"Zionist Scum Your Time has Come"

Again: from our friends at StandWithUs/San Francisco Voice for Israel

Earlier tonight several dozen Israel supporters stood outside the Israeli Consulate Building on Montgomery Street while a group of Hamas-supporting Israel haters chanted "Zionist scum, your time has come".  

That's what the "progressive" Bay Area has to offer-- hate speech in support of an Islamist regime that itself hates women, gays, Christians, but above all Jews.  

They're going to be out there again Friday, in front of the Consulate building at 456 Montgomery in San Francisco.  Let's show them that our community stands with Israel against Hamas and against its supporters here.  We're going to stand proudly in support of Israel's right to defend its people-- ALL of them, Jewish, Christian and Moslem-- against the hate that fuels not only the Hamas rockets but also the disgusting rhetoric of the other side.  

Nov. 16 Friday, 4-5 PM

456 Montgomery Street, San Francisco

We will have flags and signs, feel free to bring your own as well. 

Please do not bring signs or graphics offensive to
any racial or ethnic group including but not limited
to Arabs, Islam, or Palestinians. Signs in violation
of our policies will not be allowed.

This is the chance for our community to stand together in support of
Israel and its right to defend its citizens from rocket attacks.
Because this is a highly newsworthy event, we anticipate that there
will be TV and other media there. Let's show the haters that the
pro-Israel community in the Bay Area stands proudly with Israel.

Remember International ANSWER?

Anyone remember International ANSWER? Galvanizing Americans' ambivalence on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, they originally attracted tens of thousands to their San Francisco rallies. But San Franciscans aren't stupid, and ANSWER was unmasked fairly quickly. San Francisco ANSWER, under the leader of Richard Becker is strongly rooted in the Workers World Party, a tiny vestigial organ of the Communist party.

From Sf Gate:

The Workers World Party and Richard Becker, a party leader and leader of International Answer, have defended Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, Kim Jong Il of North Korea, Milosevic -- who is on trial at the Hague for war crimes -- and Chinese leaders who put down the 1989 "counter-revolution" in Tiananmen Square.

International ANSWER rallies became huge hate fests filled with anti-American and anti-Semitism symbolism. People kept away in droves. ANSWER became less and less relevant, attracting only the most extreme local activists to their events.

Like a lingering flu, ANSWER just won't go away, still trying to ride the coat tails of whatever social movement seems promising.

Keeping with their tradition of supporting dictatorial regimes, today ANSWER, along with the air plants of Code Pink co-sponsored a pro-Iran rally, taking a firm stand (sit down for this one) against sanctions directed towards the Islamic republic of Iran. Only at an ANSWER rally in San Francisco would you find a kaffiyeh clad women carrying a sign glorifying both Fidel Castro and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Cindy Sheehan was there, too, anxiously attempting to prove her relevance and extend her 15 minutes of fame.



The dictatorial regime of Iran is denying one Holocaust while planning another. Iran routinely persecutes gays, minorities, and women, and supplies and trains its Hamas and Hezbollah proxies in their war against the Jewish state. It is a perversion for ANSWER to use the image of civil rights visionary Dr. Martin Luther King in support of the Iranian theocracy. Sadly, we expect no better from International ANSWER.

(thanks to dholsey for use of the photos)

Look Who Thinks They Started A Revolution

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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

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


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

Aipac protests in the Bay Area

As happens every year, the usual pack of brainwashed supporters of extremist Islamic misogyny and Jew-hate will be out protesting in front of the AIPAC dinners in the Bay Area. Such 'protests' are usually forums for mayhem and socially approved bigotry among a certain class.

This year's sponsors of hatred and opportunistic thuggism in front of hotels:
Progressive Democrats of America-East Bay• Middle East Study Group• Middle East Children’s Alliance • Bay Area Women in Black • Students for Justice in Palestine • 14 Friends of Palestine • Richmond Progressive Alliance • American Friends Service Comm. • Code Pink • Jewish Voice for Peace • ANSWER- SF Bay Area • Friends of Deir Ibzi’a.

