Eleanor Roosevelt on the "Nakba"

We have history.

They have narrative.

Eleanor Roosevelt was  more than the wife of Franklin- she was one of  the most articulate champions for human rights of her generation.

Her archives are digitized and are available online

In her March 23, 1956 column  "My Day", read what she has to say about the Arab refugees who fled Israel (In 1956, they were not yet called "Palestinians")

NEW YORK—I have an anonymous letter which asks me what is being done by the United Nations about the plight of the nearly one million Arab refugees of Israel aggression.

Isn't it astonishing how many mistakes can creep into one sentence.

There are 800,000 refugees who are being cared for by the U.N. and have been cared for since, during the war, their own Moslem mufti in Jerusalem called upon the Arabs in Israel to leave.

Israel was not the aggressor in this war. The Arabs were the aggressors. The partition of Palestine and the creation of the State of Israel was the result of U.N. action.

The Arabs did not accept the new state. So Israel fought and gained more land, holding it by defeating her Arab attackers.

The Arabs who did not heed the call of the Mufti and leave Israel during the war are still living there. As a minority, they have certain grievances. But, by and large, with eight representatives in the Knesset (the parliament), they have a voice, as citizens of Israel, to demand redress for their wrongs.

No one can blame the poor people who left Israel. They were told that in a few weeks they would be back and would receive not only their own land and belongings but that of the Israelis, who would be driven into the sea.

Unfortunately for the Arabs, this did not come to pass. Israel remained a state and those poor refugees were the saddest and most miserable people I have seen in any refugee camps.

The worst of their plight was that, being in Arab countries where they didn't want to feel they were permanently settled, they were not even allowed to find jobs to keep up their skills, to set up work within the refugee camps for this purpose or to train young people...

Its been nearly 68 years, and nothing has changed.

That is the real "Nakba"

Berkeley's Tikvah: Students for Israel responds to hate on campus

From Tikvah: Students for Israel. at UC Berkeley. A poignant reminder of  why checkpoints and security precautions are still needed in Israel

UC Berkeley targeted with Anti-Semitic flyers

The ink was scarcely dry on the UC Regents statement condemning anti-Semitism, when UC Berkeley was targeted in an spam attack featuring anti-Semitic rhetoric

Copies of an anti-Semitic flyer were discovered in a shared printer in Dwinelle 7222 on the Cal campus. Other universities also reported receiving the flyers  including  the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Smith College, Mt. Holyoke College, Northeastern University in Boston, Clark University  and Brown University, Princeton University, DePaul University in Chicago, University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and UC Davis 

The flier was adorned with swastikas and read: “White man, are you sick and tired of the Jews destroying your country through mass immigration and degeneracy? Join us in the struggle for global white supremacy,” 

The Daily Stormer is considered by the ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center to be a neo-Nazi website and hate site.

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists hosts Ken O'Keefe for a talk on Jewish Power

Church sanctioned hate in Berkeley, of all places.

According to their website, the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists is a progressive spiritual community that stands proudly as a beacon for social justice.  BFUU has twice received the “Moral Beacon” Award from the Pacific Central District of the Unitarian Universalist Association, for its “extraordinary courage and commitment in the work of creating a better world.”

On March 20 this "beacon of social justice" proudly sponsored notorious anti-Semite Ken O'Keefe .
The BFUU was not simply renting out a space- they took an active role promoting O'Keefe on their mailing list, their facebook page

as well as on their community calendar.

O'Keefe  is current touring the US on what he calls his  "F**k the TSA/Homeland Security tour".  He was introduced by Vic Sadot of the BFUU Social Justice committee. His talk at the BFUU was laced with unfiltered profanity

The Unitarian Universalists in Berkeley have jumped feet-first into the anti-Semitic swimming hole with this action, and are now find themselves complicit in the promotion of abhorrent blood libels, conspiracy theories, and pure unadulterated hate.

At the event, Ken O'Keefe proudly declared   "I'm honored to be labeled a terrorist by Israel. I'm honored to be labeled an anti-Semitic by the ADL.",and expressed his disappointment that no one came to protest his event.

