BDS fail: Code Pink uses Israeli web platform for their new website

Even by Code Pink standards, its a doozy.  (Via CIF Watch, on twitter)

Ha ha ha!!!! @Codepink created a website using Israeli web platform Wix. http://t.co/wKsgW7pkyH h/t/ @argaman #BDSFail! @medeabenjamin
— CiF Watch (@CiFWatch) February 16, 2014

Code Pink's new website, promoting its Woman's delegation to Gaza was created using Wix  Its a great choice with cloud-based web development , easy templates, and no coding required.  It might be the first smart act we've seen from Code Pink in a long time.




They overlooked one crucial thing. Code Pink is one of the leaders of the BDS movement, and Wix is an Israeli company. Ooops. BDS fail

From its Wikipedia entry:

Wix was founded in 2006 by Avishai Abrahami, Nadav Abrahami and Giora Kaplan. The company, headquartered in Tel Aviv, with offices in San Francisco, New York City, Dnipropetrovsk, and Vilnius, is backed by investors Insight Venture Partners, Mangrove Capital Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and Benchmark Capital.


It entered an open beta phase in 2007 using a platform based on Adobe Flash.


By April 2010 Wix had 3.5 million users and raised $10 million in Series C funding provided by Benchmark Capital and existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Mangrove Capital Partners.A year later, in March 2011, Wix had 8.5 million users and raised $40 million in Series D funding, bring its total funding to date to $61 million

 If you do anything web-based, Israeli tech is hard to avoid.  To avoid being a BDS hypocrite, you're going to need to to live like this guy.   

Good luck with that.

Dumisani Washington: MLK Jr's pro Israel legacy

Written by Dumisani Washington, a pastor, author, composer and educator in Northern California. He is currently working on a book, Zionism and the Black Church: Why Standing With Israel Will Be a Defining Issue for Christians of Color in the 21st Century.  Dumisani formed the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel (IBSI) in 2013, dedicated to strengthening the relationship between Israel and the Jewish people, and people of African descent through education and advocacy.

The Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel is doing good work.   Check them out on Facebook.

This article originally appeared in the Times of Israel

 Since his death, many groups have attempted to use the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as champion of their cause. His timeless quotes are applied to all things related to social justice, equality and political freedom. Of course, in addition to being a beacon for all of the above, Dr. King was also a staunch supporter of the State of Israel, and loyal friend to the Jewish people. Yet this historical, indisputable fact does not seem to faze anti-Zionists who also claim Dr. King’s posthumous blessing on their agenda. How do they reconcile such a blatant discrepancy? They simply label the Palestinians as victims and the Israelis as perpetrators, and voila: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, becomes an obvious condemnation of the Jewish State.

The problem is, we have Dr. King’s unambiguous words supporting Israel, and none of his words to the contrary. In fact, his most full-throated endorsement of Israel may surprise you, not just because of its content, but its context.

 It was March 26, 1968 – 10 days before Dr. King’s assassination. He was the honored guest at the 68th Annual Convention of the Rabbinical Assembly for Conservative Judaism. During an interview in which Rabbi Gendler read questions submitted by the group, Dr. King was asked specifically about African-American support for Israel. The question itself is a topic for a separate article, but on to Dr. King’s answer: 

I think it is necessary to say that what is basic and what is needed in the Middle East is peace. Peace for Israel is one thing. Peace for the Arab side of that world is another thing. Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all of our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel, and never mind saying it, as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous ex­ample of what can be done, how desert land almost can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality.

These words are powerful at face value. What is even more powerful is the realization that King spoke them almost a full year after the 1967 (Six Day) War in which Israel preemptively attacked Egypt, Jordan and Syria. When the War ended, Israel had regained control of Judea and Samaria (West Bank), as well as Gaza and the Sinai desert.

Read it all here

Join the IBSI next week throughout the Bay Area

"Israel: A Cultural and Political Discussion", The pro-Israel legacy of Dr. King, and who the real abusers of the Palestinians' human rights are.

 Monday, Feb 17 - San Francisco State @ 4:30pm, Hillel House ( this a JIMENA /IBSI event featuring Rachel Wahba)
Tuesday, Feb. 18 - UC Berkeley @ 7:30pm, Wheeler Building, Room 0213
Wednesday, Feb. 19 - UC Davis @ 6:30pm, Giedt Hall, Room 1002
Thursday, Feb. 20 - San Jose State @ 7:00pm, Martin Luther King Library
Friday, Feb. 21 - UC Santa Cruz (exact time and place TBD)
Saturday, Feb. 22 - The Congregation of Zion (Stockton) @ 11:00am

 

Palestine's Winchester Mystery House

"Less is more"
 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Or maybe not.

