Kindergarten graduation in Gaza- Islamic Jihad style

Thanks to Challah Hu Akbar, Elder of Ziyon and Daled Amos who re-posted these heart-warming scenes of a kindergarten graduation in Gaza.

From Nelson Mandela:
"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."






Originally posted at the website of Islamic Jihad "Saraya", the post quotes a teacher "In every year's kindergarten graduation ceremonies we focus on the children to represent the role of struggling and resistance in the way of Allah, in order to establish this path, and grow up to love the resistance, and for it to have a prominent role in their lives to serve the cause of Palestine and Holy Jihad, as well as to make them leaders and fighters to defend the holy soil of Palestine."

One child, Hamza, wearing the uniform of the Al Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad and carrying a wooden weapon, said "I love the resistance and the martyrs and Palestine, and I want to blow up he most Zionists in a process of martyrdom and kill them."

Palestinian Jesus

Mike L.

(Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives and Geoffff's Joint, Bar and Grill .)

The Palestinian theft of Jewish history remains one of the more insidious tactics in their efforts to erase Jewish claims on the land of Israel. Italian journalist and friend of Israel, Giulio Meotti, writes:

At UNESCO’s next session, which will run from June 24th to July 6th in St. Petersburg, the UN cultural body will assess the Palestinian request for admission of the “Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem” to the list of world heritage sites.

The Christian shrine will become Palestine’s first world heritage site.

Next in line is the Hevron’s Cave of the Patriarchs.

So the Palestinians are claiming both the Church of the Nativity and the Cave of the Patriarchs as "Palestinian heritage" sites? It just boggles my mind that so many people would thoughtlessly accept such a designation. The Church of the Nativity was originally a Jewish site and obviously Jesus was a Jew. Thus to claim it as a "Palestinian heritage" site is a lie on its face.

It is true, of course, that the Church of the Nativity has, for obvious reasons, a special resonance with Christians and this should be honored by everyone. We are, after all, talking about the alleged birthplace of Jesus, so naturally Christian claims should be respected. Muslim claims hold significantly less sway due to the fact that for Islam Jesus was merely one prophet among others and is not a figure at the center of their faith.

But the Cave of the Patriarchs? This is one of the holiest sites within the Jewish religion and thus to designate it as a "Palestinian heritage" site would be a crime against the Jewish people. The site may be "Palestinian" in that Hevron is largely an Arab-Muslim town, but the ancient heritage of that town is unquestionably Jewish.

The Palestinians are trying to erase any trace of Jewish history in Judea and Samaria. Yet a few days ago Israeli archaeologists discovered a seal bearing the name “Bethlehem” in ancient Hebrew script from First Temple times, one of the most important pieces of physical evidence supporting the Jewish claim to the town before it became revered as the birthpace of Jesus.

That Judea and Samaria are historically Jewish regions is beyond question. According to A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People: From the Time of the Patriarchs to the Present, edited by Eli Barnavi, there were about 2 million Jews living in the area over three thousand years ago, within a world population of about 120 million. If the Jews of the Middle East had been allowed to develop normally, without our numbers being kept artificially low through the imposition of dhimmitude under the boot of Arab-Muslim imperialism from the 7th to the 20th centuries, there would be many, many more of us currently among the living in that part of the world. Our diminished numbers in the region are a direct result of Arab-Muslim imperial persecution of the Jews.

Nonetheless, both the historical and archaeological evidence definitively shows the long Jewish attachment to that land. The Palestinian attachment only goes to the middle-end of the 20th century because it was only at the middle-end of the 20th century that the Palestinians emerged as a distinct people, as Newt Gingrich (of all people) was brave enough to remind us.

Mustafa Barghouti, the influential so-called “moderate” leader within the Palestinian Authority, in December 2009 claimed that Jesus is “the first Palestinian who was tortured in this land”.

The Palestinization of Jesus, with the corollary of an Islamicized Christianity, is one of the most lethal weapons in the Arabs’ war against the Jewish State.

Identifying Jesus as “a Palestinian living under an occupation” has become normative for Christian Palestinianists in the current anti-Israel crusade.

The claiming of Jesus by the Palestinians as one of their own would be comical if it weren't so insidious. It is an effort to use Jewish history, and that includes the history of the emergence of Christianity, as a club against us. It is a Palestinian effort to rob us of our history in order for them to claim it as their own. In this way, not only do the Palestinians seek to destroy Jewish claims on historically Jewish land, but even seek to rob Jews of our very identity.

If they can steal our history they turn us into ghosts.

It doesn’t matter that Jesus was not born a Christian, but a Jew, and that Bethlehem was a Jewish town in Judea, not a Muslim one - because there was no Christianity before his death and certainly no Islam for hundreds of years after his death.

It doesn't matter that the Palestinian Authority persecuted Arab Christians in its midst.

The Palestinian Arab leadership has been successful in turning the Christian narrative against the Jewish people. In this theological-political operation, there is no space for the Jewish tomb of Rachel as well. The Palestinians will try to convince UNESCO to call the shrine Bil Bin Rabah mosque.

The entire Eretz Yisrael is a myth, a colonialist construct, a Jewish plot, as far as they are concerned.

As far as Palestinian and Arab propagandists are concerned the Jews have little or no historical connection to the land of Israel. From an historical perspective this is clearly nonsense, but the purpose of propaganda is to make reality bend to the will the propagandist. The Arab-Muslim / Palestinian effort to kill, or remove, the Jews from Jewish land can only rely so much on rockets and bombs. What they really need is for the world community to join them in their belief that the Jews have no legitimate historical claims to a Jewish state on historically Jewish land.

This we cannot allow them to do, not only because it would represent a terrible injustice to the Jewish people, but also a terrible injustice to the field of history as a discipline of knowledge.

Let them propagandize, but let us not be shy about speaking the truth.

Gay Pride & Israel: More Progressive than the U.S.

