Suspects who stormed Westport synagogue appear before Judge

Anti- Israel activists Daniel Fischer  and Gregory Williams, arrested for disrupting last week’s luncheon at Westport Connecticut’s Temple Israel, appeared before Judge William Wenzel in Norwalk Superior Court to face charges of criminal trespass first-degree and breach of peace second-degree. Both suspects were represented by Bridgeport attorney Eugene Riccio.

The incident led to the lockdown of local schools, and caused several terrified people to flee the premises.

Daniel Fischer, 25, of 93 Osborn Ave., New Haven  asked for accelerated rehabilitation which  if completed, would expunge his record.  Gregory Williams pleaded not guilty, opting to go to a jury trial.

Wenzel set their court date for July 21.

UPDATE:
There is now a petition circulated by various hate groups calling these 2 thugs "Jewish anti apartheid activists" and claiming their voices were silenced.

The petition reads:

The Temple's actions reflect longstanding attempts to silence those who stand up to Israel's ongoing campaign of terror and dispossession against the Palestinian people.
We call on State's Attorney David I. Cohen to drop all charges against Fischer and Williams.
Daniel Fischer and Gregory Williams spoke truth to power. Let their example inspire others to do the same.
The office for State's Attorney David I. Cohen has no email. To demand justice for Fischer and Williams, please call 203-965-5215.

Daniel Fischer  and Gregory Williams terrorized a community, and now they are playing victims. Talk about chutzpah.

Westport, Connecticut: "This did not feel like political protest. This felt like terrorism."

The bucolic town of Westport Connecticut experienced a shock last month, when a synagogue event was stormed by 2 anti-Israel activists, prompting a congregant to cry  "This felt like terrorism". Several schools, including  Coleytown Middle School, Coleytown Elementary School, the pre-school at the Unitarian Church and the Temple Israel Nursery were placed under lockdown while the situation unfolded. 

Anti-Israel activist Daniel Fischer

Anti-Israel activist Gregory Williams

From Stephanie Bass, reported in the Police Report On Temple Israel Confrontation: 

In the middle of speeches, there was a loud disturbance. I couldn't tell how many people, but they were banging on the door to the room, yelling either "Justice for the Palestinians" or "Freedom for the Palestinians." There were 80 women in the room. People started screaming "Get down!" and "Call 911!" Women ran to the back of the room, or ran out a back door.

The "Palestinian" ranting went on. I was waiting for the machine gun fire. First I thought, I could die today; then I thought if many people die today, I don't want to be one of them.

I'd been in Israel during the '73 war. I thought of Newtown and that movie theater in Colorado. I dove under the table. After a few minutes, the Israeli Brigadier General grabbed my hand. She said it was okay to come out; personnel at the temple had subdued the men.

This did not feel like political protest. This felt like terrorism.

For their role in terrorizing the people of Temple Israel, Daniel Fischer and Gregory Williams, both 25 years old, and residents of  New Haven have been charged with 1st degree criminal trespass and breach of peace 2nd degree

Gregory Williams is a student at Yale University's Divinity School and Daniel Fischer is a "community activist" with the Middle East Crisis Committee.

Sen. Toni Boucher called on Yale "to condemn and take the strongest possible action regarding this student. The Divinity program should be a model for peace, tolerance and understanding of all religions in the often hostile world we live in."

Gabriel Schivone: "As A Jew"

According to FringeGroups, in their post  "Rise of the Schivone Jews"

Mr. Gabriel Matthew Schivone is one of the very few people in human history whose very name appears destined to become a description of a phenomenon, in this case the Schivone Jew.  Previous examples of persons who have given their names to phenomena include Vidkun Quisling, the Earl of Sandwich, and only very few others.

He's even got his own entry on Urban Dictionary.

Gabriel Schivone  is the coordinator of Arizona's chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, and  was recently profiled by the controversial site Canary Mission, who wrote:

On the official 2011 Gaza flotilla website, Schivone is described as "a Chicano-Jewish American and undergraduate student who was born in Tucson, Arizona." 

Schivone is not Jewish. He has however, since 2011, consistently purported to be, and many - including himself - have suggested as to why this is.

He first "revealed" his cultural heritage in an article that he wrote for Ha'aretz explaining why he - as a Jew - was taking part in the anti-Israel flotilla bound for Israel in 2011. 