Welcome to the house of Palestinian businessman Mohamed Abdel-Hadi, located on a hillside near Hebron in the town of Kharas.   Clearly his architect was not familiar with the works or the writings of Van der Rohe (1886-1969), one of the 20th century's greatest architects.

Photos are from the Alrawwya blog.

The home is located on over 30 dunams of land. According to the blog Mohamed Abdel-Hadi made his fortune in the construction industry, and helped oversee the design and the construction.

There is tremendous wealth in the Palestinian territories, and there is tremendous poverty.  It is the same in Israel, and in America, and all over the world. The Palestinians are not "special" in this regard.  The lie that must be disputed over and over is that the Palestinians somehow have a monopoly on  victimhood and suffering, and that it is solely the fault of the "occupation" . Perhaps a day will come when activists remove their blinders and see the role of the Palestinian leadership in perpetuating the misery of their own people

UC Riverside defeats Divestment resolution

Breaking news.

The University of California at Riverside Student government  voted last night to defeat a BDS resolution aimed at companies doing business in Israel. This is the second year in a row that BDS has lost at UC Riverside.

After the vote,  pro divestment students left the room claiming they had been "silenced". On the contrary- they had spoken, made their arguments and had their say. Their arguments had been found deficient by their elected student council.

The UC Regents issued a firm statement opposing divestment in 2005, so any student council vote on the issue is purely symbolic.   The commitment to oppose divestment from Israel was reiterated in 2010 

The overarching question of the University of California divesting from any company is a complex one and any action considered must conform to State and federal laws, as well as to the University’s fiduciary responsibilities as a public entity to protect the security of its pension and endowment funds. In 2005, the Regents stated that a policy of divestment from a foreign government shall be adopted by the University only when the United States government declares that a foreign regime is committing acts of genocide. It was also noted at the time that divestment is a serious decision that should be rarely pursued.

We share The Regents’ belief that divestment needs to be undertaken with caution. We firmly believe that if there is to be any discussion of divestment from a business or country, it must be robust and fair-minded. We must take great care that no one organization or country is held to a different standard than any other. In the current resolutions voted on by the UC student organizations, the State of Israel and companies doing business with Israel have been the sole focus. This isolation of Israel among all countries of the world greatly disturbs us and is of grave concern to members of the Jewish community.

We fully support the Board of Regents in its policy to divest from a foreign government or companies doing business with a foreign government only when the United States government declares that a foreign regime is committing acts of genocide. The U.S. has not made any declaration regarding the State of Israel and, therefore, we will not bring a recommendation before the Board to divest from companies doing business with the State of Israel.

Congratulations to the Highlanders for Israel and other student groups for their tremendous efforts to defeat this  proposed bill.

Anti-Israel Moderator Bias at Reddit

Reddit calls itself "the front page of the internet". If that's the case, it scares me to see whats on the back page.

A long term Reddit user posted a link to the 1911 Encyclopedia  Britannica  "Palestine" article originally seen here at  Pro Israel Bay Bloggers.   (Thank you for that)  And it was immediately deleted with this note:

"Your submission has been removed because it was an opinion that contained little or no factual data, which is a violation of the /r/Israel rules. Further infractions may result in a ban"

It was a bloody article from an encyclopedia. It was nothing but facts. The 1911 Britannica is particularly treasured. 

Robert Collison, in Encyclopaedias: Their History Throughout The Ages (1966), wrote that the eleventh edition  "was probably the finest edition of the Britannica ever issued, and it ranks with the Enciclopedia Italiana and the Espasa as one of the three greatest encyclopaedias. It was the last edition to be produced almost in its entirety in Britain, and its position in time as a summary of the world's knowledge just before the outbreak of World War I is particularly valuable."

This is a blatant example of moderator bias at Reddit.  When crowd sourced social media and web sites such as Reddit and yes, Wikipedia  become overrun with those more comfortable with promoting a narrow political agenda than  with truth and facts, we all suffer.

To those more familiar with Reddit- are there ways to report moderator "eatyurbrains" for bias?  Is there a protocol for removing people with a  documented biased political agenda?

Is it really "Pinkwashing" if its true? A info-graphic from the BBC drives home the fact that Israel is the only  nation in the Middle East and north Africa, where the LGBT community has full legal and civil rights.

                        Where is it illegal to be gay?

