesday evening, two black-hooded men pasted signs on the outside of his house and garage saying that "Palestine is an Arab fantasy." ...
"It seems obvious to me that the attack, while responding to the NPR interview with me this morning, is part of the same attempt to terrorize me and my family as the past three assaults," Lerner wrote in his e-mail. "As the police made clear to us the last time, the goal is not to destroy property as much as to remind us that they know where we live, and that we are not safe."
People. This type of childish hate-driven vandalism is wrong in Israel. And its also wrong in Berkeley. Your actions do nothing to help our people or to further our cause. Remember the words of our sage Hillel "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary".

Occupy Hannukah Tonight in Berkeley

2011-12-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

Nothing like Chabad and Hannukah for showing us the power of light and faith to illuminate the darkness and to triumph over evil. Hannukah commemorates the victory of the few over the many- of right vs might. Jewish farmers with no military training defeated the massive armies of the Greek empire, in the first war ever fought for religious freedom.

I hope to see all you neo-Maccabees there tonight. These too are days of miracle and wonder.

Reclaiming the Zionist Label

2011-12-20T20:31:00.001-08:00

I think that this is very well written. I'm especially pleased that Bernstein covers the history of how 'Zionism' was used historically by the Soviets, and connects that with the history of the U.N. on the movement.

A few weeks ago, countering the anti-AIPAC protest, I listened with interest as they conducted an open 'people's microphone', a tactic borrowed from Occupy, where listeners repeat the speaker's words in unison, so that those farther away can hear. Originally adopted to substitute for a microphone, where none were available, it can also, of course, simply be a way of being annoying...sigh. What I realized that evening is that it can also serve as something of a gage of the crowd. One man was being faithfully repeated after as he declared that people don't like 'the occupation'. Not all Jews support 'the occupation'. Every phrase was repeated back. And then he said "Not even all Zionists support the occupation", and something odd happened. The microphone failed, as people couldn't bring themselves to repeat those words.

I don't know exactly what he meant by those words, but I do know why they faltered at that point--because "Zionist" has been effectively branded in the minds of anti-Israel activists to mean someone set in complete opposition to anything human, positive or progressive.

To lose pride in what Zionism is, and what it means, is to lose a great deal. In the coming year, I'd like to give some thought as to how to educate about the word and identity, and take it back from those who hate.

Hitler Admired in PLO Youth Magazine

2011-12-20T11:25:00.000-08:00

Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives.

Hitler tells a Palestinian girl in her dream: "I killed them [the Jews] so you would all know that they are a nation which spreads destruction all over the world."

I would suggest that this kind of thing is literal, not rhetorical, not in jest, but real. And, needless to say, this is just one quick example. I could have come up with literally hundreds of other examples of Arab media bolstering the genocidal Jihadi ambition against Jews.

The Jews of the Middle East are about 5.5 million people strong. They are surrounded by an Arab population of between 300 and 400 million people that, for the most part, does not want them there and that has shown a willingness to incite violence against them. In the early stages of the Arab War Against the Jews of the Middle East they tended to riot and sometimes murder Jews with their bare hands as we saw in Hebron in 1929. In November of 1947 they launched a bloody civil war which the Jews, fresh from the Holocaust, needed to be put down before they could defend themselves from the larger Arab nations.

The '48 war, as Benny Morris would tell you, was motivated by Jihad. It was primarily a religious war because in Muslim theology (al-Sharia) non-Muslims must never hold sovereignty on any land that was at any time under Muslim sovereignty.

The biggest problem that Israel has going forward is obviously not pro-Israel American conservatives like Glenn Beck, nor pro-Israel Israeli conservatives like Avigdor Lieberman, nor even ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews who think that men and women should mainly be segregated in public.

No.

The main problem that Israel has is that there are millions of people around the world who think that it shouldn't exist and who are ready to use violence against it.

Noticing this little fact is neither fascist, nor rhetorical. It is called facing reality. Not reality as we might like it to be, nor reality as progressive ideology likes to suppose, but the cold fact of the genocidal nature of the Radical Jihad which is now rising up from the misnamed "Arab Spring."

Country after country in the Middle East is falling to Islamism as the west sticks its head in the ground, playing ostrich. Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Iran, Lebanon, Darfur, and Gaza. Barack Obama literally told us to view the "Arab Spring" as we might have viewed the American Revolution or Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The negligence and irresponsibility of such a statement is almost criminal. It is so wrong-headed and so unjust that I am frankly amazed that he was able to say it without his tongue falling out of his head entirely.

Here is the direct quote:

There are times in the course of history when the actions of ordinary citizens spark movements for change because they speak to a longing for freedom that has been building up for years. In America, think of the defiance of those patriots in Boston who refused to pay taxes to a King, or the dignity of Rosa Parks as she sat courageously in her seat. So it was in Tunisia...

Can you imagine if when Hitler was coming to power if FDR told Americans that this was the "German Spring" and that it represented the very best traditions within the progressive movement? Hard to imagine, isn't it?, but this is essentially what Obama has done.

We have an obligation as people who care about Israel, and about our fellow Jews, to acknowledge what should be obvious. And what is obvious here, what is obvious today, is that the Radical Jihad is rising and that can only mean violence directed at Jews.

I do not like it any more than do you, but it is they who represent the hardest challenge that Israel faces because the nature of this movement, the Islamist Spring, is genocidal. Obama was wrong and it is past time that we faced that fact.

Saying Hello

2011-12-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

I want to thank Dusty for inviting me to participate with you guys here at Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers. I am a long-time pro-Israel blogger who usually goes under the name of "Karmafish," although I am becoming more and more inclined to use my real name, which is Michael Lumish. I am a PhD in American History who has taught at Penn State University, San Francisco State University, and City College of San Francisco.

I also have my own blog, Israel Thrives, which I invite you guys to come visit and participate in according to your will. My partners on that blog go by the names of "Doodad" and "oldschooltwentysix." Doodad, School and myself do not necessarily agree on everything, but my major focus is as a liberal critic of the progressive-left when it comes to the Arab-Israel conflict. I come out of that movement, and out of that party, and believe that we have every right to object to what is going on within it... even as we distance ourselves from it.

I generally have two themes. The first is that the progressive-left, as a movement, and the grassroots / netroots of the Democratic Party have, essentially, betrayed their Jewish constituency by welcoming anti-Semitic anti-Zionists as part of the larger coalition. Anyone who reads Daily Kos (which was at one time my home blog) or the Huffington Post or the UK Guardian, knows that when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict (I-P) not a day goes by wherein Israel is not demeaned, defamed, and dehumanized. Those on the progressive-left who speak the loudest as critics of Israel tend to not so much criticize that country as drag it through the mud at every possible opportunity.

This development, the rise of anti-Semitic anti-Zionism and the movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction the Jewish state (BDS) is exceedingly dangerous to the Jewish people for the obvious reason that they want Israel to be dissolved as a Jewish state and toward that end they are endeavoring to delegitimize that country to western audiences. It is our job, as people who care about the Jewish people and the Jewish state, to counter their efforts by any means necessary.

My other major theme is that the Palestinians do not want a country in peace next to the Jewish one, for if they did they would have accepted any one of the numerous offers for statehood which they have consistently rejected from 1937, with the British Peel Commission offer, to Olmert's 2008 offer a Palestinian state comprised of 100 percent of Gaza, well over 90 percent of Judea and Samaria (which the Jordanians dubbed "the West Bank") in a contiguous area, and the Arab sections of Jerusalem as a capital.

It should be obvious that if the Palestinians wanted a state for themselves in peace next to the Jewish one then perhaps they would have accepted precisely that at some point over the last seventy plus years.

In any case, I want to thank you guys for welcoming me into this community because reaching out to one another is our only option in this struggle.

You have my thanks.

Oh, and by the way, I would very much recommend not voting for the Democrats this cycle. Another theme that you will be hearing from me is concerned with the failure of the Obama administration's Middle East policy and the need to make certain that Democrats do not take their Jewish constituency for granted.

And now for something completely different...

2011-12-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

Word from the BBC has it that Kim Jong-Il is no more. A dead parrot indeed.

To commemorate this dictator's life without weeping for him, is this:

kim jong-il looking at things

Breitbart’s Big Journalism Blog Depicts Anti-Semitic Cartoon

2011-12-16T13:55:00.000-08:00

It's true. Conservative scumbag Andrew Breitbart's own blog regularly features a vile anti-Semitic cartoon and instead of apologizing for it, the cartoon remains as is for all to see.

In at least three instances, Andrew Breitbart's Big Journalism website has used an image connected to a Nazi-era German magazine noted for anti-Semitic cartoons and pro-Hitler leanings.

All in an effort to unfairly demonize liberals.