He was immediately admonished by a former classmate,Valerie Saturen. In a letter to the editor, Saturen explained, "Gabriel is not Jewish, whether in terms of ethnic ancestry, religious belief, or cultural identity. He has never identified as a Jew until it became useful in advancing his political agenda." 

Gabriel Schivone was interviewed in a Jerusalem Post article, Why do non-Jews bashing Israel claim to be Jewish? and was specifically asked  if he had converted to Judaism or if his parents or grandparents were Jewish. He did not answer affirmatively to either.

Gabriel will be participating in a June 6 talk to be held at the Culver-Palms United Methodist Church in Culver City, California. Even though Gabriel Schivone's lies has been outed repeatedly and publicly, they persist, exhibiting a narcissism that borders on pathological.

Again, from the J Post 

Prof. Alvin H. Rosenfeld, Director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary anti-Semitism at Indiana University, told the Post on Tuesday that “Israel’s defamers and delegitimizers include large numbers of misguided Jews, manipulative Jews, malevolent Jews, and other Jews of assorted bad faith. With Schivone, we now see phony Jews added to this notoriously disreputable bunch.”

Why has Minnesota Congressional representative Betty McCollum forgotten the Israeli victims of terror?

Once again Israeli children in the south are sleeping in bomb shelters as Gaza terrorists fire rockets at towns in Southern Israel. Yet Minnesota Congressional representative Betty McCollum says nothing about the rights of Israeli children to live free from fear in her letter to Secretary of State John Kerry.

Betty McCollum ignores a very real obstacle to peace – the demonization and incitement against Israel in the Palestinian educational system.

Just days ago, the Shehab News Agency posted photos of a Palestinian kindergarten graduation. These are not children being taught that peace is possible, or even that peace is desirable.

McCollum’s letter to John Kerry absolves the Palestinians of any responsibility for the role their state run media plays in glorifying violence and terror.

Just days ago, the official Palestinian state run television broadcast children declaring

"I do not fear the rifle 
because your throngs are in delusion and are ignorant herds 
Jerusalem is my land, Jerusalem is my honor
Jerusalem is my days and my wildest dreams 
Oh, you who murdered Allah’s pious prophets (i.e., Jews in Islamic tradition)?
Oh, you who were brought up on spilling blood
Oh Sons of Zion, oh most evil among creations
Oh barbaric monkeys
Jerusalem opposes your throngs
Jerusalem vomits from within it your impurity ?
Because Jerusalem, you impure ones, is pious, immaculate
And Jerusalem, you who are filth, is clean and pure
I do not fear barbarity 
As long as my heart is my Quran and my city 
As long as I have my arm and my stones 
As long as I am free and do not barter my cause 
I will not fear your throngs, I will not fear the rifle"



McCollum’s letter to John Kerry absolves the Palestinians of any responsibility for role in glorifying violence by naming streets, town squares and municipal buildings after terrorists.

The  "Dear Colleague" letter, written by Representative Betty McCollum of Minnesota was sent to other members of the House of Representatives. It asks her House colleagues to sign on to support her letter to and making the "rights of the children of Palestine a priority" in the U.S. relationship with Israel. It provides no context and says nothing about the children of Israel.

Contact your representative before June 12 and urge them to say no to Rep. McCollum's letter.

To find the contact information for the nearest local office of your representative, please go to her/his website.or check here

And, yes. Since you were wondering, Betty McCollum was endorsed by J Street 

Giant Swastika found in South San Francisco

A giant Swastika, created out of snap together tiles was discovered on the El Camino High School Football field, shortly after graduation.

From SF Gate:

“When I saw a giant swastika on the field, I was really pissed off," said Brisbane resident Robin Belinsky, who was driving by the school and stopped to document the crime by snapping pictures and taking video.

"The Peninsula has been a very accepting community, but these types of incidents need to be brought to the public's attention," she said. "Hate still happens."

Belinsky, who is Jewish, grew up in Pacifica and recalled dealing with incidents of anti-Semitism while in school. The stay-at-home mom wants to make sure her 2-year-old son doesn't have to deal with similar situations.

"More than likely it was stupid kids, but it's just not acceptable," she said.

Anyone with information involving the matter is asked to call the South San Francisco Police Department at (650) 877-8900.

