Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein calls for protest at an Oakland synagogue

Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein has called for protest at  an Oakland synagogue, and has led a letter writing campaign directed towards local community leaders. Why he thinks our local community is his business is a mystery. He is spurred on, no doubt, by little more than his own elevated sense of self-importance and his own humorless existence.

In his cross-hairs is comedienne Roseanne Barr, who is scheduled to appear at Congregation Beth Abraham later this month.

Such criticism is particularly  rich coming from Richard Silverstein who openly shills for the terror-supporting International Solidarity Movement (ISM)

Roseanne Barr's long journey of self discovery has led her back to Judaism and Israel.   We wrote about it last year, before an earlier Bay area appearance was cancelled

How seriously should we take Roseanne's Twitter outbursts? Roseanne Barr is a public figure, but she is not an academic or a journalist. She's a comedienne- essentially a shock jock , who uses the literary tools of exaggeration and hyperbole to drive home her points. 

Does it make us uncomfortable? Yes- but its meant to....

What can we, as a community, learn from Roseanne Barr's personal journey?   One thing is certain. Human beings are capable of much more nuance and subtlety when not restricted to 140 characters or less.

Dam. Who would fall for such an obviously staged photo?

One popular form of "Pallywood" are the photos and videos staged specifically to demonize Israel

Palestinian Rap group Dam tried their hand this week, with their "selfie" going viral on social media. It was captioned "A selfie while the Israeli military running after me"

Who would fall for such an obviously staged photo?

Richard Silverstein, for one.

A spokesperson for the band has reportedly confirmed that the photo was staged. The DAM associate told Buzzfeed News they did not want to be quoted on record because “they’re enjoying watching the reaction the photo is generating online”. After nearly 24 hours, an admission, of sorts, was released

Richard Silverstein Exposed. Again

Seattle Blogger Richard Silverstein is enough of a running joke, that assorted bloggers keep a running tally on how many times he has made a fool of himself.  We've got one more to add to the list.

This might be the most complete tally:.From IsraellyCool, a selection  of links pointing to Richard Silverstein’s

• Unreliability, whether it be lies or lack of factchecking
• Defence of Hamas and palestinian terrorists, or otherwise explaining away their crimes
• Ignorance of Israel and Judaism, despite his claims of expertise
• Hypocrisy
• Possible crimes
• Following by antisemites

Lets chalk this latest one up to unreliability, with a  hefty sprinkling of hypocrisy.  Richard Silverstein has accused  Israeli doctors of killing " tens of thousands of Arab children", by irradiating them as part of the treatment for  Tinea capitis; ringworm, a very common and very contagious fungal infection

Silverstein is a bit late jumping on the demonization bandwagon for this one.  This antisemitic meme  drifted through the Bay area in 2008, and was soundly rebuked on the hard left's own agitprop site, Indybay 

According to a commenter on the site, the standard treatment for ringworm at the time was  radiation. This was an article from a 1949 California medical journal

RADIATION THERAPY OF RINGWORM OF THE SCALP
Calif Med. 1949 March; 70(3): 189–193.
M. E. Mottram and Harold A. Hill

A recent epidemic of tinea capitis in children  has revived a considerable interest in the methods of treatment of this disease. The most efficacious form of therapy for M. audouini infections is roentgen epilation. Cure was effected by this method in all of a group of 125 cases.

Yes, Silverstein is condemning Israeli doctors for treating patients with radiation, which was considered the state of the art treatment at the time.

Wait, Wait! There's more.  Silverstein's headline reads "When Israeli Doctors killed Tens of Thousands of Arab Children" , prompting one of this followers to respond  "Genocide".

Silverstein, knows that the vast majority of internet users, and certainly his intellectually sub-par followers never read beyond the headline.  The  "Arab" children were actually Jews, entering Israel after their expulsion from Arab lands and he is attempting to conceal that fact from the majority of his followers. Its a deliberate, malicious attempt to mislead  his readers, and one of them called him out on it

In just one post we have both shoddy, incomplete research and deliberately misleading use of language, with the specific purpose of demonizing Israel. Could we expect anything different  from Richard Silverstein?