Tel Aviv gay pride parade brings out broad spectrum of

 Israeli society

TEL AVIV, Israel — Tel Aviv's gay pride parade, in its 14th year, is such an established tradition that diplomatic delegations send representatives as if the pageant were its own nation: A multi-colored, laughing enclave within the greater, beachside city. An alternate Vatican.

Israeli soldiers marched alongside Arabs from Jaffa and Nazareth on Friday. Politicians of all stripes, right to left — from former Kadima Party leader Tsippi Livni to Labor Party head Shelly Yachimovich — gave speeches to the cheerful crowd of over 30,000 people. Religious political parties, extreme right-wing parties and Arab parties were conspicuous by their absence.

...

Homosexuals have always been drafted into the Israeli army, and to the surprise of many conservative American tourists to the Holy Land, neither gay rights nor abortion are sources of contention or controversy in Israel, where the overriding urgency of the country's geo-political problems rules the debate.

The issue of gay rights has on occasion raised hackles in meetings between Americans and Israelis, most notably before the State Department revised its policy on same sex partners of American diplomats.

On one occasion, a number of years ago, the Israeli army officer assigned to coordinate security arrangements in the West Bank with an American diplomat burst out in frustration, blurting, "Who are you to come and tell us how we should do things? You think you know everything? You're the one who comes from a country that prevents you from living openly with your boyfriend!"

Both, as it happened, were gay. 

Hats off to Israel!

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood candidate: Jerusalem will be capital of Egypt

From Israel National news:

"If Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi were to become president, Egypt’s capital would no longer be Cairo, but would be Jerusalem, a prominent Egyptian cleric said at a presidential campaign rally, which was aired by an Egyptian private television channel.

“Our capital shall not be Cairo, Mecca or Medina. It shall be Jerusalem with God’s will. Our chants shall be: ‘millions of martyrs will march towards Jerusalem,’” Safwat Hagazy said, according to the video aired by Egypt’s religious Annas TV."

(Translation by MEMRI)



“The United States of the Arabs will be restored on the hands of that man [Mursi] and his supporters. The capital of the [Muslim] Caliphate will be Jerusalem with God’s will,” Hegazy said, as the crowds cheered, waving Egyptian and Hamas flags.

“Tomorrow Mursi will liberate Gaza,” the crowds chanted.

“Yes, we will either pray in Jerusalem or we will be martyred there,” Hegazy said.

Hegazy’s speech came during a presidential campaign rally at the Egyptian Delta city of Mahalla, where Mursi attended along with the Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed Badei and members of the group and its political wing the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), Al Arabiya reported."

Why Do American Feminists Support the Misogynistic Iranian Regime?

Manda Zand Ervin is the founder and the president of the Alliance of Iranian women. She was the U.S. delegate to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2008.

From an article in Pajama's media

Manda Zand Ervin describes meeting Code pink's founder, Susan “Medea” Benjamin:

"I first met Benjamin in front of the U.S. Congress when she tried vehemently to stop me from entering into the Capitol building. I gave her one of my cards and tried to discuss with her the fact that women in Iran lack the most basic human rights. I told her if she truly cared she could help us Iranian women in the U.S. assist women inside Iran. And instead of being open to listening she gave me nothing more than the self-interested Code Pink prescription for Iranians.

A month later I heard Ms. Benjamin was attending a conference on Iran set up by the most ill-reputed Iranian regime lobby, National Iranian American Council, NIAC."

She continues:

"... Ms. Benjamin and Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evens received personal invitations by the Iranian president to travel to Iran as his guests. A few months later, while the members of Code Pink were merrily having meetings with the members of the ruling clergies and Revolutionary Guards Corps and sightseeing by private planes and special motorcades in Iran, Fatemeh Haghighatpajou was hanged to death for defending her daughter from a rapist.

In her reports, Ms. Benjamin had nothing but praise for her hosts. Not a single word about the treatment of women or the misogynistic laws by her host government. When she came back, she proudly announced that her travel agency would conduct historical sightseeing tours to Iran.

How disingenuous to pretend they are for the people of Iran while it is just a ploy by the Iranian dictators and the so-called American “progressives” to help extend the dictatorship of one of the most misogynistic regimes in the world!

Why is it that these ideologically motivated people in the West have acquiesced to the Iranian regime’s ploys to disregard all human rights? By coalescing with the Khomeinist dictators, these so-called feminists deny to the people of Iran the very same rights they claim to demand for themselves."

Protesting a Jewish Community celebration

From our friends at San Francisco Voice for Israel- the Bay Area chapter of StandWithus:

Dear Friends of Israel:

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday, when tens of thousands of supporters of Israel will gather for our community's annual celebration of Israel in the Gardens.

We will be in booth #6 on the western side of the Gardens; please stop by to say hi, and to pick up some of our new materials. We also expect to have 5 of the panels of the new StandWithUs "Israel Matters" display



Of course, this being the Bay Area, no Israel event can go without protest from the PWHI (People Who Hate Israel). And in case there was any doubt about what they stand for, the attached screenshot should make it very clear: they call on people to "Protest Jewish Community Celebration" and refer to "64 years of exploitation....". These are not people who simply call for ending Israel's presence in the West Bank; they call for ending Israel's presence in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem as well.



While there will be a dignified counterprotest to the dozen or so haters when they arrive at 12 noon, we ask everyone not to interact directly with the members of these hate groups. Remember that WE are the ones standing for peace; these people even oppose proposals for peace between the Jewish state of Israel and a proposed Arab state of Palestine!

We also want people to be very careful not to give the other side any "YouTube moments".

As always, if you wish to participate please feel free to make your own signs (note that signs are not permitted inside the Gardens themselves) but please no 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.

Sami Kishawi, Mads Gilbert and the Electronic Intifada: Wrong again

In an interview that just appeared in the Electronic Intifada (sorry- I don't link to hate sites) Sami Kishawi ( an undergrad at the University of Chicago and member of Students for Justice in Palestine ) publishes a discussion with Mads Gilbert ( Norwegian doctor, and member of the communist party ). Sami's got a history of being rather lose with statistics. Mads is no stranger to controversy himself, once justifying terror attacks against the US, claiming "If the U.S. government has a legitimate right to bomb and kill civilians in Iraq, the oppressed has a moral right to attack the U.S. with the weapons they may create as well." When asked if he supported a terrorist attack against the US he answered: "Terror is a poor weapon, but my answer is yes, within the context I have mentioned."

