Hate speech from the promoters of the Global march to Jerusalem

Zionism is the national revival movement of the Jews. It holds that the Jews are a people and therefore have the right to self-determination in their own national home. It aims to secure and support a legally recognized national home for the Jews in their historical homeland, and to initiate and stimulate a revival of Jewish national life, culture and language.

Zionism holds that the Jews are a nation like any other, and should gather together in a single homeland.

Feroze Mithiborwala, one of the organizers of the ill-conceived and ill-executed Global march to Jerusalem lists his employer as "Solidarity Towards Oppressed People (STOP)" He has publicly declared his opposition towards "Imperialism, Zionism and Brahamism"

(Note to Feroze: If you believe ALL people in the world have the right to self determination EXCEPT the Jewish people, that might make you an anti-Semite.)

What do we need to know about "STOP"?

How about this charming post, currently gracing their Facebook page?


"God's angels of death and destruction…strike it! Let Zionism be damned wherever it is found. A heart touching wish by our brother activist- Steve Wertheim.

May it's wretched soul instantly wither and suffer eternal damnation...and may it not survive one month. May it be banished from all light and all life. May its future be dark, and may God's justice pursue it. A disaster it has never experienced will befall it, and all curses known by any who has suffered by it, its demons, and their minions, in body, mind, or spirit, come to fruition. We deliver to you, God's angels of wrath and ire, Zionism, the satanic offspring of Judaism, that you may smother it, and cast it and its spectre into damnation, dry up its wealth, plague its mind, and scatter its consciousness that it may steadily be diminished until it reaches his death. Put to death the cursed Zionism. May it be damned, damned, damned!"

Think Feroze is just a foreign extremist? Think this has no relevance to our "Peace activists" locally? Think again. Feroze was sponsored at a talk by the Middle East Children's Alliance and The International Jewish Solidarity Network and hosted at the local Arab Resource Center just a few years ago. And yes, these are the same local groups that sponsored the GMJ solidarity rally at the consulate yesterday.



Next week, when we gather with our friends, our family and our community at our Passover seders, when we read "For not just one alone has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise against us to destroy us", remember please that Amalek still exists. Its our responsibility- each of ours- to fight against this evil with whatever tools we have at our disposal. In our generation this struggle may not involve picking up a sword or cross-bow. It will involve writing op-eds and letters to the editor. It will involve phoning and emailing our elected representatives. It will involve standing up against hate whenever we see it-on the streets, in the mainstream media or on the web. And as importantly, it will mean acting as a force for light and for justice in this world.

Lets take to heart the words of Mrs. Eva Sandler, the wife of murdered Rabbi Jonathan and the mother of Aryeh and Gavriel, whose lives were taken by hate in Toulouse, France.

"Parents, please kiss your children. Tell them how much you love them, and how dear it is to your heart that they be living examples of our Torah, imbued with the fear of Heaven and with love of their fellow man.

Please increase your study of Torah, whether on your own or with your family and friends. Help others who may find study difficult to achieve alone.
Please bring more light into the world by kindling the Sabbath candles this and every Friday night. (Please do so a bit earlier than the published times as a way to add holiness to our world.)

The holiday of Passover is approaching. Please invite another person into your homes so that all have a place at a Seder to celebrate the holiday of our freedom.

Please bring more light into the world by kindling the Sabbath candles this and every Friday night.

Along with our tearful remembrance of our trials in Egypt so many years ago, we still tell over how “in each and every generation, they have stood against us to destroy us.” We all will announce in a loud and clear voice: “G-d saves us from their hands.”

PROTEST IN FRONT OF CONSULATE TODAY

About one hundred and twenty of the usual folks on the anti-Israel side, including the most brain-damaged resident of Telegraph Avenue, plus Richard Becker, Forest Schmidt, and several middle-aged Berkeley women with sad empty lives and a thing for Levantine boys.
Oh, and the Levantine boys - but they seemed a bit drab and irrelevant.
Also three charming young damsels with flashing eyes who really appreciated my waving a shoe at them.  They screamed, smiled, and waved.

Hi ladies.  Anytime you want to talk about foot-wear, I’m ready.
You look like you’d be tons of good wholesome fun.
And you probably have lovely feet.


DEFECTIVE PEOPLE

One Arab teenager on the hatefilled side is in the running for a Darwin Award.
Getting hit by a truck for playing in traffic is a horrible way to become a shahid, but if you’re that unlikely to ever become a useful member of society, your parents will simply have to accept it.  Better than nothing, I guess.
They can always use that four-coloured battle rag as a shroud.
For their sake it should happen soon.
You eat too much.

Richard Becker spoke at one point. Something inane about revolution and struggle, a short and relatively mild version of his usual Marxist piffle.  Either he or his dogsbody Forest have probably realized that the dear ladies from code pink can’t grasp anything complicated, the angry Arab teenagers can’t spell it, and the middle-aged gentlemen of pro-Hamas convictions simply ignore it as typical prattle from a useful idiot. 
You’re on their list, Dicky.

BTW, why is Forest so red-faced?  High blood pressure?  Frustration?
I worry about him, he’s looking unhealthy.
So do you, Richard.


Seventeen signs produced by International A.N.S.W.E.R. - printed years ago and ragged from re-use.
Organizers: ANSWER, Code Pink, AROC, and the International Socialist Organization.
More than half a year in the making.
Tons of amusing e-mails.
Four Pally flags.

Just four.

Our side had way more flags, Richard.  Israeli flags.  As well as more intelligent signs.

And as usual even a few of us are more than a match for your revolutionary wannabe drones.
Just remember that most of us have jobs, Richard, and are well-adjusted.
Whereas you associate with juvenile delinquents.
And the ladies of Code Pink.
Plus Forest Schmidt.
How horrid.

Global march to Jerusalem Fails to Meet Organizers Expectations

The latest high profile publicity stunt from the "I hate Israel" cru has fizzled and burned, with more people chosing to run in the Tel Aviv marathon than storming Israel's borders

The "peaceful" demonstration instead was marred by activists throwing rocks and firebombs in a vain attempt to provoke an Israeli reaction.

From Adam Kredo

"Pro-Palestinian activists involved in the Global March on Jerusalem (GMJ) criticized Israel on Twitter Friday after violent protests along Israel’s borders forced the deployment of tear gas and resulted in injuries—but downplayed the fact that rocks and firebombs had been thrown by protesters to instigate the clashes.

Pictures and videos from the protest—which aims to “end the Apartheid, ethnic cleansing and Judaisation policies affecting the people, land and sanctity of Jerusalem”—reveal that self-described “peaceful” protestors have been throwing firebombs and rocks at Israeli border police.

Twitter user Captain Barak Raz, who identifies himself as a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Force’s division in the West Bank, posted a video of protesters throwing a firebomb at Israeli security forces.

“Firebombs on security forces peaceful protest???,” Raz tweeted when linking to the video. “#Yeahright.”

He continues

"Middle East experts decried the one-sided lambasting of Israeli security forces.

“GMJ uses the same PR tactic that has become standard for all the terrorist groups who attack Israel. They want to put the Israelis in a situation where they have to kill people,” said Noah Pollak, executive director of the Emergency Committee for Israel. “Hamas, Hezbollah, GMJ—it’s all the same strategy: force the IDF to kill people, get it on video, kick back and enjoy the media furor.”

Hadar Sela, a Middle East writer and researcher, said, “The whole project was to create a PR disaster for Israel.”

“It comes as no surprise to see [Global March to Jerusalem] organizers and activists trying to get their pre-determined message out to the media by use of spin, even though that message has absolutely no foundation in the reality of the events which they initiated today,” Sela said.

Heading into the event, GMJ organizers referred to Israelis as Nazis and claimed that they are “ready for martyrdom.”

“Israel has gone crazy, and they are acting no different than Nazi’s. Our response to them is a response of bravery,” Firouz Mitiborwala, a GMJ-backer, told the Iranian-controlled Fars News Agency. 'We are ready for martyrdom for our Palestinian brothers.""

Action Alert: Join San Francisco Voice for Israel on March 30

From our friends at San Francisco Voice for Israel, the Bay Area Chapter of Standwithus


If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem....