 Just a few of the many reasons we have pride in Israel

LGBT Rights in Israel:
* Gays have had full civil rights since 1992
* Gays have full rights to serve in the military
* Gays have partner adoption rights
* Gays have partner benefits for governmental employees
* Same gender marriages preformed abroad are recognized.

LGBT Pride in Israel
* The first transgender person to win the Eurovison contest was Israeli Dana International with her song "Diva".
* Openly gay singer Ivri Lidder is one of Israel's most popular entertainers.
* Openly gay movie producer Eytan Fox has created such popular movies Yossi and Jagger, Walk on Water and The Bubble
* Openly gay politicians have served in the Kenneset and on many local councils.

A Special Thank You from Scarlett Johansson

 We love Scarlett Johansson and she loves us, too.

From the Creative Community for Peace:

As many of you know, Scarlett Johansson was recently singled out by anti-Israel boycott activists for her support of the Israeli company SodaStream.

CCFP had been in touch with Scarlett's representatives since the controversy began.  We knew how many of you out there wanted to congratulate and thank her directly for her courageous and principled stand and we facilitated an opportunity to do so by receiving the permission of her publicist to provide you with his email and posting it on our Facebook page.

Thousands and thousands of you rose to the occasion and CCFP cannot express our thanks deeply enough. And we're not the only ones. We have been given a note from Mr. Marcel Pariseau, Scarlett Johansson's publicist, thanking her fans for their support. This note of appreciation is from Scarlett to all of you:

 "Scarlett would like to extend her most sincere thanks to the many thousands of people who have supported her these past weeks. Your emails, comments, and tweets have been truly overwhelming and inspiring. It has been wonderful to receive messages from people all over the world who firmly believe that peace is possible.

And a big thank you to Creative Community For Peace for building a bridge between Scarlett and her fans."

Marcel Pariseau

TRUE PUBLIC RELATIONS

The Creative community for Peace is doing wonderful outreach to promote music and the arts as a bridge to understanding and peace. There is much left to be done and CCFP can use your help. Like them on Facebook   and Sign their Anti-Boycott Petition  

Tell the many hundreds of international artists who perform in and visit Israel every year that you support their decision and that we must not allow Israel's detractors to politicize art.

Israel: Sunshine

Gorgeous Israelis in their gorgeous land, lip synching to Mattisyahu's Sunshine



It's time for a champion
Soothe the soul of the land
Mend the heart from the sea and the sand
'Til the sun comes up again

Reach for the sky
Keep your eye on the prize
Forever in my mind
Be my golden sunshine
It's raining in your mind
So push them clouds aside
Forever by my side
You're my golden sunshine

Hamas endorses BDS

What company they keep. Hamas endorses BDS

Do you want to stand with Scarlett Johansson, for universal rights, and strong economic and cultural ties, or do you want to stand with the genocidal terror group Hamas?

From the Middle East monitor

Arab and Muslim states should take a firm stand towards any entity that deals with the Israeli occupation as Europe has, Hamas said.

In a statement issued by the movement's press office, Hamas commented on the acts of major European companies that boycotted Israeli settlements and withdrew their investments from the illegal entities. 

"We, in Hamas, appreciate and welcome these economic boycotts against the Zionist occupation and we consider it a step in the right direction towards pressuring the occupation to stop its settlement activities and its Judaisation of the Palestinian land."

Hamas also expressed hope "that the European position expands to become a public policy against the ongoing Zionist war which targets the Palestinian people's land, heritage and identity." It called on the Arab and Muslim countries to "take a firm stand toward any party that deals with the Zionist occupation", while expressing disapproval of any interview, meeting or interaction with Israel and Israeli leaders.

It also called on organisations, businesses and cultural, educational and economic institutions in the world to declare their boycott of Israel in order to pressure the occupation to stop its war on and violation of Palestinian land. 

A number of companies and official and non-governmental organisations in Europe are now partaking in an economic boycott of the Israeli occupation. They include Norway's Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), the Dutch pension fund (PGGM), the Danish Danske Bank, the Dutch water company Fitness and the Irish Workers Organisation amongst others.

Historic Palestine

Historic Palestine:
From the1911 Encyclopedia Britannica:(page 600)

Palestine a geographical name of rather loose application. Etymological strictness would require it to denote exclusively the narrow strip of coast-land once occupied by the philistines from whose name it is derived.  It is, however, conventionally used as a name for the territory which, in the Old Testament, is claimed as the inheritance of the pre-exile Hebrews; thus it may be said generally to denote the southern third of the province of Syria. Except in the west, where the country is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, the limit of this territory cannot be laid down on the map as a definite line. The modern subdivisions under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire are in no sense conterminous with those of antiquity, and hence do not afford a boundary by which Palestine can be separated exactly from the rest of Syria in the north, or from the Sinaitic and Arabian deserts in the south and east: nor are the ancient boundaries sufficiently full and definite to make possible the complete demarcation of the country

Historic Palestinians: (page 604)
The inhabitants of Palestine are composed of a large number of elements, differing widely in ethnological affinities, language and religion. It may be interesting to mention, as an illustration of their hetereogeneousness, that early in the 20th century a list of no less than 50 languages, spoken in Jerusalem as vernaculars...

