Monday, June 02, 2014
Santa Claus and the Israel Lobby
If you believe AIPAC, it’s an incredibly effective organization. If you believe its enemies, AIPAC runs America and parts of Canada. It’s not an accusation that AIPAC denies too hard. Mall Santas don’t deny that they have flying reindeer waiting for them on the roof. AIPAC is a fat man in a rented red suit and fake beard trying to pretend that it can do anything. But AIPAC would have better luck making reindeer fly than countering the dominant power of the anti-Israel left and the Saudi lobby in Washington D.C.Israel Thrives: Defining pro-Israel
And that’s because it doesn’t even try.
When the Democratic Party’s platform deleted the usual mention of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, removed a call to boycott Hamas and opposition to the “Right of Return” vocal protests came from Jewish organizations.
AIPAC was not one of them.
Before long, the primaries will begin for the campaign to succeed Barack Obama. One of the issues in the upcoming campaign will be who is good for Israel. This assessment might seem simple, but that would be deceiving. The reality is that no viable candidate will claim to be anything but pro-Israel. With everyone vying to claim the pro-Israel mantle, how should we determine who would support Israel when it counts and who would bail out?‘Open Hillel’ Only Promotes Anti-Semitism
One part of this assessment would be a review of Obama's record. For all the legitimate gripes we have about Obama's record on Israel, it is important to note that on any matter of providing military equipment or assistance, Obama has never let Israel down. Is this an attempt to exonerate Obama from the positions he has taken on Israel? No. Rather, this is an effort to bring in all the facts that a view of Obama's record on Israel needs to explain.
What Obama's military assistance to Israel shows is that when the Arabs wage conventional warfare or terror against Israel, Obama has Israel's back. We do not have to ask questions. However, those methods of attempting to destroy Israel are yesterday's war, corresponding to the Arabs' primary modus operandi from 1948-1973 and 1973-roughly 1995. Today's war, which started as far back as the 1960's but became more significant only recently, is the Arab effort to delegitimize Israel and thus gain international support to destroy Israel or at least to change the battlespace enough that they would be able to succeed in destroying Israel on their own through the previous two means. Obama's shortcomings come in his support, or lack thereof, for Israel in today's war.
In other words, criticism of Israel is welcome at Hillel as long as that criticism does not call for the destruction of the Jewish state, hold Israel to an impossible double standard, or call for the boycott of the only Jewish state.
Therefore, by default, all ‘Open Hillel’ supports is the inclusion of these dangerous anti-Semitic messages at the Jewish student center. Again, this is true because Hillel already allows all other voices.
Delegitimizing and demonizing the Jewish state, as well as holding it to a double standard (which BDS does on a regular basis), is considered anti-Semitic even by John Kerry’s State Department.
Study: Fate of Palestinian Christians May Reflect Character of Future State
Justus Reid Weiner last week published a report for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs documenting the fate of Middle Eastern Christians. Pope Francis’s recent visit to the Middle East, according to some observers, boosted the Palestinian case for a state. However, the fate of Palestinian Christians may play a role in determining the ultimate nature of a future Palestinian state.The American Government vs.Pro-Israel Supporters
Specifically Weiner mentions the intimidation of the female Christian mayor of Bethlehem, the disenfranchising of a Baptist church in Bethlehem, and the arrests of Christians for eating publicly during Ramadan, among other depredations. All of these occurred in areas under the control the Palestinian Authority. In Gaza, under Hamas, Christians have faced kidnapping, murder, and forced conversions.
Weiner argued that religious freedom must be made a requirement of a future Palestinian state.
In the aftermath of IRS admissions that they had been intentionally targeting conservative groups since at least 2011, making intrusive and unconstitutional inquiries, is there not clear writing on the wall about pro-Israel organizations? Jay Sekulow of the ACLJ noted, alluding to the conservative organizations being targeted, that it was a revival of “McCarthyism” – and a deliberate targeting and harassment of conservative organizations.Orim At An Anti-Assad Rally
Where are the voices of the many liberal Jewish organizations condemning this Administration for turning the full power of the IRS on American citizens? This is a harsh attack upon freedom and liberty, which is liberal practice at its finest – liberal except when it comes to political opponents.