Friday March 30 4-6 pm
Israeli consulate
456 Montgomery St
San Francisco

Join Standwithus/San Francisco Voice for Israel as we counter a protest in front of the Israeli Consulate. Local extremist groups including Al Awda and International ANSWER have called for a protest in solidarity with the Global March to Jerusalem, the latest high profile publicity stunt that seeks to storm Israel’s borders on March 30, 2012. The march has been orchestrated by leaders of the Muslim brotherhood, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the members of the Fringe Left, who deny the Jewish peoples' historical, cultural and religious ties to our holiest city, and have demanded the end of the so-called "Judaization of Jerusalem". Just last month local organizers invited notorious anti-Semite Gilad Atzmon to the Bay area as a fundraiser for the Global march to Jerusalem. Atzmon has been widely condemned across the political spectrum for his racist views. Organizers have called for demonstrations at Israel’s consulates , declaring the "GMJ will siege Israel and its embassies over the world."


Please join us in front of the Consulate, 456 Montgomery St San Francisco this Friday, March 30 from 4- 6.
Stand with us
Stand For Peace
Stand with Israel


We encourage you to bring your own signs and flags to this action, but ask you not stoop to the opposition's level of hatred by holding signs that disparage Palestinians, Arabs, or Muslims (or any other ethnicity) as a group. It is very important that those who join us refrain from engaging in confrontations with the extremist groups organizing this event. Also we specifically dissociate ourselves from anyone delivering any hate speech or threats to those on the other side and we ask that those in attendance let us know of anyone violating these guidelines.


This is what we'll be countering

March 30 2012 is Buy Israeli Goods Day.

Celebrate and Support Israel on March 30, 2012 and everyday. In an effort to counter a global anti-israel Boycott day, scheduled for this Friday, March 30, we are urging everyone to buy israeli products. 333

From a press release by Standwithus

"We need to show the boycotters that their efforts remain doomed. Let the boycotters know that when they call for boycotts of even one or two stores or products, they will face a much larger movement to buy Israeli goods," said StandWithUs co-founder and CEO Roz Rothstein. "We are telling people to go to their local stores, request the exact Israeli products being targeted, and buy them out. Let store managers know they should keep Israeli products well stocked on the shelves."

StandWithUs, in partnership with the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, successfully countered similar boycott days in 2010 and 2011. They mobilized Israel supporters in every store that the boycotters had targeted worldwide. Shoppers bypassed the protesters and bought out entire Israeli product lines. Delighted store owners said it was their best shopping days and promised to keep their shelves stocked with the targeted products.

March 30, 2012, is an opportune day to purchase Israeli products because the Jewish holiday of Passover is in April this year. Shoppers can choose presents from the wonderful array of Israeli-made items, from fine Israeli wines to the high-quality Ahava beauty products, Israeli-made jewelry, shoes, clothes, and food, including Sabra or Tribe hummus and Osem cookies.

"We must defeat the boycotters who advocate destructive, instead of constructive, measures, who undermine hopes for peaceful coexistence, and whose only goal is to cripple and damage Israel by hurting Israeli citizens," Rothstein emphasized. "We can only do this by joining together to be part of a BIG campaign like this."

Standwithus isn't the only group promoting a buycott in support of the state of the Jewish people. Check out this new release from Synonymous
They state:

"We are the people of G-d.

We are the people that seek to end anti-Semitism.

We are the people that hid the Jews from the Nazis.

We are the churches.

We are the synagogues.

We are synonymous.

Expect us."




On March 30, 2012 and always support Israel. For a list of business that sell Israeli products, visit the Buy Israeli Goods website

For $50,000, Could YOU name a More free City than Jerusalem?

On his Radio show, WABC's Aaron Klein offered $50,000 to Frank Romano, an organizer of the upcoming Global March to Jerusalem, if he could name one city in the Middle East outside of Israel that has more freedom than Jerusalem.

Watch Frank Romano stumble, fall and fail fail fail, as he realizes that he is unable to meet this challenge.



Do you want to know the real story behind the Global march to Jerusalem? Just look at their organizers and endorsers- from the number one country in the world for state sponsored terror- the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hamas, and the Muslim brotherhood

Closer to home, the usual local extremists from Code Pink to Al Awda are planning a protest of the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco, from 4- 6 on Friday. Yes, there will be a counter protest. As details become available, we'll let you know.

Gilad Atzmon: Toulouse Murders a Zionist plot?

Gilad Atzmon is quickly becoming persona non grata in many circles, even amongst the extremists that once supported him. Writing on an anti-Israel website, a group of activists and academics including Ali Abunimah, Naseer Aruri, Omar Barghouti, Hatem Bazian, Andrew Dalack, Haidar Eid, Monadel Herzallah and Joseph Massad have signed onto a statement "Granting No Quarter: A Call for the Disavowal of the Racism and Antisemitism of Gilad Atzmon".

Why did it take them so long to notice that association with a man who calls the burning of synagogues a "rational act" might be construed as aiding and abetting anti-semitism and hate speech? Even so, many of the signatories of this statement have not disavowed their association with the Global March to Jerusalem, which has heavily relied on Atzmon for fundraising. Atzmon appeared at a fundraiser for the Global march last month, and his music also appears on a CD released by March organizers.

From our friends at CIFWatch

"Signatory Hatem Bazian has endorsed the GMJ and his name appears on the same website as advertisements for Atzmon-related fundraising.

Signatory Hanna Kawas is chair of the Canada Palestine Organisation and co-host at ‘Voice of Palestine’. Both these organisations appear on the GMJ-NA website as endorsers.

Jamal Juma – a colleague of signatories Omar Barghouti and Rafeef Ziadeh at the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) – is a member of the GMJ International Central Committee. In late January, Omar Barghouti gave the keynote speech at the AGM of the UK’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign – also a GMJ endorser with its director Sarah Colborne sitting on both the GMJ International Executive Committee and International Central Committee.

Signatory Haidar Eid is both an endorser of (along with co-signatories Ali Abunimah, Nadia Hijab and Omar Barghouti) and activist with the ‘Gaza Freedom March’ organization which is promoting the Global March to Jerusalem on its website.

Signatory Nada Elia is a member of the organizing committee of the US Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel, alongside Joe Catron of the ISM (a GMJ organizer) and Al Awda (a GMJ endorser).

Signatory Adam Haniyeh is also a member of two GMJ endorsing organisations: Al Awda and the ‘Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid’.

Signatory Mostafa Henway’s ‘Tadamon!’ promoted singer Shadia Mansour as recently as February 29th 2012. Mansour has collaborated widely with Atzmon in the past and appears with him on the fundraising album for the Global March to Jerusalem.

Signatory Abir Kobty (also Kopty) from Nazareth is a member of the board of the Coalition of Women for Peace which is an endorser of the ‘Free Gaza’ campaign – represented among the GMJ organisers by European Preparatory Committee member Mikalis Lukianos from ‘Ship to Gaza-Greece‘, Huweida Arraf and Feroze Mithiborwala (FGM International Co-ordinator in India).

Kobty also takes part in demonstrations organized by the ‘Popular Resistance Committees’ in places such as Nebi Saleh, Bil’in and Qalandiya. It can therefore be assumed that she is familiar with both many of the Palestinian organisations supporting the GMJ as well as individual members of the GMJ International Central Committee such as Saeed Yaqeen of ‘Stop the Wall’ or Salah al Khawaja of the Nil’in Popular Resistance Committee."

Just how bad is Atzmon?

In his latest essay "Is it an Israeli False Flag Again?" (No, I won't link to whack-doddles and anti-Semites), he writes

"I won’t rule out the possibility that Merah was actually trained by Israeli forces. Marah may have conducted a false flag operation. By way of deception is, after all, the Mossad’s motto."

(No, Gilad, actually the Mossad motto is from Proverbs 11:14 "Where there is no guidance, a nation falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." )

Yes, this deeply disturbed man is using the murders of 4 innocents to advance his hateful political agenda. Its time for all people of conscience to distance themselves completely and thoroughly , not just in word, but in deed, from this despicable human being.

Iran planned to bomb Israeli ship in Suez Canal

Iran continues to provoke a war with Israel.

According to a report from Al Ahram, the Egyptian weekly paper- Iranian agents offered 2 Egyptian men 50,000 Egyptian pounds to carry out attack on an Israeli vessel while it crossed the Suez canel.

Egypt detained the two men last week after receiving information of the planned attack. Egyptian authorities have two suspects in custody – Saliman Rizek abdel Razek and Salame Ahmed Salame. Both men denied the accusations, but according to the report authorities have evidence linking them to a third suspect – Muhammad Zakri – who they allegedly tried to hire to execute the attack.