Early in the talk, O'Keefe stated "If there's one group on the planet you really can't criticize its pretty damn obvious. I'm sure everyone is just waiting for that word to come out", before launching into his tirade on the parallels between Jewish and American supremacism.

From his abashed support for the misunderstood and misrepresented Nazis to his admiration for the Syrian Butcher Assad who "did his job admirably", Ken O'Keefe's hate flowed with ease.   "We can't use certain words. Language has become manipulated. Political correctness is the order of the day and people like me are supposed to be vilified because I'm anti-Semitic... My problem with Judaism is based on my anti-supremacist perspective", adding  "the people I'm allegedly against aren't even Semitic They don't come from that region. They don't even speak Hebrew. Ashkenazi Jews come from the Caspian basin"

His vile unhinged and  unsubstantiated accusations were met by an appreciative audience, which included his fellow traveler on the 2010 Gaza flotilla, Paul Larudee

Spoken by Ken O'Keefe,  at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists:

"Those that are effectively running the world primarily through the financial system are psychopaths, sociopaths. Many of them, if not all of them are pedophiles. Many of them are involved in something as nasty sadistic and untouchable as f**ing little boys and little girls before they sacrifice them."

"The system is almost totally controlled by Jewish bankers"

"The Jewish supremacist state of Israel largely adheres to Talmudic Judaism and boy oh boy lets get into some religious texts that are obscene as you could imagine".

People who don't understand that "the power structure within Israel is operating largely within Talmudic dictates are naive" 

These  "Talmudic dictates" are  " the authoritative document for the Jewish supremacists who are running the country" according to Ken O'Keefe. O'Keefe  included a sickening array of lies too vile to be repeated.

Lest you assume he distinguishes between "Jews" and  "Zionists", O'Keefe added  "The Jewish people are collectively responsible for the Jewish state".

That Ken O'Keefe is capable of spewing such venomous hate and lies is unsurprising. What is shocking, however is that the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists would promote it and give it legitimacy.

Let the BFUU know how you feel. Leave them on a comment on their Facebook page, give them a call at (510) 841-4824 or write them a note at 1924 Cedar Street, Berkeley, CA 94709. 

In other BDS fail news....

In other BDS  fail news...

*  Georgia has passed anti-BDS legislation this week. The bill sponsor, Georgia Sen. Judson Hill declared it  “a critical step forward in defending Georgia’s state economy and public policy” and referred to it as “taking a stand against the anti-Semitism and discrimination of the BDS movement.”

 It is the sixth state to pass such legislation, joining South Carolina, Illinois, Florida, Arizona and Colorado.  21 states are currently debating anti-BDS legislation, including California.

Anti-Israel groups are so alarmed by this new  and unexpected battlefront that both JVP and American Muslims for Palestine have hired coordinators to influence legislative policy. 

*  From the Times of Israel: Good news about the Israeli economy

In 2015, foreign direct investment in Israel totaled $11.6 billion dollars – a 90% increase over 2014, when $6.7 billion was invested from overseas.

This remarkable increase in foreign investment represents an overwhelming vote of confidence in the Israeli economy, and rightly so. In spite of the global recession of the last decade, Israel’s economy saw consistent GDP growth, above even that of the OECD and the United States. To boot, Israel’s unemployment rate hovers around 5% – among the world’s lowest.

* A local blogger has documented many examples of BDS fails within the Bay area, including multiple sightings of Zim containers.  (What? Could Block the Boat have lied about their "success" in ridding Oakland of the scourge of  Israeli-associated shipping? )

  
The current  proliferation of Zim containers locally hasn't escaped the watchful eyes of the BDS holes, either

Universities rejecting BDS this month include: 
U Minnesota Capital U U Indianapolis Ohio State Northeastern

Even with so many tangible successes, there is still much work to be done.

From the Algemeiner, written by Roz Rothstein and Yitzhak Santis

Despite Impressive Victories Against BDS, the Battle Is Not Won

Complacency, however, is not an option. There is something to be said about the publicity these BDS debates generate. The loud and antagonistic disputes inject vicious anti-Israel propaganda into campus communities, often creating a hostile and unsafe environment for Jewish and pro-Israel students — and poisoning uniformed minds about Israel.