I refuse to republish the cartoon here, but for further reading, see:

Cartoon Regularly Featured On Big Journalism Connected To Nazi-Era Magazine

Its been a Day of BDS Failures

2011-12-14T19:06:00.001-08:00

Its a heavy drinking day in Camp BDS. The BDS'ers are squirming restlessly. They are patting each other on the back and whispering to each other "Its ok. Even when we lose, we still win", while taking swigs of watermelon vodka and sobbing uncontrollably.

The day began with the news that Apple, yes, that super big, trendy company named after a fruit is opening a new research and development office in Israel. Thats in addition to its rumored purchase of Israel-based flash storage provider Anobit for nearly $500 million. Its almost as if Apple never even heard of the Palestinian civil society, and their call to Bully, Demonize and Scapegoat Israel. The new development center will reportedly be headed by Aharon Aharon, a veteran in Israel's technology industry.

The Israel facility will be Apple's first strategic development center located outside of the company's Cupertino California headquarters.

From Arutz Sheva:

"... Apple will finally be joining other global tech leaders who have, for years, had large development centers in Israel. Microsoft has nearly 1,000 people working on R&D in Israel – and its teams here have come up with some important innovations, such as the networking technology at the center of every version of Windows for the past decade. Google has not one, but two development centers in Israel – the only country in the world outside the U.S. so honored. Much of Intel's laptop technology was developed at its two R&D centers in Israel. And Motorola – which first set up shop in Israel in 1964 – Cisco, IBM, Oracle, and many others have been here for decades."

And if it were just that, we could say "Kiss my BDS" and call it a day. But wait. There's more.

The Cal State University system has joined the Ivy League and New York State University in rescinding a ban on its students studying in Israeli universities after 9 years. The CSU system has 23 campuses and over 420,000 students.

And for you, David Klein, CSU Northridge: Nice try. Im sure Edie is patting you on the back and whispering in your ear "Even when we lose , we win".

Oh, and one more thing, Prof. Klein- "Kiss my BDS"

Emma Goldman on the Jewish right to the Holy land

2011-12-14T17:52:00.000-08:00

For our anarcho-zionist friends out there:

"Perhaps my revolutionary education has been sadly neglected, but I have been taught that the land should belong to those who till the soil. With all of his deep-seated sympathies with the Arabs, our comrade cannot possibly deny that the Jews in Palestine have tilled the soil. Tens of thousands of them, young and deeply devout idealists, have flocked to Palestine, there to till the soil under the most trying pioneer conditions. They have reclaimed wastelands and have turned them into fertile fields and blooming gardens. Now I do not say that therefore Jews are entitled to more rights than the Arabs, but for an ardent socialist to say that the Jews have no business in Palestine seems to me rather a strange kind of socialism."

Emma Goldman
August 26 1938

reprinted in 'British Imperialism & The Palestine Crisis: Selections from the Anarchist Journal 'Freedom' 1938–1948' London: Freedom Press, 1989 pp 24–27]

Greg Grunberg: ISRAEL=LOVE+PEACE+HISTORY

2011-12-13T21:46:00.000-08:00

America’s Voices in Israel program brings well known Americans to Israel- to relate what they've seen to their followers,

A group of stars recently returned from Israel:

Mary Lynn Rajskub who played Chloe O’Brian on 24.
Shaun Sipos,starred as David Breck on Melrose Place.
Greg Grunberg who played Matt Parkman on Heroes.
Justin Chatwin from The Invisible, Dragonball Evolution.
Austin Nichols from One Tree Hill.

And yes. They loved it. Effusively. They loved the history and they loved the people.

And they've been tweeting about it, too. Did you happen to notice this tweet from Greg Grunberg: SHALOM & Thank You to ALL the amazing PEOPLE of #Israel who made us feel SO at HOME. ISRAEL=LOVE+PEACE+HISTORY

Israel "History that will blow you away." Thanks, Greg!
And to JVP, Code Pink, PACBI, and all you other BDS'ers: Why yes, this counts as a great big juicy BDS Fail.

Gaza "under Siege" November 2011

2011-12-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

From the IDF spokesperson's blog:

1,336 patients and accompanying individuals crossed into Israel and the West Bank.
33 truckloads of sport equipment, vehicles, washing machines and refrigerators.
1,340 businessmen exited the Gaza Strip.

And in turn, Gaza sent back:

November 1 In the evening, a rocket launched from Gaza fell in the Eshkol Regional Council.
November 4 Palestinian militants fired a rocket into southern Israel, causing no injuries or damage.
November 6 Two rockets fired from Gaza exploded in open areas in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. The first rocket didn't cause injuries or damage, while the second one caused shrapnel wounds to a Thai foreign worker
November 9 Palestinian militants fired two rockets which landed in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council.
November 10 A rocket was fired at night against southern Israel, causing no injuries.
November 13
Gaza militants fired a Qassam rocket at the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council
November 15 Gaza terrorists launched two Qassam rockets at Israeli communities in the western Negev. One rocket badly damaged a local kindergarten.The other rocket exploded in an open area.
November 26 A rocket fired from Gaza hit the Eshkol Regional Council, causing no injuries or damage.

Another Iranian Work Accident

2011-12-13T11:36:00.000-08:00

There's been a series of mysterious explosions and work accidents in Iran lately. There have been 3 this month alone. Are the Iranians just that cavalier about worker safety? Is this just a series of coincidences? Are theses the actions of dissident Iranian groups? Or is there a Zionist conspiracy afoot?
The most recent work accident, in an Iranian Steel plant in Yazd killed 7, and seriously wounded 12 others. A number of "foreign nationals" were reported amongst those killed
There is speculation that the explosion at steel factory was connected to Iran's nuclear program. Iranians need maraging steel to manufacture the ballistic missile engines they are constructing. Maraging steel's strength and malleability in allow it to be formed into thinner rocket and missile skins than other steels. It is also needed to produce new uranium enrichment centrifuges and exhaust systems for missile engines. Increasing evidence from foreign sources reveal that North Korea was providing Iran and Syria with this steel, as well as training them in its use and manufacture.

Iran is a quintessential rogue state, denying the Jewish Holocaust while plotting another one. The world is aware how destabilizing a nuclear Iran will be. Coincidences or not, this series of Iranian work accidents buys us more time in postphoning a nuclear Iran.

The International Solidarity movement: Gaza Media Manipulation

2011-12-12T20:12:00.000-08:00

From an Article by Omri Ceren in Commentary

The International Solidarity Movement is one of those quirky peace-loving pro-Palestinian groups that also happens to support and provide succor to anti-Jewish mass murderers. The organization – which of course gets shady NGO funding – served as a cover for the UK terrorists who infiltrated Tel Aviv and committed mass murder at Mike’s Place. It attempted to assist Palestinian terrorists who hid in the Church of the Nativity. Its members help organize and proudly participate in efforts to break Israel’s blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

None of that is an accident. In 2002 the group’s founders, Adam Shapiro and Huwaida Arraf, advocated “Palestinian resistance… both non-violent and violent.” They tsk tsk’d that “people will get killed and injured” but reassured their audience that at least the injured Palestinians “would be considered shaheed,” a word not coincidentally used in other contexts to celebrate suicide bombers. Arraf took pains two months ago to point out that she hasn’t changed her mind, and that she and the ISM “recognize the Palestinian right to use armed struggle.”

And now they’re seeking new human shields and propagandists for Hamas:

The International Solidarity Movement is appealing for activists to join our team in the besieged Gaza Strip. After being barred from Gaza in 2003 following the murders of Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall, ISM Gaza was reinstated in August 2008 when ISM and other volunteers traveled aboard the historic, siege-breaking voyage of the first Free Gaza Movement boat… ISM volunteers refused to leave when Israel began bombing Gaza in December 2008. During the devastating 23-day assault, activists accompanied ambulances and provided vital testimony to the international media.

That’s a strange boast to make, since you wouldn’t think that international media outlets would agree to turn the propaganda of pro-violence activists into news. Maybe the ISM is just mistaken.

*****

There have also been reports in the past that ISM members have dressed as Jews in an effort to implicate "settlers" in atrocities against the Palestinians.

Note to volunteers: No one will believe you advocate non-violence if you are training with AK-47's

Interested in learning about BDS- Bullying, Demonization and Scapegoating Israel? Learn from the experts at JVP

2011-12-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

Jewish Voice for Peace is growing increasing resentful of Jewish institutions that create guidelines, like the ones adopted by Hillel that recognize the right to of the Jewish people to self determination. Hillel views Israel as a core element of Jewish life and a gateway to Jewish identification for students. Hillel promotes a continuum of experiences to engage students with Israel, educate their campus communities about Israel, and advocate for Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state in peace and security. This is too much for JVP, the "proud to be ashamed to be Jewish " folks, who insist not only that anti-Israel rhetoric be part of Jewish communal life, but that it be funded by communal sources as well.

