Palestinian baby given bone marrow transplant in Israeli hospital

This is Zionism

After  the Palestinian Authority refused to pay for a  two-year-old Palestinian boy's bone marrow transplant , Israel's Civil Administration picked up the tab and the procedure was performed at Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer

“This procedure will save the child's life,” explained Dalia Bessa, the Health Coordinator for the Civil Administration. “When this sort of procedure is needed and the Palestinian Authority refuses to fund it, the Civil Administration steps in, in order to save lives.”

The child is under the care of a social worker who has been attending to his and his family's needs throughout the duration of the hospital stay. “My position entails taking responsibility for Palestinian patients from the minute they are admitted until they are released from the hospital, while coordinating with the Civil Administration and Dalia Bessa,” said Baloum Raid, a social worker who coordinates the hospitalization of all Palestinian patients at the Sheba Medical Center.

The patient's father expressed satisfaction with the treatment at the hospital, saying, “I am very happy with the dedicated care my son has received. The doctors, staff, and Civil Administration have not spared any effort. Thank you.”

The Civil Administration funds hundreds of operations and medical treatments each year, in addition to its support for the Palestinian health care system. “The level of care in the Palestinian Authority is different from the level of care in Israel,” Bessa said. “We try to provide them with the knowledge and experience through courses and training seminars that take place throughout the year.”

Read the full  story here.

Sabra Hummus: An Epic BDS Fail

Our friend Jon at Divest this always helps us keep things in perspective. That's why we like him. Remember a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away?  Sabra hummus- a made in New York chick pea spread  was the main focus of the BDS'ers ire.   Using the entire carpetbag of BDS tactics- threats,  intimidation, and  meaningless referendums, along with the cowards way out- destruction of private property - what have they accomplished? In over 4 years of hating on hummus, where has it gotten them?

Sabra Hummus vandalized by BDS holes in Berkeley (2008)

Vandalized display in school cafeteria

Jon points out exactly what impact the BDS'ers have made on the bottom line of Sabra hummus.  

From Fast Company:

... if Ronen Zohar has his way, hummus will become a staple snack next to the peanut butter and jelly in your fridge. As CEO of Sabra Dipping Company, Zohar’s presided over sales of hummus that bounced from $16 million to $800 million in just six years. Founded in 1986 to serve a local community of predominately Jewish customers in Queens, New York, Sabra eventually grew and became a joint venture of PepsiCo and the Strauss Group in 2007. The company now boasts more than half of the hummus marketshare and about 25% of the fresh dip category that includes salsa and guacamole, ahead of competitors Tribe and Athenos (owned by Kraft). Zohar believes hummus will bring Sabra a billion dollars in annual revenue in the next five years.

One more time- just so you realize how irrelevant the BDS'ers have been to the Sabra brand:
Sales of Sabra  hummus increased from $16 million to $800 million in just six years. 

Its yet another massive, epic BDS fail.

Obama Strikes Against Israel

Mike L.

{Cross-posted at Israel Thrives and Geoffff's Joint, Bar and Grill.}

Two different stories, one in the Times of Israel and one in Y-Net, infer that the Obama administration is now taking a measure of revenge on the Jewish State of Israel for daring to build housing for its citizenry in eastern Jerusalem.  Given Obama's objection to Israel fighting back against Hamas, it may also be the case that Obama is punishing Israel for daring to defend itself from the Hamas rocketeers.

According to the Times of Israel:

NEW YORK — A series of hard-hitting amendments that would have severely penalized the Palestinian Authority, along with several states and international bodies, for the successful bid last week to upgrade the PA’s status to a “nonmember observer state” at the UN failed to pass in the Senate Tuesday. One of the defeated amendments would have closed down the PLO’s office in Washington...

According to Capitol Hill observers familiar with the amendments, they were removed due to pressure from the White House. While the Obama administration actively opposed PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s UN General Assembly move — which saw a vote of 138-9 last Thursday in favor of upgrading “Palestine” to a nonmember observer state — it was concerned that the proposed amendments would limit its options when dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian issue going forward.

While it's unclear just how "actively" the White House actually opposed dictator Abbas's successful UNGA bid to see "Palestine" recognized as a non-member state, it does seem clear that Obama has, in fact, actively prevented the the US Senate from taking action in support of Israel.  This is fully consistent with Barack Obama's ongoing hostility toward that country.  Obama wrecked whatever potential that there may have been in a negotiated conclusion of hostilities through his demand for total settlement freeze.  He blamed Israel for his own miscalculations.  And he then went forward to help usher the Muslim Brotherhood into power in Egypt and, thereby, assisted the rise of political Islam throughout the Middle East.

According to Y-Net:

The European countries plan to impose sanctions on the Israeli government: Freezing agreements, labeling items that are manufactured in the settlements and lowering the level of diplomatic relations.

"In the aftermath of the decision to upgrade the Palestinians' status in the UN to that of a non-member observer state, Netanyahu acted like the leader of a criminal gang, not like the prime minister of a country that is a member of the world body," the European official said. "We were shocked by the decision to build (more housing units beyond the Green Line). It shows that all of Netanyahu's statements regarding the two-state solution idea are meaningless."

It is safe to say that the Washington is encouraging Europe's conduct. The White House authorized Europe to punish Netanyahu's government. This has nothing to do with Netanyahu's behavior during the US elections. The Obama administration realizes that a way must be found to jumpstart the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and reach an agreement.