Regarding health care in Gaza:

SK: What is the health care situation in the Gaza Strip like now?

MG: As a result of the Israeli siege, there has been widespread development of anemia among children and women due to malnutrition as a result of siege and poverty. Stunting, where a child is more than two standard deviations shorter than what it should be, is sharply on the rise. In 2006, around 13.5 percent of children were stunted. In 2009, 31.4 percent under age two were stunted.

In other words, every third child is less developed than he or she should be. And stunting does not only affect growth. It also affects brain development and the ability to learn. This is a direct consequence of malnutrition. Remember, this is not caused by drought or natural disasters, but a deliberate, man-made lack of food and water, imposed, planned, and executed in the most detailed way by the Israeli government. They even calculate how many calories to let in to Gaza to avoid outright starvation but to “just” cause malnutrition since that goes under the radar of human rights abuses.

Except looking at objective indicators, this is simply not true.


According to last years National Nutrition Surveillance Report from the Ministry of Health Nutrition department using WHO statistics in the Palestinian territories:

"The surveillance system shows that major nutrition indicators of underweight (weight for age); wasting (low weight for length); stunting (short for age), tallness, overweight and obesity among children 9-12 months are all within the acceptable national and regional levels.
However, the prevalence of overweight (weight for length) of 26.6 per cent among children 9-12 months is high, and has increased by 2.2 per cent from the 2008 rate (24.4 per cent in 2008).

According to this report, stunting in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as of 2011 are below 5%.

Need some context Sami? In neighboring Egypt, the rate of stunting is 29%. In Jordan, its 8%.

Life expectancy continues to rise under the "brutal and genocidal" Zionist occupation. A Palestinian born in 2010 can expect to live to 73.4, higher than in Hungary, China, and oil rich Saudi Arabia. Its also higher than the Palestinians neighbors in Jordan and in Egypt. Its significantly higher than the world average of 67.2 years.

In the words of Daniel Patrick Moynihan: "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

Nice try, Sami.

"Peace" groups call for protest of Jewish Community celebration

They call themselves a "peace" group. Bay Area Women in Black just issued an alert calling for a protest of San Francisco's Jewish Community Celebration. And why would any group object to a gathering of community non-profits, crafts and music?


Mr. Binder Clips said it best. Or maybe worse.
"Its the Jews, Stupid"
(photo from our friend, Zombie)

Women in Black's announcement follows:
IMPORTANT! Sun, Jun 10, 12-1:30 pm, SF: Yearly silent vigil to protest “Jewish Community Celebration” at “Israel in the Gardens.” SFPD-designated “Free speech zone” on South side of Mission St. in front of Yerba Buena Gardens.
Contact bayareawomeninblack@yahoo.com

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

I shouldn't be surprised. After all, this is the group that sponsored Gilad "Burning synagogues can be a rational act" Atzmon for his first Bay area appearance. This is a group that routinely stands by the worse anti-Semites in the area, smiling cheerfully while their allies chant "Itbah Al-yahud" - Slaughter the Jews. This is a group that called the police because they felt "threatened" by a young rabbi and small children singing songs of peace.

Women in Black will be joined by their partners in slime "Jewish voice for Peace". And no doubt their allies from Al Awada and the ISM will show up too.

Its about the Jews, Stupid.

Let there be no doubt in your mind. A protest of day schools, women's groups, summer camps and religious institutions- the wide umbrella of the local Jewish community will be at Yerba Buena Gardens on Sunday June 10- is nothing less than anti-Semitism. Harrassing and intimidating the young families paticipating in joyous communal celebration is anti-Semitism.

Its about the Jews, Stupid.


UPDATE:

Dancing. Singing Art. Music. The releasing of doves in a prayer for peace. This is what the Women in Black were protesting.

Israel China festival: saluting the "bond between 2 ancient peoples"

From the j weekly

What do Israel and China have in common? Quite a lot, as the Bay Area is about to discover.

"The two countries have developed strong ties since they launched diplomatic relations exactly 20 years ago. Now, the nations have decided it’s time to celebrate.

The Bay Area will play host to the first Israel China Cultural Festival, a monthlong series of art and photo exhibits, film screenings, lectures, panels, comedy and children’s book events. It culminates with a big banquet in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

The festival is presented by the Consulate General of Israel, the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, Asia Society Northern California, the Israel Center and a score of other local Jewish and Asian organizations.

The event celebrates not only the relationship between the Bay Area Jewish and Chinese communities, but longstanding economic and diplomatic connections among Jews, Israel and China.
In a toast before representatives of local Jewish and Chinese-American organizations May 22 at the Israeli Consulate, Israeli Consul General Akiva Tor raised his glass and said, “To the enduring friendship between two ancient peoples.”

Shanghai provided refuge for 25,000 Jews fleeing the Nazis during World War II. But the Jewish connection between China and the Jews runs deeper, and the festival will reflect that."


Partial schedule of events:

Friday, June 1
Exhibit opening. Israel’s best-sellers translated into English and Chinese. At S.F. Public Library Chinatown/Him Mark Lai branch, 1135 Powell St., S.F. Free. Exhibit dates: June 1­–July 1.

Thursday, June 7
Exhibit opening and lecture. “Wings of the Phoenix: Dr. Feng Shan Ho and the Rescue of Austrian Jews, 1938-1940,” with lecture by his daughter, Manli Ho. At Chinese Historical Society of America, 965 Clay St., S.F. 6 p.m. Free. Exhibit dates: June 1–July 1.

Tuesday, June 12
Israeli folk dancing. Two sessions with instructor Karina Niederman. Morning session with tai chi, location to be decided. Afternoon session at S.F. Public Library Chinatown branch, 1135 Powell St., S.F. 3:30 p.m. Free.