The struggle against BDS is not yet won. Education about the complex Middle East reality must be continued on North American campuses to combat the lies and misrepresentations of the BDS movement.

The road ahead is long and difficult, but the pro-Israel struggle against BDS will prevail if we continue to turn myths and libels into truth for an unsuspecting public.

The real lesson is that when we fight back, we win.

Cailin Pitt threatens violence if BDS resolution doesn't pass.

Yesterday, erev Purim, the Ohio State University student association voted on a BDS resolution. Cailin Pitt's response on Twitter is a perfect example of the ugliness, divisiveness, and abject hatred that BDS brings to a school

If Cailin just wanted attention for his cause, he certainly received it. 

Student threatens mass murder if Ohio Uni doesn't support BDS
Despite death threats, Ohio State U BDS initiative fails
After Congressional Intervention, Death Threat, Ohio State Student Gov't Rejects BDS

From Cailin Pitt's blog, by way of an "explanation"

On Tuesday March 22nd, it was announced that the Undergraduate Student Government on campus had received a letter from three Ohio politicians, asking USG not to divest. Divestment has been a popular topic on campus for quite some time, as USG has been deciding whether or not to support divestment for the past several weeks.

Many people took to Twitter to voice their concern that USG would not give OSU Divest a fair process now that there was outside pressure to avoid divestment, including me. One of my tweets on the 22nd said that I would "come for lives" if USG did not give OSU Divest a fair process.

This tweet  was poorly worded. It also gave the impression to some members of USG that I was threatening lives, which was not my intention at all.

"Coming for lives" is a popular slang term that means to address and correct something that was done or said. In my usage of this slang term, I attempted to say that I would follow up with USG senators and leaders if OSU Divest was not given a fair hearing because of outside pressure, and I would try to figure out what went wrong. Once again, this tweet was poorly worded, and was also poorly timed because this was said on the same day of the terrorist attacks in Belgium.

Yep. He actually wrote: "Coming for lives" is a popular slang term 
Nice try, Cailin.
But, no, its not.

Incidentally,  there has not been a single word from the OSU divest organizers denouncing Cailins' threats of violence. Despite Cailin's threat, the resolution was defeated  9-21-15.

Ironically,  Cailin Pitt, a  fourth-year in computer science and engineering  and a Resident Assistant at Ohio State University once created a mobile ap to keep students safe on campus

UPDATE:
Campus police have investigated and have determined that this was not a 'credible" threat

LARGEST U.S. PUBLIC UNIV. UNANIMOUSLY PASSES LANDMARK POLICY TO PROTECT JEWISH STUDENTS FROM RISING ANTI-SEMITISM

Press release from the AMCHA Initiative,  a non-profit organization dedicated to combating, monitoring and documenting anti-Semitism at institutions of higher education in America.

UC condemns anti-Semitism & anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism; 1^st university to take this critical step

San Francisco, CA, March 23, 2016 – To address a rash of anti-Semitic incidents, largely incited by anti-Zionist activity on campus, the University of California today passed a resolution condemning “anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism and other forms of discrimination” and stating they “have no place at the University of California.”

“What an important day for Jewish students in California, nationally and internationally,” said AMCHA Initiative director Tammi Rossman Benjamin, who began this fight a year ago and led the effort.  “There is absolutely no doubt that anti-Zionism is the driving force behind the alarming rise in anti-Semitism at UC and at schools across the country.  Far too often, anti-Israel activists single out, harass, intimidate and even assault Jewish students, regardless of how that student feels about Israel.  Far too often, what starts as acceptable, welcomed and appropriate criticism and debate on Israel becomes anti-Zionist discrimination and hate.  We applaud the Regents for their leadership and courage today.  We offer a special thank you to Regents Working Group chair Eddie Island, members Norm Pattiz and Avi Oved and California legislators Marty Block and Travis Allen who championed this important policy.  This is a significant step forward for the well-being of Jewish students at UC, and its impact will be felt nationwide.”

