More Pallywood. Another staged photo, exposed by Honest Reporting

From Honest reporting:

June 16, 2011 9:04 by Simon Plosker
Our Shattered Lens series examined how the wire services misused photo imagery to distort coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But what about unattributed photos that are deliberately used to incite against Israel on social media platforms such as Facebook?

Take a look at the photo below that has been posted on a Facebook page Freedom Will Come to Palestine:

Now is it obvious why they cropped it?

Much like our own Photo That Started It All, the uninformed reader automatically jumps to the obvious conclusion. However, in this case, the “Israeli soldier” is carrying an AK-47 Kalashnikov – the weapon of choice for Arab regimes and terrorist organizations around the world. The IDF standard issue weapon is the US-made M16.

In addition, the uniform is not IDF issue either.

The rest of this Facebook page makes for unpleasant viewing but this particular photo is an example of how false or staged images can be used for incitement.


*****


What is the IDF really like? Ask Col. Richard Kemp. From an article originally posted in the Jerusalem Post, adapted from a speech by the former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, who spoke in Tel Aviv this week to a group of young professionals and IDF soldiers.

"It is an honor for me to stand in the same room as those of you in IDF uniforms. You might think that you’re simply defending your country, but in fact you are fighting against violent jihadist terrorism for the whole of the Western world, and you are at the front lines of the battle.

Although not quite a lone voice, mine was certainly a very lonely voice among the many dozens of speeches endorsing the Goldstone Report and repudiating Israel that were made over the two days of the UN Human Rights Council hearing after Operation Cast Lead. This is what I said to the Council: “During its operation in Gaza, the Israeli Defense Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.”

What was behind my comments? Apart from basic decency and humanitarian considerations, the commanders of the IDF knew, as do British, American and other NATO commanders, how vital to a counterinsurgency conflict is winning over the hearts and minds of the people, especially in a conflict where they could be sure that killing innocent civilians is exactly what the enemy would be trying to lure them to do.

Because Hamas (like Hezbollah in Lebanon, like the Taliban in Afghanistan and like al-Qaida and the Shi'a militias in Iraq), use their own people as both tactical and strategic weapons of war.

Hamas used them on the tactical level as human shields, to hide behind, to stand between Israeli forces and their own fighters, sometimes forcing women and children to remain in the positions that they would use to launch attacks from.

Hamas used their people too on the strategic level, luring IDF troops to attack and kill them. People whose deaths would be callously exploited in the media as a means of discrediting the IDF. And this is exactly what insurgents do almost daily too in Afghanistan, seeking to provoke NATO and Afghan forces to kill the local people. In these most difficult circumstances, IDF commanders took unprecedented measures to minimize civilian casualties. When possible, they left at least four hours’ notice to civilians to leave areas designated for attack, an action that handed a distinct advantage to Hamas.

Attack helicopter pilots had total discretion to abort a strike if there was too great a risk of civilian casualties in the area. During the conflict, the IDF allowed huge amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and even unilaterally announced a daily three-hour ceasefire knowing this would give Hamas vital time and space to re-group, re-equip and re-deploy for future attacks. A factor often forgotten, but this of course added to the danger to the IDF’s own troops.

The Israelis dropped a million leaflets warning the population of impending attacks, and phoned tens of thousands of Palestinian households in Gaza urging them in Arabic to leave homes where Hamas might have stashed weapons or be preparing to fight. Similar messages were passed on in Arabic on Israeli radio broadcasts.

But despite Israel’s extraordinary measures, a number of innocent civilians were killed and wounded. This was inevitable. Let us not forget: Hamas was deliberately trying to lure the Israelis to kill their own people.

Many have contradicted my assertion about the IDF.

But no one has been able to tell me which other army in history has ever done more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone.

In fact, my judgments about the steps taken in that conflict by the IDF to avoid civilian deaths are inadvertently borne out by a study published by the United Nations itself, a study which shows that the ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in Gaza was by far the lowest in any asymmetric conflict in the history of warfare.

The UN estimate that there has been an average three-to one ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in such conflicts worldwide. Three civilians for every combatant killed.

That is the estimated ratio in Afghanistan: three to one.

In Iraq, and in Kosovo, it was worse: the ratio is believed to be four-to-one. Anecdotal evidence suggests the ratios were very much higher in Chechnya and Serbia.

In Gaza, it was less than one-to-one.

This extremely low rate of civilian casualties flatly contradicts many of Goldstone’s original allegations, and the bleating insistence of various human rights groups about Israel’s alleged crimes against humanity.

And last month, even Judge Richard Goldstone changed his mind.

As with Cast Lead, the tragedy of the Gaza Flotilla incident, a year ago, has been widely exploited as part of the conspiracy to delegitimize Israel.

There is every reason to believe that the activists on board the Mavi Marmara set out deliberately to provoke the Israeli boarding party into an attack that would cause bloodshed to be exploited in the world’s media. The Turkish group IHH was prominent among the organizers of the flotilla, and had purchased the Mavi Marmara for that purpose.

As well as being a genuine humanitarian aid group, the IHH is a radical Islamic organization. The IHH is vehemently anti-Israel and anti-America, and has extensive connections with international jihadist groups, including al-Qaida. According to a French investigative magistrate specializing in terrorism, the IHH played an important role in an al-Qaida plan to carry out a mass-casualty attack at the Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the millennium.

Many who should know better have stridently proclaimed that the Gaza blockade itself is illegal. But does not the government of Israel the right – the duty – to protect its citizens against the re-arming of Hamas and other jihadist groups in Gaza, which continue to attack the civilian population with rockets, and undoubtedly desire to expand their conflict in line with the proclaimed objective of destroying Israel as an entity?