On his website, Silverstein asserts, incorrectly

"At that time, many children developed ringworm, a non-lethal condition of fungal origin which affected the scalp. Unlike in other countries, 100,000 Jewish (and Palestinian) Arab children were irradiated in order to treat the condition. While medical protocol of the day directed that no technician receive a dose higher than .5 Roentgen, those treated could received  (sic) a higher dose. A lethal dose was considered 200 Roentgen (R). The children treated received individual doses of 350R. Sometimes they received two doses (for a total of 600R). 6,000 of the victims died within the first year or so after treatment. To this day, many of the remaining victims suffer cancers, epilepsy, infertility and other brain disorders. Even their children have been impacted through genetic abnormalities passed on from one generation to the next."

According to the British Journal of Medicine:
In 1948, the state of the art was  400 r over 5 fields   (No, Richard, this was not considered a “lethal dose”)

TREATMENT OF RINGWORM OF THE SCALP

Br Med J. 1948 Apr 17;1(4554):723-6.
BRAIN RT, CROW K, et al.

A year after,  the recommended dose was 500  r (over 4 fields)

RINGWORM OF THE SCALP; TREATMENT BY X –RAY EPILATION WITHOUT SUBSEQUENT LOCAL APPLICATION

Br Med J. 1949 Mar 26;1(4603):523.
LYDON FL, STEPHANIDES T, ROBB TM.

Silverstein’s medical research ranks about par with his historic research.  Psst. Richard, one more thing.  Only germline mutations are inherited, not somatic ones 

UPDATE

How typical of Richard Silverstein to publish first, and then ask questions

Plancks Constant has an excellent response to the spurious allegations of the film, The Ringworm Children  here

More Pallywood from the Middle East Monitor

Oh, those naughty Israelis, destroying a mosque in, wait, is that Angola?

Why yes, it is.

The Middle East Monitor is using a photo from a demolished mosque in Angola to illustrate the alleged demolition of a mosque in the Negev, claiming

Israeli bulldozers guarded by a large force of police started to demolish the mosque in Wadi Al-Niam in the Negev on Thursday amid residents' fears that authorities could also demolish homes in the village. A demolition order had been nailed to the mosque wall a few days earlier.

The Negev Foundation for Land and Man denounced the demolition, describing the Israeli act as a blatant assault on the sanctity of the mosque and on Arab rights to live in the Negev. It also noted that the demolition violates the right to freedom of worship as well as international laws and conventions.

The foundation also condemned the police attacks on the residents of Wadi Al-Niam, the demolition of their homes, the confiscation of their property and the destruction of their crops. It stressed that the indigenous people of the Negev Desert are determined to stay in their homes in the face of Israeli scheming and force. It appealed to Arabs in Israel and the Arabs of the Negev in particular to stand by the people of Wadi Al-Niam.

But if the Middle East Monitor can't tell the difference between a mosque in Angola and a mosque in Israel why would we believe anything they've written?

UPDATE
Seattle anti-Israel Blogger Richard Silverstein,  notorious for his failure to fact check has jumped on the bandwagon to spread this fraudulent misrepresentation far and wide.

Richard Silverstein perpetuates fraud 

Further Update
h/t Cara.

The Middle East Monitor has fully admitted this is not a photo of the alleged mosque in the Negev. (Neither, it appears, is it a mosque in Angola. Google is not always correct, apparently, and I apologize for posting incorrect info)

However, Middle East Monitor has not removed the misleading photo, which they readily admit is from 2009.