Thursday, June 14
Children’s story time. “Like You, Like Me,” a bilingual book in Hebrew and Chinese about a young boy in Israel wondering if there is a boy in China like him. Story time will be in English. At S.F. Public Library Chinatown branch, 1135 Powell St., S.F. 2 p.m. Free.

Panel discussion. “Driving Toward the Future: Israel, China, and Electric Vehicles.” 6 p.m. At Fenwick & West law firm, Mountain View. Panelists still being arranged. Register with Yelena Giderman at economic@sf.mfa.gov.il.

Monday, June 18
Exhibit opening and lecture. “Jews of Kaifeng,” with lecture by Cynthia Zeiden, the executive producer of the documentary “Safe Haven in China: The Untold History of the Jews.” At JCC of San Francisco, 3200 California St., S.F. 6 p.m. Free. Exhibit dates: June 18–Aug. 1.

Tuesday, June 26
Film screening. “Ushpizin,” which offers a glimpse into haredi Orthodox culture in Jerusalem. In Hebrew and Yiddish with Chinese subtitles. S.F. Public Library Chinatown branch, 1135 Powell St., S.F. 4:30 p.m. Free.

Wednesday, June 27
Film screening and comedy. “Noodle,” about a 37-year-old El Al flight attendant and how she helps an abandoned Chinese boy whose mother has been deported from Israel, 8 p.m. Standup performance by Jeff Applebaum, 10 p.m. At Great Star Theater, 630 Jackson St., S.F. $8-$10.

Thursday, June 28
Film screenings. “Port of Last Resort,” a documentary about the 20,000 European Jews who fled to Shanghai between 1937-1941, 7 p.m. “Wo Ai Ni Mommy” (“I Love You Mommy”), a documentary about Chinese girls adopted by Americans, and “Starring David,” a short about a 12-year-old Dutch-Jewish boy with a Chinese mother, and his quest to embrace Judaism, 9 p.m. At Great Star Theater, 630 Jackson St., S.F. $8-$10 for one showing; $13-$15 for both.


For more information, visit www.IsraelChinaSF.com

Palestinian Cultural day Interruptus

On Sunday we mentioned that Alameda County was planning on issuing a proclamation declaring June 5 "Palestinian Cultural day". If the pronouncement hadn't negated Jewish peoplehood, and denied our 3500 year connection to Eretz Yisrael, it would have been fine. I love the diversity and multiculturalism of the Bay area. I love the variety of foods, the world music, and the folk dances of the wildly diverse groups that make up the Bay area. I like Palestinian embroidery as much as the next person, and would love to see this declaration re-written- this time in real celebration of Palestinian culture, not as a cheap attempt to count coup and score political points against the Jewish people who live in the region.

Apparently others felt the same way. This proclamation was publicized on other blogs, and people wrote in. Some of the emails found their way to us.

Some were highly academic and long, long, long:

From RM:

"This letter is in regards to the resolution regarding “Palestinian Cultural Day.” In brief, the resolution as proposed is historically inaccurate and distorts the actual facts underlying the modern Arab-Israeli Conflict. The actual ancestors of today’s self-identified Palestinians represent the diversity of the defunct Ottoman Empire, and were mostly immigrants in relatively recent historic times.

In 1917, the British took the area to day known as “Israel” ,”the West Bank” and “Jordan” from the defeated Ottoman Turkish Empire. Under Ottoman mis-administration, the area had become significantly impoverished, over grazed and then de-populated. In 1738, the land was described by the English archaeologist Thomas Shaw as "lacking in people to till its fertile soil" (Travels and Observations Relating to Several Parts of Barbary and the Levant). The French historian Conte Constantine Francois Volney writes: "The peasants are incessantly making inroads on each other's lands, destroying their corn, durra, sesame and olive-trees, and carrying off their sheep, goats and camels. The Turks, who are everywhere negligent in repressing similar disorders, are attentive to them here, since their authority is very precarious. The Bedouin, whose camps occupy the level country, are continually at open hostilities with them, of which the peasants avail themselves to resist their authority or do mischief to each other, according to the blind caprice of their ignorance or the interest of the moment. Hence arises an anarchy which is still more dreadful than the despotism that prevails elsewhere, while the mutual the contending parties renders the appearance of devastation of this part of Syria more wretched than that of any other." (Travels Through Syria and Egypt in the Years 1783, 1784, and 1785). H. B. Tristam writes in in the 1965, “The Land of Israel, a Journal of Travels in Palestine”, "A few years ago, the whole Ghor (Jordan Valley) was in the hands of the fellahin and much of it cultivated for corn. Now the whole of it is in the hands of the Bedouin, who eschew all agriculture except in a few spots cultivated here and there by their slaves; and with the Bedouin come lawlessness and the uprooting of all Turkish authority. No government is now acknowledged on the east side; and unless the Porte acts with greater firmness and caution than is his wont... Palestine will be desolated and given up to the nomads." Similarly, Alexander Keith, recalling Volney's 1785 description (quoted above) fifty years later, commented: "In his day [Volney's] the land had not fully reached its last degree of desolation and depopulation." (The Land of Israel). Mark Twain, in ”Innocents Abroad” makes significant comment on the lack of populations

The de-population was of such a magnitude that the Ottoman Empire transferred Moslems from other parts of their empire and else where. Most Palestinian Arabs are descendants of Muslim migrants from the Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, as well as from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Morocco, Bosnia, the Caucasus, Turkmenistan, Kurdistan, India, Afghanistan and Balochistan mostly from 1845 through1917. For example, Caesarea was re-founded by a colony of Moslem fishermen from Bosnia n 1882, and with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria, about 1 million Muslims, some speaking Turkish, others not, moved east to remain in the diminished empire. Many of those who settled in Turkey assimilated, but some village communities persist in retaining a distinct identity.