The paper reported that Zakri was told he would be "paid by the Shiites," who ordered the attack.

Radical Islam Killed That Rabbi and Those Children

(Cross-posted at Israel Thrives)



The humanitarian racists over at Daily Kos cannot bring themselves to face the obvious fact that the murderer in Toulouse was a Jihadi. Mohammed Merah was a self-identified member of al Qaeda and received "training" from that organization in Afghanistan. He was steeped in a political culture that is not at all uncommon in the mosques throughout Europe, as it is not uncommon in the mosques of the Middle East, wherein people are taught hatred for non-Muslims and genocidal incitement toward Jews and infidels.

The reason that I call the Daily Kos people "humanitarian racists" is because they hold such a low opinion of non-whites that they absolutely cannot bring themselves to ever hold them responsible for anything.  Any time a Muslim or an Arab behaves in a brutal or violent fashion, they always blame Israel or the United States.

In one of the few "diaries" on the subject of the Toulouse Massacre over at Daily Kos, Ian Reifowitz writes the following:

To be clear, this is not about Israelis or Jews versus Palestinians or Muslims. "The Palestinians" didn't kill these people. Neither did "the Muslims." This is about hate. Hatred of France and its soldiers, and hatred of Jews. One person carried out this act, a person who was, according to what the French government has said, trained by an organization and a movement that distorts Islam. A movement that can today apparently reach anywhere and kill children. That's what chills me.

G-d forbid anyone should actually name the movement that can "apparently reach anywhere and kill children."

So, Mr. Reifowitz, can you tell us just what this movement is? You say "the Muslims" did not kill that rabbi and those children. I agree. But is anyone arguing otherwise? Is there anyone, anywhere writing in anything that even approaches a responsible journal claiming "the Muslims" done it?

Of course, not.

One person carried out this act, a person who was, according to what the French government has said, trained by an organization and a movement...

Well, if the one person responsible for the actual murders was trained by a movement (and I would add, trained to hate by a movement), I would think that this movement also holds responsibility for the perfectly foreseeable results of its genocidal ideology. Let us not be coy, Mr. Reigowitz, you know as well as I, or you should, that this "movement" you speak of has a name and a history and is, in fact, currently spreading like wild-fire throughout the Middle East under the misnomer "Arab Spring."

It is the very movement that Barack Obama has hailed as an Arab version of either the Revolution of '76 or the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s that is responsible for the construction of hatred toward Jews and infidels that led to the slaughter in Toulouse. Radical Islam, or political Islam, or whatever term one might wish to use, is a movement grounded in genocide. This should not be surprising given the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood, who Obama actually visited with even before they came to power in Egypt, has a history that goes not only to a fundamentalist understanding of Islam, but to Nazi Germany, as well.

Of course, most "progressives" do not know this. The reason that they do not know this is because they do not read the history of radical Islam. The reason that they do not read the history of radical Islam is because that would actually require acknowledging that radical Islam exists. But they cannot bring themselves to acknowledge this because then other "progressives" would wag their fingers and call them nasty names like "Islamophobe."

And, so, when a Jihadi murders Jewish children in France, western "progressives" trip all over themselves trying to protect the very movement that is behind those murders by blaming anything but the actual culprit. They blame the United States for "imperialism" and "colonialism," with the implication that if only the United States was not so mean then Muslim fanatics would have no reason to murder perfectly innocent little Jewish girls in Toulouse. They blame Israel for the "occupation" with the implication that if only Israel was not so mean to the Palestinian uber-victims then Muslim fanatics would have no reason to murder perfectly innocent little Jewish girls in Toulouse.

But the truth is that radical Islam killed that rabbi and those little girls.  A French Muslim murdered some French soldiers and a French rabbi and some French Jewish girls.  This had absolutely nothing to do with the United States, nor Israel, and everything to do with a political movement that continues to preach hatred.

Yet, if I say so, it makes me the racist in the minds of "progressives" who would not acknowledge the Jihad... if they were blindfolded... and on their knees... in a basement... in Karachi.

Israel: Intel Inside. Kiss My BDS

Intel, the world's largest maker of computer chips has been operating in Israel for four decades, with four research and development centers and 2 manufacturing plants located in the tiny nation.

(Can you say "BDS fail"? Say it. I know you can)

With 8,000 employees in Israel, Intel is the largest private sector employer in Israel, accounting for 10% of all the jobs in Israel’s total electronics and software industry. Intel exports reaced exports reached $2.2 billion in 2011, making it the country’s biggest single exporter of high technology.


from the Media line:

"In 2011 Intel’s Israel operations marked a new milestone by both developing and producing a product entirely inside the country.

Today Intel Israel is at the core of the global company, with a central role in developing new products like Sandy Bridge and the Ivy Bridge. We ourselves are in sync for the first time, with a product both designed and produced in Israel,” Maxine Fassberg, an Intel vice president and general manager for Israel, told The Media Line on the sidelines of a news conference on Sunday to discuss the company’s 2011.

Sandy Bridge, the code name for the Intel Second-General Core chip, was mainly developed in Israel and is now produced there. The chip, whose original name “Gesher” (“bridge” in Hebrew) was dropped to avoid associating it with a defunct Israeli political party, uses less power and offers integrated graphics. It will be superseded in the next month or so by Ivy Bridge, the development of which Israel Intel also played a central role,

When it was launched last year Sandy Bridge became the global company’s fastest-selling product ever, with sales of more than 100 million processors. All told, products developed in Israel accounted for 40% of worldwide sales for Intel last year, said Muli Eden, who arrived in Israel last week to take up the post of Intel Israel president alongside Fassberg"

Products developed in Israel accounted for 40% of worldwide sales for Intel last year. So, what were you saying about that boycott, again?

UC Davis Unbecoming. The story continues

On Monday, February 27 "Soldiers's stories" was scheduled at UC Davis. Sponsored by Campus Chabad and Standwithus, Ran, a Israeli attorney and reservist, and Ranya, a Druze hi-tech worker had been telling their compelling stories to university audiences throughout the country.

What happened at UC Davis however dismayed and disturbed the entire country.

A planned walk out and disruption by university students was pre-empted by the event organizers, who had the talk relocated to a larger room. The students from SJP, MSA and MECHA intent on disrupting relocated as soon as they became aware of the new room. A student, later identified as Medieval Studies major Tirumular (Drew) Narayanan and a chorus of others jeered, mocked and repeatedly interrupted the presentation.



The young Israelis and the organizers of the event never once lost their composure or dignity in the face of the unrelenting hate. The audience repeatedly ignored pleas for respectful dialog. Even the presence of Aggie hosts and University police did nothing to ensure civility.

After the event was shut down, multiple witnesses reported that Tirumular Narayanan apologized for his behavior, and confessed that he was paid to disrupt the talk, and in fact was given a script to read.

In spite of glaring audio and visual evidence to the contrary, a consortium of UC Davis faculty, the vast majority whom did not attend this event, sent an open letter to Provost Hexter and Vice Chancellor Meyer, claiming:

"...the protest that was organized at the SWU event by the Students for Justice in Palestine, with the support of members of Jewish Voices for Peace and MECHA, was
in the form a silent walkout. There was NO planned disruption of the event, nor did
any members of this diverse coalition interrupt the speakers. Following the silent
walkout, the protesters held a small, peaceful discussion outside the building where
they discussed the realities of life under occupation. The students who opposed the
IDF soldiers’ justification for the occupation were careful to remain silent..."

To the faculty that signed this letter:
Miroslava Chavez‐Garcia, Chicano(a) Studies
Marisol de la Cadena, Anthropology
Omnia El Shakry, History
Jaimey Fisher, German
Kathleen Frederickson, English
Elizabeth Freeman, English
Isao Fujimoto (emeritus), Human and Community Development/Asian American
Studies
Wendy Ho, Asian American Studies
Robert Irwin, Graduate Group in Cultural Studies
Mark Jerng, English
Suad Joseph, Anthropology
Caren Kaplan, American Studies
Richard Kim, Asian American Studies
Peter Lichtenfels, Department of Theatre and Dance
Sunaina Maira, Asian American Studies
Susette Min, Asian American Studies
Ana Peluffo, Spanish and Portuguese
Noha Radwan, Comparative Literature
Kriss Ravetto, Technocultural Studies
Robyn Rodriguez, Asian American Studies
Parama Roy, English
Sarita See, Asian American Studies
David Simpson, English
Eric Smoodin, American Studies
Kieu‐Linh Valverde, Asian American Studies
Karen Ann Watson‐Gegeo, School of Education
Nolan Zane, Asian American Studies

Would you perhaps care to remove your signature from this letter, having watched this video? Why did you sign a statement implying knowledge of facts you were clearly unaware of?