AMCHA began communicating with UC Regents and community members a year ago after hearing from concerned parents and students about the rapid rise of anti-Semitism at UC.  In September the Regents appointed a task force to address the problem.  The task force held numerous public meetings and hearings to hear from the community and experts.  Last week they released the proposed Statement of Principles Against Intolerance that was approved unanimously today.

Dozens of UC students and faculty, representatives from Jewish organizations, including, the Anti-Defamation League, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Jewish Community Relations Council, and AMCHA Initiative, and State Assembly Member Travis Allen testified before the Regents today urging them to support the measure. In addition, over the last week, more than 4,000 UC students, faculty, parents, alumni and stakeholders; 60 Jewish and education advocacy groups, including Hillel International, Jewish Federations of North America, and the American Jewish Committee; as well as the California Legislature’s Jewish Caucus and U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman urged the Regents to condemn anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in the Statement.

Criticism of Israel, Israeli policies, settlements, the living conditions of Palestinians or criticism similar to that leveled against any other country is not anti-Zionism.  Anti-Zionism is denying Israel’s right to exist and/or calling for its destruction.

Far too often, what starts as acceptable, welcomed and appropriate criticism and debate on Israel at UC becomes anti- Zionist discrimination and often includes classic, centuries-old anti-Semitic tropes:

·       Jewish UC Santa Cruz student government rep warned to “abstain” from voting on Israel divestment resolution because of his “Jewish agenda.”

·       At UC Santa Barbara, stereotypical and classic anti-Semitic statements about Jews, including Jews control the government and all Jews are rich, were made during a debate to divest from Israel. 


·       A UCLA student wrote, “Fucking Jews. GTFOH with all your Zionist bullshit. Crazy ass fucking troglodyte albino monsters of cultural destruction. Fucking Jews. GTFOH with your whiny bullshit. Give the Palestinians back their land, go back to Poland or whatever freezer-state you’re from, and realize that faith does not constitute race.”

·       The online promotion of an anti-Israel UC Berkeley SJP event stated, “No to University Coordination and Strategizing with the ADL, JCRC, AJC, StandWithUS, ZOA...” The targeting of Jewish organizations, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the American Jewish Committee, demonstrates how anti-Israel student groups target and alienate all Jewish groups. 


·       At UC Berkeley, “Zionists should be sent to the gas chamber” was scrawled on a bathroom wall in the wake of a student senate campaign to pressure the university to divest from American companies that do business with Israel.

·       At UCLA, “Hitler did nothing wrong” was carved into school property after a contentious BDS campaign.

·       At UC Davis, “grout out the Jews” was scrawled on the university’s Hillel House following a heated BDS debate. 


·       At UC Santa Barbara, flyers blaming Israelis and all Jews for 9/11 were posted on campus. 


A study, conducted by AMCHA Initiative, of anti-Semitism at more than 100 U.S. colleges and universities in 2015 ranked 5 UC campuses in the top 10% of schools with the most anti-Semitic activity. In fact, 4 of those UC campuses rose to the top 5 worst schools.  The study also found the presence of anti-Zionist activities, anti-Zionist student groups and faculty who endorse an academic boycott of Israel were strong predictors of anti-Semitism.  

For months UC Jewish students have reported feeling afraid to tell fellow students they are Jewish, walk to the Hillel house for Sabbath dinner and wear a Jewish star necklace. Many report being bullied, harassed, intimidated and assaulted.

Urge the UC Regents to adopt the Statement of Principles Against Intolerance

Please add your name to the petition, initiated by the AMCHA initiative endorsing the UC Regents Report condemning anti-Zionism.

In response to the alarming escalation of anti-Semitism at the University of California, the UC Regents Working Group recently released its Report and Statement of Principles Against Intolerance that includes strong introductory language in the Report condemning anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism such as:

"Anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and other forms of discrimination have no place at the University of California."