The racism of the Israel haters

Chloé Simone Valdary is an undergraduate at the University of New Orleans and founder of the Allies of Israel Association. This thoughtful and determined young woman has been subject to a barrage of vicious and racist attacks by members of the so-called “progressive “ movement because she defies their expectation of political correctness and is an avowed supported of Israel

 The attacks on Chloe are documented by Anthony Hardy Williams,  the Democratic whip of the Pennsylvania State Senate. His father, Hardy Williams, worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr.  In his piece in The New York Post , The racism of the Israel-haters he writes that the attacks on Chloe  represent “a deeply troubling trend in an anti-Israel movement that goes way beyond honest criticism of Israeli policy to dehumanize and vilify Israel, Israelis and anyone who supports the Jewish state” he condemns the silence of the progressive community in condemning this abject racism, writing “ As a civil-rights activist and leader in the African-American community, I’m exceptionally disturbed to discover that the response to this attack on Valdary has been subdued, almost nonexistent”

Writing about Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein’s notorious comment “They finally did it: found a Negro Zionist: Uncle Tom is dancin’ for joy!”, Williams says

The attacks from his allies are offensive enough, but Silverstein’s racial slurs are beyond the pale. And his river of hate continued to flow, as he called this young African-American woman a “house slave” and said the “Israel Lobby is her Master.” His racist intent with such loaded language could hardly be more clear.

For many in the African-American community, the phrase “Uncle Tom” is as bad as, if not worse than, the N-word. The pejorative has historically been used against African-Americans seen as subservient to oppressive whites.

Few words could be more hurtful, especially from a Caucasian man publicly castigating a young African-American woman.

I’ve seen this too many times before: a supposed “progressive” stepping on the backs of African-Americans, then walking away as if the pain he’s inflicted is different from that caused by any other racist. Why should such hate speech go unchallenged, just because it’s cloaked as criticism of Israel?

Anthony Hardy Williams concludes

So while Chloé Simone Valdary continues to fight for Israel, let all good people denounce Silverstein’s racism and stand with her. This is doubly true for liberal Americans, who have so long stood for rooting out hatred, discrimination and bigotry. They should make clear that they believe in these things just as strongly when it comes to the subject of Israel.

The racial slurs and personal attacks against Chloe have only served to strengthen her resolve and commitment. She knows, as do we all that the words of Socrates still ring with truth 'When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.'

Chloe Valdary : In defense of liberty

This woman is going places.  

Faced with Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein's belittling racist rant directed at her,  Chloe Valdary fights back, with grace, poise, dignity and intellect. All alien concepts to Silverstein, whose notorious  history has been well documented throughout the web. 

Chloe writes: 

On February 22, a gentleman by the name of Richard Silverstein took considerable issue with an article I wrote in the Times of Israel about the contentions of one Judith Butler, professor at the University of California, Berkley. I find Butler’s analysis regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict lamentably disagreeable.

Silverstein did not point out any possible faulty premises in my column. He did not question the evidence I presented. He did not find I was lacking in my analysis. Instead, to illustrate his (ahem) intellectual prowess, he shared a Facebook status linking to my column and in his commentary, wrote: “They finally did it: found a Negro Zionist: Uncle Tom is dancin’ for joy!”

His intention is obvious: I am an African-American, and Silverstein believes that all African-Americans are monolithic. Indeed, he believes that because of my skin color, I must think, act, and behave in the certain way — a manner in which he perceives black people to be. Like the old white masters in the antebellum American South, Silverstein believes that he and his ilk alone can be the bearers of opinions which must be held by African-Americans. To think for oneself, to formulate an opinion independent of his consent — well now, this is unacceptable. The consequence is a verbal lashing on social media; an attack on my character because of my skin color, and because, I am, as he puts it, “a Negro,” who does not feel the need to make her analysis contingent upon his approbation.

Moreover, I am a Zionist. I am unabashedly pro-Israel, and a proponent of the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. Silverstein is not a Zionist, and because I disagree with him —  like the old slave masters who believed that their view of the world was superior to and should be foisted upon the negro slaves — he contends that I am an “Uncle Tom”  (a derogatory term meaning “house slave,” or one who is subservient and servile to white masters.).

I am certain that Silverstein does not comprehend the irony. After all, white supremacists tend to possess an astounding propensity for cognitive dissonance. It isn’t evident to Silverstein that to assert that a human being must, by virtue of her skin color, behave in a certain manner, is itself prejudicial and bigoted. Silverstein is judging me on the color of my skin, not on the content of my character, or rather, the content of my treatise.