There are two classes into which the population of Palestine can be divided- the nomadic and the sedentary. the former is especially characteristic of Eastern Palestine, though Western Palestine also contains its full share. The pure Arab origin of the Bedouins is recognized in common conversation in the country, the word "Arab" being almost restricted to denote these wanders and seldom applied to the dwellers in towns and villages...

The sedentary population of the country villages - the fellahin, or agriculturists - is, on the whole, comparatively unmixed; but traces of various intrusive strains assert themselves. It is by no means unreasonable to suppose that there is a fundamental Canaanite element in this population: the " hewers of wood and drawers of water " often remain undisturbed through successive occupations of a land; and there is a remarkable correspondence of type between many of the modern fellahin and skeletons of ancient inhabitants which have been recovered in the course of excavation. New elements no doubt came in under the Assyrian, Persian and Roman dominations, and in more recent times there has been much contamination. The spread of Islam introduced a very considerable Neo-Arabian infusion. Those from southern Arabia were known as the Yaman tribe, those from northern Arabia the Kais (Qais). These two divisions absorbed the previous peasant population, and still nominally exist; down to the middle of the 10th century they were a fruitful source of quarrels and of bloodshed. The two great clans were further subdivided into families, but these minor divisions are also being gradually broken down. In the 10th century the short-lived Egyptian government introduced into the population an element from that country which still persists in the villages. These newcomers have not been completely assimilated with the villagers among whom they have found a home; the latter despise them, and discourage intermarriage.

Some of the larger villages - notably Bethlehem - which have always been leavened by Christianity, and with the development of industry have become comparatively prosperous, show tangible results of these happier circumstances in a higher standard of physique among the men and of personal appearance among the women. It is not uncommon in popular writings to attribute this superiority to a crusader strain - a theory which no one can possibly countenance who knows what miserable degenerates the half-breed descendants of the crusaders rapidly became, as a result of their immoral life and their ignorance of the sanitary precautions necessary in a trying climate.

The population of the larger towns is of a much more complex nature. In each there is primarily a large Arab element, consisting for the greater part of members of important and wealthy families. Thus, in Jerusalem, much of the local influence is in the hands of the families of El-Khalidi, El-Husseini and one or two others, who derive their descent from the heroes of the early days of Islam. The Turkish element is small, consisting exclusively of officials sent individually from Constantinople. There are very large contingents from the Mediterranean countries, especially Armenia, Greece and Italy, principally engaged in trade. The extraordinary development of Jewish colonization has since 1870 effected a revolution in the balance of population in some parts of the country, notably in Jerusalem.

There are few residents in the country from the more eastern parts of Asia - if we except the Turkoman settlements in the Jaulan, a number of Persians, and a fairly large Afghan colony that since 1905 has established itself in Jaffa. The Mutawileh (Motawila), who form the majority of the inhabitants of the villages north-west of Galilee, are probably long-settled immigrants from Persia. Some tribes of Kurds live in tents and huts near Lake Huleh. If the inmates of the countless monastic establishments be excluded, comparatively few from northern or western Europe will remain: the German "Templar" colonies being perhaps the most important.

There must also be mentioned a Bosnian colony established at Caesarea Palestina, and the Circassian settlements placed in certain centres of Eastern Palestine by the Turkish government in order to keep a restraint on the Bedouin: the latter are also found in Galilee. There was formerly a large Sudanese and Algerian element in the population of some of the large towns, but these have been much reduced in numbers since the beginning of the 20th century: the Algerians however still maintain themselves in parts of Galilee.

The most interesting of all the non-Arab communities in the country, however, is without doubt the Samaritan sect in Nablus (Shechem); a gradually disappearing body, which has maintained an independent existence from the time when they were first settled by the Assyrians to occupy the land left waste by the captivity of the kingdom of Israel.


The total population of the country is roughly estimated at 650,000

So there you have it, from the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 edition. Rather than being an "indigenous" populations, the Arab population of  "Palestine" is composed of Bosnians, Sudanese, Algerians, Armenians, Greek, Kurds and many many others. There is no mention of a group called the "Palestinians".