Circassians arrived at their present location from Balkans in year 1880 after 10 years of residence at Marvel-border of Greece and Bulgaria, they migrated to Palestine, the Holy Land of the three monotheist religions. Ottoman Sultan asked them to reside at Rihania (Reyhaniye) and Kfar-Kama villages.

Historian Gad Gilbar's observation on Ruth Kark's contribution to his edited volume Ottoman Palestine, 1800-1914, touches on the issue of Arab immigration into and within Palestine. He relates her ideas in "The Rise and Decline of Coastal Towns in Palestine" to Charles Issawi's thesis concerning the role of minority groups and foreigners in the development of Middle Eastern towns. Explaining why no other Palestinian cities grew as rapidly as Jaffa and Haifa did during the final three decades of the Ottoman rule, Gilbar writes: "Both attracted population from the rural and urban surroundings and immigrants from outside Palestine." The diversity of Moslem immigrants to pre-state Israel was such that the to the extent that 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica notes,” The inhabitants of Palestine are composed of a large number of elements, differing widely in ethnological affinities, language and religion. It may be interesting to mention, as an illustration of their heterogeneousness, that early in the 20th century a list of no less than fifty languages, spoken in Jerusalem as vernaculars, was there drawn up by a party of men whose various official positions enabled them to possess accurate information on the subject. It is therefore no easy task to write concisely and at the same time with sufficient fullness on the ethnology of Palestine."

After the advent of modern political Zionism (which is shorthand for “the assertion of the Jewish right to national self -determination in their ancestral land”), the resulting economic boom, drew many more Arab workers, heightened by the 1914 drought in Syria. William Ziff’s 1938 book,"The Rape of Palestine" states, "We should expect to find an exodus of Arabs from lands where Jews are settled. But exactly the opposite is true: it is precisely in the vicinity of those Jewish villages that Arab development is most marked. Arab Haifa, profiting from the Jewish boom grew from 1922 to 1936 by 130%, Jaffa by 80% and Jerusalem by 55%...In the vicinity of the Jewish villages Arab workers earn twice the wage paid in other parts of Palestine. Once the poorest , sorriest population in this whole section of poverty stricken masses, the Arabs of Palestine are now the richest per capita of their race."

Thereafter , the British, during the”British Mandate of Palestine” period from 1917-1948, imported Arab laborers from Syria etc. to- work on infrastructure projects and in the Port of Haifa. This massive Arab immigration was acknowledged, in a way, by UNRWA in 1948, when “Palestinian refugee” status was granted if “one’s ordinary place of residence from 1946-48 “ had been in pre-state Israel. Simply, the resolution articulates a highly politicized myth, that being that “ Palestinians trace their roots back to the historic land of Palestine” or that there has been such an identity as “Palestinians” for 2,00 years.” Both are simply false and distortions of history. Perhaps the resolution should be re-considered in light of the nature of the divisive nature of the political implications of the resolution, as well as the distorted history contained therein."

Some emails were short and to the point. But in the end, the grassroots initiative made a difference, to all but Wilma Chan. The supervisors did not anticipate that their routine administrative declaration would have political ramifications, and called it off.

And as we know, hell has no fury like an anti-Zionist scorned.

The following email was sent:

"We would like to update you on the status of Palestinian Proclamation Day in Alameda County, scheduled for tomorrow June 5th, 2012. We have been informed as of late this Monday morning that the issuing of the proclamation was pulled from the Board of Supervisors’ agenda by President Nate Miley.Supervisors were heavily lobbied by the racist rhetoric that is perpetuated through internet blogging, and specifically politicized the event on the following link:http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2012/06/oppose-palestinian-proclamation-day-in-alameda-county-calif-tuesday.html. Please be advised that this proclamation was and remains a statement to promote Palestinian culture and heritage. We plan to be there to share concerns during public input time. Barbara Lee and Pete Stark’s office have issued a certificate of special congressional recognition and Supervisor Wilma Chan is issuing a commendation for Palestinian cultural day"

Apparently in the "activist to English" dictionary: "heavily lobbied by the racist rhetoric that is perpetuated through internet blogging" can be roughly translated as "grassroots letter writing campaign".

Do you care about tolerance and diversity? Show at at 10:45 am in the Alameda County Administration Building, 1221 Oak Street, Oakland. Lets let the Alameda county Supervisors know that they can celebrate Palestinian culture without denying the heritage of others in the land.

Alameda County Supervisors Proclaim Palestinian Cultural day.

Alameda County Residents should be interested to learn that their County Supervisors are proclaiming June 5 Palestinian Cultural Day

The Text of the Proclamation follows:

WHEREAS, Palestinians trace their roots back to the historic land of Palestine and primarily speak Arabic and profess either a Christian, Jewish or Muslim faith; and

WHEREAS, Palestinian culture is presented through books, poetry, music, dance, oral history, folktales, proverbs, and handicrafts made with cross-stitch embroidery patterns that often display ethnic or regionaI identity and honor a rich cultural legacy from centuries past that are important symbols of Palestinian culture; and

WHEREAS, Palestinians have embraced for over 2,000 years core values such as love of family, commitment to education, hospitality, and reverence for land, community empowernent, strong sense ofjustice and they now share these values with the residents of Alameda County; and

WHEREAS, Palestinian residents of Alameda County now number approximately 20,000 and continue to make major contributions to the County in the fields of arts and culture, community organizing, student activism, law and medicine, and are valued members of the community as small business owners; and

WHEREAS, Palestinians living in Alameda County will hold the first annual Palestinian Cultural Day thal honors the local Palestinian community and its contributions to the County's civic life as well as the historical and cultural contributions of Palestinians throughout the world.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED that this Board of Supervisors, Counly of Alameda, Does hereby proclaim June 5, 2012 as "Palestinian Culural Day" and recognizes the contribrutions of the local Palestinian population of Alameda County residents and communities.

NATE MILEY, President
Supervisor, Fourth District

KEITH CARSON, Vice-President
Supervisor, Fifth District

SCOTT HAGGERTY
Supervisor, First District

WILMA CHAN
Supervisor, Third District

Do you have any concern about the factual elements of the proclamation? Go to the Board of Supervisors Homepage, find your county Supervisor and let them know what you think.