We need your help to support the efforts of the UC Regents Working Group. The vote on the adoption of the full Report will be next week, March 23rd at UCSF. We hope this action will help return our campuses to places that respect and value diversity and where all students feel safe.

Please Sign & Share this petition with other UC students, parents, faculty, alumni and stakeholders.

You'll be in good company

The following organizations have endorsed the full Report:

• Academic Engagement  Network
• Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity (AEPi)
• Alums for Campus Fairness
• AMCHA Initiative
• AMCHA UCLA Alumni
• American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists
• American Institute for Jewish Research
• American Jewish Committee (AJC)
• Americans for Peace and Tolerance
• Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
• Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA)
• BEAR: Bias Education, Advocacy & Resources
• Club Z
• Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA)
• CUFI on Campus
• Davis Faculty for Israel
• Eagles Wings
• Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET)
• Fuel For Truth
• Hasbara Fellowships
• Hillel International
• Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel
• Iranian American Jewish Federation
• Israel Action Network, Partnership of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs
• Israel Peace Initiative (IPI)
• Israeli-American Council (IAC)
• Jerusalem U
• Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco- Peninsula, Marin, Sonoma, Alameda  and Contra  Costa Counties
• Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
• Jewish Federation of Orange County
• Jewish Law Students Association at UCLA
• Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA)
• Middle East Political and Information Network (MEPIN)
• National Conference on Jewish Affairs
• Proclaiming Justice to the Nations
• Project Genesis
• Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi
• Simon Wiesenthal Center
• StandWithUs
• Stop BDS on Campus
• Students and Parents Against Campus Anti-Semitism
• Students Supporting Israel at UCLA
• The Israel Christian Nexus
• The Israel Group
• Training and Education About the Middle East (T.E.A.M.)
• Zionist Organization of America

The petition can be found here

Birds of a Feather. Israel Haters Unite to protest AIPAC

This weeks AIPAC policy Conference is the largest ever- with over 18,000 in attendance.  Jews and their diverse allies from all over the country have gathered in Washington DC in solidarity and support of a strong relationship between the US and Israel.

And of course, there are protests and planned disruptions.

Where else but an an AIPAC policy conference can  "Jewish" Voice for Peace, Code Pink, Al-Awda and International ANSWER find common cause with the Westboro Baptist Church?

BDS Holes Lie. Carlos Santana to play in Israel

Carlos Santana will be performing in Israel for the first time in 29 years

In a statement to the press, Santana manager Michael Vrionis announced “Carlos Santana is a citizen of the World and he plays his music and spreads his message of Love, Light & Peace wherever he goes...Carlos believes the World should have no borders so he is not detoured or discouraged to play anywhere on this planet. We look forward to performing in Israel this summer.”

Carlos Santana's name has been on the short-list of BDS "supporters" for years, because  BDS Holes lie. This should come as no surprise.

 From the BDS Movement: BDS at 7! – Celebrating, reflecting and further mainstreaming
- Scores of artists — especially musicians and filmmakers — and writers have refused to perform in Israel or cancelled scheduled performances following pressure from the BDS movement including Bono, Snoop Dogg, Jean Luc Godard, Elvis Costello, Gil Scott Heron, Carlos Santana, Devendra Banhart, Faithless, the Pixies, Cassandra Wilson, Cat Power, Zakir Hussain.

From the Bay Area Campaign to End Israeli Apartheid
"Principled musicians and artists are taking their stand with Palestinian people: Gil Scott-Heron, Elvis Costello, Sting, Bono, Snoop Dogg, Carlos Santana, Klaxons, Gorillaz, and the Pixies all declined offers by Israel to play there.  A growing number of distinguished people including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and writers and artists such as Arundhati Roy, Alice Walker, John Berger, Adrienne Rich, Ken Loach, and Naomi Klein, are publicly supporting the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.  "

From the US campaign to End the Israeli occupation:
Elvis Costello and Gil Scott-Heron both recently joined the growing list of artists and performers supporting the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement by canceling shows in Israel.  They join the likes of Snoop Dogg, Sting, Carlos Santana, Bono, and other performers who have recently declined to play or cancelled shows in Israel due to Israel's human rights violations.