New York's "Celebrate Israel" parade, with a bizarre Netueri Karta twist

Tens of thousands marching. Hundreds of thousands cheering them on.

The Celebrate Israel parade in New York City has been one of the highlights of the local Jewish community calendar for 51 years.

Even New York City’s iconic Empire State Building donned the  blue and white for this happy day.

“Jewish” Voice for Peace and the International “ Jewish” Anti-Zionist Network go into hiding on this day. They can’t even pretend to speak for the Jewish community in the face of this very public and very joyous celebration.

But the Neturei karta- the self described “true Torah Jews” have been a fixture at this parade for the past several years.

This years participation of the “true Torah Jews” was truly special, as documented at Arutz Sheva.

In recent years, Neturei Karta activists have been accused of employing a "rent-a-crowd" - paying non-Jews, usually immigrants, to dress up as Orthodox Jews and pose with anti-Israel signs to make up for their own steadily dwindling numbers.

On the surface, yesterday's parade was no different, except that by many accounts the demonstration was somewhat smaller than usual.

But there was one thing: participants who looked a little closer noticed, much to their amusement, that Neturei Karta appeared to have gone cheap on their actors' costumes.

Several eye-witnesses, including members of Arutz Sheva's own delegation to the event, said that for a significant period of time the Neturei Karta protest consisted of just one actual Jew, who spent his time directing a crowd of poorly-disguised Hispanic and other non-Jewish actors wielding anti-Zionist and - oddly - homophobic signs at paraders.

The following pictures were submitted by Rabbi Elchanan Poupko, an Arutz Sheva reader who was present at the Sunday parade.

"As we came close to the Neturei Karta group and the other group protesting the Israel Day Parade, we were shocked to discover that only one Jew was there while at the same time he hired Hispanic and other non-Jews, dressed them with tzitzit and Nachman kippot and had them hold his sign as if they are Jews," Rabbi Poupko related.

 They're not making fake Jews like they used too.

h/t  David

UPDATE:
Characterizing this "protest" as Netueri Karta may not be accurate. The NK are not opposed to BDS. 

The National Lawyers Guild. What went wrong in 67 years?

Early this year, the National Lawyers Guild joined extremist group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)  in opposing a California State Senate resolution condemning anti-Semitism on campus.  It was the latest ignoble gesture from an organization that has clearly forgotten its roots.

 

On May 14, 1948, eleven minutes after Israel's proclamation of independence, U.S. President Harry Truman signed an executive order granting de-facto recognition to the Jewish State. In an article published in the National Lawyers Guild Law Review shortly afterward,(8 Law. Guild Rev 441 1948) Phillip Baum writes urging full recognition of Israel, stating that governments with far less stability have been regularly given full recognition. 

He concludes that the conditions necessary  to recognize (either de facto or de jure) a nation state have been fulfilled, by considering both international law, as well as US precedent:

 

1. The existence of a government factually independent of any other state
2. The existence of a government competent to make its authority effective by securing the habitual obedience of the bulk of the population
3. The existence of a government willing to discharge its international obligations
4. The existence of a clearly defined territory

Baum concludes “The Israeli Government has established itself as a living organism… It is entitled to sit at the council of nations as a full fledged member. Its right to do so has been fully recognized by 15 countries”

 

Less than seven months later, President Truman extended full de-jure recognition to Israel.

 

Baum’s essay is interesting  as an example of just how far off course the National lawyers Guild has strayed in the last 67 years- emerging from early advocacy of the Jewish state to complete denial of Israel's right to exist. Current Guild claims that the Palestinians are the indigenous victims of colonialist Europeans are completely negated by the early Guild writings that fails to mention even the existence of a "Palestinian" people.

Baum's criteria in the Guild law review  provides an interesting and yet unmet framework for the recognition of a future Palestinian state. Could  there possibly be anyone on either side of this issue that believes that Hamas or Fatah constitute an effective authority willing to meet their international obligations?

All Activists Agree: Jibril Rajoub must go.

These are days of miracles and wonder.  Israel advocacy group StandWithUs has a petition online at change.org, Petitioning Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)  to "Kick Extremism Out of Football: Show Jibril Rajoub the Red Card".

Be sure to sign it at Change.org.