Conspicuously absent from any mention is the International Solidarity Movement. That does NOT mean that they do not have any thoughts regarding the matter.


THE ISM?

A dynamite piece in the Contra Costa Times perfectly highlights how utterly despicable some of the people on the anti-Israel side really are.

Quote:
PAUL LARUDEE writes in the Times (Dec. 4) to lament that people in the East Bay will be breaking bread with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). What Larudee does not tell his readers is that he has repeatedly bragged about sharing the bed of a suicide bomber, who had committed mass murder, and that he is a prominent member of the anarchist International Solidarity Movement.
[End quote]

From Would You Rather Break Bread With AIPAC or Share Bed of a Suicide Bomber? by Abraham H. Miller

SOURCE: Readers' Forum, by Abraham H. Miller, Guest Commentary
Posted: 12/11/2010
http://www.contracostatimes.com/columns/ci_16827099?nclick_check=1

Quote:
This group routinely works with such terrorist groups as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Larudee justifies violence as long as the dead and injured are Jews. He is so obsessed with Israel that he helped organized the Gaza Flotilla that was seeded with Islamist fanatics who sought and achieved martyrdom under the ruse of bringing aid to the Hamas-dominated territory.

That aid was so vital to the people of Gaza that Hamas has refused to accept it. It now rots in warehouses in Israel and Egypt.

Undeterred Larudee's latest obsession is to fly an airplane into Gaza in an effort to precipitate a new propaganda event. Larudee is neither a man of peace nor a human-rights activist.

He is a propagandist obsessed with the destruction of Israel by whatever means necessary. In 2006 his terrorist-loving ISM members were photographed carrying AK-47 machine guns, while standing next to members of the terrorist Al Asqa Martyr's Brigade. As someone who has proudly broken bread with
AIPAC, permit me to note some factual errors in Larudee's piece. AIPAC has neither supported nor opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has no positions on those, despite what Larudee says.

In a week when WikiLeaks clearly shows us that it is the Arabs, not the Israelis, who were actively calling for the Obama administration "to remove the head of the snake," Larudee tells us that Israel and AIPAC are the ones promoting war with Iran.

AIPAC supports a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, with both states living in peace, harmony and mutual security. Larudee's anarchist ISM does not.

AIPAC and its predecessors have promoted a strong, mutually beneficial alliance between the United States and Israel. It was Israeli intelligence that gave the United States one of the greatest intelligence coups of the Cold War, the complete text of Khrushev's secret speech to the 20th Party Congress of the Soviet Union. It was Israel that turned over an intact Russian MiG to the United States and an entire working Soviet radar system. Israeli intelligence was the only Western intelligence service ever to pierce the workings of a Politburo and make them available to the United States.

This vital strategic relationship, made more important by contemporary events, has resulted in at least five "secret" American bases on Israeli soil. These bases are vital to American security in the war on terrorism.

Larudee's ISM promotes no one's interest, but its own. In November of 2005, the Arabs of Hebron asked their Orthodox Jewish neighbors to help them in getting rid of ISM activists, whose behavior had become patently offensive to the Arab community.

Larudee's ISM promotes propaganda events, fronts for terrorists, seeks Israel's destruction while he laments that our neighbors will break bread with an organization that promotes the mutual security interests of Israel and the United States, an organization that advocates a two-state solution based on peace and security.

Given a choice between breaking bread with AIPAC or sharing the bed of a suicide bomber, I believe most of us would choose to break bread with AIPAC.
[End quote.]

Abraham H. Miller is emeritus professor of political science, University of Cincinnati. He is a former counterterrorism consultant to the National Institute of Justice.


=================================

http://www.contracostatimes.com/columns/ci_16827099?nclick_check=1

=================================

"AIPAC supports a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, with both states living in peace, harmony and mutual security. Larudee's anarchist ISM does not."

In addition to the anti-Israel organizations listed above, there will be unaffiliated elements with their own agendas among the baying mob. In years past, threats were made towards attendees, and violent incidents occurred. We'll see if this year the Oakland and San Francisco Police Departments are prepared - they have at times been caught off guard by the venom and aggression displayed toward Jews, Israel, and America by the organized fronts and their allies.
I wish the supporters of Israel good luck, and fervently hope that they do not get accidentally caught up in any of the "direct action" planned for today and tomorrow.