From Anna Baltzer 
.... Many artists have responded by canceling appearances in Israel. These include: Carlos Santana, Gil Scott Heron, Elvis Costello, the Pixies, Devendra Banhart, the Tindersticks, Meg Ryan and Dustin Hoffman, among others.

To create the illusion of a successful movement, BDS holes lie.  Any change of plans, any sickness, any routine business decision  that results in a performance in Israel being cancelled is chalked up as a victory, and performers unwittingly find their names and their reputations hijacked to promote a philosophy of exclusion.

Good for Carlos Santana for saying "Not in my name", and for continuing to spread his message of love light and peace.

Joel Migdal: Six hours in Gaza

Its rare to read a report out of Gaza without the ubiquitous, cliched anti-Israel sound bites.  Joel S. Migdal is the founding chair of the University of Washington's International Studies Program. In 1993, he received the University of Washington’s Distinguished Teaching Award; in 1994, the Washington State Governor’s Writers Award; in 2006, the Marsha L. Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award; and, in 2008, the Provost Distinguished Lectureship.  Prof. Migdal writes about his 6 hours in Gaza, here

Prof Migdal is genuinely surprised by what he sees and what he doesn’t see  in Gaza:

... I had expected the obvious and wrenching poverty that I had seen in some Indian cities or many other Third World countries, for that matter—collapsing infrastructure, rickety shacks, a surfeit of beggars, children in rags, adults sleeping on the sidewalks. At least in this part of the city and others that I saw later in the day, none of that was visible. Instead, I saw hordes of children going to school, university students walking in and out of the gates of the two universities—both the children and the university students reasonably dressed. I observed morning shoppers buying vegetables and fruits from stands, shopkeepers opening their shops, and people walking purposefully to wherever they were going for the start of the day. There were cranes and construction workers everywhere, with lots of uncompleted buildings being worked on. A garbage truck, with a UN sign on it, was making its rounds.

I saw almost no signs of authority on the streets. No police. No guns. No moral police. One person commented to me that in 2009 Hamas was omnipresent, with lots of moral policing on the streets. Since then, such surveillance has fallen off, but people have learned to be self-policing in their behavior in public, he said, just to be safe and not harassed.

People were certainly not in rags. Men were mostly in chino-type pants and button-down shirts. With very few exceptions, women were covered with the hijab and burka. Perhaps 10-20 percent of them were in black with their faces totally covered. Incidentally, this sort of veiling was not a traditional practice in Palestinian society; it is very much a product of the “new fundamentalism.”

Prof. Migdal  pours a great deal into his 6 hour visit,  and writes about his visits with Gaza intellectuals,  humanitarianism groups, and the fledgling Gaza entrepreneurial class, providing a real glimpse at life in Gaza beyond the platitudes and cliches.

Read it all here

Why is the Walnut Creek Public Library giving a venue to white supremacist Alison Weir ?

Spotted on Craigs List 

Why is the Walnut Creek Public Library giving a venue to white supremacist Alison Weir ?

Backgrounder on Alison Weir from the Web:

Alison Weir has been a frequent guest of white supremacist Clay Douglas on his hate radio show, the Free American. Clay Douglas is concerned primarily with the survival of the White race. Examples of his racist, homophobic rhetoric can be easily found on the internet

"In the course of Weir's appearance with Clay Douglas on August 25, 2010, she was silent when Douglas invoked the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and engaged in a racist diatribe against Jews. Her troubling associations and choices further include giving interviews to a range of far-right outlets including The American Free Press, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has identified as a hate group, and the anti-gay, anti-Jewish pastor Mark Dankof."

Her work has also been featured on the website of the former head of the Klu Klux Kan, David Duke 

She has not disavowed, debated, or challenged the thinking of any of these outlets individuals or institutions.