Sports are a unique way to bring diverse peoples together through shared passion. International sporting events like the World Cup are wonderful examples of this. Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority has used sports to indoctrinate children with hatred for the state of Israel, instead of allowing football, and other sports, to peacefully bring together Israelis and Palestinians of all ages. Some examples are:

- The Hilal Al-Quds club held a tournament for 12-year-olds named after Dalal Mugrahbi, the leader of a terror. The “Dalal Mugrahbi Championship."

- The Al-Amari youth center announced a soccer tournament named the “Martyr of Honor Wafa Idris Tournament.” Idris was the first Palestinian female suicide bomber.

- Eighteen teams from the Tulkarm District took part in a “Martyrs and Prisoners Soccer Tournament” at the Irtah High School. “All of the teams were named after Martyrs [terrorists],” the PA official newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, reported proudly. The top prize was the “Martyr Abu Jihad Trophy.”

- In the town of Fara’a, there is a soccer field named after Salah Khalaf, aka Abu Iyad, leader of the “Black September” gang that kidnapped and murdered 11 Israeli Olympic team members, including an American-born weightlifter, at the Munich Olympics in 1972.

One of the most egregious examples of this disturbing trend is the head of the Palestinian Football Association, head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, and former convicted terrorist Jibril Rajoub, who has been on a personal mission to suspend Israel from FIFA.

Rajoub was convicted of terrorist activities against Israeli in 1970, was released in a prisoner exchange, and rearrested for continued terrorist activity in 1985. He spent two years in prison. Following his release, he continued his path of terrorism and was deported for his activities. After the Oslo Accords, he was appointed to a position of leadership by Yasser Arafat and has "served" in the Palestinian Leadership ever since.

Rajoub has repeatedly condoned acts of terrorism and encouraged violence against Israelis. He has overseen children's football matches in the Palestinian communities that were named after murderers of Israeli civilians, he has been an outspoken advocate against any normalization or coexistence with Israelis and his statements are a direct violation of everything that both FIFA and the Olympic Games stand for. In response to a friendly match between Israeli and Palestinian children, Rajoub stated, "Any activity of normalization in sports with the Zionist enemy is a crime against humanity."

Rajoub stated about the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that “[I]f we had nuclear weapons, we’d be using them." In summer 2014, while he was serving as the head of the Palestinian Football Association, Rajoub stated, “Fatah has decided that our relations with the Israelis are relations between enemies...am I stopping you from slaughtering a settlement? No one is stopping anyone."

Rajoub is a member of the Palestinian organization Fatah who is the parent organization of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade - the terrorist organization responsible for the horrific 1972 murder of the Israeli Olympic team at the Munich games. In 2012, he opposed holding a minute of silence at the London Olympic Games for the 1972 slain Israeli Olympic team stating to remember them would be "racist."

It is appalling that such an individual is a part of anything related to FIFA or the Olympic Games.

We call for Jibril Rajoub's immediate suspension from FIFA and all activities related to the International Olympic Committee immediately.

Sports should bring people together, not encourage racism, bigotry, and violence. Kick extremism out of football: show Jibril Rajoub the red card!

 Sources: 

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=12585

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/terrorist-chief-of-palestinian-olympics-committee-calls-minute-of-silence-requests-racism/2012/07/26/

http://news.yahoo.com/moderate-palestinian-leader-swears-had-nuke-d-used-120410701.html

http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=91&doc_id=14441

Meanwhile, at Avaaz.org, there's a petition, in Arabic,  requesting the same thing, but for very different reasons.   Palestinians are furious that Jibril Rajoub withdrew the proposal for the expulsion of Israel from FIFA, and are demanding his removal as head of the Palestinian Football Association.

How often do Palestinians activists agree with StandWithUs?  Whatever your motivation, the answer is clear. Jibril Rajoub must go.

Palestinians are furious with Jibril Rajoub

Palestinians resort to snake warfare

The Palestinians are going low tech in their war against the Jews. 

Israeli soldiers found a snake tied by its tail at the top of a barrier when they tried to seek shelter from rioting Palestinians

Photo via Ma'an

From the Times of Israel:

Palestinian rioters from a village near Ramallah may have tried to use a new weapon against Israeli security personnel on Friday: serpents.

Rioters threw stones and bottles at Israeli forces before the soldiers advanced toward the concrete cover, encountering the snake.