Today, Israel faces a conspiracy of delegitimization, which aims to give validity and justification to attacks on Israel by groups such as Iran’s proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, allowing them to strike at Israel with impunity, and encouraging the view that any retaliatory or defensive measures by Israel are by definition disproportionate and should be criminalized.

The more traction this idea is allowed to gain, the greater the instability between Israel and its neighbors. This lessens the chances of any lasting peace, and consequently increases the blood that will be shed on all sides in the region.

The most powerful weapons in this conspiracy are legal, diplomatic and media. Fundamentally, we are talking about a war of words, words that are given unprecedented potency by the internet, by the globalization of the 21st century.

If this is a war of words, we must also use words to counter attack.

The conspiracy seeks to undermine the right of Israel to exist as an entity. And it is this that we must stand up against. As we would stand up vigorously against any movement that seriously sought to undermine the existence of any legitimate, democratic state.

In this war of words, all that is necessary for this evil conspiracy of delegitimization to triumph is for good men to say nothing. I have enough experience of the IDF to know that the harsh condemnation all too frequently applied to them, usually by those with an anti-Israel agenda, is, more often than not, completely unjustified.

Like all other armies, including my own, the IDF is far from perfect. They make mistakes like other armies, mistakes that are often compounded by the fog and the friction of war. And like other armies, they have their share of bad soldiers as well as good.

To my personal knowledge, Israel’s armed forces and security services have often proved to be firm friends of Britain and the British people. Two events stand out in my mind.

The first happened when I was sent out to be Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan in 2003. We were confronted with an enemy whose many tactics included suicide bombings. This was the first time British troops had to confront suicide attackers, and we had no policy with which to counter them. I telephoned an Israeli contact of mine, who arranged for a Brigadier-General in the IDF to meet with me in London.

This man (at the time, serving as a full-time commander of an operational unit) took the time to fly to Britain within two days. For four hours, we sat in a lobby in a London hotel. He spoke; I took notes. And it was from that meeting that my policy for countering suicide bombers in Afghanistan was devised – a policy that was subsequently adopted by all British forces, and has saved lives.

The second incident occurred a couple of years later, after the terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005. We in the UK were deeply shaken by the attacks, the first suicide bombings Britain had experienced at home. At the time I was working for Cobra, the UK national crisis management committee. Very soon after the terrorists struck, I received a call from my contacts in the Israeli security forces who offered every assistance they could provide. I received few other such calls from our allies around the world.

It was then that we knew who our real friends are."

The South African Mail and Guardian Suspends Intern for Online Anti-Semitism

The thing that most intrigues, or maybe turns my stomach, about this, is that it is an example of the way the anti-Israel narrative has been permitted to usurp and override the histories and issues of, well, everyone else.

During the First Durban Conference, that UN gathering on racism that turned into a single-minded attack on one country, and one country alone, I recall seeing a picture of two ladies from Brazil, in indigenous Brazilian dress, holding signs denouncing Israel. Indigenous people in Brazil have a lot of problems. I dare say that Israel is not responsible for any of them. But what were these women doing, in front of the cameras of the world, in their beautiful woven dresses? Denouncing Israel, to advance another people's agenda at the cost of their own.

At the same conference, a man who was there to discuss the often dreadful discrimination against, and difficult situation of, the 'scheduled castes' of India, once known as 'untouchables', complained that the Palestinians and their supporters took over everything. His group would hold a demonstration, and the next thing they knew they would be surrounded by Palestinian flags. The struggle of a wretchedly oppressed social group shoved aside--to make room for the neverending, ever-expanding, Palestinian narrative.

And now we have a young South African man who may not be old enough to remember the days of apartheid himself, but his parents and grandparents certainly do. And his first response when asked about it is to effectively deny his own experience, his own people's fight for freedom, and to accede--even actively promote--the ahistorical, dishonest appropriation of the word 'apartheid', and what it meant in South Africa--and to give away his birthright of liberation to the anti-Israel movements.

Ngoako Matsha may be posting anti-Semitic drivel on Facebook, but I'm not angry with him. I feel bad for the kid. He's been brainwashed into giving away what's rightfully his--and he's not even getting a nice bowl of lentil soup out of it.

The Mail & Guardian has suspended an intern, Ngoako Matsha, for an anti-Semitic comment posted on social media platform Facebook. Matsha has been a trainee at the M&G since February 2011, but was commenting in his personal capacity.

In response to a posting by Facebook member Benji Shulman, requesting that users suggest a "basic decent history of apartheid", Matsha posted "Petty apartheid is building tall walls to separate Israel from Palestines." Shulman responded, posting, inter alia, "Thanks for that peace of pseudo-politics but I need something that will stand up to logical argument." Matsha made the following statement in response: "You racists! No wonder Hitler killed all the Jews, because you’re all a bunch of racists."

At 10.23am on June 15, as he was arriving at eTV for an interview with Jeremy Maggs, M&G editor-in-Chief Nic Dawes was informed of the comment by Twitter user @SteveMagid. He immediately spoke with Matsha’s supervisor, who spoke to Matsha and confirmed the authenticity of the comments. By 1.15pm, Dawes had returned to the M&G offices, spoken to Matsha and informed him of his suspension, and that he would be subject to a disciplinary hearing.

In an email sent to staff at 14.12pm, Dawes wrote that "The remarks made on Facebook discussion are fundamentally at odds with the most fundamental values of the Mail & Guardian, the Constitution, and basic human decency. Justifying the Holocaust in this fashion is hate speech and is completely unacceptable in any forum."

The M&G editorial code of ethics clearly stipulates that hate speech is unacceptable. Said Dawes, "I was deeply disappointed and angry when I learned of these remarks via Twitter, and when their authenticity was confirmed by Matsha. Obviously it was appalling to see the Mail & Guardian associated in any way with the hatefulness of anti-Semitism, but more importantly these comments were an awful violation of our most deeply held beliefs, and would have required serious action even if they had never been made public."