It's difficult to draw hard and fast conclusions on stories such as the above.  Nonetheless, it is not unlikely that the Obama administration is taking behind the scenes actions against Israel as a punitive measure for green-lighting future homes in the eastern section of Jerusalem and for daring to defend itself during the recent conflict with Hamas.

Some will say, strangely enough, that smacking around Israel is good for the Jewish State.

There are any number of "progressives," including "progressive Zionists," who think that punishing Israel is the true yardstick of friendship and alliance with that country.  The more one smacks around Israel... for its own good, of course... the greater a friend one is.

I hope that I can perhaps be forgiven for doubting that a kick in the teeth is the behavior of a friend.

Barack Obama is no friend to the Jewish State of Israel, nor therefore a friend to the Jewish people, in general.

The evidence for this conclusion continues to mount, yet I am certain that it will continue to be ignored by Obama's "progressive Zionist" supporters.  Jeremy Ben-Ami and Peter Beinart must be very pleased.

Nine months pregnant and protecting Tel Aviv

In every conflict, stories emerge of acts of heroism beyond the call of duty- of individuals whose personal commitment and dedication to their people stand out and inspire others.

Here's one of my newest personal heros.
Courtesy of IMRA via Maariv

The Nov 30, 2012 Maariv  features a photo of Hila, the 28 year old head of the testing division responsible for the testing and transfer of Iron Dome batteries  She is in her 9th month of pregnancy and is  due next week.

'The battery was completing a series of testing at the testing field when Israel assassinated Ahmed Jabri. The team realized that they could close the gap between testing and deployment and in the course of 60 hours were able to deploy the Iron Dome battery to defend Tel Aviv. Hila is an aeronautical engineer married to an Air Force officer. When her husband’s commander told him he was sending him home to be with his wife as she was about to give birth, he replied that his wife wasn’t home."

Stand With Israel Berkeley AIPAC membership Dinner

What has Hamas done to Minimize Civilian Casualties?

What has Hamas done to minimize civilian casualties? Absolutely nothing.

What has Israel done to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza?  Its gone to extraordinary lengths.

During Israel's  Pillar of Defense operation  there were over 1500 Israeli military strikes on terror targets in Gaza.  An additional one third  were cancelled when it was felt they could not be executed  safety without  causing  civilian deaths. While all deaths are tragic,  less were killed in a week of hostilities in Gaza than were killed in a day in Syria.  In fact, since 1948, less Arabs have been killed by Israel than were killed by Syria, in one year.  

The IDF did everything it could to minimize civilian deaths , concentrating their activities on  weapons manufacturing and storage facilities, underground rocket launchers,  weapons smuggling tunnels and top-ranking Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists including

• Ahmed Jabari, head of Hamas’ military wing 
• Hab’s Hassan Us Msamch, senior operative in Hamas’ police 
• Ahmed Abu Jalal, Commander of the military wing in Al-Muazi 
• Khaled Shaer, senior operative in the anti-tank operations 
• Osama Kadi, senior operative in the smuggling operations in the southern Gaza Strip 
• Muhammad Kalb, senior operative in the aerial defense operations
• Ramz Harb, Islamic Jihad senior operative in propaganda in Gaza City 

                 

A petition, from our friends at Standwithus

Dear Friends of Israel,
Please sign the petition and share with your lists, post on your blogs,  and send to your friends

Join StandWithUs, ILC and ActforIsrael
and numerous other organizations

and stand up for Israel.

Please sign the petition against the
anti-Israel Boycott Movement!  

  
Recently hundreds of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel organizations have joined forces and applied immense pressure on singer Stevie Wonder to cancel his scheduled performance at the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) Gala on Thursday, December 6.

These organizations distributed a petition with anti-Israel propaganda and demanded that Stevie Wonder cancel the show. Thousands signed the boycott petition which is full of misinformation and hatred towards Israel, and as a result Stevie Wonder was coerced into canceling the performance. 

Join us as we unite to stand up for the State of Israel, the Jewish people and the free world.  Join us as we will no longer sit idly by as anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activists attempt to bully others into boycotting Israel.

Please sign this petition to stand against the anti-Israel boycott movement by clicking here
Thank you in advance for standing with Israel,

StandWithUs

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor's full address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, November 29, 2012.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosors'  full address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, November 29, 2012

Mr. President,


Today I stand before you tall and proud because I represent the world's one and only Jewish state. A state built in the Jewish people's ancient homeland, with its eternal capital Jerusalem as its beating heart.

We are a nation with deep roots in the past and bright hopes for the future. We are a nation that values idealism, but acts with pragmatism. Israel is a nation that never hesitates to defend itself, but will always extend its hand for peace.

Peace is a central value of Israeli society. The bible calls on us:

בקש שלום ורדפהו

“seek peace and pursue it.”

Peace fills our art and poetry. It is taught in our schools. It has been the goal of the Israeli people and every Israeli leader since Israel was re-established 64 years ago.

Israel’s Declaration of Independence states, “We extend our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help...”

This week was the 35th anniversary of President Anwar Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem. In a speech just before that visit, President Sadat famously stood in the Egyptian parliament in Cairo and stated that he would go "to the ends of the earth" to make peace with Israel.