We have been re-assured that this situation is still under investigation. And we'll keep you informed of any new information we learn.

Self-made Millionaires in Gaza

Gaza's tunnel tycoons . From an article in YNet.


"Some 600 new millionaires made their fortunes by smuggling goods in Gaza tunnels, at the expense of thousands of workers risking their lives. Social uprising on the way?

The Gaza Strip usually makes headlines for rocket launching and IDF raids, but the daily lives of its residents are mostly affected by poverty, unemployment, faulty infrastructure and Hamas government corruption. A new study shows that in the past five years a new class of young millionaires emerged in Gaza.

The Gaza blockade enabled many to capitalize on the smuggling of goods via the Rafah tunnels. A new class of 600 young "tunnel millionaires" made their fortunes often at the expense of thousands of workers risking their lives in the tunnels.

Many of the new financial tycoons invested their money in grandiose real estate projects such as luxurious shopping malls and hotels, out of the reach of most Gaza residents. This resulted in a spike in real estate prices that further worsened the economic stagnation. Many of the new millionaires are associated with Hamas leadership, and are involved in money laundering schemes, investing mostly outside Gaza.

As a result, their contribution to the Gaza market is slim, many claim in Gaza. They are furious with the new elite that use their capital to further monopolize the market to their own benefit rather than invest in the local market and create new jobs.

For some of the millionaires, theirs is a Cinderella story. A carriage driver turned became a luxury cars dealership owner, and a simple construction worker evolved into a real estate tycoon. Arab media recently showcased the story of 27 year-old Abu Ibrahim who turned his demolished house into a tunnel and in less than five years became a millionaire. The prices of smuggled goods, said Ibrahim "skyrocketed" in the past years, allowing him to earn up to $100,000 a day. His workers were paid $100a day.

The Hamas government cooperates and supports the nouveaux riches. It refrained from enforcing clear financial laws and regulations, and under the premise of "the struggle against Israeli blockade" it allowed the tunnel business to flourish without any regulation, while earning millions from taxes on gas, cigarettes and illegal drugs and pills."

EU's Catherine Ashton hits a new Height in Insensitivity

STANDWITHUS FRANCE CALLS FOR AN APOLOGY OR RESIGNATiON FROM CATHERINE ASHTON ON HER COMMENTS REGARDING THE MURDERS AT THE JEWISH SCHOOL:

(Paris, France -- March 19, 2012) -- StandWithUs France condemns High Representative of the European Union, Catherine Ashton for her statement regarding the brutal, anti-Semitic murders of four people at a Jewish school in Toulouse today.

As France reels in horror at this attack, together with the global Jewish community and all people of conscience, High Representative Ashton, the EU’s top diplomat, chose to compare the situation of those murdered today to Palestinians in Hamas-run Gaza, from a meeting with Palestinian youth she attended in Brussels.

“This was an insensitive comment which was pandering to the Palestinian group Ashton was with, and it is incredibly hurtful to the victims and to the French Jewish community”, said Laurent Preece, Director of StandWithUs France, who heard her comments while participating at a 50,000 strong silent rally in Paris in memory of the victims. “Her record regarding diplomacy and the Israeli-Arab conflict has been checkered at best, but these comments are beyond the pale. She should apologize immediately or resign her position.”

StandWithUs CEO, Roz Rothstein commented: “The attack that took place in Toulouse is in no way similar to the situation in Gaza. Since Israel pulled out of Gaza, Palestinian terror groups have fired tens of thousands of rockets on Israeli cities indiscriminately killing and maiming children and adults.”

Adds, Preece, "In recent weeks, Israeli schoolchildren have been cowering from attacks by Palestinian missiles fired deliberately at them from Gaza, so it is incredible that Catherine Ashton chose to compare the anti-Semitic murder of a Rabbi, his two young children and another child to children in Gaza. In Gaza, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terror groups use Palestinian children as human shields while firing with impunity at Israeli children."

StandWithUs France will be taking part in a memorial rally in Paris, led by the CRIF on Sunday.


********

Visit the EU at the UN FaceBook page- let them know how you feel about Catherine Ashton's warped idea of moral equivalence

Iran Behind 'Global March to Jerusalem'

Feroze Mithiborwala and Global March to Jerusalem participants with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC), Iran is the organizing force behind the latest high profile publicity stunt aimed at the delegitimization of Israel. The Global March to Jerusalem, planned for March 30, is an initiative that aims at getting over one million Arabs and their supporters to attempt to infiltrate Israel’s borders.

From an article by Elad Benari

"ITIC is presenting evidence in its possession which indicates that Iran openly and with its own propaganda supports the March 30 events and is also involved in organizational preparations for the marches. To that end, ITIC said in a report posted Wednesday, Iran employs proxies, including organizations and individuals.
The center quoted an item dated February 26, 2012 in the Fars News Agency, in which Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as supporting the march to Jerusalem.
In the report, Khamenei said Iran should openly support movements and groups operating against Israel. Support for the marches to Jerusalem was presented as part of a new strategy designed to increase regional unity against Israel, based on the so-called “resistance axis” (i.e., Syria and the terrorist organizations) and opposition to the so-called "occupation" of Jerusalem.
In the same vein, a report in the Iranian ISNA agency, dated March 4, quoted Ghzanfar Asl Roknabadi, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, as saying he hoped all “Palestine” would shortly be liberated from its “Zionist occupiers” and that cries of “Allahu Akbar” would be heard throughout Rehavia, an elite neighborhood in west Jerusalem.
ITIC noted that a local committee was appointed, in Iran and other Arab countries, to make preparations for the marches. The committee, called The Board of the Global [March] to Jerusalem, is headed in Iran by Hossein Shaikhol-Eslam, who ITIC noted is likely directly connected to the Iranian regime.
The ITIC report also cites the Haganah website, which is run by American professionals specializing in the analysis of jihadist Internet sites. Haganah examined the Global March to Jerusalem website and found indications of Iranian involvement in the marches.
Haganah found three domains of march organizers sharing an IP address with Ahl al-Bayt, an Iranian institution directed by Khamenei's office and which spreads Shi'ite and Khomeini ideology around the globe. It is headed by Khojat el-Eslam Mohammed Hassan Akhtari, the former Iranian ambassador to Syria.
ITIC also cited an Iranian website, believed to be connected to the Iranian regime, which initiated a cartoon contest in support of the marches.
The cartoons are supposed to deal with the theme of the so-called "right of return" of the Arab refugees and with opposition to the so-called “occupation” of Jerusalem. Each of the three winning entries, ITIC noted, will receive a prize of $1000 and a trophy.
The report also noted that the Iranian English-language Press TV channel was also enlisted to promote a propaganda campaign for the marches.
On January 8, 2012, a video was posted on YouTube to promote the marches, produced by Press TV and featuring former British MP and pro-Hamas enthusiast George Galloway.
Finally, ITIC noted, another manifestation of Iranian participation in the propaganda campaign for the march was an open letter posted on the marches' website on March 5, purportedly written by Iranian Jews. The ITIC believes the letter was planted by the Iranian regime.
The letter’s heading was the Society of Iranian Jewry Supporting GMJ and it was purportedly signed by two Iranian Jews, one a Jewish member of the Majlis (the Iranian parliament) and the other a Jewish leader. In it, the Society of Iranian Jewry expressed support for what the letter called “a global demonstration in support of the liberation of Jerusalem from the Zionists.”

Medical Supplies to Gaza: A Beginner’s Guide

From the IDF Blog

In April 2011, the Deputy Director of the International Red Cross in Gaza, Mathilde De Riedmatten, stated that there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. However, the Red Cross website has an entire section claiming that “Gaza health care is in danger”, pointing a finger at Israel. Several multilingual versions of this same article also that “the importation of medical supplies to Gaza is restricted, resulting in frequent shortages of drugs” (translated from French).

So which is true?