The M&G has just completed a series of editorial workshops, at which the outline for a social media policy was discussed, and where it was made clear that the basic foundation would be that an employee would say nothing on social media platforms that he or she would not be willing to see published. Clearly, Matsha's anti-Semitic comment would not be acceptable to the M&G in any forum whatsoever.

'France, Germany offer Hamas incentives to release Gilad Schalit'

From the J Post

"France and Germany are offering Hamas new incentives to free kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit, Channel Two reported on Saturday.

As part of the initiative France and Germany are offering Hamas extra incentives in addition to the release of approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. These incentives include easing restrictions on Gaza's border crossings as well as de facto recognition of the Hamas government in Gaza which would allow for European investment in the territory. France and Germany are working with Egypt on the deal, according to the report...."

On Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for the release of Schalit.

Merkel, speaking at a joint appearance with the French president called Schalit's release "a very important matter," ahead of the fifth anniversary of the IDF soldier's kidnapping by Hamas terrorists.

According to German government sources, there is a deal on the table in which Israel would release approximately 1,000 prisoners in exchange for Schalit. The deal was rejected by Hamas' armed wing, the Izzadin Kassam Brigades, despite approval by the groups political wing, according to German officials.

For France, the Schalit case is particularly sensitive because the captive soldier holds dual Israeli-French citizenship. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe met with Schalit's parents, Noam and Aviva in Jerusalem during a visit to Jerusalem earlier this month.

Germany has mediated attempts to reach a deal between Hamas and Israel for several years.

Earlier in June, Noam and Aviva Schalit appealed to the French judicial system to hold Hamas, including its Damascus-based leader Khaled Mashaal, responsible for kidnapping their son Gilad and keeping him hostage in Gaza for the past five years.

If their legal effort in France is successful, arrest warrants could be issued against members of Hamas, including Mashaal. A suit can be filed in France due to Schalit's dual citizenship."

"Be on Our Side. Because We're Pretty Sure You'll fall for anything"

Great column at Divest this about the use of pathos- emotional manipulation- in the anti-Israel camp.

"A large part of the BDS project is built around ensuring that wherever you go in life, and whatever you do, the Arab-Israeli conflict is in your face.

If you walk through a busy square in Cambridge or Boston or San Francisco at rush hour, at some point you’re sure to see a group of wrinkly Israel haters passing out photos of broken Palestinian children which (via a syllogism known only to the BDSers) means you should stop buying hummus made in Massachusetts or New Jersey.

If you shop at a department store during the holiday season, you stand a chance of seeing some even more deranged “activists” stripping to their underwear and smearing themselves with Ahava skin-cream products in public.

Point of fact, these particular antics are not nearly as ubiquitous as the Facebook pages of the boycotters would have you believe (which is why I continue to suspect that such theatre is largely for the benefit of the BDSers themselves). And if flash mobs at phone stores or catcalls at Israeli ballet performances are meant to sway public opinion, the twenty point jump in support for Israel during the BDS era seems to indicate it is counter-productive to the cause.

But neither reality nor the principles of cause leading to effect will ever budge this lot from their program, and when it comes to finding new innovative ways to annoy the public, this is one area where Israel’s foes never lack creativity (or chutzpah).

Earlier this year, they seem to have hit on a breakthrough: bus and subway ads. Unlike flash mobs, rallies and riots, after all, placing an ad on the side of a bus that shows those aforementioned photos of maimed children (with a tagline laying all blame on you-know-who) just requires writing a couple of checks (no great challenge to a “movement” that seems to have the resources to purchase ships and sail them across the Mediterranean).

The trouble is, the sale of bus ads is not limited to just one set of political opinion holders. And when the boycotters tried this stunt out in Seattle, it first elicited loud protests, and finally a threat to run equally ugly photos of victims of Palestinian terror in a parallel campaign. This led the public transport authorities to decide that, all things being equal, they’d prefer to not be the vehicle to subject the public to endless accusations alongside pictures of charred corpses.

As that battle continues (through the courts, naturally, given BDSers inability to take “No” for an answer), the innovation of the public transport ad inspired others to try out this tactic, albeit with a more subtle campaign; to wit:"




Read the whole post here

Jon offers in response:



Hmmmm. I have a feeling you'll be seeing these new improved ads around the Bay area, very very soon.

Gaza Flotilla Publicity Blueprint. Time to counter

The leaders and organizers of the Flotilla have long admitted that their goal has never been to bring humanitraian aid to Gaza (After all, the Palestinians get more aid per capita than other other people in the world, and have little use for the expired medicine and mismatched shoes carried by the flotilla). Its a provaction and a publicity stunt.

The organizers of the US Boat to Gaza (ustogaza.org/latest/u-s-boat-to-gaza-emergency-response-plans/ ) have including this blueprint for handling publicity during the flotilla. Pro Israel groups should use this as a way of organizing a counter-response:

Elements of your emergency response plans

1) Public protest activities

The goal is to be as visible as possible – both to the public generally and to the media.
As a local organizer you will know the best place to ask people to gather. Possible places include:
- Israeli consulate or other agencyU.S. federal building
- well-trafficked, major intersection
- major transportation hub
Think about what time of day will be easiest for large numbers of people to come out, to get media coverage and for the largest number of people to see your activity.
2) Media work

Be sure to have a list of media outlets and reporters in your area ready ahead of time.
Inform the media of any public activities and protests you are planning.
Monitor your local media to see if they are covering the story, and if so how. If they are not covering it, or not covering it well, call them!
Ask people to write letters to the editor and to call into radio talk shows.
The aim is to make sure the story is being covered, and being covered accurately!
3) Pressure on the Israeli and U.S. government

It will be important that both the Israeli government and the U.S. government hear from as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
Calls, email messages and faxes should go to the U.S. government: the State Department, the White and to your own Senators and House Representatives.
Calls, email messages and faxes should also go directly to the Israeli government.
By Saturday, June 18th we will have more detailed contact information posted on our website….please be sure to check back then.