JVP has begun a new campus initiative Go & Learn: BDS Education in Jewish communities. This initiative is being promoted by the youth-led wing of Jewish Voice for peace (Youth, apparently, by JVP standards is anyone under 40) to "create a space for education about the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions. Go & Learn BDS Education events are a way for Jews to continue to (or begin to) develop their own opinion on BDS, in an informed, multifaceted way."

Will JVP mention that Palestinian society has largely rejected the BDS tactics?
From Elder of Ziyon:
The number of Palestinian Arabs working in Jewish settlements has increased by 20% since the PA announced they would ban such activity. According to the head of the Federation of Trade Unions of Palestine, Shaher Saad, some 31,000 Palestinian Arab workers are now employed in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. This is a significant increase compared to the number of such workers in April, 2010 - estimated at 25,000 - when Mahmoud Abbas signed a law banning Palestinian Arabs from working in settlements.

From Haaretz Private Palestinian investors now invest nearly twice as much in Israel as they do at , with homeprivate Palestinian investment in the West Bank at $1.5 billion in 2011, compared to at least $2.5 billion in Israel.

Will JVP mention that in our area, the best place to get Israeli products are the small Arab grocery stores?

From Divest this:
A more intriguing take on these numbers has to do with the notion of civil society. After all, the BDS movement’s primary claim to legitimacy is that it represents the will of the Palestinian people, with the 2005 “Palestinian Civil Society Calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Against Israel” declaration held up as the reason why alleged “human rights activists” abroad focus on Israel to the exclusion of nearly every other human rights issue on the planet.
When BDS groups in the US and Europe approach a university, a church or even a food co-op insisting that everyone get on board the boycotter’s Israel=Apartheid bandwagon, they rarely if ever do so in their own name. Rather, they claim (again and again) that they are humbly following the will of the Palestinian people who have declared their commitment to BDS via documents like the aforementioned Civil Society declaration, and insisting that others do the same.
But as has already been noted, this alleged call by Civil Society was really a call by a group of civil organizations, with violent political groups such as Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine taking the lead and less influential groups like the Palestinian Dentists Association following behind. So does the 2005 BDS declaration truly represent the will of the Palestinian people or is it simply the will of a bunch of militant and/or coerced leaders of a hundred-odd organizations? Are we required to take Omar Barghouti’s word for it when he claims to speak for the Palestinian masses, or do we have other data to work form?
Well we do, in fact, have other data consider. For example, there are the Arab citizens of Israel terrified that the land they live on might be traded in a peace deal, requiring them to live under the benevolent dictatorship of the Palestinian Authority (or the not-so benevolent dictatorship of Hamas). We’ve got denizens of the Palestinian Authority doing whatever they can to get into Israel for healthcare, for jobs, even for citizenship (despite being told that the “Zionist entity” exists for the sole purpose of murdering them and swiping their kidneys).
And now we’ve got Palestinian workers and investors putting their money where the mouth isn’t and doubling down on Israeli investments and Israeli employers. And, as the BDS “movement” itself never tires of telling us, Investment = Political Support (which is why they advocate tirelessly, if unsuccessfully for Divestment which they claim equals an end to such political support).
So by the very math used by the BDSers themselves, Palestinian support for the Jewish state is on the increase. Keep this in mind the next time Omar Barghouti or Jewish Voice for Peace or this or that BDS organization shows up at your door insisting you do what they say because they and they alone speak for the Palestinian people.

No, JVP wont ever let facts get in the way of their increasingly shrill rhetoric. Look for "Go & learn" on a campus near you. Can't find it? Ask the students of SJP or the MSA. They'll be able to direct you

UPDATE:

The first offer of "engagement" is in, and its....still...awaiting moderation.....

From Divest this:
It looks like the youth wing of JVP (named Young, Jewish and Proud) has decided to engage with critics (and supporters) of BDS in a new program they entitle Go and Learn. Now this program is scheduled to begin in March, but given the clear importance JVP/YJP put on this issue, I have invited them to begin the debate immediately on their new Web site and just posted the following invitation in this comments section:

Why Wait?

I’m thrilled to learn that you are interested in an open discussion and education project surrounding the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) project.

As some of you may know, I represent one of those people “actively opposed to [BDS]” your invitation above is asking to engage with you. As the creator of the web site www.divestthis.com, I have been eager to discuss and debate with people like yourselves who are supportive of BDS. Until now, however, there have been very few supporters of BDS ready to engage directly on this subject in a sustained and constructive manner.

I’m glad to discover that JVP is interested in remedying this situation and recommend that we begin this debate right now on the Internet (where the world has access to our exchanges), rather than wait until March to discuss what the Young, Jewish and Proud organization obviously considers to be such a pressing topic.

I will post information on your invitation and my own at Divest This (along with any follow ups), but I recommend we have this public discussion right here since, unlike the forums you claim to not have access to, your organization is in full control of this online space. And using it to provide a globally public forum for our conversation would not just provide everyone with the discussion you clearly crave, but would also demonstrate JVP’s openness (in contrast with those places you feel you have been excluded from).

I look forward to hearing back from you and let the conversation begin!

CSU Northridge President Jolene Koester on opposing anti-Semitism "Too Bad"

2011-12-12T14:25:00.000-08:00

Our story so far:
David Klein, a Cal State University at Northridge math professor devotes as much time and energy to Israel-bashing as he does to mathematics. He originated a petition to pressure the CSU system not to re-instate the study abroad program in Israel, and apparently has used his CSU sponsored website to give his math students a heady dose of hate, every time they visit.

Tammi Benjamin of the Amcha foundation was contacted. Ms. Benjamin wrote an open letter to Jolene Koester, President of California State University, Northridge expressing her concern. In response, she received a two word email. "Too Bad".
From Presidents Koester biography:
"She earned a Bachelor's of Arts from the University of Minnesota in 1970, a Master's of Arts in communication arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1971, and a Ph.D. in speech communication from Minnesota in 1980." You'd think someone with a doctorate in "communications' could come up with a more coherent response to accusations of anti-Semitism on her campus, but no.... she didnt

From: Tammi Benjamin
Date: November 22, 2011 4:32:39 PM PST
To: jolene.koester@csun.edu
Subject: serious concerns about anti-Semitic webpages on the CSUN website
Dr. Jolene Koester
President, California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northridge, CA 91330
Dear President Koester,
We are faculty members at the University of California, who have been investigating and documenting anti-Jewish bigotry on California public university campuses for the last several years.
In case you have not seen them, we wanted to bring to your attention two webpages of CSU Northridge Professor of Mathematics David Klein, which are hosted on the CSUN server:
Professor Klein's "Home Page," linked to the "Tenure-Track Faculty" webpage of the CSUN Department of Mathematics, contains a section entitled "CSU and Political Issues," that includes a link to another CSUN-hosted webpage entitled "Boycott Israel."
Professor Klein's "Boycott Israel" page contains a litany of false and inflammatory statements and photographs intended to incite hatred and promote political activism against the Jewish state.
There are several reasons why Professor Klein's webpages should be immediately removed from the CSUN server:
1) These webpages are in clear violation of the CSU policy prohibiting the misuse of the CSU name for inappropriate purposes, including for the promotion of political organizations and activities such as "boycott." As you have seen on Professor Klein's Home Page, he specifically links the University to several political action organizations and activities, including the boycott of Israel, in a section he telling calls "CSU and Political Issues."
2) Many of Professor Klein's statements on his "Boycott Israel" webpage meet the U.S. Department of State's Working Definition of Anti-Semitism, including the statement that "Israel is the most racist country in the world." In addition, the pictures of mutilated dead babies that appear on this page, with the clear implication that the babies have been brutally murdered by Israeli soldiers, are perfect examples of the classic anti-Semitic "blood libel", the false accusation that Jews kill non-Jewish children for evil purposes, an accusation that has been used throughout Jewish history for the purpose of inciting hatred and violence against Jews. Campaigns to boycott the Jewish state are also anti-Semitic according to the U.S. State Department, and in some cases are a violation of U.S. law.
3) The promotion of virulently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic statements and imagery on the departmental website of a CSUN faculty member cannot help but contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students on your campus.
4) CSUN is a public university, whose facilities and resources, including the CSUN website, are supported by the tax dollars of California citizens, many of whom would find Professor Klein's webpages an egregious violation of public trust.
We do not believe that this is an issue of Professor Klein's freedom of speech. Indeed, CSUN's policy on internet use explicitly states that the University has the right to remove "any defamatory, offensive, infringing, or illegal materials" from its website. If you choose not to remove Professor Klein's anti-Semitic material from the CSUN website, we will presume that it is because the University finds nothing "defamatory, offensive, infringing, or illegal" about these webpages, and is unconcerned with the effects they may have on CSUN students, parents, community members, and taxpayers.
We know that you will soon be retiring as CSUN President, but we trust that you will have the opportunity to look into this matter and take appropriate action.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Tammi Rossman-Benjamin
Lecturer, University of California at Santa Cruz
Co-founder the AMCHA Initiative