Israel’s prime minister at the time, Menachem Begin, welcomed President Sadat to Israel, and paved the way for peace. This morning Prime Minister Netanyahu stood at the Menachem Begin Center and said this about the resolution that you are about to vote on:

"Israel is prepared to live in peace with a Palestinian state, but for peace to endure, Israel’s security must be protected. The Palestinians must recognize the Jewish State and they must be prepared to end the conflict with Israel once and for all.

None of these vital interests, these vital interests of peace, none of them appear in the resolution that will be put forward before the General Assembly today and that is why Israel cannot accept it. The only way to achieve peace is through agreements that are reached by the parties and not through U.N. resolutions that completely ignore Israel’s vital security and national interests. And because this resolution is so one-sided, it doesn’t advance peace, it pushes it backwards.

As for the rights of Jewish people in this land, I have a simple message for those people gathered in the General Assembly today, no decision by the U.N. can break the 4,000-year-old bond between the people of Israel and the land of Israel."

Mr. President,

The People of Israel wait for a Palestinian leader that is willing to follow in the path of President Sadat. The world waits for President Abbas to speak the truth that peace can only be achieved through negotiations by recognizing Israel as a Jewish State. It waits for him to tell them that peace must also address Israel's security needs and end the conflict once and for all.

For as long as President Abbas prefers symbolism over reality, as long as he prefers to travel to New York for U.N. resolutions, rather than travel to Jerusalem for genuine dialogue, any hope of peace will be out of reach.

Mr. President,

Israel has always extended its hand for peace and will always extend its hand for peace. When we faced an Arab leader who wanted peace, we made peace. That was the case with Egypt. That was the case with Jordan.

Time and again, we have sought peace with the Palestinians. Time and again, we have been met by rejection of our offers, denial of our rights, and terrorism targeting our citizens.

President Abbas described today’s proceedings as “historic”. But the only thing historic about his speech is how much it ignored history.

The truth is that 65 years ago today, the United Nations voted to partition the British Mandate into two states: a Jewish state, and an Arab state. Two states for two peoples.

Israel accepted this plan. The Palestinians and Arab nations around us rejected it and launched a war of annihilation to throw the "Jews into the sea".

The truth is that from 1948 until 1967, the West Bank was ruled by Jordan, and Gaza was ruled by Egypt. The Arab states did not lift a finger to create a Palestinian state. Instead they sought Israel’s destruction, and were joined by newly formed Palestinian terrorist organizations.

The truth is that at Camp David in 2000, and again at Annapolis in 2008, Israeli leaders made far-reaching offers for peace. Those offers were met by rejection, evasion, and even terrorism.

The truth is that to advance peace, in 2005 Israel dismantled entire communities and uprooted thousands of people from their homes in the Gaza Strip. And rather than use this opportunity to build a peaceful future, the Palestinians turned Gaza into an Iranian terror base, from which thousands of rockets were fired into Israeli cities. As we were reminded just last week, the area has been turned into a launching pad for rockets into Israeli cities, a haven for global terrorists, and an ammunition dump for Iranian weapons.

Time after time, the Palestinian leadership refused to accept responsibility. They refused to make the tough decisions for peace.

Israel remains committed to peace, but we will not establish another Iranian terror base in the heart of our country.

We need a peace that will ensure a secure future for Israel.

Three months ago, Israel's Prime Minister stood in this very hall and extended his hand in peace to President Abbas. He reiterated that his goal was to create a solution of two-states for two-peoples — where a demiliteralized Palestinian state will recognize Israel as a Jewish State.

That's right. Two states for two peoples.

In fact, President Abbas, I did not hear you use the phrase "two states for two peoples" this afternoon. In fact, I have never heard you say the phrase "two states for two peoples". Because the Palestinian leadership has never recognized that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people.

They have never been willing to accept what this very body recognized 65 years ago. Israel is the Jewish state.

In fact, today you asked the world to recognize a Palestinian state, but you still refuse to recognize the Jewish state.

Not only do you not recognize the Jewish state, you are also trying to erase Jewish history. This year, you even tried to erase the connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem. You said that Jews were trying to alter the historic character of Jerusalem. You said that we are trying to "Judaize Jerusalem".

President Abbas, the truth is that Jerusalem had a Jewish character long before most cities in the world had any character! Three thousand years ago King David ruled from Jerusalem and Jews have lived in Jerusalem ever since.

President Abbas, instead of revising history, it is time that you started making history by making peace with Israel.

Mr. President,

This resolution will not advance peace.

This resolution will not change the situation on the ground. It will not change the fact that the Palestinian Authority has no control over Gaza. That is 40 percent of the territory he claims to represent!

President Abbas, you can't even visit nearly half the territory of the state you claim to represent.

That territory is controlled by Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization that rains missiles on Israel’s civilians. This is the same Hamas that fired more than 1,300 rockets into the heart of Israel’s major cities this month.

This resolution will not confer statehood on the Palestinian Authority, which clearly fails to meet the criteria for statehood.

This resolution will not enable the Palestinians Authority to join international treaties, organizations, or conferences as a state.

This resolution cannot serve as an acceptable terms of reference for peace negotiations with Israel. Because this resolution says nothing about Israel's security needs. It does not call on the Palestinians to recognize Israel as the Jewish State. It does not demand an end of conflict and a termination of all claims.

Let me tell you what this resolution does do.

This resolution violates a fundamental binding commitment. This is a commitment that many of the states here today were themselves witness to. It was a commitment that all outstanding issues in the peace process would only be resolved in direct negotiations.