Turkish ship pulls out of flotilla. (Another one bites the dust)

Turkish group IHH says the Mavi Marmara ship did not get the necessary approval from Turkish port authorities to set sail, and pulls out of the flotilla. At last count, the flotilla was down to 10 ships and 300 participants. How many more will drop out before the June 25 sail date?

from Haaretz:

The Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) announced on Friday that the Mavi Marmara ship will not participate in the Gaza flotilla planned for later this month due to technical reasons.

In a press conference held in Istanbul, IHH members said that port authorities in Turkey did not provide them with the necessary approval for the Mavi Marmara...
IHH president Bulent Yildirim said pro-Palestinian activists from his group would board other ships in the Gaza-bound flotilla, which includes an American boat, a 40-member Canadian ship and a cargo vessel organized by activists from Greece, Sweden and Norway.

Some of the boats are expected to depart from Greece, and Yildirim acknowledged that Greece's financial problems and widespread anger there over tough new austerity measures had posed a challenge to flotilla preparations.

"There are some problems and crises in European countries, so it might be delayed a few days," he said.

Well, duh.

A Bride for Shalit: Help take down an offensive new Facebook page

June 25 mark 5 years in captivity for Gilad Shalit. Five years without visitation. Five years without external contact. His family 's grief cannot be fathomed. And now, a new and deeply offensive Facebook page, encouraging the kidnapping of more young Israeli has been created.

From YNET
A new Palestinian Facebook group has been launched in recent days titled "The people want a bride for Shalit."

The intention behind the slogan is clear: A call for the abduction of an Israeli female solider who will serve as yet another Hamas bargaining chip in a future prisoner swap with the Jewish state.

Yet beyond the disturbing message, group organizers resorted to particularly sickening "humor" to further their cause, posting a doctored photograph showing a chained Israeli soldier held by an armed Palestinian woman belonging to Hamas' military wing, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

One group member wrote the following message on Facebook: "We need to abduct a soldier who will become a female Shalit, so they get married and bring us a bunch of Shalits."


This deeply offensive page has attracted haters from all sides, and needs to be removed. Please report it to Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/marry.Shalit?sk=wall as a call to violence

For Code Pink's Leslie Angeline: How many water parks were there in Warsaw?

Code Pink is known for theatrical stunts- its not where the deep thinking activists end up. Yet Leslie Angeline protesting a Jewish cultural fair in San Francisco with a sign "Gaza is Warsaw" was deeply offensive on many levels. Yes Leslie, its offensive to Jews everywhere to protest day schools, religious organizations and non-profits. Its offensive to see someone who calls herself a "peace activist" marching alongside home grown jihadis shouting "We support the Intifida". And to both the US state department and to the EU, its anti-Semitic, to compare Israeli policies to that of the Nazis. But its not just anti-Semitic, Leslie Angeline. Its evil and its wrong.


Egyptian Journalist Ashraf Abu Al-Houl wrote in Al-Ahram, last year:

"A sense of absolute prosperity prevails, as manifested by the grand resorts along and near Gaza's coast. Further, the sight of the merchandise and luxuries filling the Gaza shops amazed me."

He continued:

"Several months ago, Gaza had only one luxury resort, Zahrat Al-Madain. Today, another one opens up every day, such as Crazy Water, Aqua Park, and Al-Bustan. Most of them are owned by members, or associates, of Hamas. In addition, the Hamas municipalities [also] charge high fees, in Gaza terms, for the use of public beaches."

A new water park has opened in Gaza in the "refugee camp" of Khan Younis.


There are water slides. Pools. And amusement park rides.



How is Gaza like Warsaw, Leslie Angeline?

The cycle of life
Projected life expectancy in the Gaza Strip (2010) is 73.86, greater than Estonia, Malaysia, Jamaica and Bulgaria.
The infant mortality rate in Gaza is 17.71 per 1000, lower than that of China, Jordan, Lebanon and Thailand.
Fertility rates are about five children per family, equal to many African nations such as Rwanda and Senegal.
Healthcare

Palestinian families receive the same subsidized healthcare as Israelis, about 10% of the cost for the same treatment in the United States.

Schoolchildren

Israel transfers school equipment supplied by UNRWA including notebooks, school bags, writing implements and textbooks. Israel is currently coordinating the transfer of 200,000 laptops for Gaza schoolchildren and the shipment of 74 maritime containers for conversion into Gaza classrooms.

In the first quarter of 2010, Israel transferred 250 trucks with equipment for the UNWRA summer camp, including arts-and-crafts equipment, swimming pools, inflatable toys, ice cream machines, musical instruments, clothing, sports equipment.

Electronic life

About 20% of the population in Gaza owns a personal computer - this is more than Portugal, Brazil, Saudi Arabia or Russia. They have access to ADSL and dial-up Internet service, provided by one of four providers.

About 70% of Gazans own a TV and radio and have access to satellite TV or broadcast TV from the PA or Israel.

Gaza has well-developed telephone landlines, and extensive mobile telephone services provided by PalTel (Jawwal) and the Israeli provider Cellcom.

According to USAID report, 81% of households in Gaza have access to a cell phone. The PA-owned cell phone provider Jawwal has more than 1 million cellular subscribers.