**********************

Dear President Koester,
I am shocked and distressed by your recent reply to me in response to a letter I co-authored, urging you to address an egregious case of anti-Jewish bigotry on your campus. Our letter asked you to condemn and remove Professor David Klein's anti-Semitic and highly offensive webpages from the CSUN server. In your response, you callously wrote: "Too bad." (See below).
As you know, our letter was sent to you under the aegis of the AMCHA Initiative, an organization representing more than 5,000 members and supporters of the California Jewish community, who are deeply concerned for the safety and well-being of Jewish students on California campuses. In that regard, your response is not only dismissive and disrespectful of me, but of a large segment of the Jewish community as well.
Moreover, your lack of sensitivity to our serious concerns about anti-Semitism and the welfare of Jewish students on your campus is appalling.
I and many members of the Jewish community consider it highly inappropriate for the leader of a major public university to behave in this way.
It is indeed "too bad."
Sincerely,
Tammi Rossman-Benjamin
Co-founder the AMCHA Initiative
Lecturer University of California, Santa Cruz

****************************

On Dec 9, 2011, at 3:29 PM, Koester, Jolene wrote:

Dear Ms. Benjamin:

I apologize that you received in error an email from me containing the message “too bad.” I am away from the office and dealing with email from afar. I had intended to forward your response letter to University staff, and instead of pressing “forward,” I inadvertently hit “reply.”

The comment “too bad” was meant to express to internal staff regret about the controversy and the distress it has caused. It was not a comment directed at you or others who have written to share their concerns, and was not intended to disrespect or dismiss either you or your point of view. I apologize and deeply regret the misunderstanding this error has caused.

Jolene Koester

*************

And whats our friend, the math professor doing throughout this exchange? He's attempting to fan the flames,and exploit the bad feelings his web page has caused. Its all in the name of academic freedom, after all. Why is Jolene Koester so cavalier about anti-Semitism on campus, anyway? Apaprently, she is due to retire this month.

The behavior of professors such as David Klein, and the dismissive, enabling behavior of President Jolene Koester sends a chilling message to Jewish students at CSU Northridge. Remember this, when its time to apply for college.

Another BDS Epic Fail: Legend Barbra Streisand performs in FIDF fundraiser

2011-12-11T16:34:00.000-08:00

Legendary performer Barbra Streisand performed Thursday night at a Friends of the Israel Defense Forces" Gala in Los Angeles.

From Barbra's website:
Barbra’s set included four songs.

•“The Windmills of your Mind”
•“People”
•“The Way We Were”
•“Avinu Malkeinu” – which Barbra recorded originally in 1997 on her triple-platinum album, “Higher Ground.” Translated into English, “Our Father, Our King” is a Jewish prayer traditionally sung during the Jewish High Holidays.

The event was also attended by Jason Alexander – who was “Master of Ceremonies” – and “Gala Chairs” Cheryl & Haim Saban.

The FIDF proudly offers its support to Israel’s soldiers and their families through a variety of unique and innovative programs and projects. FIDF programs fund educational scholarships; provide social services and financial aid to distressed young soldiers to help their families stay afloat; and support special programs for the children and families of fallen soldiers. Additionally, FIDF constructs dozens of major capital projects that include sports centers, synagogues, auditoriums, recreational facilities, and swimming pools all of which provide for the well-being of Israel's soldiers.

From an article at Jewish Journal by Ilana Angel

"Barbra Streisand is not a regular human being. She is magic. She made Jewish girls beautiful, sings to me with the voice of an angel, and inspired me to study Torah through Yentl, which I think is cinematic genius. Barbra Streisand is iconic to many, but to me it’s personal as she touches so much of my Jewish identity."

Many people feel that way about Barbra Streisand. So heres to you, Barbra for standing up for your hertiage, and for standing with Israel.

A tour of Palestine 1695

2011-12-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

Everyone is talking about Newt's comments. And those that arent talking about it are emailing. Thanks to everyone who send me this:

This appears to have orginiated with Avi Goldreich, and was posted on the Think Israel website

The book is Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata, in tres libros distributa, tabulis geographicis necessariis, iisque accuratis exornata, a multis insuper, quae in primam editionem irrepserunt, mendis purgata. The author Hadriani Relandi, was a scholar, geographer, cartographer and philologist. Relandi spoke Hebrew, Arabic and ancient Greek, as well as the European languages of the time.

" The book was written in Latin. In 1695 he was sent on a sightseeing tour to Israel, at that time known as Palestina. In his travels he surveyed approximately 2500 places where people lived that were mentioned in the bible or Mishnah. His research method was interesting.

He first mapped the Land of Israel.
Secondly, Relandi identifies each of the places mentioned in the Mishnah or Talmud along with their original source. If the source was Jewish, he listed it together with the appropriate sentence in the Holy Scriptures. If the source was Roman or Greek he presented the connection in Greek or Latin.

Thirdly, he also arranged a population survey and census of each community.

His most prominent conclusions
1. Not one settlement in the Land of Israel has a name that is of Arabic origin. Most of the settlement names originate in the Hebrew, Greek, Latin or Roman languages. In fact, till today, except to Ramlah, not one Arabic settlement has an original Arabic name. Till today, most of the settlements names are of Hebrew or Greek origin, the names distorted to senseless Arabic names. There is no meaning in Arabic to names such as Acco (Acre), Haifa, Jaffa, Nablus, Gaza, or Jenin and towns named Ramallah, El Halil and El-Kuds (Jerusalem) lack historical roots or Arabic philology. In 1696, the year Relandi toured the land, Ramallah, for instance, was called Bet'allah (From the Hebrew name Beit El) and Hebron was called Hebron (Hevron) and the Arabs called Mearat HaMachpelah El Chalil, their name for the Forefather Abraham.

2. Most of the land was empty, desolate, and the inhabitants few in number and mostly concentrate in the towns Jerusalem, Acco, Tzfat, Jaffa, Tiberius and Gaza. Most of the inhabitants were Jews and the rest Christians. There were few Muslims, mostly nomad Bedouins. Nablus, known as Shchem, was exceptional, where approximately 120 people, members of the Muslim Natsha family and approximately 70 Shomronites, lived.

In the Galilee capital, Nazareth, lived approximately 700 Christians and in Jerusalem approximately 5000 people, mostly Jews and some Christians.

The interesting part was that Relandi mentioned the Muslims as nomad Bedouins who arrived in the area as construction and agriculture labor reinforcement, seasonal workers.

In Gaza for example, lived approximately 550 people, fifty percent Jews and the rest mostly Christians. The Jews grew and worked in their flourishing vineyards, olive tree orchards and wheat fields (remember Gush Katif?) and the Christians worked in commerce and transportation of produce and goods. Tiberius and Tzfat were mostly Jewish and except of mentioning fishermen fishing in Lake Kinneret -- the Lake of Galilee -- a traditional Tiberius occupation, there is no mention of their occupations. A town like Um el-Phahem was a village where ten families, approximately fifty people in total, all Christian, lived and there was also a small Maronite church in the village (The Shehadah family).

3. The book totally contradicts any post-modern theory claiming a "Palestinian heritage," or Palestinian nation. The book strengthens the connection, relevance, pertinence, kinship of the Land of Israel to the Jews and the absolute lack of belonging to the Arabs, who robbed the Latin name Palestina and took it as their own.

Read Latin? This book is widely available in academic and theological libraries. Locally, its at the Graduate Theological Union Library in Berkeley. Room use only. Want one of your very own? Its available for sale, for a bit over $675- plus the costs of postage and handling from a bookseller in The Hague, Netherlands

Hamas sets up rocket production line in Sinai

2011-12-11T11:14:00.000-08:00

From an article by Yaakov Katz, published in J Post

Hamas has established forward bases and rocket production facilities in the Sinai Peninsula in an effort to protect them from Israeli air strikes, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

By establishing the facilities in Egypt, Hamas aims to protect its assets since it believes Israel will not strike targets inside Egypt due to the affect it would have on bilateral relations.

Israel has called on Cairo to increase its efforts to restore order in Sinai and to prevent attacks, but the Egyptian military has held back from dismantling the Hamas infrastructure in the peninsula.

More than a dozen Egyptian army battalions allowed into Sinai with Israel’s permission (required because of limits placed on Egyptian forces there under the peace treaty) are still operating there, although with limited success in stopping terrorist activity and arms smuggling to the Gaza Strip.

Recent arms smuggled into Gaza have included advanced weaponry stolen from Libyan military storehouses such as Russian- made shoulder-to-air missiles.

Israel’s primary concern with Sinai is that it is being used by Palestinians to launch attacks into Israel while taking advantage of the open southern border.