Please gather in protest at the Walnut Creek Public library. Keep Walnut Creek Hate free

Wed, Mar 30, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Walnut Creek Library (Oak View Room)
1644 N Broadway, Walnut Creek, CA 94596

Alison Weir- a woman so off- the-wall wacko that  she's been formally denounced by groups from right to left will also be appearing at the Richmond Public Library:

Saturday, April 2 at 3:00 pm
Richmond Public Library 
325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond, CA 94804

Terror Cakes! Bake Sale for Gaza

Saturday, March 12 was National Cake Sale Day for Gaza

There is very little on the Web about the results of this new initiative, although there were some tasty images available of the pastry arts in the disputed territories.

Oh, yeah. Let them eat cake.

UPDATE (June 29 2016)

This cake features an image of a Palestinian terrorist stabbing an Israeli in the head. Very appetizing

More Pallywood style lies from Gaza's Dr. Basem Naim

After 4 rockets were launched against Israel today, hitting the town of Sderot  the Israel Air Force struck 4 Hamas military targets in Gaza. Palestinian sources claimed a 10 year old boy was killed, and his sister seriously wounded. 

Someone who ought to know better- Dr. Basem Naim,  Head of Council on International Relations, Former Minister of Health of Gaza has tweeted out this photo,.retweeted 45 times in just an  hour claiming this child was killed in the strikes earlier today.

Does that even look like a 10 year old?  Its not. Its a photo from at least 2011, resurrected by an official in the Hamas government for the express purpose of demonizing Israel

This isn't the first time Dr.Basem Naim has played fast and easy with the truth.  Don't expect a retraction anytime soon.

Palestinian activist Bassem Tamimi barred from U.S.

Apparently, Jewish Voice for Peace, Friends of Sabeel and the Middle East Children's Alliance have no trouble hosting convicted criminals or having them give talks in 3rd grade classrooms.

Fortunately,  Bassem Tamini  has had his US Visa revoked, and won't be coming back any time soon. Small matter of failing to disclose his arrest record.

Via IsraellyCool

Bassem Tamimi, terror supporter & enabler, and father/exploiter of “Shirley Temper”, has apparently had his US visa revoked, according to a letter he himself posted on his Facebook page.

In 2012, Tamimi was arrested and sentenced to prison for planning demonstrations in Nabi Salih, as well as “soliciting” others to throw stones at IDF soldiers as they attempted to disperse the weekly rallies. Later that year, he was again arrested, this time for an illegal demonstration in the car park of Rami Levy, a supermarket accessible to both Jews and Palestinians. I am guessing he failed to disclose at least one of those. 

Read more about convicted terrorist Bassem Tamimi 

A Little Village in the Hills and the Monsters it Spawns

Shirley Temper’s Father/Terror Supporter Bassem Tamimi Has US Visa Revoked

Palestinian activist Bassem Tamimi barred from U.S.

More Lies from Eyad Kishawi

 Eyad Kishawi, posting in Facebook as Eyad Kay remains a consistent source of misinformation. 

Ahmad Amer was shot after attacking a soldier with a knife.  Yet Eyad, co-founder of the extremist group Al Awda shared a post that claimed:

He had a pen, not a knife, yet he was executed by Zionist occupation forces today, his name is Ahmad Amer from Zawyah village, near Salfit, he is a 16 years old schoolboy, 9 March 2016.

Eyad, how many  "innocent" 16 year olds write a will before they leave home?

Dreaded Zionist Spy Robots at Brown university

Dubbed by Howard Jacobson as the "offense-taking as lifestyle choice" folk, the same delicate flowers that recoil at giant Pinocchios  have a new reason to be offended. 

An event, "Suffocating Embrace? The Future of Palestinians in Israel," was part of the Middle East Studies' one-sided "Critical Conversations on Palestine/Israel" series at Brown University. Speaking were Haneen Zoabi, a member of the Knesset  facing 6 months suspension for calling Israeli-Arab police officers "traitors,"  threatening them and directing a protesting crowd to spit in their faces.  Other participants included Shira Robinson from George Washington University,  Areej Sabbagh-Khoury from Columbia University,  Gershon Shafir from University of California, San Diego, and Beshara Doumani, the Saudi born Palestinian-American chair of Middle East Studies at Brown. 