French pull out of Flotilla. Turkey considers withdrawing as well

The French entry in the Gaza Ship of fools flotilla 2011 has decided not to sail. What changed their mind? Was it the lack of insurance? Was it the declaration of the International red Cross that there was no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the increasing realization they were being used as a provaction to war?

from YNET
Members of Jewish community in France band together, send 500 letters of protest against Gaza flotilla, effectively preventing ship bought by organizers for €530,000 from docking in Marseille. On Tuesday the battle came to a hilt when Jewish MP Jacques-Alain Bénisti but a query to French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, asking to learn France's official position on the flotilla. The move was said to have put pressure on local insurance companies and helped to cancel the French ship's participation.

"We feel great joy, but we know that this is just a small battle in a larger war. There are many battles left until September. We must not claim victory, only rejoice in the united front we have presented and move on," a source from the Jewish community said.

Turkey is also reconsidering its participation in the blocakade running publicity stunt:

Again, from YNET
On Wednesday, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that the IHH is considering canceling the flotilla following developments in the region, particularly in Syria. "We think we can achieve our goals regardless of whether we send the Marmara ship to Gaza or not. We shall make a final decision by the end of the week," the IHH spokesman said.

The lesson? In the words of our esteemed comrades: The people united can never be defeated. Keep the pressure on, folks.

"Though I could not caution all I yet may warn a few:
Don't lend your hand to raise no flag
atop no ship of fools "

Formula one racer from Gaza to be entered in UK race

Photo: UPI/Ismael Mohamad

Student in the Gaza have made a racing car they hope will compete in this year's Formula Student, a student engineering competition that takes place in the UK in July.

They built it at UNRWA's Khan Younis Training Center using locally made parts to manufacture their car and now are hoping to take part in the race against teams from 30 other countries.


Hmmm. What comes to my mind is "just like the Warsaw ghetto". Right, Leslie Angeline?

Awww. Another setback for the Free Gaza Movement

Oh, no! Their ship fell through. It must be Israel's fault. Its ALWAYS Israel's fault.

The latest update from the Free Gaza blockade runners:
June 14, 2011

Nothing except piracy and brute force will stop us from going.

As reported previously, our partner, the International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza, lost its 320-passenger ship due to interference ("sabotage") of the purchase. We believe that heavy-handed tactics were applied to the owner not to sell.

Nevertheless, the ICBSG is back in business, with a smaller vessel, and FPM will be on it, albeit with a reduced delegation of only five U.S. citizens. We are consulting with our delegates and FPM organizers, and can confirm that among the delegates will be Ambassador Sam Hart, USS Liberty veteran Joe Meadors and FPM co-founder Paul Larudee. We are still waiting to hear from two others, and will let you know the final roster in the coming days.

In the past few weeks, many of our delegates, including Cynthia McKinney and Father Louis Vitale, have reported that they would not be able to come for reasons including medical procedures, scheduling, and competing commitments. The delays in the departure date have also compromised the ability of some delegates to participate. Self-selection has therefore played a significant role in determining the make-up of the delegation.

Through such trying times, we take inspiration from the Palestinian culture of sumud (steadfastness), which absorbs all disappointment and endures all reversals of fortune. It is this quality that assures that when opportunity appears, the Palestinians will be there to recover their land and their rights. We can do no less than to be at their side, and to help create this opportunity.

The FPM Team

Israeli singer Efrat Gosh to perform in Marrickville, Australia

Delivering another blow to the local BDS'ers, Israeli singer Efrat Gosh, last years Israeli female artist of the year will be performing at ground zero of the flailing BDS movement, Marrickville, Austraila.

Gosh was originally going to perform just a single gig in Sydney last weekend.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

However, the Israeli embassy in Canberra and the Zionist Federation of Australia decided to promote a second show as a direct consequence of the council's controversial "boycott Israel" proposal earlier this year.

We wanted to bring Israeli culture specifically to Marrickville to show another colour of Israel," said the Israeli embassy spokeswoman, Einat Weiss.

"We realised that a lot of people who live in Marrickville didn't know anything about the real Israel."

In a press release yesterday promoting the singer's performance, the Israeli embassy said Gosh had chosen to perform in Marrickville to help Sydney's inner-west residents recognise Israel's cultural contribution to the world.

"They can also seize the opportunity to learn more about Israel," the press release read.

"Proponents of the boycott who failed to see the country's vibrant and multicultural heart should watch Gosh's performance and experience a piece of the real Israel."

U.S. Homeland Security asks Jewish groups to be vigilant against terrorism

From an article by Natasha Mozgovaya, in Haaretz

Jewish Federations of North America officials met today at the White House with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The meeting, coinciding with the announcement of the Federation movement’s new partnership with DHS, was dedicated mainly to the state of threats posed to American Jewish institutions.

According to the Jewish Federations spokesman, it’s the first time DHS is partnering with a faith-based community to advance its “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign.

“Homeland security begins with hometown security, and our nation’s faith-based organizations play a critical role in keeping our communities safe,” said Secretary Napolitano, according to the White House readout of the meeting...

“The American Jewish community and the places we gather are, unfortunately, often targets for terrorists. This new partnership with the Department of Homeland Security will empower us to counter this threat as we become more actively involved in our own protection," said Michael Gelman, chair of the Executive Committee of the Board of The Jewish Federations of North America...

He added that “the security threat to Jewish community centers, schools, and places of worship has not abated since the death of Osama bin Laden. Days after his killing, al-Qaida in Yemen called for retaliatory attacks against Jewish targets.”

Hundreds of Grad rockets smuggled into Gaza in recent weeks

From Ma'an

Israel is concerned that unrest in Libya has created a new smuggling route for weapons into Gaza, Israeli media reported Friday.