Read the full article here

Fresno Zionism visits David Kleins' CSU Northridge webpage

2011-12-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

"Freedom of speech implies that a government-funded institution may not deny someone the right to speak except in some narrowly-circumscribed cases. But it does not imply that the institution must be required to provide a megaphone, in the form of a university supported web server, to practice slander and defamation."
Fresno Zionism

From FresnoZionism

"A Mathematics professor at California State University, Northridge, David Klein, maintains one of the ugliest hate-Israel pages I’ve seen in some time. For example:

Israel is the most racist state in the world at this time

Zionism calls for a Jewish state. Israel defines Jewishness, in part, in genetic terms. A person is legally Jewish if his or her mother is Jewish, regardless of place of birth or religious belief. Israel is an apartheid state that systematically discriminates against the indigenous population, enforcing, for example, Jewish-only buses and Jewish-only roads. The result of Israeli state policies has been a 60 year program of ethnic cleansing, including expulsion of the Palestinian population, military occupation, and mass murder.

Everything in the above paragraph is false except “Zionism calls for a Jewish state,” and even then his understanding of ‘Jewish state’ is wrong. There are links (which I didn’t reproduce) to other anti-Zionist sites like counterpunch.org, the “Campaign to end Israeli Apartheid,” “Electronic Intifada,” etc. which are supposed to support his statements.

This page and several others (including one defending former academic and “Holocaust Industry” author Norman Finkelstein) are linked to Klein’s main Mathematics Department page.

The AMCHA initiative complained to the University, calling Klein’s page antisemitic and demanding its removal. The University President, Jolene Koester, responded that a review showed that there were no violations of University web use policies and that “the conclusions are based on the important tenets of academic freedom and free speech, which are central to the values and traditions of academia and, indeed, a democratic society.”

They should be ashamed...."

Read the full post here

The Truth About the Refugees: Israel Palestinian Conflict

2011-12-09T17:54:00.001-08:00

Israel's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon's latest youtube highlights the issue of the Jewish refugees, forced out of their homes in the Arab world and contrasts them with the Arab refugees perpetuated by UNRWA and the Arab nations.

In 1948, an estimated 500,000 Arabs left their homes in Israel- of those, 160,000 returned and resettled after agreeing to live in peace with their Jewish neighbors. These Arabs, and their descendants make up the 1,300,000 Israeli Arabs who are full citizens of Israel today.

The others? Their number has grown to nearly 5 million today as they languish in refugee camps throughout the Arab world, used as pawns in the perpetual war against Israel.

Incidently, Minister Ayalon, a descendent of Jewish refugees from Algeria gave a talk at the UN High commission for Refugees Ministerial Meeting in Geneva yesterday, saying:

"The State of Israel is a country that was established as a shelter for Jewish refugees from all over the world, including, survivors of the Holocaust and those forced from their homes in North Africa and the Middle East. Our society is a mosaic of people from around 100 countries who returned to their ancestral homeland escaping the horrors of persecutions and violence.

As a result of our experience, Israel was one of the initiators of the Refugees Convention and one of the first countries to join it. Israel is committed to all its articles.

In addition, we support the application of the general principles governing the treatment of refugees worldwide to apply universally, without exception, including those in the Palestinian context. While the UNHCR has found durable solutions for tens of millions of refugees, the agency created specifically for the Palestinian context has found durable solutions for no one."

The 'Angry Arab' Goes Mad

2011-12-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

"I am in favor of chaos because I'm really enjoying what's happening in Egypt, especially what's happening against Israel [the attack on the Israeli embassy]. I've played these scenes on YouTube more times than I've played songs."

As'sd AbuKhalil

Another day, another teach-in at UC Berkeley. At this one, however, the thirst for chaos and disorder transcended that of peaceful co-existence.

by Cinnamon Stillwell and Rima Greene

As'ad AbuKahlil-a political science professor at California State University, Stanislaus-spoke last month at a day-long "teach-in" at the University of California, Berkeley titled, "Building Solidarity with the Arab Spring." It consisted of a number of "workshop sessions" at the Valley Life Sciences Building, followed by a "plenary session" at the Multicultural Center, and was co-sponsored by the Arab Resource Organizing Committee, the Berkeley Muslim Students Association PAC, the International Socialist Organization, and the Syrian American Council.

AbuKhalil's workshop on "The U.S. and the Arab Uprising" was held in a tiny, hot, windowless room filled with students wearing hijabs and keffiyehs. Immediately visible to all who entered was a sign leaning against the black board that set the anti-American atmosphere:

Victory to the Arab Revolutions!

U.S. Out of the Middle East!

AbuKhalil, author of the "Angry Arab" blog, was introduced as "the most influential Arab blogger in English and Arabic." Wasting no time living up to his self-caricature, he presented the demise of Israel as his life's work, referred repeatedly to the "usurping Zionist entity," and characterized the U.S. as the source of all that ails the Arab world.

To read the entire article, go to the Campus Watch website

Gaza's economy booming with 31 % economic growth

2011-12-08T17:30:00.001-08:00

The Gaza economy grew 31 percent in the second quarter of 2011, according to figures released by the Palestinian Authority's central bureau of statistics. The 25 percent unemployment rate in Gaza represents the lowest rate in a decade.

And yet, Time is not on our side. Ever biased, Time's headline reads "As the Peace Process Goes Sideways, Gaza’s Economy Remains Stiffled" Only in a reality challenged existence would 31% economic growth be considered "stiffled"

Fom the Israeli ministry of Foreign Affairs:

On 15 November a plan to import building materials for the private sector in the Gaza Strip began. Building materials for the renovation and rehabilitation of 10 private sector factories will be imported, under the supervision of the international community. This is in order to ensure that the raw materials reach their intended destinations and do not fall into the hands of terrorist organizations.

Growth reached 31% in the second quarter of this year (the construction industry accounted for the most significant increase in economic growth).

Unemployment is the lowest it has been in a decade.
There is no shortage of commercial goods in the Gaza Strip.
One hundred exit permits for businesspersons are issued every day, in addition to the passage of Gaza residents for humanitarian reasons and the entry of international organization employees.
The import of new cars is also permitted, and many luxury cars are imported to the Gaza Strip via the Erez crossing.

Projects

Recently Israel approved 13 more projects of the international community, bringing to 176 the total number of projects approved. Thirty-five of the projects have been completed, 70 are in various stages of implementation, 63 have not yet begun, and eight were canceled.

Up to the beginning of November, 11,343 truckloads of building materials were delivered to the Gaza Strip for these projects.

Projects by type

Education - 64
Infrastructure - 32
Agriculture - 18
Health - 14
Housing - 13
Roads - 10
Miscellaneous - 25

Projects by sponsor

UNRWA - 76
USAID - 47
UNDP - 39
World Bank - 3
Red Cross - 3
France - 2
Germany - 2
Egypt - 1
Belgium - 1
Netherlands - 1
Sweden - 1

Exports

The agricultural export season begins on 21 November. Exports are expected to be similar to last year (291 truckloads of agricultural produce were exported last year). Last week seminars were held for exporters from Gaza on packing and export procedures in order to ensure optimal management of this year's exports.

Voices of Tolerance and Diversity in Israel

2011-12-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel

US Appeals Court: Holy land Foundation Funneled money to Hamas

2011-12-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

A U.S. federal appeals court upheld the convictions of five leaders of a "charity" on charges of funneling money and supplies to Hamas, designated by the US as a terrorist group. The unanimous three-judge panel referenced “voluminous evidence” that the foundation, which was started in the late 1980s, had long-running financial ties to Hamas. The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation had its assets frozen by the Bush administration in December 2001 and were found guilty in 2008 on charges of funneling money to Hamas.

Ghassan Elashi, of Richardson, one of the founders of the "charity" , received 65 years for support of Hamas money laundering and tax fraud. Shukri Abu Baker, of Garland, Holy Land's CEO, received 65 years for support of Hamas, money laundering and tax fraud. Mufid Abdulqader, of Richardson received 20 years for conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization; conspiracy to provide funds, goods and services to a specially designated terrorist; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Abdulrahman Odeh, of the New Jersey office received 15 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization; conspiracy to provide funds, goods and services to a specially designated terrorist; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Mohammad El-Mezain who ran the California Office of Holy Land received 15 years in prison for providing support to Hamas.

The organizers of the Holy Land Foundation, based in Richardson, Texas argued they were denied a fair trial in 2008. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected those challenges, concluding that “while no trial is perfect,” Holy Land and its leaders were fairly convicted.

Federal law makes it a crime to provide material aid and support to a designated terrorist organization like Hamas. “By supporting such entities, the defendants facilitated Hamas’ activity by furthering its popularity among Palestinians and by providing a funding resource. This, in turn, allowed Hamas to concentrate its efforts on violent activity,” wrote Judge Carolyn King

This organization's tax exemption has been suspended under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(p). Contributions to this organization during its 501(p) suspension are not deductible. This organization has been designated by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control as supporting or engaging in terrorist activity. All financial transactions with this organization by residents of the United States, or within the borders of the United States, are prohibited.