The soldiers suspected that the snake, which they initially believed to be a venomous viper, was tied to the block by rioters with the aim of startling, or even injuring, an Israeli.

Closer examination found that it was an Asian Racer, a non-venomous serpent with similar colorings to the deadly Palestine Viper.

“We’re witness to different and varied attempts to harm soldiers, and in this case as well awareness prevented it,” border police officer Aharon Moyal, who commanded the force, told Ynet.

Olympia Food Co-op BDS suffers major setback.

In a ruling called  “a major setback to the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) campaign.” by advocacy group StandWithUs,  the Washington State Supreme Court has held that a lawsuit can proceed against Olympia Food Co-op board members.

When BDS resolutions pass, it is very often because they have been introduced via the back door, without a chance for opposing voices to be heard.  At the Olympia Food Co-op, a 2011 divestment resolution was introduced and voted on,  in violation of its own bylaws.

Five co-op members sued.  Olympic Co-op board members moved to dismiss the case and prevailed, arguing that it was a “SLAPP” lawsuit - strategic litigation against public policy.  Under Washington State's anti-SLAPP statute, the court awarded the defendants attorneys fees and fined the pro-Israel plaintiffs penalties, leaving the plaintiffs facing nearly $232,000 in fees and penalties.

The new ruling held that the decision cut off the groups “constitutional rights of petition and jury trial”, and reversed the lower court,  writing

This case requires us to decide the constitutionality of the Washington Act Limiting Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (anti-SLAPP statute).

“The legislature may enact anti-SLAPP laws to prevent vexatious litigants from abusing the judicial process by filing frivolous lawsuits for improper purposes. But the constitutional conundrum that RCW 4.24.525 creates is that it seeks to protect one group of citizen's constitutional rights of expression and petition—by cutting off another group's constitutional rights of petition and jury trial. This the legislature cannot do. See Opinion of the Justices, 134 N.H. 445, 641 A.2d 1012, 1015 (invalidating an anti-SLAPP bill because the law “cannot strengthen the constitutional rights of one group of citizens by infringing upon the rights of another group”). We hold RCW 4.24.525(4)(b) violates the right of trial by jury under article I, section 21 of the Washington Constitution because it requires a trial judge to invade the jury's province of resolving disputed facts and dismiss—and punish—non frivolous claims without a trial. We reverse the Court of Appeals and remand the case to the superior court for further proceedings.”

Thanks to the Seattle law firm of McNaul Ebel Nawrot & Helgren, for their help in ensuring this important victory.

For more information on the Olympia Food Co-op BDS case, see:

Justice prevails in Olympia

Big Win for Washington anti-BDS Activists

Washington Supreme Court Paves Way to Reopen Olympia Co-op BDS Case

US court ruling opens door to lawsuit against BDS

Breaking News!! BDS Defeat at Washington Supreme Court, May 28, 2015

Pass the Popcorn. Jewish Voice for Peace: Simply Hypocrisy

Its almost comical.

Jewish Voice for Peace has routinely stood shoulder to shoulder with the worse anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists out there, silent to the Jew-hate  that surrounded them. They've routinely marched along with groups  supporting terror. They've protested Jewish cultural events. They interrupted a commemoration on the liberation of Auschwitz.  They've sponsored and promoted anti-Semitic speakers.   They have lobbied against resolutions that would protect Jewish students on campus. 

And if we are to believe Gilad Atzmon, they coached a repulsive anti-Semite on how to be more politically correct and socially acceptable.

Gilad Atzmon refused and now finds himself in their cross-hairs – particularly ironic since they recently promoted his Los Angeles appearance.

Is JVP anti-Semitic? 

Its hard to know, but they have certainly aided and abetted anti-Semites, and offered them cover.  

What do we do when haters fight? I see no alternative than to sit back  and watch from a distance.

Gilad Atzmon has published a letter  that he claims is from  Rebecca Vilkomerson, JVP's Executive Director, disavowing itself from Alison Weir. He calls it  "The Protocols Of The Elders of ‘Anti' Zion".

It’s a classic pot calling the kettle black moment.

Pass the popcorn.

May 5, 2015

Dear Ms. Weir,

Jewish Voice for Peace has chosen not to work with you because our central tenet is opposition to racism in all its forms, and you have chosen repeatedly to associate yourself with people who advocate for racism.