The Hebrew-language newspaper Maariv said Israeli security officials had received information that fighting against Moammar Gadhafi's regime in Libya had weakened the leader's control and allowed the flow of weapons into the hands of arms dealers and "terror organizations."

Weapons were smuggled from Libya through Egypt and into Gaza via underground tunnels, the report said.

According to Maariv, Egyptian authorities were trying to intercept the weapons, but many convoys managed to reach Gaza.

Hundreds of Grad rockets with ranges of 60 - 70 kilometers had been smuggled into Gaza in recent weeks, strengthening Hamas and posing a serious threat to Israel, the newspaper reported.

Short-range rockets, rifles and ammunition had also been smuggled into the coastal enclave, the report said.

Israeli officials had received information that Russian-made anti-tank missiles that had been sold to Libya were now in the hands of rebel forces in the south, the newspaper said, adding that Israeli security officials feared the missiles would be smuggled into Gaza.

Rules and Guidelines for Westerners reporting on the Middle East

Rules and Guidelines for Westerners reporting on the Middle East

What do we do when someone writes something brilliant and insightful on their blog?
We gleefully cut and paste it.

From the blog: The Jihad threat against the West and Israel: Musings on Islamic fundamentalism and Israel from a UK perspective


I am pleased to reveal the following rule book issued to all members of the Western media corps:

Rule 1 (Incidents involving possible loss of Arab lives)

If there is any incident either in Israel or near its borders in which there are claims of Arab losses you should write a report with the following headline:

“Israeli troops kill X Arab civilians including Y children”

For the numbers X and Y simply choose the highest figures from the following sources:

* Syrian State Television
* Hamas
* Hezbollah
* The Palestinian Authority
* Al Jazeera
* Any person within 20 miles of the incident who is wearing a kaffiya or a Burka.

You do not need to state the source of your claim. In the unlikely event that an Israeli spokesman claims either a different figure or that the incident simply did not happen you may end your report with the following:

“An Israeli spokesman claimed, without evidence, that they ‘acted in self-defence’.

Note that there are certain circumstances where Arab deaths from violence should not be reported at all. This is when Arabs themselves openly claim to be the killers. This applies, for example, in the following cases:

* Mass slaughter in fighting between different rival groups (Hamas vs PA, Hamas vs Al Qaeda, PA vs Islamic Jihad etc)
* Where the victims are accused of being Israeli collaborators

If news of these killings does leak out into the Western media then simply write a brief statement including the words:

“The underlying cause of the violence was the oppressive Israeli occupation”

Any claims of deaths of Israelis during such incidents can be assumed to be false and hence ignored.

Rule 2: Incidents involving loss of Israeli lives

If Israelis are killed in a terrorist attack, then treat this as an opportunity to take a vacation from reporting.

However, you should immediately return from your vacation if it is discovered that an Israeli family in Jerusalem is planning to build an extra bedroom to accommodate their new baby. In that case you should write a story with the headline

Israelis destroy chance of peace by announcing new West Bank settlement plans.

At the end of the article you can use the following statement:

An Israeli government spokesman claimed that the settlement plans were in response to what they claimed was a ‘terrorist attack’.

The only exceptions to this rule are as follows:

* In the event of a suicide bombing you may interview the suicide bomber’s family and write a sympathetic piece stating how the bomber was a loving family person driven to his/her actions by the Israeli occupation. Be careful to refer to the actual suicide bombing only in vague abstract terms, never mentioning the victims or their families.
* In the event of a particularly brutal terrorist attack, such as the slaughter of an entire family in their home in which a baby is decapitated, you can, if news of the attack reaches outside Israel, write a brief report with the following words:

“Although the Israelis claim that a terrorist attack occurred at X, it is more likely to have been the result of a disgruntled Thai worker, Jewish militants intent on sparking anti-Arab violence, or simply a family dispute. ”

Make sure you never mention the widepsread celebrations that take place throughout the Palestinian territories. Instead you should quote a Palestinian Authority spokesman, who having just led the celebrations with proclamations such as "This will be the fate of all Jews" in Arabic tells you in English that the Palestinian Authority do not approve of the attack as it damages their cause, and that in any case such actions are the natural response to the Israeli occupation.

There are thirteen rules. Visit the blog. Check 'em out.

Arab Resource Organizing Center Organizes Picket of Frameline LGBT film festival

An intitiative organized by the Arab Resource Organizing Center (AROC), is using the cover of real and imagined LGBT groups to picket San Francisco's LGBT film festival for daring to show an Israel film, claiming "The Consulate and its supporters have threatened to brand the festival as "anti-Jewish" if they decline their money."

Where? When? If this were true, they'd be able to provide evidence, but no, this statement was completely fabricated.

The "Queen has no Crown" , a film by Tomer Heymann explores the life of a Jewish family in Israel, and their personal struggle with identity, and belonging. The family drama is framed within the larger focus of societal drama - the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, its secular and religious citizens, and the overall struggle for human rights. This acclaimed and sensitive film is only controversial because the Israeli consulate has given Frameline a grant to bring director Tomer Heymann to the Bay area to discuss his film.

AROC (Have they ever donated money to Frameline? Have they ever sponsored an Arab film maker to speak at the festival?) have sent out multiple announcements urging the community the pressure Frameline . Their latest announcement promotes a picket of opening night:

SF Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans Film Festival PINKWASHES War Crimes

Apartheid -- Occupation -- Invasion -- Murder -- Racism -- Ethnic Cleansing

The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival has accepted sponsorship and money from the Israeli consulate for the second year in a row. Every Palestinian queer organization in the world, along with a number of local and international queer groups, have demanded that the festival presenter, Frameline, stand up for human rights and international law by refusing to partner with the Israeli government. But by accepting it, and ignoring the voices and the lives of Palestinian queers, Frameline has shown itself to be anti-queer.