Who Is The 99%? And Who Decides That?

2011-12-07T12:26:00.001-08:00

On Monday night, standing outside Oakland's Grand Marriott Hotel, holding a flag and a sign that said "The 99% Support Democracy, The 99% Support Israel", I had some time to consider the usefulness (or lack therof) of this whole 99% and 1% business, as it applied to the business at hand.

The organizers of the event, Students for Justice in Palestine, Code Pink, Jewish Voice for Peace, and company, were running with the idea that AIPAC is the 1%--the quintessential 1%--and called their event 'Occupy AIPAC, Not Palestine'. (The complex means by which 'occupy' is now being used by these people both as a positive and negative term--and the total lack of actual 'occupation' in any of these contexts--is a story for another time.)

AIPAC is not the 1%. AIPAC's membership is made up overwhelmingly of economically average Americans. AIPAC is a lobbying group, and entirely uninvolved with the banking industry, or the current economic morass in which the United States finds itself.

One of our members was told directly, twice, on Monday night, that she 'was the 1%'. This was patently not true; she is, in fact, a kindergarten teacher at a public school, which is not traditionally a profession of the rich and influential. But in the minds of the anti-AIPAC protesters, she had given up her place in the economic rank-and-file of the country by daring to cross them over Israel.

Meanwhile, San Francisco Voice for Israel held signs proudly proclaiming ourselves lovers of Israel who are the 99%, and claimed the support of the 99% for democracy, and for peace in the Middle East. The mere idea that we would do this seemed to confuse some who were unable to grasp the idea that they did not own the Occupy movement. Allison Deger at Mondoweiss was baffled: "(In an odd occurrence, while members of the Occupy Oakland movement were present at the Stop AIPAC demonstration, members of the pro-AIPCA demonstration carried sign identifying as the "99%")." Note: There were members of the Occupy Oakland movement present on both sides. That this is unthinkable to people who like to imagine that all left-wing activists agree with them does not make it any the less true.

But to get back to this 1% business--to call someone "the 1%" is essentially to say that they are rich and powerful, which is a fairly loaded thing to falsely throw at Jews. After the demo, several people commented that they had perceived the emphasis on AIPAC as 'the 1%' as containing rather obvious layers of racist nuance. "Essentially they mean Jews are the 1% who run the world," a friend commented.

This shouldn't surprise anyone, but it should be of some concern to those anti-AIPAC protesters marching blithely around with signs declaring that AIPAC violates their Jewish values. These people should understand that they are being offered a bargain that's all too familiar to Jewish activists: they are permitted to consider themselves part of the struggle, as long as they ask for nothing for themselves, and never critique the ways in which anti-Semitism is used in that struggle.

It's a bad bargain. Regardless of feelings about AIPAC, no Jew should accept it.

Look Who Thinks They Started A Revolution

2011-12-06T23:39:00.001-08:00

If there is one thing that anti-Israel groups with an agenda really can't stand, it's the sight of people organizing and protesting without them, and even worse, pursuing an agenda other than the one the anti-Israel groups would really like to see, ie, trashing Israel.

So, to some extent, the Occupy movement has to be a bit of nightmare for the likes of International ANSWER. The sight of large, quasi-organized groups of left-leaning Americans blaming the problems of the world on economic inequality, rather than the State of Israel is infuriating.

There are a couple of ways to handle this. One is to attempt to persuade the Occupy Movement that protesting the existence of Israel is, in fact, something that should be a priority. Hence, the (tabled) attempt to convince the General Assembly of Occupy Oakland to protest at last night's AIPAC conference. Despite plaintive claims about AIPAC, Occupy declined to follow Code Pink and Students for Justice in Palestine out to the Hilton, and their rally drew fewer than fifty people. They did their best to link their hate to the memes of the Occupy Movement, carrying signs insisting that "AIPAC is the 1%", and falsely accusing AIPAC of forcing the US into Iraq, but it seems that the actual Occupiers weren't interested, staying away in droves.

The other way, of course, is to simply claim credit, as in this charming e-mail that landed in my box:

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the ANSWER Coalition. Founded just three days after the September 11, 2001 attacks, ANSWER has been the central organizer of many major demonstrations against war, racism and repression in cities from coast to coast over the past ten years. Today, ANSWER is an integral part of the Occupy movement that has swept the country and around the world, providing vital logistical as well as political support to this electrifying new expression of popular opposition to injustice, war and inequality.

INTEGRAL! Do you hear me, we're INTEGRAL!!

The year 2011 has seen an amazing resurgence of grassroots resistance here and around the world. In January and February we saw the popular uprisings that brought down the U.S.-backed regimes in Tunisia and Egypt.

I almost get the sense that ANSWER also wants credit for bringing down the governments of Tunisia and Egypt.

ANSWER has played a key role in linking the anti-war struggle to the Occupy movement, Richard Becker continues. He doesn't exactly go on to prove this, however, he just states:

While most U.S. troops will finally be leaving Iraq after devastating that country, thousands of “contractors” (really military in different uniforms) will remain. U.S. officials have made it clear they will continue to surround Iraq with U.S. bases that blanket the region. Following the bombing war against Libya, the Pentagon continues attacks on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and other countries with impunity, threatens Iran, funds Israel’s occupation of Palestine, and has just sent an initial contingent of troops into central Africa. The real military budget this year will be well over one trillion dollars, more than $3 billion every day!

What to do about all of this? Send money, of course. International ANSWER may not be able to get Occupy out to protest AIPAC, but they still hope for a pity check or two.

Twitter Wars: #IsraelLoves overtakes #Israelhates

2011-12-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction....The chain reaction of evil--hate begetting hate...must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963.

When you pay a huge PR firm 30 K a month plus expenses to manage your social media, what does it get you?
Apparently it pays for "#israelhates" to trend on twitter.

Twitter activists noticed this disturbing trend over the weekend, as hateful, often anti-Semitic tweets began appearing, using the hash tag #israelhates. The hash tag had reached 0.15 percent of all worldwide tweets, according to the web site Trendistic, which monitors the popularity of trend topics.

The initial response from Jewish community activists? Variations on the theme #israelhates terror

Enter Avi Mayer, head of social media for the Jewish Agency, who tweeted “The haters have gotten ‘IsraelHates’ to trend worldwide. Let’s counter with #Israelloves”

From the Jerusalem Post

Mayer’s tag had become so popular, reaching 0.02 percent of worldwide tweets, that the message of hate he had sought to combat had disappeared from the trending list.

“It’s important for those who love Israel to talk about it in a positive way,” said Mayer.

Thanks Avi. This is an important lesson for all of us who love Israel throughout the world. As we enter the darkest day of the darkest month of the year, let us remember the power of light to overcome darkness, evil,and despair. Thats the message of Hannukah, and thats the also the message of Avi Mayer.

Hows that "secular democractic state" going for you, btw?

2011-12-04T11:23:00.000-08:00

So, How's that "secular democratic state in Palestine " working out for you?

From the MAAN News Agency

AZA CITY (Ma'an) Police shut down the Gaza branch of a social media conference on Sunday, days after another video conference was closed by authorities in the coastal strip.

Billed as the first Palestinian social media conference, the three-day event opened Sunday in Ramallah's Cultural Palace with a video link to the Light House Hotel in Gaza City.

Mohammad Abu Sharkh, Gaza office director of conference organizers Amin, said police entered the conference venue and ordered it shut as it had failed to obtain requisite licenses.

Abu Sharkh said in a press statement that the group had sent a formal letter to authorities notifying them of the conference.

"They told us there was no problem," he said.

When police arrived, the organizers complained to Gaza's media ministry who tried to intervene, but without success, Abu Sharkh said.

They were informed the conference could proceed as soon as the necessary licenses were obtained, he added.

On Thursday, police shut down the Gaza venue of a conference on labor rights for women organized by the Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (Musawa), the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said.

PCHR said the event coordinator had notified police of the event two days prior and called on the government and security services to stop interfering in private meetings.

The law on prior police notification applies only to meetings of more than 50 people in an open place, and thus not to Musawa's event, PCHR said at the time.

The rights group said closing down the conference "constitutes a violation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly which are ensured under the constitution."

Gaza Police (MaanImages/Wissam Nassar, File)

To CalPERS and CalSTRS : California Rejects Divestment

2011-12-04T10:04:00.000-08:00

Its been 8 month and the divestment petition urging CalPRES and CalSTRS to divest from companies doing business in Israel is going down for the third time. After 8 months, less than 5,000 names are on the petition- the vast majority identifying themselves only as "California taxpayers"- with no funds invested in CalPERS or CalSTRS.

Organizers are in panic mode. The original intention was to present the petition to Fund administrators on Dec.12, no doubt accompanied by massive press releases declaring "California urges divestment from Israeli Apartheid"

From Sherna Gluck via Al Awda.