---G.P.


=================================

Crossposted here: http://grantpatel.blogspot.com/2010/12/aipac-protests-in-bay-area.html

=================================

International ANSWER calls for Solidarity with Who???????

Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi said Monday that opposition to the Iranian government is growing, spurred by an increase in government violence, more human rights violations and deepening poverty
The human rights lawyer, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her efforts to promote democracy, said in an interview with The Associated Press that she came to the United Nations to talk about the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran and seek support for a draft U.N. General Assembly resolution that would condemn the country's rights record.

read more here:

This must come as a surprise to the lovely Becker boys (Dick and Brian) at "International A.N.S.W.E.R." , who have recently emailed a "Solidarity with Iran " appeal

Initial signers joining the ANSWER Coalition in support of the International Appeal include former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark; Fr. Roy Bourgeois; peace activist Cindy Sheehan; Denis Halliday, former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, 1994-98; Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, civil rights attorney; Gloria La Riva, Coordinator of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five; and Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition, among many others.

In the midst of growing U.S. hostility, including the imposition of a new round of economic sanctions, a delegation of activists from the United States and Canada recently traveled to Iran to express solidarity with the people of Iran and to oppose U.S., UN, and European Union military threats and sanctions.


Yes, You read it correctly. ANSWER, always a bit of a joke, has moved into the ROFL category, supporting a medieval regime that stones women for adultery, hangs gays and bisexuals, and murders their political opposition. Way to go, International ANSWER. I can't imagine a gesture more indicative of just how out of touch you are with global reality

A Tale of Two Cities: A Photo Essay

Living in the San Francisco Bay area, you are lead to believe that Israel is the root of all evil. With over 60 groups dedicated to Israel's destruction locally, and hatefests almost daily, it's not surprising many people have a skewed world view.  There is an Anti Israel group for haters of all political beliefs in the bay area. Whatever flavor your pathology takes, there's an anti Israel group to fit your needs.  Hate Israel because you feel it has betrayed it's socialist roots.?  Try International Answer.  Hate Israel because you want to see the entire Middle east as an Islamic caliphate?  Al Awda's your ticket.  Hate Israel because you felt mom and dad never loved you.?  Try  the international Jewish Anti Zionist network. Hate Israel because you're queer and reject Jewish patriarchy (but somehow embrace Islamic patriarchy?). Try QUIT. Hate Israel because  all your friends do?  Try Jewish voice for peace.  

Are you smart enough to know you have nothing smart to say ?  Then Mimes for Gaza is waiting for you!
Too dumb to know you have nothing smart to say?  Code Pink  just might be the right match.  There is a veritable buffet of anti Israel hate clubs out there.   For the rest of us, it  should be reassuring to know that the Bay area is exceptional in America in it's red/green obsession with the destruction of the only democracy in the middle east

New York City might very well be the reverse of the spectrum.  Even the ordinary grocery stores are full of Israeli products.  You can buy your Dorot garlic without fear that it has been vandalized by some Kate Raphael  wannabe.  And you can buy it in both Key Food and the Supersol.

Why, yes, that is "Zohan" brand hummus in the handy squeeze bottle! Harry Potter in Hebrew? No problem.  The NYC cable TV lineup includes JLTV, channel 120- a Jewish station with a strong Zionist bent. And Freedom Square Park in Queens is dedicated to Israeli Independence.


The base of this Flagpole in Freedom Square park in New York City reads "Theodore Herzl: Fighter for freedom". It is located in the Kew Gardens Hills Zionist District. And it has been there for years, without graffiti, without vandalism, without uproar.     Ahavat Yisrael is so strong in some neighborhoods, that its increasingly common to find buildings faced with  gleaming white Jerusalem stone.

Its easy to be a Jew, and a Zionist in New York. Much easier than here in the San Francisco Bay area, considered one of the 5 hubs of delegitimization of Israel by the Reut Institute.