We spoke with Major Moshe Levy, Head of the PR Branch of the Coordination and Liaison Administration of the Gaza Strip, to get our facts straight from the source. He said:

“Israel allows the passage of all medicine and medical equipment purchased by the Palestinian Authority. There are no Israeli restrictions on the amount or type of medications transferred to Gaza. There is a lack of medicine, but it is not due to Israeli restrictions. The reason for this is the low health care budget of the Palestinian Authority.”

The PA’s annual budget devoted to medical care for the Palestinian population in Judea & Samaria and Gaza (about 3.5 million people) amounts to less than the budget of the Israeli hospital in Tel HaShomer, which supports less than one million patients a year.

The Gazan Department of Health is in contact with the PA in Judea and Samaria, and must, under Palestinian law, pass along its demands to the Palestinian Department of Health in Ramallah. If the PA has these medical supplies in stock, it ensures their transfer into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing. Maj. Moshe Levy adds:

“The transfer of drugs has priority over all other commodities. 100% of the Palestinian demands are met by the Israeli Ministry of Health.”

Israel transfers anywhere between 3,000-6,000 tons of cargo daily, depending on the supplies sent, but it can actually transfer up to 12,000 tons per day. The PA can maximize the transfer capacity of the crossing, and thereby avoid shortages, if it would send more supplies every day. Maj. Moshe Levy explains:

“We know there is a lack of medical supplies in Gaza. The budget allocated by the PA to health care in Gaza is far less than it needs to be. To address this problem, we give Palestinian patients the option of seeking treatment in Israel, East Jerusalem or in Judea and Samaria. These treatments are supported by the PA and coordinated by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories of the IDF.”

According to a report by the WHO (World Health Organization) in 2011, 93% of PA requests for Gazans to receive treatment outside the Gaza Strip were coordinated by Israel. In 2011, more than 18,000 Palestinian patients received treatment outside the Gaza Strip, 48% of which were treated in Israeli hospitals.


Learn the truth about Gaza. Read it here

Kitzel's Olympia Deli needs our help.

From StandWithUs

"The anti-Israel boycott activists in Olympia have targeted Kitzel’s delicatessen for boycott because they are willing to host pro-Israel speakers and they sell Israeli goods!
Do you have friends in or near Olympia, Washington?
We need to support Kitzel’s deli! How can you help Kitzel’s?

Encourage people to eat and shop there. If you happen to pass by Olympia, stop and buy up more deli than you need at Kitzel’s.

Kitzel's Deli is located at:
514 Capitol Way S, Olympia, WA 98501

And starting next week, you can buy some of their products online. Maybe Kitzels will be the perfect place to begin your Pesach shopping.

Please send the owner, Hava Aviv, messages of support. Contact Hava at Kitzel’s – hava (at )kitzels.com.
"Like" Kitzels on facebook.

Thank you in advance for fighting against intimidation, against intolerance, against the denial of free speech in support of Israel.

Its All about the Terror

United States Law Code U.S. Code Title 22, Ch.38, Para. 2656f(d) defines terrorism

As used in this section—
(1) the term “international terrorism” means terrorism involving citizens or the territory of more than 1 country;
(2) the term “terrorism” means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents;
(3) the term “terrorist group” means any group, or which has significant subgroups which practice, international terrorism;
(4) the terms “territory” and “territory of the country” mean the land, waters, and airspace of the country; and
(5) the terms “terrorist sanctuary” and “sanctuary” mean an area in the territory of the country—
(A) that is used by a terrorist or terrorist organization—
(i) to carry out terrorist activities, including training, fundraising, financing, and recruitment; or
(ii) as a transit point; and
(B) the government of which expressly consents to, or with knowledge, allows, tolerates, or disregards such use of its territory and is not subject to a determination under—
(i) section 2405(j)(1)(A) of the Appendix to title 50;
(ii) section 2371 (a) of this title; or
(iii) section 2780 (d) of this title.

Islamic Jihad leader Abu Ibrahim:

"What we seek with our rockets is not to kill Israelis, but to maintain a balance of terror... The fact that a million Israelis were stuck inside shelters and suffered as as our people do is more important for us than deaths."

Its all about terrorizing the Israeli people.
From the Daily Star

Abu Ibrahim warned that the Brigades had weapons that could hit beyond the town of Ashdod, which lies some 35 kilometres (20 miles) north of Gaza.

"If the occupation targets any leader of any Palestinian group whatsoever or any citizen, the Brigades will respond with force and expand the reach of the response beyond Ashdod," he said.

The group possessed "thousands" of rockets and had expanded its arsenal by exploiting "the opportunities offered by the (Arab) revolutions, particularly the fall of the Egyptian regime," he added.

Still, he said, "it is not easy to transport sophisticated weapons into Gaza," adding that 70 percent of its rockets "are made locally by a specialised section."
"We now have guided missiles similar to Grads and we used them during the last conflict."

Abu Ibrahim also denied tensions with Hamas, which rules Gaza and sought a quick end to the latest conflict and kept its fighters out of the battle, saying: "The Brigades operate with full freedom."

And he denied "any coordination with any outside group, in Sinai or elsewhere." But he acknowledged the group receives "fundamental support" from Lebanon's Hezbollah group, saying it had trained thousands of Brigades fighters.

Conference: Jews and the Left

SUNDAY 6 MAY - MONDAY 7 MAY 2012

The Institute for Jewish Research (YIVO)

CONFERENCE | Co-sponsored by the American Jewish Historical Society, The Atran Foundation, The David Berg Foundation, and Dr. Joseph K. McLaughlin

Since the nineteenth century, Jews have played prominent roles in a variety of leftist political movements. At the same time, associations between Jews and communism have been a frequent leitmotif of antisemitic thinking. While the political Left often spoke out against antisemitism and promised Jews tolerance and an end to distinctions between Jews and non-Jews, specific, prominent, leftists espoused antisemitic ideas. In addition, Jews cultivated their own, uniquely Jewish, socialist parties and ideologies. In recent years, the relationship between Jews and the Left has been further complicated by left-wing opposition to the State of Israel and debates about the extent to which this opposition bleeds into outright antisemitism. YIVO, in association with AJHS, will bring together historians, political scientists, philosophers, and journalists from Europe, Israel, and America to discuss some of the important topics pertaining to the relationship between Jews and the Left.

This should prove very interesting.

{Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives.}

More Self Serving Hypocrisy dished out from Jewish Voice for Peace

Some of us had hoped that the refusal of the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace to endorse the Global march to Jerusalem represented a new moderation for the "proud to be ashamed to be Jewish" group. Some of us were disappointed.

From a JVP Press Release:
For immediate release.
Monday, March 12, 2012

Contact:
William Seaman - (503) 888-7455
Ned Rosch - (503) 381-7011
Jewish Voice for Peace - Portland, Oregon

Portland's Jewish Voice for Peace condemns latest Israeli aggression against
Gaza's population.

(Portland, Oregon) -- The local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace has called
for an immediate end to Israeli attacks on Gaza, and for the US government
to end its support for the operations which have killed at least eighteen
Palestinians in the last week. "We are heartsick and outraged at this
latest rampage by the Israeli military, raining down terror upon an already
traumatized and suffering people," said William Seaman, a member of the
Jewish Voice for Peace Portland chapter.

Why has Jewish Voice for Peace refused to acknowlege that those killed were literally in the process of targetting Israeli civilians for terror and death? Why are the lives of one million men, women and children living in terror of missile from Gaza secondary to the lives of those that chose to target them?

From Challah hu Akbar





Shadi Sayqali
Date of Birth: October 26, 1984
Education Level: High School
Marital Status: Married with three children
Title: Mujahid in Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades - Missile Battalion
Date of Death: March 9, 2012



Ubeid Gharabli
Date of Birth: March 20, 1987
Marital Status: Married with one child
Title: Field Commander in Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades.
Date of Death: March 9, 2012





Hazim Qureiqi
Date of Birth: August 28, 1979
Education Level: College; Majored in Commerce at the Al-Quds Open University
Marital Status: Married with four children
Title: Field Commander in Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades - Missile Battalion
Date of Death: March 9, 2012


The self-serving hypocrisy of Jewish voice for peace comes across loud and clear from their last emailed missive, where they literally chortle regarding their success at shutting down the free speech of others. Stefanie Fox, who describes herself as the Director of Grassroots Organizing for Jewish Voice for Peace says she is "shouting for joy" at stiffling the voices of LGBT activists in Seattle.