Colonizers.  All of them

Hard to imagine how the indigenous "Palestinians" could have escaped historical scrutiny for so many years.

Jewish Mural Defaced in Los Angeles

 Originally reported in the LA Jewish Journal

A mural on the Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring building in L.A.'s  Pico-Robertson neighborhood  was defaced with graffiti "Free Palestine!!!!"  The graffiti was discovered Thursday, said Eric Gordon, director emeritus of Workmen's Circle,   a progressive Jewish organization.

The mural was completed  by Elisio Art Silva in 1998,  and is titled, ”A shenere un besere velt,” a Yiddish phrase meaning, “A more beautiful and better world.  It is filled with cultural, religious and historical imagery and contains the Hebrew biblical quote, "Justice justice shalt thou pursue."

Photos obtained by the Journal on Thursday morning  show the graffiti spaning nearly the entire length of the building, which  measures 60-feet-long and 15-feet-high.

Later it was reported that someone clearly offended by the graffiti  took matters into their own hands

Security cameras at the Chabad center, located across the street from theWorkmen’s Circle building captured footage of the two separate incidents. The culprits have not yet been identified.

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

Does anyone still take Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein seriously?

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

From Israellycool:

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

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

Via Israellycool: Richard Silverstein caught in Another Lie

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

    And we have an apology from Silverstein.

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

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

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

                   
          

What Israel Means To Natalie Portman…A Touching Description Of Her Homeland

 Lovely.  From Jews news:

Where I was born. Where I ate my first Popsicle and used a proper toilet for the first time. Where some of my 18-year-old friends spend their nights in bunkers sleeping with their helmets on. Where security guards are the only jobs in surplus. Where deserts bloom and pioneer stories are sentimentalized. Where a thorny, sweet cactus is the symbol of the ideal Israeli. Where immigrating to Israel is called “ascending” and emigrating from Israel is called “descending.” Where my grandparents were not born, but where they were saved.

Where the year passes with the season of olives, of almonds, of dates. Where the transgressive pig or shrimp dish speaks defiantly from a Jerusalem menu. Where, despite substantial exception, secularism is the rule. Where wine is religiously sweet. Where “Arabic homes” is a positive real estate term with no sense of irony. Where there is endless material for dark humor. Where there are countless words for “to bother,” but no single one yet for “to pleasure.” Where laughter is the currency; jokes the religion. Where political parties multiply more quickly than do people. Where to become religious is described as “returning to an answer” and becoming secular “returning to a question.”

Where six citizens have won Nobel prizes in 50 years. Where the first one earned an Olympic gold in 2004 for sailing (an Israeli also won the bronze for judo). Where there is snow two hours north and hamsin (desert wind) two hours south. Where Moses never was allowed to walk, but whose streets we litter. Where the language in which Abraham spoke to Isaac before he was to sacrifice him has been resuscitated to include the words for “sweatshirt” and “schadenfreude” and “chemical warfare” and “press conference.” Where the muezzin chants, and the church bells sound and the shofars cry freely at the Wall. Where the shopkeepers bargain. Where the politicians bargain. Where there will one day be peace but never quiet.

Where I was born; where my insides refuse to abandon

Palestinian Civil Society rejects BDS

Palestinian Civil Society appears to have looked BDS right in the eye, and rejected it.  How long will it take for the anti-Israel advocates to catch on?

From Israel National News

Last month, BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) activists slammed Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas for not joining in with them to boycott Israel – and on Monday, the PA revealed just how uninvolved it was in the BDS movement. According to a PA report, 70% of the PA's imports were from Israel, with imports worth $3.5 billion entering the Authority from Israel.

It should be noted that Israel generally does not restrict imports of consumer goods to the PA, and that Israeli goods compete on Palestinian store shelves with goods from Arab countries and Europe as well as from the PA. Rather, it is the Palestinian consumer who is driving the push for Israeli goods in the PA, Palestinian merchants said.

According to the merchants, PA consumers prefer Israeli goods because they believe they are higher quality than cheaper local products or products from Arab countries. Israeli-made products are popularly priced, and consumers believe they get good value for money when they buy “blue and white.”

In an interview with the PA daily newspaper Al-Quds, Salah Haniyeh, director of the PA's Consumer Protection Authority, said that PA residents were not big savers. 

“The spending by Palestinians is the main reason for the Authority's negative balance of payments,” he said. While the PA economy would be greatly improved if Palestinians bought local products, he said he understood their reluctance to do so, as PA-made products are generally not well-made.