You have been a repeat guest of white supremacist Clay Douglas on his hate radio show, the Free American. Clay Douglas is concerned primarily with the survival of the White race and sees malign Jewish influence everywhere. His racist, anti-Jewish, and anti-gay rhetoric can be found across the front pages of his multiple websites.

In the course of your appearance with Clay Douglas on August 25, 2010, for example, you were silent when Douglas invoked the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and engaged in a racist diatribe against Jews. Your repeated appearance on this show (April 23 and August 25, 2010; February 9 and May 18, 2011) show that you knew his extremist views and chose to continue the association.

Your troubling associations and choices further include giving interviews to a range of far-right outlets including The American Free Press, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has identified as a hate group, and the anti-gay, anti-Jewish pastor Mark Dankof. One of your articles appeared in an anthology that was promoted by the infamous Holocaust-denial organization, the Institute for Historical Review. We see no evidence that you have disavowed any of these outlets or institutions. Our movement must be built on a foundation of love, justice and equality for all people. It should not and cannot win by fueling or endorsing any form of hate, whether against People of Color, gays, Jews, Muslims or anyone else.

At Jewish Voice for Peace, we are particularly sensitive to the long history of anti-Jewish oppression as well as the ways that Palestinian liberation work is frequently tarred with false charges of anti-Semitism. Just as we call out the hateful associations of those who seek to perpetuate injustice against Palestinians, as a movement we must also hold the line against those who promote the false notion that Palestinian liberation can be won at the expense of others.

The alleged letter drips with unctuous self righteousness and irony.  JVP’s long history of questionable partnerships and regular protests of Jewish community events have shown  how particularly insensitive and willingly blind the group has been to the long history of anti-Jewish oppression.

It was just this March, when they collaborated with Alison Weir on an anti-AIPAC campaign.

To disavow Alison Weir, but to continue an association with Code Pink, who have happily vacationed with the mullahs of Iran (who have denied one Holocaust while planning another) is simply hypocrisy

To disavow Alison Weir, but to continue an association with American Muslims for Palestine, Sabeel and CAIR is simply hypocrisy.

To disavow Alison Weir but to continue an association with any group that deny the Jewish people the right to self determination is simply hypocrisy.

To disavow Alison Weir but to continue an association with  any group that seeks to restrict the rights of the Jewish people is simply hypocrisy.

This letter does not represent a policy shift for Jewish Voice for Peace. Its posturing- a desperate grasp at adding a veneer of respectability to an organization that's repeatedly been exposed for its intolerance and bigotry.

To learn more about Jewish Voice for Peace
Driving a wedge: JVP’s strategy to weaken U.S. Support for Israel by Dividing the Jewish Community

Jews Helping Hamas Are No Voice for Peace

Jewish Voice for Peace whitewashes anti-Semitism in the anti-Israel movement

For more information on the family feud:

When Israel-haters attack - each other

When Rogues Fall Out: Weir's warfare with Jewish Voice for Peace

Rock on! More BDS fails from Israel

One Republic, the Colorado pop rock band is now touring Israel, and its enough to make the BDS holes gnash their teeth in despair.

Its not just a hit and run concert. They are taking time to tour the Holy land,  and if their comments on social media are any indication, they are impressed.

Today One Republic visited an Iron Dome missile defense system base in Ashkelon, and took time to pose with the soldiers.

From YNET

The visit to the Iron Dome soldiers' base was part of the band's Israel tour, in which they visited Tiberias and Kibbutz Ginosar, Caesarea, and an IDF base on the Golan Heights

Sources close to the band members said they were impressed with the religious sites and claimed there was a significant gap between how Israel was presented in the news abroad and their personal impression of the Jewish state.

via Twitter

Expected in Israel, later this summer:

• Singer songwriter Suzanne Vega will give two concerts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv on June 9 and 10, 2015. Tickets are on sale via Eventim.

• Art Garfunkel from the legendary duo Simon and Garfunkel, has announced a performance date in Israel at the Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv - June 10, 2015. Tickets range from NIS 299 to NIS 1,000 and are on sale through www.leaan.co.il.

• Reggae star Damian Marley will also perform in Rishon leZion - on June 24, 2015. Tickets are on sale at Eventim.

• Dire Straits band leader Mark Knopfler will perform alongside Chris White and other international musicians on June 27, 2015 at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds Hall 2. Tickets are on sale via Eventim.