Join the Protest
Friday, June 17, 5:30-7:00 pm
Castro Theater, San Francisco

AROC's campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel considers any reference to Israel's excellent record in regard to gay and lesbian rights as 'pinkwashing'.

Please join StandWithUs/San Francisco Voice for Israel, GLAZE (Gays and Lesbians Advocating for the Zionist Entity) and other LGBT community organizations in countering the AROC protest at Frameline. If "all queers count", AROC- stop trying to silence OUR voices.


UPDATE
Photos from Frameline Protest, June 17. Thanks to R for sending them our way!

The Denial of History Continues

Over at Palestinian Media Watch, Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook have a page up about a recent claim on TV by a Palestinian 'researcher and specialist on Jerusalem', that the Crusaders wrote the Psalms. They write:

As part of the continuing Palestinian denial of Jewish history in Jerusalem, a Palestinian researcher and specialist on Jerusalem has claimed that the well-known verse of the Hebrew psalm, "If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill," is not a Jewish source at all. He said that the words were uttered by a Christian Crusader, and have only recently been "borrowed" by Jews and "falsified in the name of Zionism."

Israel in the Gardens 2011--Release Your Inner Camel

The inflatable camel was with Hillel, and I took a picture of it because it said 'Release your inner camel' on the side of it, and I had never considered having an 'inner camel' before. Also, the camel is a Bactrian. Middle Eastern camels are dromedaries. I discussed this with the Hillel guy, who explained that this was the only inflatable camel on the market. We agreed that it was a Bactrian that had made aliyah.

Welcome to Israel in the Gardens, 2011, a cultural fair featuring Israeli rock, face painting, kids making spice blends, folks selling earrings, and approximately a bazillion people in line for The Flying Felafel. Targeted for hate and protest by Bay Area Women In Black and their peace-loving friends. Let the good times roll!

We, the Mighty Morphin' Zionist Defenders were ready to go. We had t-shirts. We had flags. We had Caterpillar hats. We had khaffiyot yisraelit. We were ready to go. All we lacked was a dance partner.

Here is a lady being wanded, prior to entering the event. I've been to a lot of cultural fairs in my day. Let's just say that at the Scottish Games in Santa Rosa they don't wand you and search your bag when you come in. Same way they don't have security guards outside First Methodist on Christmas Day, but they do for Rosh Hashanah services. But I am grateful for our excellent security teams, because while needing them sucks, needing and not having would suck much more.

Anyway, our dance partners began to arrive...

 BAWIB is always punctual, dreary, and carrying signs that are correctly spelled, although not always fact-checked.

They had great shopping malls in the Warsaw Ghetto, I remember reading about that. Or perhaps what we have here is sheer denial of reality, combined with the pathetic belief that invoking the Holocaust will make the actual situation on the ground irrelevant.

Meanwhile, things were going nicely on the other side of the barricades:

Happy Zionists with a banner

 

Our waltz with BAWIB was coming to a close. As I've mentioned, BAWIB is quite punctual. If they say noon to one, they show up at noon and leave on the stroke of one. We were not going to be left without dance partners, however. The replacement shift was already getting ready across the plaza, and they were working on...something.

What it was wasn't entirely clear. At this stage it consisted mostly of red and black balloons. They began to add green ones, but were having trouble controlling them. An occasional balloon drifted up to the sky.

As BAWIB marched off into the distance, the first members of the replacement shift arrived. Younger. More excitable. Bearing flags and signs printed by International A.N.S.W.E.R.
Perhaps it's just as well they had the signs printed by A.N.S.W.E.R., since it turns out that they can't spell very well. One would almost think these people were members of the Tea Party.

 

I couldn't get a clear shot of this man's sign, but it reads "Israel: 63 Yrs. of Ethnic Cleansing & APATHEID". The all-caps was important, but apparently the evil West Bank settlers stole the R.

"Paletinian Ethnic Cleansing". What, is spellcheck a Zionist conspiracy? Don't they PROOFREAD these things? (BAWIB may be hateful, but their signs are always spelled correctly.)

Sadly, the third example of spelling issues that I wanted to post did not come out legibly in the photos. The young man below and one of his friends were both wearing jackets with photographs printed on the back, and a heading accusing "Isreal" of horrible crimes.

By this time there were quite a lot of people in their little area in the street, yelling and screaming. What were they yelling a screaming? I'm glad you asked. They were yelling and screaming "Intifada, intifada, we support the intifada." They were shouting "Falastin Arabiye!" (Palestine is Arab). They were shrieking "From the river to the sea! From the river to the sea!" And they were screeching "Ba ruh, ba dam, nafdeek ya Falastin." (With spirit and blood we will cleans you, Palestine.) And the old crowd favorite "Khaybar, khaybar ya yahud, jaysh Muhammad saya'ud." (Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews, the army of Mohammed will return.) You know. Peaceful slogans like that.

And then the piece de resistance showed up. You will recall the mysterious balloon item mentioned earlier? Well, this is what it looked like fully assembled.

In case you can't tell, I am pretty sure it was supposed to be a Palestinian flag. It didn't turn out perfectly, but heck, who am I to judge? My side didn't have any balloons at all. We were struck into silence by the sheer threatening force of all those balloons. For a couple of seconds. Then the Israeli guys behind me started screaming, "Balloons! Balloons! Ooooh, can I have a balloon? I want a balloon!"

More yelling. Several people gave us the finger. And then, as the SFPD became politely insistent, the group took their balloons and their signs and their whistle and bullhorns and moved across the street, ultimately leaving behind two young men who wanted to act out. They acted out. They chanted. One of them pulled up his sleeves to show us that he had the words "100% Palestinian" tattooed on his forearms.