Moderation from JVP? Nope. Not in our wildest dreams

From CIF Watch: Fact Sheet on the Global March to Jerusalem

The March 30 Global March to Jerusalem represents not only an assault on the sovereignty of Israel, but an assault on her embassies and consulates worldwide. From the Palestine foundation Pakistan "GMJ will siege Israel and its embassies over the world." Arm yourselves with the facts and start preparing for the "siege" of your local Israeli embassy or consulate now.

Our friends at CIFWatch have done all your homework for you.

FACTSHEET:
GLOBAL MARCH TO JERUSALEM (GMJ)
MARCH 30, 2012

What is the Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ)?

GMJ, scheduled for March 30, 2012, is an anti-Israel publicity stunt that aims to have a million people marching on Israel’s borders from all the surrounding countries – Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt – with the aim of reaching Jerusalem. Concurrently, demonstrations are planned in the Palestinian-administrated territories and against Israel’s diplomatic missions in major cities throughout the world.

Who is organizing GMJ?

The organizers of GMJ are made up of members of Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, far-left extremist groups and are backed by the Iranian government. Senior organizers include:

■Ahmed Abo Halabiya, a Hamas MP who in 2000 gave a sermon saying “Have no mercy on the Jews, no matter where they are, in any country. Fight them, wherever you are. Wherever you meet them, kill them.”
■Zaher Birawi, a prominent Hamas activist in the UK and senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood linked Palestinian Return Center.
■Abdul Maqri, head of the Algerian delegation aboard the Mavi Marmara who in 2010 said “all our blood is Palestine” and declared that “Israel will be annihilated soon”.
■Saud Abu Mahfouz, member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamic Action Front in Jordan who is on record for stating “We see Hamas movement in Palestine as standing at the head of the project of the Arab and Islamic liberation for which the Muslim Brotherhood calls”
Advisory board members include George Galloway, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mairead McGuire, Mahathir Mohammed and Sheikh Raed Salah.

What are the objectives of GMJ?

Official statements of the organizers of GMJ attempt to portray the movement as a peaceful protest aimed at highlighting the so-called “Judaization of Jerusalem”.

In 2011, GMJ general coordinator, Ribhi Halloum stated “[t]he protest aims to move the right of return possessed by Palestinian refugees from theory to practice”.

In practice, the right of return is a rejection of the two state solution and subterfuge for the destruction of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. Coupled with that, employment of the term “Judaization of Jerusalem” is hateful rhetoric designed to negate thousands of years of Jewish history and incite the Muslim world.

Haven’t there been attempts to breach Israel’s borders beforehand?

Yes. During 2011 there were two separate attempts to march on Israel’s borders mainly from Syria, one on May 15 and another on June 5, both of which turned violent resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds injured.

Like every other sovereign nation, Israel has the right to control who enters its borders and to protect its borders from being breached.

Should we be concerned about GMJ?

Absolutely. With a bloody uprising in Syria, a Muslim Brotherhood dominated Egypt, the looming Iranian nuclear threat, a failed peace process and recent renewed violence from Hamas-controlled Gaza, the situation is highly volatile. Combined with the extreme terror groups behind GMJ and the rallying cry of “saving Al Aqsa (Jersualem) from the Jews”, it is our assessment that with sufficient numbers the organizers will seek violent confrontation with Israeli forces with the aim of sparking a Third Intifada

How do I find more about GMJ?

We have established a special website at www.gm2j.co which contains detailed information about GMJ, profiles of the organizers, lists of endorsing organizations and a regularly updated blog.

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

"GMJ will siege Israel and its embassies over the world."

Except you can't talk that way and get Americans to support you. So, not surprisingly, the Global March to Jerusalem has toned own its rhetoric when attempting to appeal to the American public. Instead of ralling against the "judization" of Jerusalem, they evoke Gandhi and King, and the civil rights movement.
Check out their new trifold, especially modified for the American palate:

Iran suggests Assad use Israel as a Smokescreen

Emails leaked by Syria opposition and released by the U.K.'s Guardian indicate that Syrian President Bashar Assad was advised by Iranian officials to divert attention toward Israel and the Palestinian cause in an effort to deflect criticism of his brutal crackdown. According to the Guardian, the messages were reported to have been intercepted by the opposition's Supreme Council of the Revolution between June of 2011 and February 2012, and include private emails from both Assad and his wife.


From Haaretz;

"One email sent in December 31 indicated that Assad's aides advised the Syrian president on the contents on an upcoming speech following "consultations with a good number of people in addition to the media and political adviser for the Iranian ambassador."

In the composed memorandum, Assad was advised to stress the issue of Muslim identity through the use of Koran quotes, as well as centering on what the email called "Syria's principles," which included: "Resistance"; "Hostility to Israel, the first enemy of the Muslims"; and "Protection of Palestinian people's rights (real prayers should be in the direction of Jerusalem)."

"Maybe here the president can reiterate his stance by condemning forcefully the recent Israeli practices and policies to Judaise Al-Quds (Jerusalem)," the email added, saying that Assad should use "powerful and violent" language in his opposition to Israel"

Could the Global march to Jerusalem be a cynical plot by Iranian interests to protect their puppet Assad? It it simply be a smokescreen to distract the Arab street? Its certainly beginning to look that way.

Brief Notes: On Dhimmitude and the Muslim Conflict Against the Jews

{Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives}



1,300 Years of Dhimmitude.

We cannot understand the Muslim – Jewish conflict in the Middle East without reference to the 1,300 years of dhimmitude that preceded it and the century of war against the Jewish population there following their freedom in the early part of the twentieth century.

If one is to have any meaningful understanding of this conflict one must also have some understanding of Jewish history in Muslim lands. Further, one cannot have an understanding of Jewish history in Muslim lands without seriously considering the Jewish condition of persecution in those lands known as dhimmitude.

To try and understand the Arab and Muslim conflict against the Jews of Israel without considering thirteen centuries of dhimmitude is something akin to trying to understand the Black experience in the United States with no reference to slavery or Jim Crow.

It is absurd.

I suppose one of the primary questions for me, personally, is just why it is that Jewish scholarship has done such a piss-poor job of pointing out the long and ugly history of Jewish persecution among the Arabs and the failure to point out the connection between Israeli history and the history of dhimmitude?

There are people who have done work, of course.

Efraim Karsh, Islamic Imperialism: A History (2007) is one considerable effort.

Edwin Black, The Farhud, Roots of the Arab-Nazi Alliance in the Holocaust (2010) is another.

Martin Gilbert, In Ishmael's House: A History of Jews in Muslim Lands (2010) is still another.

Yet I-P discussion throughout the progressive-left remains entirely innocent of the history of Jewish persecution in Muslim and Arab lands.

The problem is that you cannot really discuss I-P without discussing the history of Jewish dhimmitude because modern Israel emerged as a country, in part, because of Jewish persecution not just among the European Christians, but among a hostile Arab and Muslim population that outnumbers us by orders of magnitude that the rest of the world tends to think of as irrelevant.

It is not irrelevant.

There are something like 13 million Jewish people in the entire world. We are approximately .2 % of the world population.

We are a tiny, tiny, tiny minority.

Yet, there are something like 300 to 400 million Arabs, who mainly will not accept Jewish sovereignty on Jewish land and many of whom believe that they have a religious obligation to see us dead.

There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, many of whom think likewise.

Yet, somehow, in the progressive-left imagination, it is the Jews... the tiny minority, the historically persecuted ones... which must be spanked.  Not only do they refuse to acknowledge the rise of radical Islam today, they refuse to even discuss the I-P conflict within the context of the long history of Jewish persecution within Islam.

And what this means, in my opinion, is that the progressive movement stands for nothing.



Morte.

Scholars for Academic Freedom: Unclear on the Concept

And the winner in the category of "Unclear on the Concept" is Scholars for Academic Freedom.

Several days ago, the President of the UC system, Mark Yudof issued statement regarding the sanctity of free speech in the UC California system. In response, a group of "scholars" (are they Professors? Students?) have accused him of "delivering a blow to dissent and protest".

“University campuses are proper venues for collisions of ideas and viewpoints,” Yudof wrote in an open letter to the UC community on Friday. “What is not acceptable are hate-driven physical, and yes, verbal attacks on any group or individual that are meant to silence or intimidate those who would express differing opinions.”