Amnesty International says Hamas abducted, tortured and killed Palestinians in 2014

Amnesty International has documented egregious human rights abuses committed by the terror group Hamas against its own citizens. The report, Strangling Necks’: Abduction, Torture and Summary Killings of Palestinians by Hamas Forces During the 2014 Gaza/Israel Conflict documents incidences of  Hamas's torture and murder of Palestinians during last summers' conflict

Those targeted by Hamas included members of the Fatah party and people accused of "collaborating" with Israel.  23 Palestinians were shot and killed by Hamas. 6 of them were publicly executed. 3 others died in custody shortly after their arrest. Dozens more were arrested and tortured.

According to Amnesty International:

Many of the arrests looked more like abductions – with armed men in civilian clothes,
sometimes masked, who did not present identification or a legal basis for arrest, forcing the
suspects into a car and taking them to locations unknown to their families. The suspects
would often be beaten in the car and the beatings would continue at the place of detention
and during the interrogation.

Testimonies gathered by Amnesty  indicate that victims of torture were beaten with truncheons, gun butts, hoses, wire, and fists. Others were also burnt with fire, hot metal or acid.

Read the full report here.

Hamas imposed a new tax on Gaza

With its tunnel economy floundering, Hamas leaders are looking to new sources of income to maintain the lifestyles to which they have become accustomed. To that end, a new tax on "non-essentials" will be imposed on the people of Gaza. Over 400 items will be affected, including meat, fruits, vegetables and clothing. It rather begs the question of just what is considered "non-essential" in Gaza?

From YNET:

“The purpose of the law is to ease the suffering of the poor in the Gaza Strip,” said Ahmad Abu Halbiya, a member of Hamas’s parliamentary block who passed the new tax. “We’ll collapse as a society in Gaza if we do not impose these taxes. It’s not much but it will benefit the citizens of Gaza - especially the security police who need money for cars.” Abu Halbiya said that flour and medicines, as essential goods, would be exempt from the tax.

Abu Halbiya acknowledged that Hamas’s 40,000 employees will be the main recipients of the new tax revenue.

Read it all here

Sderot - Bomb Shelter Capital of the World

Over 14,000 rockets and mortars have been launched at Southern Israel from Gaza. Each of those rockets constitutes a war crime and was meant to murder, to maim, and to terrorize the civilian population of Israel.

In spite of the bombardment of rockets from Gaza, the Israeli casualty rate has been, up to now, fairly low.
Israel has invested millions of dollars in infrastructure to keep its people safe. An early warning system gives residents of Southern Israel a 15 second alert when a rocket has been fired- that can mean the difference between life and death for many. It is also available as a smart phone app. Iron Dome, a mobile missile defense system can shot rockets down before they have a chance to cause mass casualties. And in areas under threat,  Israel has built a comprehensive system of bomb shelters-  at bus stops, in playgrounds, and every where that people gather.

Via Huff Post Sderot - Bomb Shelter Capital of the World

A photo essay of the bomb shelters of Sderot.

Israel invests money in infrastructure to keep its civilian population safe.

Hamas? They have very different priorities.

 

Jewish Voice for Peace protests a Jewish Heritage Festival.

Via Emunah:

After interrupting a Holocaust commemoration in New York City, nothing Jewish Voice for Peace does should surprise us.   Jewish Voice for Peace  recently had the audacity to lobby against a California Senate resolution condemning antisemitism. T-shirts shirts glorifying Rasmea Odeh, the unrepentant murder of 2 young Jews were available for purchase at the most recent JVP conference.

Those "Jewish values" they claim guides them are nowhere to be seen.

Last weekend, JVP sank even further into the abyss,  promoting a protest of a local Jewish Heritage Festival

David L. Mandel, a Sacramento attorney and anti-Israel activist with Jewish Voice for Peace  promoted a protest of the annual  Jewish Heritage Festival protest, with an email demonizing the local  Jewish Federation, sponsor of the event as the "Israel lobby".

While thousands attended the festivities at Raley field in Sacramento, a handful of extremists gathered in protest, shouting bitterly to no one in particular

They were singularly ignored by the beautiful multi-generational throngs that packed Raley field to celebrate their heritage.