This resolution sends a message that the international community is willing to turn a blind eye to peace agreements. For the people of Israel, it raises a simple question: why continue to make painful sacrifices for peace, in exchange for pieces of paper that the other side will not honor?

It will make a negotiated peace settlement less likely, as Palestinians continue to harden their positions and place further obstacles and preconditions to negotiations and peace.

And unfortunately, it will raise expectations that cannot be met, which has always proven to be a recipe for conflict and instability.

There is only one route to Palestinian statehood. And that route does not run through this chamber in New York. That route runs through direct negotiations between Jerusalem and Ramallah that will lead to a secure and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

There are no shortcuts. No quick fixes. No instant solutions. As President Obama, said in 2010, "Peace cannot be imposed from the outside."

The real message of this resolution for the people of Israel is that the international community will turn a blind eye to violations of these agreements by the Palestinians.

Mr. President,

In submitting this resolution, the Palestinian leadership is once again making the wrong choice.

65 years ago the Palestinians could have chosen to live side-by-side with the Jewish State of Israel. 65 years ago they could have chosen to accept the solution of two states for two peoples. They rejected it then, and they are rejecting it again today.

The international community should not encourage this rejection. It should not encourage the Palestinian leadership to drive forward recklessly with both feet pressing down on the gas, no hands on the wheel, and no eyes on the road.

Instead it should encourage the Palestinians to enter into direct negotiations without preconditions in order to achieve an historic peace in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state.

Mr. President,

Winston Churchill said, “The truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it … ignorance may deride it … malice may distort it … but there it is.”

The truth is that Israel wants peace, and the Palestinians are avoiding peace.

Those who are supporting the resolution today are not advancing peace. They are undermining peace.

The U.N. was founded to advance the cause of peace. Today the Palestinians are turning their back on peace. Don't let history record that today the U.N. helped them along on their march of folly.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Guerrilla Ad Campaigns. Fail.

The BDS  holes have occasionally used "plop art" to illegally spread their propaganda.  The life expectancy of these productions is minimal- most are removed immediately,  but, yeah, the photos live on forever, and its all about making a splash on the web anyway. Its all about the illusion, not the reality of doing something productive. 

Anarchist Kate Raphael gazes upon her work.  I know exactly what she's thinking.  

"Dammit!!!! Why didn't I proofread these before I printed them"

BDS fail, no, just  fail,  in so many many ways.

Obama's Silence

Mike L.

{Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives and Geoffff's Joint, Bar and Grill.}

 Thousands of Egyptians gather at Cairo’s Tahrir square for anti-Morsi rally

CAIRO — Thousands flocked to Cairo’s central Tahrir square on Tuesday for a protest against Egypt’s president in a significant test of whether the opposition can rally the street behind it in a confrontation aimed at forcing the Islamist leader to rescind decrees that granted him near absolute powers. 

Waving Egypt’s red, white and black flags and chanting slogans against President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood, the protesters joined several hundreds who have been camping out at the square since Friday demanding the decrees be revoked...

The president’s declaration last week of new powers for himself has energized and — to a degree unified — the mostly liberal and secular opposition after months of divisions and uncertainty while Islamists from the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups rose to dominate the political landscape.

When Barack Obama made the foolish decision to support the "Arab Spring" he claimed to do so out of support for democracy and support for the people's wishes throughout the Middle East.  I have never understood how supporting theocratic dictatorships in the movement for political Islam could possibly be considered support for democracy when those dictatorships are anything but democratic.  Yet this is what we were told and Obama supporters lapped it up like cream.

And now that the Obama administration has helped install the Muslim Brotherhood into power in Egypt, and now that Morsi and the Brotherhood are beginning the process of stripping the Egyptian government of its democratic institutions, will Obama speak up?

So far nothing.  Silence.

Just as Obama was silent when the Iranian people took to the streets in opposition to their theocratic regime, so Obama is silent now as the Egyptian people take to the streets in opposition to their theocratic regime.

I do not know why Obama does what he does.  Some claim that he's a Jihadi, which is to say, some think that he wants to see the spread of political Islam throughout the Middle East and, although that is not my interpretation, it is not particularly difficult to see why many people would draw such a conclusion.  The so-called "Arab Spring" was / is the rise of political Islam and if you support the "Arab Spring," whatever your best intentions... however naive they may be... then you are supporting political Islam, which is the most viciously reactionary conservative political movement in the world today.

My own sense is that Obama supported the "Arab Spring" for the same reason that so many well-meaning progressives did so, because he honestly thought that it was the great up-welling of Arab democracy.  Those of us with a little more basic common sense were willing to wait and see before jumping to any such conclusions, which is why I have concluded that Obama is not particularly bright.  He has intelligence in the way that George W. Bush had intelligence, which is the intelligence of the crafty politician, but he didn't have enough intelligence to see either the Muslim Brotherhood or the "Arab Spring" for what they are.

He can have no such delusions now, however, because Muhammed Morsi just did what people like Barry Rubin told us he was going to do all along.  He is stripping back the thin veneer of Egyptian democracy because the goal of the movement was never democratic to begin with.  Dictators may very well use the ballot to come to power, but just as Hamas has not had an election since coming to office, do not expect to see another national Egyptian election in 4 years or 6 years or 8.

If I were a betting man, which I am, I would put down good money on the bet that there is no way that the Muslim Brotherhood is going to risk losing power through the ballot box now that it has finally, after almost 90 years struggling in the opposition, come into its own.