The "scholars", at least one of whom, Jess Ghanam is an organizer in the extremist anti-Israel group Al Awda accuse President Yudof of "focusing exclusively on protests against speakers who represent the Israeli government or whose presentations endorse the manner in which Israel maintains its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.", ignoring his condemnation of hate incidents directed towards the LGBT and African American campus communities.

The glaring inaccuracies in the press release by these California "scholars" stands out. They write "he appears to have relied on a letter from the AMCHAI Intiative" Yet, in an article in the Forward Yudof’s spokesman, Steve Montiel, said that the statement was not motivated by AMCHA’s letters," but by a longstanding effort by Yudof to reject bigotry on campus while upholding the right to free speech."

“He has spoken out before,” said Montiel. “Really, the motivation is an ongoing commitment to him and chancellors of all the campuses to a learning environment that is open and fair and safe for everyone.”

And he has spoken out since. Yet they chose to ignore Yudof's statement condemning an appearance by Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan at UC Berkeley, sponsored by the Black Student union. Yudof re-affirmed Farrakhan’s right to speak at the event “Louis Farrakhan is a provocative, divisive figure with a long history of racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic speech,” Yudof said. “It was distressing in the extreme that a student organization invited him to speak on the UC Berkeley campus... But, as I have said before, we cannot, as a society or as a university community, be provoked by hurtful speech to retreat from the cherished value of free speech"

Even more onerous are the libelous statements directed towards the non-profit advocacy group Standwithus, regarding an incident involing Palestinian activists disrupting traffic at a busy intersection. According to an article in the Daily Cal the event took place "south of the UC Berkeley campus" on Durant and Telegraph. Why would an off-campus incident that did not involve Cal students be of concern to UC president Mark Yudof? Furthermore, the "scholars" have presented absolutely no evidence to their spurious claim that Standwithus was somehow involved. There is no evidence that employees of Standwithus, or volunteer members of their advisory board or steering committee were involved in this incident. The "scholars" also conveniently have forgotten to mention the "large stick" that was brandished at pro-Israel activists- which understandably might have been considered a threatening gesture.

Last weekend, we were able to document Al Awda's role in the dissemination of a fraudulent photo simply to demonize Israel. Al Awda has already shown their cavalier attitutude towards truth, as they continue their march to destroy the state of the Jewish people. Have the "Scholars" for Academic Freedom even taken note of their affiliation with the truth - challenged Al Awda group? And do they even care?

Marina Gutierrez. Context needed

This photo from Zombie at Pajamas media shows Marina Gutierrez of Berkeley Women in Black at a protest in front of Temple Emanu'el.

Marina is a regular at anti-Israel protests throughout the Bay area. Look for a minute at the photo she is holding. It is a young boy, clearly terrified that has wet his pants. This photo is meant to show the big bad abusive Israeli soldiers, terrifying innocent children. But wouldn't a little more context be nice?

Check out United With Israel's page on How To Check If A Photo Is Current. Using the techniques at this website, we learn that Marina's photo is from 2001. Yes. Its 11 years old. But more context is needed, still. From the Picture that moved Hearts



This Picture was taken near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, on Friday, April 6, 2001, by Evelyn Hockstein, a Reuters photographer.

"A Palestinian child was caught by Israeli policemen, and, in his fear - he wet his pants.
Undoubtedly, this picture is very moving, and everyone can share the pain and panic of the child, that led to such an embarrassing moment.

The Palestinians, who truly understand the power of the image, spread this picture worldwide, through the media and e-mails, but - they did not show the other picture.

A few minutes before the above picture was taken, another Reuters photographer, Natalie Behring, had taken the following picture -- which was not as widely distributed (please notice the child in the center of the pic)


Well, yes, it's the same child. Only at this stage, we may assume that his pants were still dry..."

UN Information Coordinator Khulood Badawi spreads Mis-information

From a well known Hasidic story:

After telling lies about a local rabbi, a man realized the wrong he had done, and felt guilty. He went to the rabbi to beg forgiveness, saying he would do anything he could to make amends. The rabbi told the man, "Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds." The man did it gladly. When he returned to tell the rabbi that he had done it, the rabbi said, "Now, go and gather the feathers. Because you can no more make amends for the damage your words have done than you can recollect the feathers."

Just as feathers scattered in the wind can never be fully gathered, the lightning speed of the internet has magnified the damage of lies and mis-information. The taint of lies spread on the internaet remains, long after the source has been discredited and the stource debuked. Just this weekend, we've seen how fast a fraudulent photo has circulated around the web. We've seen how it is still being tweeted, placed on Facebook, and emailed thoughout the anti-Israel, by people who are so consumed by hatred they have willingly abandoned truth.

The cynical use of a 5 year old photo to spread hate is now well documented - but who started this cycle of lies? Its been traced to Khulood Dadawi, who tweets as "Long Live palestine". She is employed by the United Nations as an Information and Media Coordinator. You'd think, you'd hope that an Information and media Coordinator would be, well- unbiased. Accurate. You'd be disappointed in this case

From Honest Reporting

"Khulood Badawi happens to work for the OCHA – the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs where, according to a UN Contact List, she works as an Information and Media Coordinator.
A Google search reveals that Badawi has a history of activism in a range of pro-Palestinian non-governmental organizations, some of them radical and politicized. While this background may not in itself disqualify her from a career with the UN, it is absolutely unacceptable that a UN employee working specifically on dissemination of information to the media and public tweets malicious and false information to libel Israel.
HonestReporting’s CEO Joe Hyams comments:
Once again, we are bearing witness to the extent that organizations such as the United Nations have failed to vet the integrity of their employees. The disgusting actions of this individual – invoking the imagery of a dead child to slander Israel – exposes once more the abject failure of NGOs to ensure a basic work ethic and commitment to fair and impartial conduct on the part of its employees.
The halo-effect enjoyed by the UN, where the public trusts the integrity of its staff and its Mission, demands higher professional standards than we are seeing. The UN owes the public, no less than this young girl’s family, an apology. The immediate dismissal of Khulood Badawi on the grounds of incitement is expected.
Powerful images such as these have a deep impact on public opinion. Where Israel is trying desperately to defend more than 1 million of its civilians from the incessant murderous rain of Gazan rocket terror – it is abhorrent that a UN employee working for a body concerned with humanitarian welfare would have more concern for manipulating public sentiment than a true desire to protect innocent human life. Badawi cares more for the lie, than for life."

Does this assault on truth bother you as much as it ought to? Contact the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs through its Contact page. Let them knbow what you're thinking

Eyad Kishawi of Al Awda Deceives to Demonize Israel

Eyad Kishawi, from the local branch of the extremist organization Al Awda just sent out this email - to thousands

From: Eyad Kishawi
Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2012 10:37 PM
Subject: [Al-Awda-SF] Israeli Zionism in action-another massacre in Gaza [2 Attachments]

[Attachment(s) from Eyad Kishawi included below]

Please share and break the silence. Show how Israel murders our children and has been doing so for 64 years. Let people know what Obama and Netanyahu do to a population under siege.

End Israeli apartheid, end the occupation, end ethnic cleansing. Boycott, divest and enforce sanctions on this criminal entity.

This girl deserved a future.



Eyad, like J Street, needs to hire a fact checker. This photo was taken in 2006, and had been used fraudulently to demonize Israel before.



ATTENTION EDITORS - CAPTION CORRECTION FOR SJS01 - 05 WHICH WERE TRANSMITTED AT APPROXIMATELY 1725 GMT ON AUGUST 9, 2006. THE CAPTION INCORRECTLY STATES THE CAUSE OF DEATH. CORRECTED VERSIONS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW THIS ADVISORY. WE ARE SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED. REUTERS. A Palestinian man carries the body of three year-old Raja Abu Shaban, in Gaza August 9, 2006. The three-year-old girl who had been reported killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Wednesday actually died of an accident, Palestinian medical workers said on Thursday. Workers at Gaza's Shifa hospital said on August 10, 2006 that the initial mistake over the cause of death appeared to have arisen because the girl's corpse was brought in at the same time as the bodies of the gunmen. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES)

Thanks Israellycool for bringing this to our attention.

We've learned today that J street can be fairly casual with truth and accuracy, but when prodded will issue a correction. Eyad Kishawi will get a copy of this post via email. Will he issue a retraction to the Al Awda email list? We'll let you know.