And in the meanwhile, when our Supervisors write about Palestinian core values, such as "love of family", lets try and avoid thinking about Reem al Rayashi

Celebrating Israel

The Westin St. Francis in San Francisco dons the blue and white in celebration of Israel

The Empire State Building in New York City dons the blue and white in celebration of Israel.

Yes, New York sure knows how to throw a party. 35,000 participants are expected in the New York City Celebrate Israel parade. Hundreds of thousands will be cheering them on. It’s America’s biggest annual show of support for Israel and its been going on for 48 years.

On June 10, San Francisco has her turn. Our annual Jewish Community Festival, Israel in the Gardens is scheduled, this year featuring yummy food, music, art, and local non-profits. 20,000 people are expected for a day of fun, sun, music and Yiddishekit.

This years musical program includes:

Balkan Beat Box an American-Israeli musical group founded by Tamir Muskat, Ori Kaplan of Firewater and Big Lazy, and now including Tomer Yosef as a core member. Their music is influenced by jamaican dub, and fuses the musical styles of Mediterranean and Balkan traditions with hip hop and dancehall beats.

Efrat Gosh and the Peatot: Leading singer/songwriter with vocal influences from Billie Holiday to Edith Piaf from Herzliya joins Israel in the Gardens with The Peatot based here in the Bay Area. The Peatot pays tribute to Israeli music from the past four decades.

The Voca People Israeli phenomena that landed over 10 million views on YouTube, now on their international tour, following a successful run Off-Broadway. The Voca People are a group of "aliens" who match a Capella singing with the art of beat box creating a near unbelievable range of sounds and instruments.



Oh, yeah. (bored yawn) The usual anti-Israel extremist groups have already announced their day of rage against the day schools, social justice groups, artists and vendors that appear annually at Israel in the Gardens. Their plan- they'll show up at noon, aimlessly circle around calling for intifada, and then slink back home, never once realizing how irrelevant their hate is to those joyously celebrating the democracy, diversity and innovation of the Jewish people.

“Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

The children of murderer Reem al Riyashi attend her funeral

In an effort to jump-start the stalled peace process, Israel returned the remains of 91 Palestinians. Most of them had been killed while carrying out attacks against Israelis. Hamas militants honored the remains with a 21-gun salute as hundreds of Palestinians waited by the roadside. The remains of Reem Al Riyashi were among those returned.



Reem al Riyashi, a Hamas operative from a wealthy family was only 22 when she approached a checkpoint in Jerusalem. Feigning illness to get through the checkpoint, she detonated her explosives, killing 4 Israelis and injured 10. She left behind two children: one 18 months, and one 3 1/2.

In her martyrdom video Reem al-Riyashi explained why she became a suicide bomber: “It was always my wish to turn my body into deadly shrapnel against the Zionists and to knock on the doors of heaven with the skulls of Zionists,”she stated. "How often I dreamed, how often I desired to carry out a Shahada-seeking [suicide] operation inside Israel, and by perseverance, and with Allah's grace, my wish was fulfilled as I wanted."

In a special broadcast of a Hamas TV children's program, Reem's two young children were invited to the TV studio to watch a video re-enactment of their mother's suicide bombing in 2004. [Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), July 3, 2009]. The glorification of homicide and the incitement of genocidal hatred in young Palestinian children remains deeply disturbing

From Palestinian Media Watch:



How can there ever be peace in when violence is glorified and martyrdom cherished? Once again, the words of Golda Meir ring true. “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

Obama Administration Jerks Around the Jews of the Middle East

Mike L.

(Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives and Geoffff's Joint, Bar and Grill.)

The Jews of the Middle East remain under siege.

After 1,300 years living under the boot of Arab-Muslim imperialism, followed by 100 years of an Arab-Muslim war against those Jews, much of the world scream to the heavens that Israel must stop protecting itself. That is, much of the world scream to the heavens that Israel must dismantle those inconvenient check-points and allow Hamas to gain additional weaponry, in order to fulfill their genocidal ambitions, by ending the blockade of Gaza.

Recently Ehud Barak has suggested that Israel end the "occupation" by unilaterally withdrawing from much of the western bank of the Jordan river, which is precisely my suggestion for quite some time, now. The idea is for Israel to end the "occupation" of Judea and Samaria by declaring its final borders and removing the IDF to behind those borders. Since the Palestinians refuse to negotiate, and since the Arab governments refuse to end their genocidal war against the Jews of the Middle East, then Israel needs to take matters into its own hands, despite what happened after the Gaza withdrawal.

The Obama administration, however, is having none of it:

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday rejected the notion of unilateral Israeli steps toward separating from the Palestinians.

“We have discouraged unilateral action from both sides,” Clinton said when asked about the possibility during a press conference while on trip to Denmark.

“The United States believes there is no substitute for direct talks between the parties.”

Several leading Israeli voices, including most recently hints by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, have raised the possibility of unilateral Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank – though presumably they would not be as extensive as those sought by the Palestinians – in the face of a longtime stalemate in negotiations to reach a peace agreement.

The progressive-left, in general, and the Obama administration, in particular, are playing a sick and evil game against the Jews of the Middle East. The Jews represent a tiny and abused minority in that part of the world who want nothing more than to be left the hell alone. They have built Fortress Israel in an attempt to protect themselves from the long, long history of genocidal Arab-Muslim anti-Semitism. This is why there is such a thing as the so-called "occupation." This is why there are check-points. It is because Israeli Jews have no intention of allowing their children to be slaughtered in their beds.  Diaspora Jews, like Peter Beinart, may think that the real problem is that Israeli Jews are mean to the Palestinians, but the Israelis themselves cannot afford any such acidic and counterproductive delusions.