Read more: In Defense of Liberty | Chloe Valdary | Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel

 
Dexter Van Zile reminds us:
 
Silverstein’s writing is so hostile toward Israel and his fellow Jews that David Duke, the well-known anti-Semite and Holocaust denier, republished one of his articles and described Silverstein as “an honest Jewish pundit.”

Richard Silverstein Loses it . Again

Chloe Valdary is an impressive young women. Just 19, and a student of international relations at the University of New Orleans,  she has started a pro-Israel student group on her campus called Allies of Israel   This is particularly remarkable because the University of New Orleans campus  has less than 100 Jewish students.

From the United With Israel Website:

Chloe is a special young woman, who was raised to believe in the “notion of walking before G-d in an upright and just manner,” as well as the principle of speaking the truth, “no matter how unpleasant it may be to dissenting naysayers.” Also, Chloe was brought up to greatly value the study of history. One of the books in her family’s library is Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews. As she studied history, Chloe, as an African American woman, saw many parallels between her own peoples’ history and that of the Jewish people. According to Chloe, “Both of our peoples were enslaved for extensive periods of time and so from a historical standpoint, we share that history. […] The awareness of my history and my people’s history inevitably led me to the point I am at today.” Thus, these ethics that Chloe was raised with are what prepared her to become the pro-Israel activist that she is today.

In response to this brave and articulate young woman, Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein references the most trite and offensive stereotype, posting  a despicable comment on his Facebook page "They finally did it: found a Negro Zionist: Uncle Tom is dancin' for joy!"

This is offensive on so many levels. Silverstein's lilting "step 'n fetch it" language is demeaning to all. That he purports to know what the African American community believes- and that he implies that they are of one mind and speak with one voice is condescending.    And his implication that Chloe is some how under the "control" of a nefarious  "They"- the implied world wide Zionist conspiracy, is again beyond the pale.  His abject ignorance of the historic context of African American  support for Zion- the historic homeland of the Jewish people (Bayard Rustin? Dr. Martin Luther King, anyone?) is appalling

 How many people can Richard Silverstein offend in 140 characters or less?  That this is a typical pattern of behavior for Richard Silverstein doesn't make it excusable.

This article, written by Chloe Valdary and originally published in the Times of Israel is what set off the latest tantrum from Silverstein: Discussing anti-Israel professor Judith Butler, Chloe writes:

Therefore, in the literal sense, Butler indeed advocates for ethnic cleansing. This is the extrapolation of her doctrine to its logical conclusion. Cohabitation is her highest moral order. Even if the people one is cohabiting with want to kill you. Cohabitation is the ends. Ignoring the facts on the ground, denying a people their right to an identity, and therefore discriminating against them, and lying about Palestinian society,  these are all the means. This will inevitably lead to genocide and murder, and therefore, ethnic cleansing, the exact opposite of what Butler claims to want.

But we who live in the real world filled with tyrants and dictators who desire to murder and annihilate populations from off the face of the earth are not duped by the pseudo-intellectual ramblings of a confused professor who contradicts herself at every turn. Indeed, we cannot afford to be swayed by her musings. We will not adopt her inane circular arguments at the expense of our children’s lives. We recognize anti-Semitism when we see it and it is no less odious when it comes from a prominent figure in academia.

So in this endeavor for morality and justice, we, the proud Zionist community of America, rose up. We lit up the phone lines of the Jewish Museum in New York and demanded that this event be canceled. We organized on social media, we emailed, we protested. We, this people, with a history, and a creed, and a culture, and a cause,  which we intend to perpetuate with every fiber of our being, rose up and affected positive and meaningful change. And we have every intention to continue this fight for the right to be free.

Typical Silverstein. Faced with intellectual analysis and logic, he responds with crude insults, even expressing his disbelief that Chloe could have written the post herself.

Be strong Chloe. And thank you for your efforts.  You inspire multitudes.