UPDATE:

Eyad has issued a retraction. Of sorts. He has proven that once again, reading comprehension and historical accuracy are not the hallmarks of anti-Israel activists.

He writes

Hello Friends

"I was contacted and threatened by "Zionist Warriors" claiming that Israel does not murder our children and that we send out fraudulent information on Israel. To underscore the truth, I am sending out the photo of the latest 12 year old Palestinian child recently murdered in cold blood and cleansed from the Gaza open air concentration camp. Long live Palestine. Zionist threats only make us stronger."


This is the email that Eyad claimed was "threatening".

To: "ekishawi@yahoo.com"
Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2012 9:05 PM

Eyad- you recently sent out an email showing a little girl that you represented as being killed by Israel

However, the photo you attached was from 2006, and showed a young girl that had been killed in an accident.

You wrote:

"Please share and break the silence. Show how Israel murders our children and has been doing so for 64 years. Let people know what Obama and Netanyahu do to a population under siege.

End Israeli apartheid, end the occupation, end ethnic cleansing. Boycott, divest and enforce sanctions on this criminal entity.

This girl deserved a future."

See attachments- your photo, and the original photo from Reuters in 2006 See http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1681556/posts
Reuters corrected the caption on the photo which mis-represented that the little girl's tragic death was caused by Israel.

ATTENTION EDITORS - CAPTION CORRECTION FOR SJS01 - 05 WHICH WERE TRANSMITTED AT APPROXIMATELY 1725 GMT ON AUGUST 9, 2006. THE CAPTION INCORRECTLY STATES THE CAUSE OF DEATH. CORRECTED VERSIONS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW THIS ADVISORY. WE ARE SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED. REUTERS. A Palestinian man carries the body of three year-old Raja Abu Shaban, in Gaza August 9, 2006. The three-year-old girl who had been reported killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Wednesday actually died of an accident, Palestinian medical workers said on Thursday. Workers at Gaza's Shifa hospital said on August 10, 2006 that the initial mistake over the cause of death appeared to have arisen because the girl's corpse was brought in at the same time as the bodies of the gunmen. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES)
If you share a commitment to truth and decency, I trust you will send an email to the Al Awda list retracting the photo, and apologizing for the misinformation


Have we inspired Eyad Kishawi from San Francisco's Al Awda- Palestinian Right of return coalition to pursue truth and accuracy in reporting? Somehow, I doubt it.

J Street gets it Wrong Again

From a J street press release:

J STREET RESPONDS TO RECENT VIOLENCE BETWEEN ISRAEL, GAZA

March 11, 2012 at 11:41 am

WASHINGTON—J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami today issued the following statement in response to the most recent outbreak of violence between the Israel Defense Forces and militants in Gaza, which began on Friday.

“J Street is deeply concerned about the most recent spate of violence between the Israel Defense Forces and militants in Gaza, which, in three days, has already resulted in over one hundred rockets fired on Israeli cities and towns and airstrikes on Gaza that have killed over a dozen Palestinian civilians.

We condemn the rocket fire on Israel and unequivocally support Israel’s right to protect its citizens from attack. Our thoughts are with the civilians on both sides whose lives are once again besieged by the consequences of the unresolved conflict.

We urge all involved to exercise maximal restraint and we call on Israeli, Palestinian, American and international leaders to take bold steps to diplomatically resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The way to address outstanding grievances is by achieving a two-state solution, not by escalating violence. The majority of Israelis and Palestinians recognize that a two-state solution is the only means to achieve true peace and security.

Particularly in the absence of a meaningful diplomatic process between Israelis and Palestinians, such an escalation has the demonstrated capacity to engage other actors and enflame already heightened tensions in the region as a whole. We urge the United States and all members of the Quartet to make brokering a ceasefire an immediate priority, in word and in deed.”

Except:

J street is wrong.

There were not 12 civilians killed in Gaza. from Challah hu Akbar

"Early Friday, terrorists in Gaza fired two rockets into Israel. A few hours later, in a preemptive strike against terrorists planning a major terrorist attack, the IDF carried out a targeted assassination, which killed the Secretary General of the Popular Resistance Committees, Zuhir al-Qaisi, as well as senior Popular Resistance Committees member, Ahmed Hanani.

Since then Israel’s southern communities have been bombarded with rocket fire. Since the killing of al-Qaisi and Hanani, more than 135 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel. As a result, approximately 200,000 children will stay home on Sunday as authorities “decided on Saturday night to cancel school in all towns and cities located between 7km to 40km from the Gaza Strip.”

In response to the rocket fire, Israel has targeted a number of targets in Gaza including terror training sites, weapons manufacturing and storage facilities, and terrorists attempting to fire rockets.

Since Friday, Israel has killed 15 16 terrorists and not a single civilian (see below)."

Below is the list of those killed in Gaza as of Saturday evening. Not a single one of those listed below was a civilian; all were active members in either the Popular Resistance Committees or Islamic Jihad.

Popular Resistance Committees:
Ahmed Hanani
Zuhir al-Qaisi
Mahdi Abu Shawish
Mansour Kamal Abu Nuseira
Hussein Barham Al-Breim
Ahmed Deeb Salem

Islamic Jihad:
Fayiq Saad
Muatasim Hajjaj
Ahmad Hajjaj
Shadi Sayqali
Ubeid Gharabli
Muhammad Maghari
Hazim Qureiqi
Muhammad al-Ghamry
Muhammad Hararah
Mahmoud Najim

UPDATE

J Street has changed the announcement to exclude the reference to the 12 civilians.

Perhaps these martyrdom photos played a role?

Muhammad Hararah Islamic Jihad

Fayiq Saad Islamic Jihad

Ahmad Hajjaj Islamic Jihad

Major terror attack in Israel thwarted

The IDF reports that terror leader Zuhir al-Qaisi- killed in Gaza earlier today was planning a mega-attack that could have resulted in numerous casualties. The planned multipronged terror strike was to originate from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

From YNET

"The killed terror chief, who headed the Popular Resistance Committees group and served as its political chief, was involved in the lethal Egypt border attack on August 18, 2011 that left eight Israelis dead.

Al-Qaisi was also involved in a terror attack at the Nahal Oz fuel terminal on the Gaza-Israel border in 2008 and in ongoing rocket fire on Israeli communities

According to Palestinian reports, the second fatality in Friday's IDF strike was Ahmad al-Khanini, a senior PRC terrorist freed last year in the framework of the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap."

In response, communities in Southern Israel were besieged with neqarly 40 rockets in 24 hours, forcing nearly half a million israelis into shelters. Israel's Iron Dome System has intercepted one of three rockets aimed at Ashdod and four of four rockets aimed at Be’ersheba–two cities with a population over 200,000 each.

UPDATE:

The barage of rockets has continued throughout the night. From the IDF blog

■ Over the past 24 hours, over 45 rockets have hit communities in southern Israel - injuring four people, one severely, one moderately and two lightly.
■ The Iron Dome active missile defense system has intercepted over 10 Grad rockets - which were fired at the cities of Be’er Sheva, Ashdod and Ashkelon, together home to over 520,000 people.
■ Overnight, IAF aircraft targeted two weapon manufacturing facilities and two rocket launching sites in the northern Gaza Strip, a weapon manufacturing facility in the central Gaza Strip and a terror activity site in the southern Gaza Strip.
■ In addition, IAF aircraft targeted a terrorist in the central Gaza Strip and six additional terrorist squads who were in the final stages of preparing to fire rockets at Israel from separate locations in the northern and the central Gaza Strip. Direct hits were identified.



The targeting is in direct response to the rocket fire at Israeli communities in southern Israel.

UPDATE:
According to the JPost

"One hundred rockets - Kassams and the longer-range Grads - were fired by midday Saturday at civilian regions. Of those, the Iron Dome anti-rocket system intercepted 25 projectiles heading directly into city centers in Ashdod, Beersheba and Ashkelon. Seventy-five rockets exploded in Israeli territory, most of them in open fields. The barrage came after the IAF foiled a major terror attack, killing the secretary general of the Popular Resistance Committees, Zuhair Qaisi.

Eight people were injured on Friday evening. In the Eshkol Regional Council, a 40-year-old man was seriously injured from rocket shrapnel, a second man was moderately injured by shrapnel in his stomach, and a third was lightly injured."