And for that we can, at least in part, thank Barack Obama.

Perhaps now we can finally put away the silly notion that Obama is playing three dimensional chess in an effort to outfox political Islam.  That was never the case.  Obama is not some sort of grand thinker, above the scene, moving the pieces of a vast and complex geopolitical chess board.  He is rather, like most presidents, I suppose, a guy of average intelligence in a job that is way over his head.  I am certain that he means well, but I also do not care what his intentions are as I look out at the results.

So many of us were so hopeful for this presidency, and remember that I voted for him as well the first time around, that we were (and are) willing to overlook almost anything that he does in order to maintain the delusion that Barack Obama represents the greatness of progressive political craftsmanship.  The truth of the matter is that he represents nothing so much as the failed aspirations of one struggling to maintain some measure of control in world that is significantly different from what Rashid Khalidi and Edward Said said it was.

His supporters will never admit this to themselves, however, because that would require looking at the last four years with fresh eyes and open minds.

I wouldn't gamble on it.

Beware the Zio-Bunnies

The menagerie of animals under Zionist control continues to grow  Our friend at Elder of Ziyon has been diligently keeping score.

First, there were the Evil Zionist  Super-Rats   Then there were the dreaded  Zio-Boars.   Do your children still have nightmares regarding  the Zionist Sheep of Terror  and the  Zio-cows of destruction ?  Of course, our souls cry in anguish at the exploits of the Spy Vultures of Doom.

But nothing, nothing in our wildest imagination could ever have prepared us for the fiendish Zio-bunnies.

Its clear that the local sleeper cell of Zio-bunnies has been activated.  No more sleeping in sunbeams for this squad.

Smuggled out at  tremendous personal risk, we bring you this photo of the nefarious lagomorphic terror squad.   Having  removed Anti-Israel removed plop art from MacArthur BART, the devilish bunnies are busy destroying the evidence.

This newly activated cell of Mossad  trained of zio-bunnies is becoming increasingly active in the San Francisco Bay area, and has been implicated in countless other shameless acts of vandalism 

When will PETA and other animal rights groups take a stand and condemn this cynical Zionist exploitation of  rabbits for political gain?   When will the world wake up?  

Thank you, Eric Lee: Why Socialists Need to Reject Extremism

Many of us in the Bay Area first realized the  truth about the Palestinian "solidarity" movement during the early ANSWER rallies.  It was clear from the chants,  the signage and the overt antisemitism that this wasn't a peace movement, supporting the right of the Palestinian people to self determination along side of Israel. It wasn't about peace with Israel- it was about the elimination of Israel.  Richard Becker himself publicly called, not for peace, but for the "victory of the resistance".  For some, however, the truth took longer to manifest itself.


Eric Lee describes his "eureka moment" at the  labor solidarity website "Workers Liberty" , a socialist  working class labor solidarity organization out of England:  He writes:

At first glance, who could oppose the Palestine Solidarity Campaign? The very name implies one of the most noble human aspirations — solidarity with a people. And in particular a people like the Palestinians, whose suffering is genuine.
No doubt many people who join the PSC, attend its demonstrations, donate money to it or encourage their unions to back it are expressing their support for the idea of solidarity with the Palestinians.
But there’s a difference — a huge one — between showing solidarity with the Palestinians and supporting the PSC.
Despite the PSC’s best efforts to convince everyone that these are one and the same thing, they aren’t.
And this becomes obvious whenever things heat up in Israel and Palestine, and when war is in the air.
Recently, I found myself at the demonstration of the PSC opposite the Israeli embassy in Kensington.
The call for the demonstration focussed on the Israeli air offensive against Gaza and was issued at a time when the only casualties seemed to be Hamas fighters, in particular Ahmed al-Jabari, the leader of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Still, by the time demonstrators began to arrive at the embassy, things had gotten worse and a number of civilians — on both sides — had been killed.
The demonstration would have focussed on those killings, right?
It would have called for a cease-fire or something like that, wouldn’t it?
But the very first thing I heard was not a call for an end to the violence — which would have been understandable and would have gotten sympathy from anyone — but instead was the chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
From the river to the sea?
Sorry, but there’s no way to be polite about this. That chant, and the PSC’s own logo of a map of Palestine from the river to the sea, and the subsequent chanting of “Israel out of Palestine” really could mean only one thing.
The demonstrators, or at least the people leading the chanting and making up the slogans, were supporting a one-state agenda, a solution to the century-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians by demanding that one side pack up and leave.
As it’s unlikely the Israelis are going to do this voluntarily, realistically what the demonstrators were calling for was the expulsion of the Jews from Palestine.
Not from the illegal settlements in the West Bank — no one mentioned those.
The Jews are to leave “Palestine” — from the river to the sea. This is an exterminationist agenda. I don’t think that’s too strong a term.
These are not people who dislike Israelis or Jews, or who want to discriminate against them, or put them in their place, or treat them as second class citizens. That would be ordinary anti-Semitism.
This is a different kind of anti-Semitism, the kind that imagines a Palestine without its six million Jews, from the river to the sea.
An exterminationist anti-Semitism whose solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be another Holocaust.
Of course one expects to see radical Islamists at a demonstration like this — after all, that’s been their agenda for decades.
But it’s not the agenda of the mainstream Palestinian national movement, not anymore.
It’s been nearly a quarter of century now since Arafat and the leadership of the PLO embraced the two-state solution, which paved the way to the Oslo accords.
Palestinian President Abbas isn’t calling for driving the Jews into the sea. The Palestinian trade unions aren’t calling for that. But that’s what the Palestine Solidarity Campaign was doing in Kensington — that’s their agenda.
So what was the Socialist Party doing there — a party which historically opposes the boycott of Israel and which supports a two-state solution?
On their website, they write that “The Palestinians and the Israeli Jews have a right to their own separate states.” They don’t say that one of those states will be in Palestine, and the other — in the sea?
And what was the SWP doing there, for that matter? Do they too support the expulsion of the Jews from Palestine?
It is fitting and proper for people who are shocked by the violence, and angry at the decision of the Israeli government, to protest and to show their solidarity with Palestine.
But to do so by chanting for the destruction of the Jewish state is to do the Palestinians no service.
For socialists to participate in such a demonstration is a disgrace.