For many years, the construction equipment company Caterpillar was the object of the BDS holes wrath. But Palestinian civil society has spoken, and has firmly rejected the Caterpillar boycott. The Ramallah dealership is thriving

The Palestinians love their Caterpillars so much, they have celebrations for them



When BDS rears it ugly face at your church or your university, demanding you divest from Caterpillar, ask them:  "If the Palestinians haven't divested from Caterpillar why should I?"

An article in the Commentator, written  by Nick Gray touches on this phenomenon:

Though they will deny it, their actions speak louder: BDS campaigners simply do not care about the circumstances, hopes and dreams of ordinary Palestinians

The curious case of SOS – Scarlet, Oxfam and Sodastream – has enabled us to hear something almost totally inaudible most of the time – the voice of ordinary Palestinians. And what they are saying doesn't quite match the much louder voice of boycott campaign groups, one of which it seems Oxfam has become.

Instead of backing international NGO calls for a boycott of settlement goods, workers at the Sodastream factory in the West Bank have come out overwhelmingly in favour of Scarlet Johannsen’s opposition to BDS. So why are ordinary Palestinians at odds with the groups that claim to support them?

One of the biggest traps of the whole international BDS campaign is that it depersonalises the lives of ordinary people, both Israelis and Palestinians. The campaigners, including Christian NGOs and churches, simply do not care about the circumstances, hopes and dreams of ordinary people.

 Read it all here

Israel Indicts Palestinian for Working with Al-Qaeda, Holding Biological Weapons

Hiding behind a pay wall at Ha'aretz

 A Palestinian has been indicted in an Israeli military court on suspicion of being an al-Qaeda operative who possessed biological weapons and planned to train others in their use. The indictment charges him with undergoing military training, contacting the enemy and conspiring to commit murder.

Samar al-Barak, from the West Bank town of Kalkilya studied microbiology in Pakistan and underwent military training in Afghanistan. He was recruited into al-Qaeda in 2001. In August 2010 he was arrested  when he tried to return to the West Bank via the Jordanian border.

“Over the years, [al-Barak] acquired a lot of knowledge and experience in the field of non-conventional weapons, with an emphasis on biological weapons, and he was in contact with senior members of the terrorist organization Al-Qaida during his stay outside the region,” a High Court brief filed by the state last year said.

It said al-Barak had agreed to pass his knowledge of poisons on to others for use in committing terror attacks. At one point, Israel tried to deport him, but no other country would take him.

Last November, al-Barak’s detention became public knowledge when he petitioned the High Court against it, but the court turned him down. “We were convinced that at this time there is no less-harmful method that would nullify the danger” posed by al-Barak, Justice Edna Arbel wrote for the court.

Samar al-Barak practiced killing dogs with poisons and was tasked with developing biological weapons by the head of Al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahiri. He learned to use the botulinum toxin and agreed to train other Palestinians to use it. he has been held in administrative detention for three years.



 

Hatem Bazian forces his class to tweet about "Islamophobia"

 “I’ve been told by one of my professors I will be required, as part of my grade, to start a Twitter account and tweet weekly on Islamophobia. I can’t help but feel this is unethical. This is his agenda not mine.”

Many who have experience with Hatem Bazian believe he has repeatedly crossed the line from academic freedom to downright propagandizing and indoctrination. In the past,  Hatem has notoriously called for an "Intifada in America" and has been reported to have made antisemitic comments at an SJP rally at UC Berkeley in 2002. "Take a look at the type of names on the buildings around campus -- Haas, Zellerbach -- and decide who controls this university."

From Tarek Fatah, published in the Toronto Sun, who received a panicked message from a student enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley:

He wrote: “I’ve been told by one of my professors I will be required, as part of my grade, to start a Twitter account and tweet weekly on Islamophobia. I can’t help but feel this is unethical. This is his agenda not mine.”

The professor conducting this exercise was Hatem Bazian as part of a course titled, “Asian American Studies 132AC: Islamophobia”.

When I asked him to elaborate on his concerns the student wrote: “There are 100 students in the class, all of us forced to create individual Twitter accounts. I’m not wholly clear on what our final project is yet (I find it very interesting that he excludes both the Twitter account requirement AND the final project from his official syllabus), but we have to meet with a group in San Francisco, and our class will be surveying people of color on the impact of some ads put out by (anti-Sharia blogger) Pamela Gellar. Now I’m no Pamela Gellar fan, I think she’s nuts, but I feel ... between the Twitter stuff and the final project he’s basically using us as unpaid labor to work on his agenda.”