Glossary (Open Hillel to English translation)
"police academic discourse"  = listen
"accosted"   = addressed
'harassed'  = asked

From a press release by Open Hillel, printed in its entirety at Jewschool

In a dystopian twist, the latest development in the attack on open discourse by right-wing pro-Israel groups appears to be the use of robots to police academic discourse. At a March 3, 2016 event about Palestinian citizens of Israel sponsored by Middle East Studies at Brown University, a robot attended and accosted students. The robot used an iPad to display a man from  StandWithUs, which receives funding from Israel’s government.

The robot wore a suit and tie, and had an iPad in the place of its head, which displayed the StandWithUs employee. The man who appeared on the iPad told questioners that he worked for StandWithUs. The robot was accompanied by a man identified by event organizers as also affiliated with StandWithUs, and the two spoke together in Hebrew. Students believed that the technology being used was a “Double Robotics Telepresence Robot for iPad Tablet” from Brookstone, which retails at $2,299.99. It is unclear at this time whether the individual that brought the robot was a student or professional employee of StandWithUs.

Before the event began, students say, the robot approached students and harassed them about why they were attending the event. Students declined to engage with this bizarre form of intimidation and ignored the robot. At the event itself, the robot and the StandWithUs affiliate remained in the back. During the question and answer session, the man briefly left the robot’s side to ask a question.

Dreaded Zionist Spy robots. Its a natural progression of course, from the same people that brought you Spy storks.  Spy Eagles.  Spy Vultures.  Spy Dolphins and of course, the spy squirrel

UPDATE via Legal Insurrection

The developer of the device, Roey Tzezana, PhD. had a more innocent explanation which he posted on the Open Hillel Facebook page. He had permission from the organizers, the device did not record, and was an educational experiment:

Dear Open Hillel,

I’m afraid there’s been some mistake in your report. I’m the co-founder of Tele-Buddy – a company that brings robots everywhere so that people will be able to log into them and share their opinions.

A few days before the event, I contacted Prof. Beshara Doumani (the organizer) and asked for permission to bring a Israeli using the robot. He confirmed, saying that the event was open both for human beings and robots. I also promised that since the robot can (and should!) be used to enrich any discussion, I would be happy to host another person who couldn’t come with his/her biological body in the next panel: whether it is a Palestinian, a Chinese, a North-Korean or anyone. The robot can serve such valuable purpose for all debates and panels!

Anyway, Mr. Shahar Azani from StandWithUs took control over the robot in the event. I can personally testify that he absolutely did not “harass” anyone. He talked with people, and if they didn’t talk back – he just went on talking with other people. It was fun, and people took pictures and were interested to hear about Shahar and the robot.

As for surveillance or Israeli support for this venture: you’re absolutely wrong. No footage of what the robot ‘sees’ is being saved anywhere, and the Israeli government has absolutely no connection to this use of the robot. It was strictly my idea, and I stand behind it: if we can enrich debates with more points of view, to reach more meaningful insights about the future, how can we allow ourselves not to do so?

I’ll be back in Providence next week, and would be happy to meet with you (with or without the robot) and discuss the event and the way you see it – and how we can all make better use of the robots in future events, with or without connection to the Israeli or the Palestinian issue.

Yours,

Roey Tzezana, PhD.
Tele-Buddy

Stand With Us provided the follow letter it sent to Jew School:

Dear Editor,

We were surprise and saddened to read the following story on your blog

The article published is inaccurate in multiple ways. It would have been appropriate and demonstrate journalistic integrity and professionalism to seek information from StandWithUs prior to publishing incorrect information.

The “Robot” used is not a drone, nor is it or was it at any point owned or invented by StandWithUs. It is an invention created by two companies: Telebuddy and Double Robotics and our participation at the event was initiated by Telebuddy CEO, Dr. Roey Tzezana, who told our staff member that he has permission from one of the organizers of the event to attend the discussion with the “robot.”

To the best of our knowledge, the invention meant to enrich discussions and conversations by allowing remote participation in an interactive manner, with great potential for a variety of opinions, meetings and engagements.

Thankfully yours,

StandWithUs