Thank you, Eric Lee.  For anyone who supports a vision of a truly just world  to stand with those chanting "From the River to the Sea" or "We support the Intifada " is a disgrace.

When Black Friday Comes: Ignoring the Hate

Black Friday is the next day o'rage for the Bay Area Israel haters, and Soda Stream is the main object of their wrath. Ignoring the chance to be with family and friends, the haters chose to spend their time venting their anger against the only democracy in the Middle East, and specifically against a carbonated beverage maker headquartered  there.

Their schedule follows:

San Francisco  Boycott Soda Stream, Bed Bath & Beyond, Larkspur Landing, 10:00 a.m.
San Francisco  Women in black vigil, Union Square, 12:00 p.m.
San Francisco  Boycott Soda Stream, Macy’s, Union Sq, 1:00 p.m.

San Francisco  Civic Centre (meet at City Hall steps), 2:00 p.m.
San Francisco  Israeli Consulate, 4:00 p.m.

What do you need to know about Sodastream?

 SodaStream has a production facility in "Area C" in the disputed territories, which according to the
Oslo agreements signed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority remains under Israeli authority until a
final agreement is signed by both parties.

SodaStream is one of the largest employers of Palestinians in a region with a 20% unemployment rate. (Notice how the Palestinians are not boycotting Sodastream ) SodaStream pays its Palestinian employees wages that are on a par with Israeli ones and are 4-6 times the local wages. SodaStream also provides all their employees with full benefits .. Palestinians and Israelis work for SodaStream side by side.

Sodastream has been hugely successful, despite the deliberate campaign of misinformation surrounding it.

From Bloomberg Reports: June 2011

SodaStream, based in Airport City, Israel surged 6.1 percent to $37.60 by the close in New York, the highest since March 12. The shares have advanced 15 percent in 2012 and trade at 17.9 times estimated earnings.   

The stores can't keep the products in stock.

The number of Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. that are out of stock or have a limited number of the company’s soda makers has grown every week since June 4, according to the e-mailed Moness Crespi report dated today. Inventory of SodaStream products also decreased at Target Corp. and Macy’s Inc. following Father’s Day, the report showed. 

Sodastream is doing well financially,. More and more stores are carrying it- from major retail outlets to boutique gourmet stores. Its' featured predominately in many Christmas catalogs. Its a product that's fun, economical and ecologically sound.   Whats not to love?

The concentrated BDS campaign against Sodastream has accomplished nothing, affecting neither consumer sales nor retail confidence in the product. Nothing. Nada.  Zero. Zilch.  A tactic which has produced nothing in years  but a scattering of youtube moments  is irrelevant  For this reason,   local pro-Israel activists have chosen to ignore the cheap theatrics directed against Sodastream,  We're going to stay home instead, eat leftovers, and enjoy the ones we love. 

For this, we're all thankful.

Violence and antisemitism at San Francisco anti-Israel rally

Sorry for the clip show.

One of our friends made this "worst of San Francisco" clip to document the vicious antisemitism and  violence from this weeks anti-Israel protests at the local Israel Consulate.  Footage came from a variety of local sources.



Its got it all.  From a  feeding frenzy of young jihadis screaming "Allah Akbar" while they tear apart a stolen Israeli flag  to gratuitous antisemitism and mayhem.  This  wasn't filmed in Pakistan, or in Somalia. This was filmed in San Francisco.

These rallies show,  if  case you had any doubt left, that these are not peace activists. Real peace activists  would not have been silent while rockets rained down on Israeli civilians. Real peace activists wouldn't steal flags from the hands of elderly people.   Real peace activists wouldn't  kick a 63 year old man in the groin.

Yitzhak Santis discusses the silence of the NGO's- non governmental organizations- in a new article in the J weekly today.  He writes:

"Silence is golden. So goes the proverb. But silence can be deadly when nongovernmental organizations claiming the mantles of human rights and peace fail to speak out when the lives of millions of Israelis are threatened by indiscriminate rocket fire. Each rocket from Gaza is a war crime, but only after Israel responded forcefully on Nov. 14 did these NGOs suddenly speak.
 