Note the charming new definition of "California tax-payer"- anyone who makes a purchase in California.

"We are getting down to the wire, going to PERS Investment Committee on December 12th with the IDC petition and a pretty compelling report/argument. We are making a final push in order to reach 5,000 signatures. Another 100 +_/- will do it.l Please forward widely to all your contacts in California. .

Remember, anyone who nakes any purchase in California is a tax-payer, so that means students, too.

ANYTHING you can do to help us reach that goal would be fantastic."

Onward!

Sherna

Dear Friends,

On December 12th, members of the Israel Divestment Campaign (IDC) will be presenting a petition to CalPERS (the Public Employee Retirement System), the largest public pension fund in the US) calling on it to start the process that leads to divestment. The campaign has targeted some of the companies that facilitate/profit from Israeli violation of human rights, International law, and UN Resolutions, including: Caterpillar, Elbit and Veolia.

I hope that you will help the campaign reach its goal by signing the petition online today! www.israeldivestmentcampaign.org/petition.htm
and be sure to respond to the automated message after you sign asking you to confirm your signature.

I signed, won't you?

December 1st, 2011
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition calls on its members and supporters to join the global effort to bring freedom and justice to Palestine.

This is the most significant BDS Project based in California and we need your help and support.

On December 12th, members of the Israel Divestment Campaign (IDC) will be presenting its petition to CalPERS (the Public Employee Retirement System), the largest public pension fund in the US, calling on it to start the process that leads to divestment. They have targeted some of the companies that facilitate/profit from Israeli violation of human rights, International law, and UN Resolutions, including: Caterpillar, Elbit and Veolia.

Help the campaign reach its goal by signing the petition online today!:

israeldivestmentcampaign.org/petition.htm

Be sure to respond to the automated message after you sign asking you to confirm your signature.

Please distribute this email widely!

Al Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition

What can you do? Drop CalPERS a line. Ask them to ignore the haters, and not to capitulate to extremist political groups while investing your retirement money.

The Forward Censors Pro-Israel StandWithUs

2011-12-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

Regarding the Recent Hit-Piece in the Forward

The once venerable Forward recently published an highly slanted article on StandWithUs, and has refused to allow StandWithUs to respond.

The censored response follows:

StandWithUs appreciates your recent coverage of our dynamic growth, and of our multiple educational and advocacy efforts in cities around the world.
However, we were disturbed by the bizarre angle of your article, which tried to discredit us as “right wing,” and absurdly asked whether StandWithUs should register as an agent of a foreign government even though your own sources emphatically rejected this notion. You even tried to imply that there is something suspect about our funding sources though the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and Birthright Israel can hardly be considered suspect.
Your readers deserve to know the facts.
StandWithUs does not and has never advocated specific policies for Israel. Our work and our respect for Israel’s democratically elected government is not contingent on which parties are in power. Instead, since our founding, our mission has been to counter the vicious anti-Israel, anti-Semitic propaganda campaign that was unleashed along with the Intifada in September, 2000. Our goal is to educate the public about Israel—and empower others to educate their communities—to counter the demonizing propaganda and to make it possible to have reasonable, informed conversations about Israel’s policies on campuses and in communities.
Your readers should be informed about the virulence of the anti-Israel propaganda campaign. Israel is the only modern state whose right to exist is still questioned. If you consider support for the existence of the Jewish State a right wing position, then indeed we are right wing. Yet you repeatedly confused anti-Israel propaganda with “reasonable criticism” of Israeli policies. But the boycott movement against Israel is not just critical of Israel’s occupation and settlements as you claimed. The movement opposes the very existence of the Jewish state. Read their literature and their websites which are biased screeds that ignore ongoing terrorism and falsify facts. We objected to the Israeli soldiers’ group speaking on campuses not because they are critical of the Israeli government but because they misrepresent the IDF to vilify it and contribute to the malicious misinformation about Israel on American campuses.
Similarly, your article misrepresented why we object to J Street. It is not because J Street “criticizes” Israel's government policies, but rather because it attempts to get the American government to strong arm Israel into adopting specific policies that Israeli voters clearly rejected in their democratic elections. It is an effort to bypass Israel’s democracy. Furthermore, J Street has often supported blatant demonization of Israel, as when it tried to facilitate bringing Richard Goldstone and the infamous UN Goldstone Report to Congressional members. Even Goldstone himself has admitted the inaccuracy and bias of that report.
Indeed, it seems you had to search hard to find some evidence that would justify your criticism of StandWithUs. Though you claimed that StandWithUs has many critics, the only one you cited by name is well-known for his extremist views. Your criticism of some specific facts in our educational materials is simply erroneous . Despite your claim, Israel’s founding in May, 1948, did not cause the Palestinian refugee problem. Indeed, no responsible historian, including Benny Morris, disputes the fact that had Palestinian leaders accepted the UN Partition plan instead of launching a war to destroy the newly declared state, there would have been no refugees and a Palestinian Arab state would exist today. The Danny Ayalon video simply laid out the historical facts about the West Bank. It is disputed territory, and both Palestinians and Israelis have legitimate claims to it. What policies Israel and the Palestinians choose in light of these facts is a political question that will hopefully be hammered out in negotiations. StandWithUs does not recommend any specific policies, but rather elucidates the facts and history so there can be reasonable discussions about different policy options.
It is a shame that The Forward, while seeming to congratulate our growth and achievements during the last ten years, nonetheless chose to malign our efforts.
These are difficult times for Israel. The Arab spring has created instability in the region and allowed the rise of Islamist forces that oppose Israel’s existence. Iran is racing to develop nuclear weapons and constantly reiterates that it wants to wipe Israel off the map. Hezbollah and Hamas continue amassing arms. The anti-Israel propaganda campaign, often called the “new anti-Semitism,” (for good reason) persistently tries to make inroads in liberal Western democracies. StandWithUs alerts and educates the public about these challenges, while the Forward minimizes them, doing a disservice to its readers.
Roz Rothstein, CEO
StandWithUs

How Much do you know about Palestine?

2011-12-03T06:27:00.000-08:00

From Our friends at CIF Watch:
A guest post by Geary, shamelessly reproduced in its entirety, here.

Please take the following quiz on topics regarding Palestinian quality of life, demography and history, and test your knowledge with the answers provided below.

Questions
1.) Rank these countries according to life expectancy (longest first).

Brazil, Turkey, Egypt, Gaza, Russia, & world average

2.) Rank these conflicts (since 1950) in terms of number of casualties.

Burma/Myanmar; Russia-Chechnya; Arab-Israeli conflict; Zimbabwe civil disorders; Iranian Revolution; Repression of Kurds (Turkey,Iraq,Iran); Sudan civil wars

3.) How many Palestinians were treated in Israeli hospitals in 2010?

None; 180; 1,800; 18,000; or 180,000

4.) Which of the following organs of Palestinian society are under “occupying” Israeli control?

Education system; The Judiciary; The Press, Taxation; or None of the above

5.) Rank these countries by rate of economic growth (GDP, 2009 figures)

Australia, Germany, Israel, Egypt, Palestinian Territories, Hong Kong, and Brazil

6.) The UN Human Rights Council has passed more resolutions against Israel over the Palestine question than against all other nations combined.

Which of these countries are not currently serving on the UNHRC?

Sweden, Russia, Pakistan, Canada, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, China

7.) How much of Gaza’s electricity is supplied by Israel?

None, 10%, 33%, 50%, or 70%

8.) Rank these countries in order of family home ownership.

United States, Italy, Palestinian territories, France, Germany, and Switzerland

9.) Since Arafat launched the 2nd Intifada War against Israel, the last decade has been by far the most costly in Palestinian lives in the history of Israel-Palestinian relations. How many Palestinians have died in conflict with Israel since 2000?

Less than 10,000; 10,000 – 20,000; 20,000 – 30,000; 30,000 – 40,000; or more than 40,000

10.) In the Second Intifada War against Israel, how many Palestinians were killed by other Palestinians (the “Intra-fada”)?

70; 170; 370; or 570

ANSWERS
1.) Rank these countries according to life expectancy (longest first)

i) Gaza Strip – 73.4 years

ii) Egypt – 72

iii) Brazil – 72

iv) Turkey – 72

v) World average – 66.6

vi) Russia – 66

So you can expect to enjoy an extra 16 months if you were born on the Gazan side of the Rafa Crossing than if you were born on the Egyptian side.

The average West bank Palestinian does better still, at 74.5, which may well be explained in part by Question 3.

And given that the average Gazan lives longer than the average Turk, perhaps those ‘humanitarian’ flotillas should be heading in the opposite direction.

Sources, here and here.