What most diaspora Jews want, meanwhile, is acceptance. They want a kitzel behind the ear by their non-Jewish political friends and in order to get that scratch they are willing to blame the entire ungodly situation on their brothers and sisters in Israel. At worst they are anti-Semitic anti-Zionists and at best, with a few notable exceptions, they simply keep their mouths shut about Arab-Muslim genocidal anti-Semitism.

The Jews of the Middle East, however, cannot afford progressive Zionist delusions concerning the possibility of a negotiated end of hostilities if only they would jump through whatever hoops that the Palestinians or the Arab League or the Obama administration demand that they jump through. Israeli Jews know that the Palestinian-Arabs do not want a country in peace next to the Jewish one because if that was what they wanted they could have had it long ago.

This being the case, some Israeli leaders, such as Barak, are considering a unilateral end of hostilities or, at least, a unilateral end to the "occupation." If the Palestinians refuse to negotiate, which they do, then Israel absolutely must do what it needs to do in order to break the stalemate and now we have the Obama administration demanding that the status quo must continue.

As I say, this is a sick and evil game being played on the Jews of the Middle East by the progressive-left and the Obama administration. By insisting that an end of hostilities must come through negotiations they are, in effect, insisting that hostilities never end. This is particularly egregious given the fact that it was the Obama administration that screwed up any possibility of a negotiated end of hostilities to begin with.

The long Arab-Muslim war against the Jews of the Middle East continues and the Obama administration enables it.

And the last word on Habima goes to David Hirsh

David Hirsh from Engage has written a thoughtful (ok, ok, bloody brilliant) review of Israel's Habima Theater and the failed attempts to censor and disrupt the Israeli troops performance of "The Merchant of Venice"

"Portia, Shylock and the exclusion of Israeli actors from the global cultural community"

To David, the audience at the Globe "was there to face down those who said that Israeli actors should be excluded from the global community of culture, while actors from all the other states which had been invited to the Globe were celebrated in a festival of the Olympic city’s multiculturalism." After all, the Globe had hosted theater troops from all over the world from such bastions of human rights as South Africa, Georgia, Palestine, Turkey and China.

First, he provides context:

"Since some rather nasty medieval stuff, London and Jews have got on fairly well. London stood firm against Hitler, and the local Blackshirts too; it didn’t mind much whether Jews stayed separate or whether they immersed themselves in its vibrancy; it didn’t feel threatened, it didn’t worry, it just let Jews live engaged lives. But London’s very post-nationalism, and its post-colonialism, has functioned as the medium for a rather odd new kind of intolerance.

Sometimes, we define our own identities in relation to some ‘other’. Early Christianity defined itself in relation to the Jews who refused to accept its gospel, and it portrayed them as Christ-killers. If people wanted to embrace modernity, then they sometimes constructed themselves as being different from the traditional Jew with his beard and coat, standing against progress. Yet if they were afraid of the new then they could define themselves against the modernist Jew. Nineteenth Century nationalists often defined the Jew as the foreigner. Twentieth Century totalitarianisms, which had universal ambition, found their ‘other’ in the cosmopolitan Jew.

These processes created an invented image of ‘The Jew’ and the antisemites portrayed themselves as victims of ‘The Jew’. Antisemitism has only ever portrayed itself as defensive."

He continues:

"Some people who love London’s relaxed, diverse, antiracism look for an ‘other’ against which to define themselves. They find Israel. They make it symbolise everything against which they define themselves: ethnic nationalism, racism, apartheid, colonialism. London’s shameful past, not to mention in some ways its present, is cast out and thrust upon Israel. London was within a few thousand votes last month of re-electing a mayor, Ken Livingstone, who embraced this kind of scapegoating...'

We can tell that this hostility to Israel is as artificially constructed as any antisemitism by looking at the list of theatre groups against which the enlightened ones organized no boycott. Antizionists have created a whole new ‘-ism’, a worldview, around their campaign against Israel. Within it, a caricature of Israel is endowed with huge symbolic significance which relates only here and there to the actual state, to the complex conflict and to the diversity of existing Israelis. If the Palestinians stand, in the antizionist imagination, as symbolic of all the victims of ‘the west’ or ‘imperialism’ then Israel is thrust into the centre of the world as being symbolic of oppression everywhere. Like antisemitism, antizionism imagines Jews as being central to all that is bad in the world.

One of the sources of energy for this special focus on Israel comes from Jewish antizionists. For them, as for many other Jews, Israel is of special importance. For them, Israel’s human rights abuses, real, exaggerated or imagined, are sources of particular pain, sometimes even shame. Some of them take their private preoccupation with Israel and try to export it into the cultural and political sphere in general, and into non-Jewish civil society spaces where a special focus on the evils of Israel takes on a new symbolic power. But the ‘as a Jew’ antizionists are so centred on Israel that they often fail to understand the significance of the symbolism which they so confidently implant into the antiracist spaces of old London."

Regarding the protestors, he asks

"Do the protestors think that this is an antisemitic play? Perhaps they felt that this was the ‘Zionists’ rubbing the history of antisemitism in the faces of London and then by proxy, the Palestinians. Isn’t that the source of Zionist power today? Their ability to mobilize Jewish victimhood and their ownership of the Holocaust. This, again, is an old libel, that the Jews are so clever and so morally lacking, that they are able to benefit from their own persecution. When will the world forgive the Jews for antisemitism and the Holocaust?"

Read David Hirsh's complete essay here .

Dr. Feng-Shan Ho: Righteous Among the Nations

It was a fearful time for the Jews of Austria. After Austria’s annexation to Nazi Germany in March 1938 its 185,000 Jews were subjected to a reign of terror. For many Austrian Jews- leaving was not an option. The Nazis required that Jews have entry visas or boat tickets to another country. At a time when most nations refused to take Jewish refugees, the Chinese consul-general in Vienna Feng-Shan Ho issued visas to Shanghai to all who asked. Going against the orders of his superior, it is estimated that Dr. Ho saved thousands of Jewish lives, by allowing them to seek refuge in Shanghai.