It was as this point that the most wonderful thing I had seen all day, inflatable camels included, happened. A young woman detatched from the crew across the street, came back, and grabbed one of the young men (the one shown above), and pushed him in the right direction. The other guy wasn't moving, so she wrapped her ams under his, and hoisted him off his feet.

The cheering from our side (also the hooting) was deafening, and for a moment I thought the young woman was going to put him down and come back to the barricades to yell at us, but she gritted her teeth and carted him off, over the center divider, and across the street.

My inner camel felt good about the whole thing.

Nadia Izzat and the Dhimmitude of Jewish Voice for Peace

"Useful idiots" a phrase often attributed to Lenin "is a pejorative term for those who are seen to unwittingly support a malignant cause through their 'naive' attempts to be a force for good." We see this phenomenon quite often in the Red/Green Alliance, with people who call themselves "progressive" rountinely aligning themselves with some of the most homophobic, mysogynistic and repressive organizations on our planet.

This staggeringly brutal piece by Nahida Izzat, originally published at the Intifada website www.intifada-palestine.com/2011/06/jewish-voice-for-peace-really puts the useful idiots in their place. But there's a twist. Izzat want the leftists to get out of Palestinian movement- she resents their western values and refuses to allow the norms of, oh, lets say "Jewish Voice for Peace" or "Women in Black" to influence the Palestinians desire to liberate the land of Israel through the expulsion of the Jewish people. Instead she wants them to "infiltrate the nefarious Judeo-Zionist network in order to affect real change from within". Be our winged monkeys, our stooges, our tools or get out, she implies. Know your place, dhimmi.

She writes:
I would invite people to hear a Palestinian voice, here:
A strategy of liberation requires emancipation
* No decent human-being would demand to live on STOLEN land and still claims to have a fiber of morality.
* No decent human-being could claim that the perpetrator should have the same rights as the victim while claiming to be a humanist.
* Palestinians are under no obligation to hold back their march for freedom, to curtail their aims or to smother their rights for the sake of accommodating and not offending their Jewish supporters.
* Palestinians are always grateful and appreciative of the hard work and dedication of all their supporters whomever they are, however, Palestinians have NO obligation to adopt the aims and objectives of the anti-zionist Jewish supporters instead of their own.
* Dismissing the Palestinian voice as radical, reactionary, intolerant, or unreasonable, and requiring instead the Jewish-anti-zionist stamp of approval to have legitimacy to speak for Palestine, is preposterous and contradicts basic concepts of human rights and does not do justice to Palestinians.
* Palestinians have the ultimate right to choose their vision for their future, of a FREE and sovereign Palestine including the type of government, the writing of constitution, the construction and implementation of their legal and juristic system, which stems from and corresponds to their ethics and reflects and protects their culture.
* Palestinians have the ultimate right to make the final decision on who is allowed to stay in liberated Palestine and who is not, using the legal procedure of their own choice.
* The future of the Palestinian struggle and the aim of liberation of Palestine should not be designed to shield the occupier from paying the full price of his crimes; including the punishment of all those who participated in transgression, and the deportation of the illegitimate Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants who colonized Palestine forcefully and were engaged in acts of aggression against Palestinians including serving in the IOF.
* All refugee and their descendents have the unconditional right to come back home, they as the rightful indigenous owners are also entitled to the reinstatement of ALL confiscated (stolen) land and property, compensation for all their losses over the many years of exile and they are also entitled to Palestinian citizenship wherever they are.
* The aims and aspirations of most Palestinians are not confined to the change of zionist regime or the vacuous declaration of abandonment of zionism by the Jewish-zionist occupiers, but rather to the FULL Liberation of Palestine and the restoration of all their rights.
* It is the privilege of Palestinians to decide who should stay in their homeland and who not.
* After a century of terror, theft and crimes; had the Zionist shown any signs of remorse, respect or willingness to be decent guests, had they embraced with open arms the hospitable people of Palestine rather than destroying them with fire-arms; they might have had a chance to be accepted and forgiven. Not any more, as far as I am concerned. They have lost that opportunity…..
As a Palestinian, I see the role of any “Jewish voice for peace” who sincerely desire to contribute to the Liberation of Palestine and justice for Palestinians, and who desire to be identified through their contributions “as Jews”, then their role ought to be focused on cleaning their own house before sorting other people’s houses; i.e. that is to exclude any major role in influencing, leading or directing the Solidarity and/or Liberation Movement of Palestine.

**********
To all our "friends" at Jewish Voice for Peace or Women in Black. Ask yourselves: Is this an agenda you can stand behind? How can you continue to stand with those calling for "Intifada"? How can you continue to stand with those espousing terror? How long can you continue to remain "useful idiots"?

UC Irvine Chabad Rabbi's home vandalized

UC Irvine has long been identified as a hub of anti-Semitism. Todays despicable incident- an attack on the home of a beloved Chabad Rabbi- is just one incident in a pattern of attacks on Jewish students and Jewish interests regionally.


Official Statement from Chabad at UCI:

On Tuesday, May 31st at around 1:30pm a potted plant was thrown at the front window of the Chabad House at UCI. The home also serves as the residence of Rabbi and Mrs. Zevi Tenenbaum.

The object broke a glass panel of the front window. Thank G-d no one was hurt. The housekeeper was the only one home at the time. A police report was filed with the Irvine Police Department.

Rabbi Zevi and Miriam Tenenbaum regularly host UCI Students for Shabbat and Holiday Dinners at this location. There is a Menorah on display in the front patio.

At this point in time there are no leads as to who may have been the perpetrator.

--
Rabbi Zevi Tenenbaum
Chabad at UC Irvine