I wrote to Prof. Bazian, who co-founded “Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)” at Berkeley, asking why he was using his students to pursue what appeared to me to be a political exercise meant to propagate a specific message to the Twitterverse.

Bazian replied, without referring to Islamophobia:

“My course is designated as an American culture community engagement scholarship class … Students are asked to send at least one posting per week on something related to the course content, be it from the actual reading or anything they read or came across.”

When I asked him why all the tweets by his students so far are about Islamophobia, he replied: “The class is titled De-Constructing Islamophobia and the History of Otherness … (Students) are asked to post based on … examining Islamophobia through looking at earlier historical examples.”

The fact remains Prof. Bazian appears to be using his position of authority to make 100 students — mostly non-Muslims — tweet about Muslim victimhood in America, irrespective of how it’s defined or whether it exists.

No student I have seen on Twitter has yet posted a tweet saying Islamophobia is a myth, nor has any student challenged the validity of the term.

Students at DeAnza College in Cupertino were treated to a extra large helping of Bazian-speak last night. Two professors offered their students extra credit as well as a free dinner in an effort to get them to attend the evening talk. The event, originally scheduled from 6:00pm until 8:30pm, was curtailed by a half hour after Israel-supporters in the audience challenged Bazian by providing historical context for the conflict. Bazian chose to break up the event prematurely, rather than allow an alternate perspective.

A full report will be posted when its available.

Israeli Wine that gladdens human hearts. An East Bay BDS fail

It was standing room only in the East Bay , as community members gathered to try the fruit of the vine, Israeli style.  The Israeli wine and chocolate pairing featured  Israeli wineries including Tishbi, Bravdo, Kadesh Barnea, Odem and Gush Etzion.

One thing was clear- It was not your Bubbe's Manischewitz.

Israeli Wine has a long tradition. It was made in Israel throughout Biblical times, up until the Muslim conquest in the 8th century. Vineyards thrive in poor soil- the stress brings out complexities of flavor. Today, there are over 300 wineries in Israel.

Israel has five designated grape growing regions

Galilee (or Galil) - the northern region with volcanic soils ideal for grape growing
Judean Hills-  Israeli wine critic Daniel Rogov awarded four of the first six spots to Judean Hills wineries in a recent Israeli winery ranking
Shimshon (or Samson) - is the most widely planted region of Israel with almost 40% of the nations grapes grown here. Heavy, limey soils 
Negev - the arid, desert region of Israel. New watering technologies have made it possible to grow grapes here  
Shomron (or Samaria) - a coastal Mediterranean climate with hot, humid summers and warm, mild winters and  limestone, alluvial clay and loam soil.

Thanks to Harken Spirits for your contribution to a delicious and educational evening, and for introducing many to yet another reason to celebrate Israel.

CAIR director Hussam Ayloush tweets juvenile attack on Islamic moderate

 CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations lists their "core principles" as follows:

1. CAIR supports free enterprise, freedom of religion and freedom of expression.
2. CAIR is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, regardless of faith.
3. CAIR supports domestic policies that promote civil rights, diversity and freedom of religion.
4. CAIR opposes domestic policies that limit civil rights, permit racial, ethnic or religious profiling, infringe on due process, or that prevent Muslims and others from participating fully in American civic life.
5. CAIR is a natural ally of groups, religious or secular, that advocate justice and human rights in America and around the world.
6. CAIR supports foreign policies that help create free and equitable trade, encourage human rights and promote representative government based on socio-economic justice.
7. CAIR believes the active practice of Islam strengthens the social and religious fabric of our nation.
8. CAIR condemns all acts of violence against civilians by any individual, group or state.
9. CAIR advocates dialogue between faith communities both in America and worldwide.
10. CAIR supports equal and complementary rights and responsibilities for men and women.

They list these principles, but they do not live them. 

Hussam Ayloush, the executive director of the Los Angles branch of CAIR has been taken to task for calling the brilliant and principled  Dr. Zuhdi Jasser an "Uncle Tom" and a "monkey" .  As of now, there has been no consequence for Ayloush's juvenile attack and clear violation of CAIR's, um  "core principles".

Hussam Ayloush takes CAIR's core principles about as seriously as Zahra Billoo, Executive Director of the CAIR San Francisco Bay Area chapter,  does:

This latest revelation of CAIR's unbridled hypocrisy is not surprising .

From the Anti-Defamation League:

CAIR's credibility as a community relations agency promoting "justice and mutual understanding," however, is tainted. Founded by leaders of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a Hamas affiliated anti-Semitic propaganda organization, CAIR refused for many years to unequivocally condemn by name Hezbollah and Palestinian terror organizations, which the U.S. and international community have condemned and isolated.