In the weeks prior to Operation Pillar of Defense, one such group, the Oakland-based Jewish Voice for Peace, lost its voice when Hamas and other terror groups were bombarding southern Israel. JVP was silent as 1 million Israelis were forced into shelters, as dozens were wounded, and children were traumatized.
Only after the Israel Defense Forces responded was JVP’s laryngitis cured. In record time, they created a section on their website called “Take Action for Gaza” complete with links to anti-Israel protests around the world (at the Nov. 16 San Francisco protest promoted on this list, “peace activists” chanted “Zionist scum, your time has come”) and a “Gaza protest toolkit.” The “toolkit” offers downloadable graphics with slogans like “Another Jew Against Attacks on Civilians. Stop the Bombs. Stop the Siege. Stop the Blank Check to the Israeli Military with U.S. Tax Dollars.”

But JVP offers no slogans protesting Hamas war crimes against Israeli civilians.
In a further display of cynically exploiting moral values, JVP’s official press release explicitly blames the Gaza crisis on Israel. Not until the statement’s fourth sentence, without naming Hamas or any other terror group, does JVP “also urge the end of rocket attacks from Gaza into civilian communities in Israel.” Their statement also holds Israel responsible “for the well-being and safety of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.” But JVP fails to hold Hamas responsible for the safety of Israeli civilians. Nor does JVP’s statement demand that Hamas protect Gazans situated near weapons depots and launch sites deliberately placed by Hamas in populated areas."

He highlights the hypocrisy of groups like Jewish voice for Peace which continues to provide cover to anti-Semites and to aid and abet those that would have Israel destroyed.  Read the whole article here.

We're in the first few hours of a cease-fire now.  Lets pray that it holds, and that  there is no more loss of life on either side of the border

Obama Has Hamas's Back

{Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives and Geoffff's Joint, Bar and Grill.}

Mike L.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew into Jerusalem yesterday in order to prevent Israel from performing a ground invasion into Gaza and thereby potentially taking out the radical Jihadi Hamas regime.

Barack Obama, who has significantly undermined Jewish well-being through promoting Islamist organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood, has claimed that he supports Israel's right to self-defense even as he undermines and dilutes that self-defense through an inconsistent foreign policy.  Whether it means taking out Hamas or taking out Iranian nukes, the Obama administration can be counted on to protect radical Islamic interests at the expense of the Jewish state of Israel.

The progressive-left, including the Obama administration, has shown that they consider Jewish life to be rather cheap and will do whatever they can to make sure that Jewish people remain sitting ducks in that part of the world.  While Israel is increasingly surrounded by radical Islamist regimes that hold genocidal intentions toward Jews, the Obama administration has done what it could to make certain these misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Semitic, and non-democratic regimes come into power allegedly in the name of "democracy."

Meanwhile Hamas is now sending suicide bombers back into Israel, blowing up a Tel Aviv bus today injuring twenty-eight people and signaling what may be the start of the Third Terror War (intifada).  While Hamas was sending hundred of rockets into Israel, making life unlivable for a million Israelis in the southern part of that country, the Obama administration was silent.  Now that Israel has begun to fight back the administration is pressuring it to stand down and take its punishment.

As "Pnina," an Israeli commenter put it:

Any effective self defense will cause many civilian casualties in Gaza because Hamas uses civilians as human sheilds, so we’re not allowed effective self defense at pains of isolation, which means starving our economy and denying us military equipment – either die slowly or die quickly, our “allies” tell us.

I don't know exactly what Israel should do, but what I do know is that Barack Obama most certainly does not have Israel's back.  On the contrary, Obama has clearly shown that he has the back of the Muslim Brotherhood and the back of the Little Brotherhood in Gaza, Hamas.

Only Israel can protect itself and relying on the goodwill of this particular American regime is clearly a very, very bad idea.

Want to Help? Volunteer for Israel

From  a press release from our friends at Volunteers for Israel


PRESS RELEASE


Volunteers for Israel Remain on IDF Bases, Serving Despite Conflict.

More Volunteers Needed.Press Release

By Steve Plotkin

Since 1982, more than 30,000 American civilians have joined Volunteers for Israel and signed on as short-term volunteers doing noncombatant civilian work with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on bases throughout Israel. Volunteer work includes packing medical supplies, refurbishing electronic equipment, repairing machinery, and performing logistic assignments wherever they are needed. Sar-El is the Israeli organization that coordinates with VFI and oversees assignments.

During the Pillar of Defense operations, and demonstrating their commitment, no volunteers have departed early, and many have extended their stay. Others have been relocated from bases in the South to other locations. Some bases have moved to double shifts. Several American student groups with displaced teaching duties in Israel also have volunteered to join VFI's efforts.

Additional volunteers are needed for programs starting Nov. 25, Dec. 16, Dec. 23, Jan 6 and Jan. 27, for one or more weeks. There is increased flexibility regarding starting dates so that volunteers can join existing programs on Sundays. Should a ground war begin in Gaza, more volunteers will be needed from December through March 2013.

For additional information about Volunteers for Israel, please refer to www.vfi-usa.org, email info at vfi-usa.org, or call 866-514-1948. The web site, under "Contact Us," shows U.S. regional representatives.

No matter the task, the Volunteers for Israel's focus is always to lend our hands and assure Israel that she does not stand alone. Worldwide, more than 4,500 people a year travel to Israel to volunteer their services on an army base, maintaining their pioneering spirit.

VFI is a non-profit 501(c)3, non-political, non-sectarian organization.

This is what a Qassam can do

The next time an apologist for terror says the rockets from Gaza are "crude" or "homemade", remember this photo. This is what  a qassam can do   A rocket from Gaza  hit  this car in Beersheba earlier today destroying it completely.  A bystander was injured. 