UPDATE:

As of this afternoon, Richard Silverstein has removed all traces of this post from his Facebook page. Likely he  realized the delicious irony of calling  someone else an "Uncle Tom"

Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein: Caught in a web of this own paranoia

Does anyone still take Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein seriously?

Ever indebted to the team at Israelycool  for their documentation of all the times Silversteins' been wrong, terribly wrong, laughably wrong,  simply wrong, and sincerely wrong.

From Israellycool:

With the media once again getting duped by anti-Israel blogger Richard Silverstein, and based on a number of requests by readers, I have compiled this list of links pointing to Silverstein’s:

• Unreliability, whether it be lies or lack of factchecking
• Defence of Hamas and palestinian terrorists, or otherwise explaining away their crimes
• Ignorance of Israel and Judaism, despite his claims of expertise
• Hypocrisy
• Possible crimes 
• Following by antisemites     

Via Israellycool: Richard Silverstein caught in Another Lie

In his latest rant, anti-Israel blogger Richard Silverstein posts about being ostracized at his synagogue for his political views. His diatribe includes the following conspiracy theory regarding the “leaking” of the news his son had an upcoming bar mitzvah.

Silverstein goes on to accuse various staff members of Seattle's  Congregation Beth Shalom of various improprieties and of violating his families privacy (though he had no qualms about violating their privacy on his blog.)

But as Israellycool points out,  it was Silverstein himself who leaked the news of his son's upcoming bar mitzvah and there are screenshots from his own timeline to prove it. Oops.

Will Silverstein rise to the occasion and apologize to those he has publicly slandered?  Not likely. Given his reputation, he'll dig his heels in even deeper and insist all along that he is the victim.


 UPDATE:Read the Mike Report's take on the recent events:

Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein is well known for his hatred of Israel and for flying loose and light with the facts. With the obsessive drive of a Captain Ahab and the energy of a toddler primed on Skittles and Coca Cola, Silverstein has sent out over 29,000 tweets and near countless Blog posts. Despite his tenuous relationship with accuracy, Silverstein appears to have a good number of followers and admirers who share his ideological bent.

Silverstein has doggedly pursued and excoriated countless unwary visitors who have crossed his radar or the transom of the comments section of his blog. Whether it be blaming Israel for motivating terrorist attacks against a Jewish family in India or vilifying a Gazan activist for being critical of Hamas, whatever red line there may have been, Richard crossed it long ago.

    And we have an apology from Silverstein.

Last night I published a post dealing with my relationship with my local synagogue, the local StandWithUs pro-Israel loyalists, and a Twitter user who used my son’s impending bar mitzvah to insult me.

I made an error believing that an employee of the synagogue leaked private information about the event to the Twitter user. After correcting and updating the information in the post , and adding an apology, I republished it. Though all the information in the republished post was accurate–on reconsideration, I realized that a significant portion of the post dealt with old history, some of which I’ve even already recounted here. What wasn’t old history, my discussion of the growing dysfunction and irrelevance of many American synagogues, can be saved for another post. Undoubtedly, there will come a time when this will be appropriate to republish. Until then, I thought it best to remove it and leave this explanation in its place.

I apologize of course to those I wrongfully blamed and to those who may be confused by this unusual situation.

                   
          

Sorry to burst your bubble, BDS. Scarlett Johansson has parted ways with Oxfam

 Beautiful AND Smart.

Citing “a fundamental difference of opinion” over the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Actress Scarlett Johansson has ended her relationship with Oxfam International, an organization with a history of distortions and half-truths on the Israel/Palestine issue. Johansson had served as a global ambassador for Oxfam since 2007.
 
“Scarlett Johansson has respectfully decided to end her ambassador role with Oxfam after eight years,” her statement said. “She and Oxfam have a fundamental difference of opinion in regards to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. She is very proud of her accomplishments and fundraising efforts during her tenure with Oxfam.”
 