Ho's actions were recognized posthumously when he was awarded the title Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 2000

Dr. Ho died at 97, in San Francisco. The Chinese Historical Society of America will be featuring an exhibit next month on Dr. Ho- Wings of the Phoenix: Dr. Feng Shan Ho and the Rescue of Austrian Jews, 1938-1940.

His daughter, Manli Ho is working on a book, and has been has been researching and documenting her late father’s humanitarian work in Vienna, Austria, for the past 15 years She created and wrote the text for the exhibit at the Historical Society.

This free exhibit runs from June 1 – July 1 at the Chinese Historical Society of America, 965 Clay Street, San Francisco.

From the China Daily, written by Manli Ho:

"During my 10-year pursuit of a history that has been buried for more than half a century, I was often asked why a Chinese diplomat would save Jews in Austria when others would not. My response has been: "If you knew my father, you wouldn't have to ask." That is usually followed by: "But weren't you surprised to discover this facet of your father?" No, I was not surprised because what my father did was completely in character.

My father's greatest legacy was to be who he was. He was a scholar and a gentleman, a product of his culture and of the times in which he lived, the likes of which we will never see again. But more importantly, he was a person who was never false, whose honor and integrity, whose strength of will, whose faith and optimism always shone through - and that was part of his charisma. He was loved and respected not just for what he was, but for who he was as a human being.

My father always felt that he had received a full measure of gifts. He was brilliant, fearless, charming and dynamic. He was also incorruptible, straightforward and conscientious. He possessed a hot temper - which I always attributed to his love for the hot peppers of Hunan. Among his most admirable traits was his capacity for love and for compassion. Most importantly, my father believed that these gifts were not bestowed upon him solely for his personal benefit, but for that of his fellow men."

A Play Attendee from the Globe Reports

Sarah AB at Harry's Place was able to see the performance. Sounds like an excellent performance, although I really hate Merchant.

Loved this part: Generally people heeded the opening plea to keep calm and not respond to disruption. But at one point, when an audience member started to recite a Palestinian themed parody of Shylock’s famous ‘Hath not a Jew eyes’ speech, an exasperated ‘piss off’ met with warm applause.

BDS Activists Lose, Act Out At Habimah Performance

I've been trying to recast Shylock's "Hath Not A Jew Eyes" speech to be spoken by a BDS activist, but I don't have the talent, or the heart to do that to Shakespeare. I'll settle for just popping in to mention that, amazingly, the London BDS crowd didn't take being told by the Globe Theatre to shove off lying down. Nope, they showed up with signs, flags, and band-aids over their mouths.

One man was arrested for assaulting a security guard outside.

Please note the message of the Band-Aids: "Allowing Israelis to perform in the same festival with Palestinians means that I am being silenced. Me, me, it's all about me!!!"

Habima at the Globe. Another BDS fail

The Habima Theater Company, with its team of Arab and Jewish actors is precisely the sort of institution we'd expect the progressive community to support. But, no, anything or anyone from Israel is treated as though its the harbinger of the Zombie Apocalypse or the equivalent of a modern day leper. Its "demonization" - part of the "3D's" of anti-semitism.

And they just hate it when the real progressives fight back- when those who value democracy, diversity and plurality take to the streets in support of the most progressive nation in the Middle east.

Here's some great photos from our friends in the UK, who gathered by the Globe Theatre in support of Habima






When the dust settled today at the Globe theater in London, we had 2 sold out shows. We had a brilliant, critically acclaimed performance of "The Merchant of Venice". We had an extended standing ovation, and an appreciative audience. We had a handful of haters, both inside and out who proved themselves irrelevant. We also had “I do not consider myself an anti-Semite, yet I can also understand why some are” Ben White tweeting as fast as his little fingers could manage in an effort to "win" the social media game.

Today at the Globe was an overwhelming victory for the forces of light- for those who feel that culture should provide a bridge between people, and was yet another "BDS fail" for those opposed to tolerance and co-existence

UPDATE

Ben White has descended even further into the sewer with his abhorrent Twitter comment regarding acclaimed author Howard Jacobson "If you need another reason to support a boycott of Habima I present a massive picture of Howard Jacobson's face"



Is Ben implying the distinguished visage of Man Booker Prize-winning author and journalist Howard Jacobson isn't , oh, Aryan enough for him?

Juvenile, Ben. And damned close to anti-Semitism

Cultural Boycott Fails, Israeli Shakespeare Performance Sold Out

I almost want to scold Habimah, Israel's national theater group, for choosing The Merchant of Venice to stage at the Globe Theate as part of an international Shakespeare festival. Merchant? Really? It's an edgy choice, but edgy in a sort of dated way. I would, honestly, rather have seen an Israeli-nuanced King Lear, or The Winter's Tale. But I'm not in London anyway, and nobody asked me.

However, any criticism of Habimah's choice has to be overshadowed by the cheerfulness with which I report that, yet again, the forces of BDS have produced great Sturm und Drang, and two sold-out performances for Habimah in London.

In the end, it all came down to a protest outside, a counterprotest, a lot of police checking bags, and then,

In sooth, I know not why I am so sad:
It wearies me; you say it wearies you;
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn;
And such a want-wit sadness makes of me,
That I have much ado to know myself.

Israel wins, Shakespeare wins, London, strutting her cultural stuff for the Olympics, wins, and the Palestinian company who performed Richard II wins. BDS loses.

In nosing around for information on the event, I happened to run across this piece by Harry Glass at Worker's Liberty. They're a Trotskyite group, which raises my hackles to begin with, and I am not thrilled by Glass's light use of the term 'atrocity' toward the end of this piece. (So basically, this is a reading suggestion, not an endorsement) It is a well-written, well-reasoned, far-left critique of BDS, thorough and coming from a clear worldview that extends beyond the irrational self-congratulation of BDS supporters. I found myself impressed.

Glass writes: BDS needs to be fought politically, because it stands in the path of two states, the only consistently democratic solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. But BDS is ultimately a pessimistic approach. It put the agency for change outside of the region.

Read it in full.