2.) Rank these conflicts (since 1950) in terms of number of casualties.

i) Sudan civil wars – 1.9 million casualties

ii) Repression of Kurds – 300,000

iii) Russia–Chechnya – 140,000

iv) Burma/Myanmar – 130,000

v) Sri Lanka – 8,000

vi) Iranian Revolution – 80,000

vii) Zimbabwe – 60,000

viii) Arab-Israeli conflict 52,000

In fact the Arab-Israeli conflict comes just 49th in the list of the worst conflicts of the last sixty years, many of which are, shamefully, completely forgotten or ignored by the western press.

3.) How many Palestinians were treated in Israeli hospitals in 2010?

i) None

ii) 180

iii) 1,800

iv) 18,000

v) 180,000

These included many thousands of patients from Gaza, despite its government’s constant attacks on Israeli citizens.

Israeli hospitals would be able to treat many more Palestinians if security was not an issue. Before the 2000 Intifada was declared, any Palestinian could simply arrive at an Israeli hospital and be treated.

4.) Which of the following organs of Palestinian society are under “occupying” Israeli control?

i) Education system

ii) The judiciary

iii) The press

iv) Taxation

v) None of the above

Compare this to, say, the complete lack of autonomy of the Kurds and other minorities in Turkey.

5.) Rank these countries by rate of economic growth (GDP, 2009 figures)

i) Palestinian Territories (8%)

ii) Brazil (7.5%)

iii) Hong Kong (6.8%)

iv) Egypt (5.1%)

v) Israel (4.6%)

vi) Germany (3.5%)

vii) Australia (2.7%)

After the economic depression which accompanied Arafat’s Intifada War on Israel, and after the building of the Security Fence to protect Israelis from terrorist aggression and restore security to the West Bank, things are definitely looking brighter for the Palestinian economy.

6.) The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has passed more resolutions against Israel over the Palestine question than against all other nations combined.

Which of these countries are not currently serving on the UNHRC?

Sweden and Canada are not on the UNHRC, whilst China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Pakistan are.

7.) How much of Gaza’s electricity is supplied by Israel?

i) none

ii) 10%

iii) 33%

iv) 50%

v) 70%

Israel supplies over 70%, Egypt a ‘generous’ 5%, with the remaining 25% coming from the Strip’s lone plant.

8.) Rank these countries in order of family home ownership.

i) Palestinian territories 84%

ii) Italy 78%

iii) United States 65%

iv) Sweden 60%

v) France 54%

vi) Germany 43%

9.) Since Arafat launched his Intifada War against Israelis, the last decade has been by far the most costly in Palestinian lives in the history of Israel-Palestinian relations.

How many Palestinians have died in conflict with Israel since 2000?

i) Less than 10,000 (Around 6,000, combatants and non-combatants.)

ii) 10,000 – 20,000

iii) 20,000 – 30,000

iv) 30,000 – 40,000

v) More than 40,000

To put this in perspective: 20,000 are feared dead in one month in 2009 of the Sri Lanka conflict

Between 50,000 and 70,000 have died in the same decade in Chechnya, whilst 35,000 people have died in Mexico’s drugs wars since 2005.

10.) In the Second Intifada War against Israel, how many Palestinians were killed by other Palestinians (the “Intra-fada”)?

i) None

ii) 70

iii) 170

iv) 370

v) 570

Or, more precisely, 557 according to B’Tselem. For some reason, few, if any, international protests were heard on such Palestinian-on-Palestinian killings.

YOUR SCORE

8-10 Well-informed. You are probably a regular visitor to CiF Watch.

4-7 You often uncritically accept the mainstream media’s coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

0-3 You likely read the Guardian as a serious newspaper.

Supporting Sources available at the CIF Watch website

CSU Northridge David Klein's offensive webpage.

2011-12-01T11:37:00.000-08:00

Is there a limit to academic freedom? Is there ever a time when academic freedom crosses the line into full-fledged indocrination of students? Does a Professor have the right to post offensive, racially charged and academically irrelevant material on his state-funded website?

From the AMCHA Initiative, authored by Tammi Benjamin, a nominee for Jewish Community Hero of 2011

David Klein, a Mathematics professor at California State University Northridge, is a founding member of the Academic Boycott of Israel campaign, and recently authored an open letter to CSU Chancellor Reed, urging him to rescind the newly revived CSU-Study Abroad Program in "apartheid" Israel. Professor Klein uses the official website of the CSUN Mathematics department to post anti-Semitic text and pictures, which are intended to incite hatred of Israel and her supporters and encourage political activism to harm the Jewish state.

Last week we sent the following letter to CSU Northridge President Jolene Koester , apprising her of Professor Klein's anti-Semitic webpages and urging her to have them removed from the CSUN server:

******************************
Dr. Jolene Koester
President, California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northridge, CA 91330

Dear President Koester,

We are faculty members at the University of California, who have been investigating and documenting anti-Jewish bigotry on California public university campuses for the last several years.

In case you have not seen them, we wanted to bring to your attention two webpages of CSU Northridge Professor of Mathematics David Klein, which are hosted on the CSUN server:
Professor Klein's "Home Page," linked to the "Tenure-Track Faculty" webpage of the CSUN Department of Mathematics, contains a section entitled "CSU and Political Issues," that includes a link to another CSUN-hosted webpage entitled "Boycott Israel."
Professor Klein's "Boycott Israel" page contains a litany of false and inflammatory statements and photographs intended to incite hatred and promote political activism against the Jewish state.

There are several reasons why Professor Klein's webpages should be immediately removed from the CSUN server:

1) These webpages are in clear violation of the CSU policy prohibiting the misuse of the CSU name for inappropriate purposes, including for the promotion of political organizations and activities such as "boycott." As you have seen on Professor Klein's Home Page, he specifically links the University to several political action organizations and activities, including the boycott of Israel, in a section he telling calls "CSU and Political Issues."

2) Many of Professor Klein's statements on his "Boycott Israel" webpage meet the U.S. Department of State's Working Definition of Anti-Semitism, including the statement that "Israel is the most racist country in the world." In addition, the pictures of mutilated dead babies that appear on this page, with the clear implication that the babies have been brutally murdered by Israeli soldiers, are perfect examples of the classic anti-Semitic "blood libel", the false accusation that Jews kill non-Jewish children for evil purposes, an accusation that has been used throughout Jewish history for the purpose of inciting hatred and violence against Jews. Campaigns to boycott the Jewish state are also anti-Semitic according to the U.S. State Department, and in some cases are a violation of U.S. law.

3) The promotion of virulently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic statements and imagery on the departmental website of a CSUN faculty member cannot help but contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students on your campus.

4) CSUN is a public university, whose facilities and resources, including the CSUN website, are supported by the tax dollars of California citizens, many of whom would find Professor Klein's webpages an egregious violation of public trust.

We do not believe that this is an issue of Professor Klein's freedom of speech. Indeed, CSUN's policy on internet use explicitly states that the University has the right to remove "any defamatory, offensive, infringing, or illegal materials" from its website. If you choose not to remove Professor Klein's anti-Semitic material from the CSUN website, we will presume that it is because the University finds nothing "defamatory, offensive, infringing, or illegal" about these webpages, and is unconcerned with the effects they may have on CSUN students, parents, community members, and taxpayers.

We know that you will soon be retiring as CSUN President, but we trust that you will have the opportunity to look into this matter and take appropriate action.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin
Lecturer, University of California at Santa Cruz
Co-founder the AMCHA Initiative

Leila Beckwith
Professor Emeritus, University of California at Los Angeles
Co-founder the AMCHA Initiative

******************************************

It has been over a week, and we have not heard from CSUN President Koester or the individuals copied on our email. We believe it is important for the CSU leadership to know that members of the Jewish community are outraged that a publicly funded university is hosting an anti-Semitic website. Please consider sending a respectful letter to one or more of the following individuals, asking them to remove Professor David Klein's anti-Semitic webpages from the CSUN server:

CSU Northridge President Jolene Koester: jolene.koester@csun.edu
CSU Chancellor Charles Reed: creed@calstate.edu
CSUN Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Harold Hellenbrand: harry.hellenbrand@csun.edu
CSUN Department of Mathematics Chair Werner Horn: werner.horn@csun.edu

You may also consider sending an email to Chancellor Reed, asking him to reject the open letter authored by Professor Klein urging the Chancellor to rescind CSU's Israel Study Abroad program. Given the anti-Semitic nature of Professor Klein's website, it is quite clear that his open letter is yet one more attempt to harm the Jewish state and those who support it. In this case, his anti-Jewish animus is aimed directly at our students.

Sincerely,

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin
Lecturer, University of California at Santa Cruz
Co-founder the AMCHA Initiative

Leila Beckwith
Professor Emeritus, University of California at Los Angeles
Co-founder the AMCHA Initiative
*********************

Please consider writing a letter to the CSU Chancellor regarding this wildly inappropriate use of tax-payer sponsored bandwith. Its up to ALL of us to defend the rights of Jewish students on campus.