Earlier this month  the 29 year old actress signed on as the first global brand ambassador of SodaStream International Ltd.. She's been under fire ever since. The continual harassment included disgustingly sexist remarks from Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein and his supporters via social media

And in your face harassment from  anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace

In response to the criticism, Johansson said last week 

 "I remain a supporter of economic co-operation and social interaction between a democratic Israel and Palestine," said Johansson. "SodaStream is a company that is not only committed to the environment but to building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine, supporting neighbours working alongside each other, receiving equal pay, equal benefits and equal rights."

Jewish Voice for Peace turned on both Oxfam and Scarlett Johansson after the decision was announced.

In response, social media erupted with the inevitable "Even when we lose, we win" announcements.

Her Sodastream debut will be during Super Bowl -Sunday Feb. 2. Preview it here.



 Its been out for two days, and its been viewed over 4 million times. I'd call that a BDS fail.

Does Richard Silverstein need a hug?

Its been a bad week for Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein, described by  Adam Levick as  "one of the more shrill and dishonest commentators in a very crowded anti-Zionist blogosphere" . The blogger has been exposed in rapid succession as both as bully and as a purveyor of lies.   Yet this isn't news to anyone who closely follows the issues.  Silverstein  already has quite a reputation.  Silverstein is the self proclaimed expert on all things  Israel who once emphatically declared that hummus was... wait for it...made out of sesame seeds.

Early this week he was called out for harassing (in 140 characters or less) a Palestinian woman on Twitter, because she had the audacity to blame Hamas for the problems in Gaza.

Israellycool documents the fun and games here

Later, Richard was caught harassing a woman filming a public event in Seattle.

From The Mike report: 

Richard Silverstein Disrupts anti-Israel event at St. Marks Cathedral

  

Silverstein arrived at Skinner Auditorium at Seattle’s Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral with the Parent’s Circle lecture already well in progress.  After scanning the room, the ecumenical Enforcer quickly spotted his quarry.  A young woman  was videotaping the Parent’s Circle lecture. 

 Disrupting the program in progress, the meddling Marshall rushed up to the woman who was taping the event and demanded of her “who are you with!?”.  All heads in the auditorium spun towards the frantic Silverstein. “She is with Standwithus!” he exclaimed, referring to a local Israel advocacy organization. Silverstein demanded that the woman immediately stop videotaping the lecture, frightening the woman and  bringing the program to a halt.

Clearly annoyed with Silverstein’s dingbattery, one of the presenters, Robi Damelin,  left her seat on the panel and walked towards Silverstein and his videotaping suspect. Silverstein scurried back a few feet as Demelin approached.  Staring directly at Silverstein while addressing the woman taping the event,  Damelin urged her to please continue videotaping.  With that an ashen faced Silverstein slunk out of the room, not to return for the duration of the program.

And just yesterday, Richard revealed his aversion to fact-checking, when he printed verbatim totally false information, leaked to him from an "Israeli source".  CIFwatch writes about it here

 Richard Silverstein via The Mike Report

 Again from The Mike Report

At the beginning of this week Richard Silverstein, Seattle’s one man Hamas cheer-leading squad, had posted a series of  ”exclusive” articles revealing for the first time anywhere that Iranians had hacked and crashed a whole bunch of Israeli drones. Silverstein waxed gleeful that Israel had suffered such a setback, all the sweeter as it was delivered  at the hands of the Iranians (Silverstein is big fan of the Iranians, Hamas too). Turns out that Silverstein was taken in and his anonymous source, whom he didn’t even vet, was taking Richard for a ride.

Will this week's revelations on his bullying and casual disregard for truth relegate Richard Silverstein  to the dustbin of the blogsphere?  Unfortunately, its not likely.  His whole cause is built upon a shaky truth optional foundation.  He fits right in .

Smearing the Victims of Racism: Beyonce Concert Edition

So, a group of young Israelis attending a Beyonce concert in Berlin encounter a little classic anti-Semitism:

“Some of them noticed that we were speaking Hebrew,” Zerad told JTA. “One of them said, ‘You stink, you should go back to Israel.’ A girl said, ‘You guys smell so bad. Why didn’t he die in the Holocaust?’ ”

The young Germans began to shout at the Israelis to “go, go, go,” he said. They accused the Israelis of pushing, “which was not true because we were first in line. We had no need to push. We were there already.