 

An open Letter to Eyad Kishawi

An  open letter to Eyad Kishawi of Al Awda


Oh,  Eyad. Eyad. Eyad.

Its obvious why you are so misguided.  You’ve never learned how to do even fundamental research.  (Or perhaps you do know and are simply maliciously  lying. That would make you evil.)

Just a few days ago, you sent out photos of dead children.   Heartbreaking. Tragic

You wrote “These children were murdered by Israel”.

Except for one thing, Eyad. They weren’t.

“Thanks to Tazpit News Agency’s investigative work, it was found that the photo had been originally published on a news site based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates called Moheet one month earlier on October 19. On the Moheet website, the photo was titled “Syria killed 122 Friday…Assad Used Cluster Bombs.”

These children were murdered in Syria, Eyad.

How many people received this email?  Hundreds?  Thousands?  Don't they deserve to know the truth?  Do I expect a retraction? No.  I do not believe you are a man of personal integrity.  I do not believe you care about the truth.

What I found even more disturbing, Eyad was this statement you made:

“These children were murdered by Israel and by extension the Zionists who support it, right here all around us.  When these Zionists go to counter protests and ignorantly carry that flag, standing across from us as we demand our right to life, they call for this horror.  “

Eyad.  This is 21st century blood libel.  You are inciting violence, not simply against the Zionists who oppose you on the street- the ones who speak truth to your lies, but to the entire Jewish community. 

You are manipulating people with lies, and inciting violence.  These are not the acts of a man of peace. These are not the acts of a man with integrity


UPDATE:
I just received this email from Eyad Kishawi. (Yes, i intend to check the provenance of the second photo as well) Its a retraction.  I'm pleasantly surprised. 

Dear Friends

I sent yesterday two photos: one had two dead children and a woman and the other had four.  As tragic as it is, the former were murdered in the Syrian civil war, resulting from a brutal regime clinging to power, a regime that had maintained a policy of avoidance with Israel while deploying fighter jets against its population.  The latter, the one of the four children, they were murdered by Israeli forces.  Humanity is universal and brutality is universal, regardless of the perpetrator.

We owe it to the Syrian people to recognize their pain as we stand with our people under seige.  A correction is due in the sea of violence.

Eyad Kishawi

California Stands With Israel

California Stands with Israel.

In Los Angeles, 1,500 showed up in support of the only democracy in  the Middle east. In San Diego, over a thousand  came.  And The East Bay may also reach similar numbers at tomorrow's Amidah: We stand with Israel program.

This, by the way , is what unity looks like:

Sponsored by  AIPAC, Anti-Defamation League, Berkeley Hadassah, Beth Jacob Congregation, Congregation Beth Chaim, Congregation Beth El, Congregation Beth Emek, Congregation Beth Israel, Congregation B’nai Shalom, Congregation B’nai Tikvah, Congregation Netivot Shalom, Contra Costa Jewish Day School, Diablo Valley Hadassah, East Bay JCC, J Street, JCRC/East Bay, Oakland Hebrew Day School, Tehiyah Day School, Temple Isaiah, Temple Sinai

As the crisis in Israel moves into its sixth day, millions of Israelis are living in danger. Hamas and terrorist cells operating in Gaza continue to aim rockets at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The cities in Israel’s south are under continuous attack. This is a time for our community to come together, to support one another, and to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel.

Please join the East Bay Jewish community for:

Tuesday
November 20, 2012 / 8 Kislev 5773
7:30 – 9:00 PM

Temple Isaiah
945 Risa Road in Lafayette

The program will include prayers for peace and healing, updates on the situation in Israel and the East Bay Jewish community’s response, a live feed from the shelters in Israel, a call to action, information on how to provide humanitarian relief to Israelis affected by the crisis, and an opportunity to write letters to elected officials.

Repost: The Maps of Disappearing Palestine

Anyone who has been involved with pro-Israel activism know about a series of four maps that allegedly show the gradual annexation of Palestine by those eeeeeeeevil Zionists. Yaacov Lozowick at his Ruminations blog analyzes the maps and demonstrates why they are, without question, simply false. Read: The Maps of Disappearing Palestine

First, the map from 1946. Even standing alone without the series, it's misleading in that it contains two distinct types of information. The outline is of the territory controlled by the British, commonly known as Palestine. Being a map of a political entity, however, the whole thing should be the same color, green in this case, since the entire territory was ruled by the British, the white parts and the green. If one wished to show privately owned land under the sovereignty of the British according to ethnic identity, the green would have been replaced by a hodgepodge of colors. Some of the land was owned by Jews, some by Arabs (today we would call them Palestinians), some by Arab absentee landlords of other nationalities (Lebanese, Syrians, Egyptians and so on), some by European churches – Catholic Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox and others, and finally, the largest section by far would have been land registered by no-one and thus belonging to the government, i.e the British. As far as I can see, your version has omitted the Jewish ownership of property in Jerusalem (where there was a majority of Jews), and in various pockets such as the Etzion Block, Neve Yaacov, settlements on the Dead Sea, Hebron, Safed, Naharia and its hinterland, Kfar Darom in Gaza, and so on. But the main problem with this map isn't its omissions of Jewish property, but rather the implication that any land not owned by Jews was "Palestine". Not true. If it's land ownership you're trying to depict then most of the territory was owned by the British government; if it's political sovereignty then the entire area was British.