Jewish Voice for Peace has (again) chosen to stand with the anti-Semites who deny our relationship with our land , deny our history and deny our peoplehood. Perpetuating anti-Semitic rhetoric will never be the path to peace. These are not and never will be Jewish values.

Like it or not, JVP, Israel, home to 40% of the world's Jewish population, is a vital part of our cultural and religious heritage as a people.

This week, Jewish people across the world celebrate  Shavuot,  a 3500 year old link between the Land of Israel(Abraham), the Torah of Israel (Moses) and the people of Israel (united by King David).

I can only imagine what JVP will be doing instead.

Hatem Bazian's Islamophobia Conference Sparsely attended.

Hot off his  Censoring Palestine event at UC Berkeley, which reportedly attracted any where from 8 to 25 participants, 

Poorly attended Censoring Palestine conference at Boalt hall, UC Berkeley

Hatem Bazian is at it again.

According to Cinnamon Stillwell and Rima Greene, reporting in CampusWatch , The University of California, Berkeley's recent Sixth Annual International Islamophobia Conference—organized by the Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project was also sparsely attended,  drawing anywhere from 20 -50 participants.

From the article in Campus Watch h/t Gary

"Islamophobia studies" is the latest addition to the academic pantheon of politicized, esoteric, and divisive "studies" whose purpose is to censor criticism of differing views by stigmatizing critics as racist or clinically insane. The University of California, Berkeley's recent Sixth Annual International Islamophobia Conference—organized by the Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project (IRDP)—was titled, "The State of the Islamophobia Studies Field." The fact that this "field" doesn't yet formally exist in the U.S. may explain why speakers the first day of the conference barely mentioned it. As in years past, the conference featured victimology, academic jargon, and anti-Western rhetoric....

While this year's conference may have failed to usher in the dawn of an officially recognized "Islamophobia studies," it wasn't for lack of effort. Soon after, IRDP announced the latest edition of its politicized bi-annual publication, the Islamophobia Studies Journal. Perhaps following UC Berkeley's lead, Georgetown University recently launched the Bridges Initiative, a project of the Saudi-funded Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding devoted to "protecting pluralism – ending Islamophobia."

The subject is all the rage in the field of Middle East studies and throughout academe, which is doing its utmost to silence critics of the Islamic supremacism, systemic social problems, and total chaos plaguing the region. If and when "Islamophobia studies" becomes a reality, we can't claim we didn't see it coming.

Read it all here

Methodist boycott of the Holocaust Museum?

Janet Lahr Lewis’ angry, uninformed and insensitive screed on the Palestinian “nakba” is attracting the wrong sort of attention, apparently, and has been removed from the online weekly newsletter of the Methodist’s  General Board of Church and Society.

Mark Tooley, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington, D.C. and author of Methodism and Politics in the Twentieth Century writes in the American Spectator:

Maybe the Methodist “missionary” and “peace with justice” advocate will explain what she means by “ongoing Palestinian Holocaust” in her next column. Except the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society has evidently deleted her last “holocaust” column, whether from shame or prudence. This Capitol Hill agency routinely demonizes Israel and for years has been trying to persuade its denomination to divest from Israel. But apparently it’s not ready to embrace openly a call to boycott the Holocaust Museum

Removing an absurd and disgusting column without public comment is not sufficient. This agency that represents United Methodism’s political witness to Congress should apologize. Its staff and board members should conduct a group visit to the nearby Holocaust Museum to be reminded why the Nazi murders of the Jews has special ranking in human depravity.

Janet Lahr Lewis's essay had  urged a boycott of Holocaust museums, in light of the "ongoing Palestinian holocaust", writing:

Don’t participate in Holocaust Remembrance Day without participating in Al Nakba Remembrance Day. Don’t visit a Holocaust museum until there is one built to remember the other holocausts in the world: the on-going Palestinian holocaust, the Rwandan, the Native American, the Cambodian, the Armenian… You could be waiting a long time!

With this comment.  "peace activist" Janet Lahr Lewis has placed herself squarely in the company of anti-Semites, Holocaust minimizers and deniers.

Holocaust denial and Holocaust minimization  is Antisemitism

Read Mark Tooley's full article here

UPDATE:

Media Watchdog CAMERA writes about it here, in a post by Dexter van Zile:
Methodist Staffer Demonizes Israel, Reveals Ignorance