“So they started pushing us; they said ‘You are Jewish, go back to Israel, we wish that the Holocaust would succeed so you all die,’” Zerad recalled.

The whole article is at: http://forward.com/articles/177451/israelis-suffer-abuse-at-berlin-beyonce-gig/#ixzz2UaBkdcEw

Richard Silverstein decides that no outburst of anti-Semitism is complete without a little victim-blaming:

Israeli, pissed u weren't 1st in line @ Beyonce concert, & pushed by others? Call it anti-Semitism! bit.ly/Zq5O8F
— Tikun Olam (@richards1052) May 28, 2013

@revolawtionary But if u turn it into anti-Semitic incident then Jews are always victims & always right, right??
— Tikun Olam (@richards1052) May 28, 2013

Defend racists, attack their victims, and do it all under the name 'Tikun Olam'. How perfect.

Richard Silverstein: Failure to fact Check

And now for some Breaking News  from the failure to fact-check department:

Seattle Blogger Richard Silverstein fancies himself a journalist, yet he seems to have missed  some of the very basics of fact-checking.

Today, Silverstein posted an image on his facebook page as "Breaking news"-  claiming 9 year old children- 50 of them- were arrested in Hebron.  Its illustrated with an anguished photo of a young girl- trouble is, as 2 minutes on Google would have shown him- the photo was taken in 2007  .  Silverstein, in his mad rush to demonize Israel, just couldn't be bothered to check for details...like accuracy. Or relevance. Or timeliness.

Apparently sloppy research is a hallmark of Silverstein, the self-proclaimed "Wikileaks of Israel". He's done this before.

Has Richard Silverstein finally seen the light?

Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles. Has anti-Israel blogger Richard Silverstein seen the light, just in time for the days of Awe? His website at http://www.richardsilverstein.com/ has undergone a dramatic make-over.



Aussie Davie at IsraellyCool writes about it here: Now THIS Is Tikun Olam. He implies that this ultimate makeover might not have been entirely voluntary.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

Richard Silverstein exposed by Israellycool's Aussie Dave

Someone, buy this man a beer for me.

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

From Israellycool:

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

So I set a trap."

Did he ever.

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

From Dave:
So to summarize what we have here:

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

But please, read the whole sordid tale at Israellycool

****

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

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

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

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

Obstruction of Justice? Richard Silverstein Admits to Burning Classified documents

An article in the New York Times says convicted spy Shamai Leibowitz leaked transcripts of material derived from the FBI bugs planted in Washington Embassy to blogger Richard Silverstein

Leibowitz – who worked as a contract Hebrew translator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation held a top security clearance for his work as a linguist. He leaked transcripts of material to Silverstein, an anti-Israel blogger who told the NYT he burnt the secret documents after he came under investigation in mid-2009.

(Obstruction of Justice? Intentional destruction of evidence? Attorneys- Is there a reason Dickie should not be indicted?)

Richard Silverstein said that at one point he was in possession of "200 pages of verbatim records of telephone calls and what seemed to be embassy conversations," adding that in one of the transcripts, Israeli officials expressed concern that their conversations might be monitored.

The United States routinely spies on Israel.
From the New York Times:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation listens in on foreign embassies and officials in the United States chiefly to track foreign spies, though any intelligence it obtains on other matters is passed on to the C.I.A. and other agencies. The intercepts are carried out by the F.B.I.’s Operational Technology Division, based in Quantico, Va., according to Matthew M. Aid, an intelligence writer who describes the bureau’s monitoring in a book, “Intel Wars,” scheduled for publication in January...“We started spying on Israel even before the state of Israel was formally founded in 1948, and Israel has always spied on us,” Matthew Aid, an intelligence writer told the New York Times. “Israeli intercepts have always been one of the most sensitive categories," he added.