 On the fifth anniversary of the Madrid bombings in March 2009, CAIR condemned acts of terrorism by groups designated by the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organizations, acknowledging that Hamas is on that list. The statement, however, did not represent a genuine break from CAIR's past because it did not address its own historical links to Hamas.  

The statement also followed the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial, during which evidence was produced by the Federal prosecutors demonstrating that CAIR and its founders were part of a group set up by the Muslim Brotherhood to support Hamas. The trial ended with guilty verdicts on all charges against HLF and five of its officers. In May 2009, they were sentenced to between 15 and 65 years in prison, including 65 years for Ghassan Elashi, the founder of CAIR's Dallas chapter

More ignorance from Al Awda

All too often, the Israel haters come out with a statement so offensive, so jaw-droppingly ignorant,  and so inaccurate all you can do is shake your head in wonder.

Todays clueless comment comes from Zahi Damuni, co-founder of the extremist group Al Awda, who writes: 

"What we have is Gaza like situation in the Yamouk camp. Every now and then there is food delivery  and people act like the siege is over. Its not over until its over... "

To Zahi Damuni: At least 85 people have died from hunger in theYamouk camp in Syria. 20,000 more Palestinians are starving.

From the Independent:

“Bread is a dream for children inside Yarmouk Camp,” says Fuad, a Syrian Palestinian music teacher who tries to help bring food to the 20,000 Palestinians besieged inside Yarmouk. Standing by a barrier of sand and rubble that blocks an entrance to the camp in south Damascus, he adds that “people have been trapped in there for 185 days and are sick because they are eating weeds we used to feed our animals”.

Contrast that with Gaza where three separate surveys found "alarming" rates of obesity.  In  Gaza, food comes in regularly.  Food is also exported.

In December alone,  4522 truckloads of goods entered Gaza. 2,135 of those carried food, while the others carried humanitarian and construction materials

54 truckloads of goods were exported from Gaza, including 37.5  truckloads of strawberries,   7 of spices,  9 of flowers, and one of cherry tomatoes.

For Zahi Dumani to imply an equivalence between Syria and Gaza is a sign not only of his tenuous grasp of reality, but also of his moral and intellectual bankruptcy.

As of today, no flotillas or global marches are being planned to break the siege of Yarmouk.

Canada minister Jason Kenney thanks the "nutters" at Oxfam for his new Sodastream

Canada's Minister of Employment, Social Development & Multiculturalism Jason Kenney  gave an interview on Sun news, ByLine with host Brian Lilley:

"I'm going right from the studio to Home Hardware where ever it is to get one of these deals here. I didn't know Oxfam was involved in crazy politics like this so I have to make a confession I 've given money to Oxfam in the past because I thought they were there to help poor people not marginalize Israelis and make Palestinians unemployed. I'm dropping Oxfam as a charity and I'm picking up Sodastream as a new customer.  Thanks very much to all the nutters at Oxfam  for marginalizing the Palestinian people who are getting good paying jobs 4 times more working at Sodastream in the West bank than they would at other Palestinian run businesses there."

Watch the whole interview here:



And in more Sodastream News:

The Sodastream commercial featuring Scarlett Johansson has officially gone viral with over 8 million views since Jan 27.

And from the Christian Science monitor, more proof that "Palestinian Civil Society" rejects the BDS agenda, as Palestinian Sodastream employees express their concerns with the boycott
  

...those most familiar with the factory – Palestinians who work there – largely side with Ms. Johansson.

“Before boycotting, they should think of the workers who are going to suffer,” says a young man shivering in the pre-dawn darkness in Azzariah, a West Bank town cut off from work opportunities in Jerusalem by the concrete Israeli separation wall. Previously, he earned 20 shekels ($6) a day plucking and cleaning chickens; now he makes nearly 10 times that at SodaStream, which also provides transportation, breakfast, and lunch.

As a few dozen men in hoodies and work coats trickle out of the alleys to the makeshift bus stop where they wait for their ride to the factory, another adds, “If SodaStream closes, we would be sitting in the streets doing nothing....”

Speaking anonymously on a largely deserted street, with no Israeli SodaStream employees present, all but one of those interviewed said they opposed the boycott, given the lack of alternative job opportunities in the West Bank. That underscores Israeli claims that a boycott would be counterproductive, undermining the cooperation and prosperity that could boost peace prospects in the region.

UPDATE
Jason Kenney has gleefully tweeted out that he is the new proud owner of a Sodastream.