If indeed pro-Israel organizations' claims are true and they were targeted because they worked to educate about Zionism, Israel and the need for Israel to stand strong against terrorists, there will be legal repercussions. The American government's harassment of political opponents – which may include pro-Israel organizations – is sinister and despicable.
Friend of Israellycool and Zionist Arab Orim goes to an anti-Assad rally, armed with an Israeli flag, a banner commending Israel for helping injured Syrians, and his usual sense of humor and eagerness to educate the ignorant.
As usual, extreme hatred and prejudice hilarity ensues. (h/t Yenta Press)
Saudi press house under fire for translating Israeli book
The book, titled "Saudi Arabia and the New Strategic Landscape" was written by Prof. Joshua Teitelbaum and published in English in 2010. It deals with relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, focusing on issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.BDS Fail from Across the Pond. Remarks by Matthew Gould, British Ambassador to Israel
The book's publication in the kingdom by a Saudi press house, prompted claims from media outlets that the move is in violation of Saudi Arabia's official position which opposes any type of normalization with Israel.
Last night the British Ambassador Matthew Gould hosted over 600 guests at the residence to celebrate the Queen's official birthday. Here's the speech he delivered. Count all the BDS fails.BDS, DePaul U. and Hypocrisy
Remarks by Matthew Gould, British Ambassador to Israel on the occasion of the Queen’s Birthday 2014
So let the advocates of BDS set the example by throwing away any device that links to the Internet. Let them also not avail themselves of all the advances in medicine and science that won Jews over one hundred Nobel prizes. From Insulin to the Polio vaccine, let them persist in their boycott.The Presbyterian assault on Israel
As for universities, there is a difference between engaging in the free marketplace of ideas and using agitprop to bully people. Right now, on too many campuses, BDS is gone beyond advocacy to physical harassment and intimidation.
Let universities, like DePaul, secure in their own traditions, say yes to the free exchange of ideas and no to physical intimidation. Christian monks saved Western civilization for the world. Now is not the time to compromise that legacy by failing to recognize the difference between civilization and barbarism.
Every page provides new examples of the ugliness of this document (e.g., a paragraph headed “Binyamin Netanyahu: toward a single, Jewish, apartheid state”). There is a chapter about Israeli extremism (Baruch Goldstein, etc.), but no mention of the fact that the Israeli government and media severely condemn Jewish extremism while the Palestinian Authority celebrates the most vicious terrorists as heroes, and names schools after them.When Goose-Stepping Pairs With Israel-Bashing
There are chapters including stories about the ‘dispossession’ of Arabs in 1948 told without the slightest bit of context. There is one contrasting the “inclusive theology of the Qur’an with the exclusive theology of Zionism.” There is one arguing that Jews are happier and better off outside of Israel (tell that to Belgian and French Jews today). There are theological arguments refuting the view that Christians ought to be supportive of Zionism. There is the inevitable Beinartism about how American Jews are “cocooned” by the Jewish establishment to keep them from finding out about the oppression perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinians.
BBC journalist Chris Rogers this week was revealed to have amused himself by giving the Nazi salute and strutting about in a Hitler-style goose-step while filming a documentary--on, of all things, anti-Semitic soccer fans in eastern Europe. The British Daily Mail newspaper first reported on Rogers' vile actions on their website on May 19.100% of missile fire from Gaza Strip in May ignored by BBC
Rogers' "defense" was that his behavior was "intended as a joke." Humor can be very revealing.
Is it just a coincidence that when he is not saluting Hitler, Rogers keeps busy by bashing Israel? In 2007, he and fellow-British journalist Deborah Turness produced a short documentary called "Too Young to Die: Children of the Frontline." Its theme was that Israel is mistreating Palestinian Arab children by arresting them when they commit terrorist acts.
Numerous incidents of shooting and stone-throwing at Israeli vehicles took place in Judea & Samaria and Jerusalem, with several Israelis and one Palestinian man injured. On May 30th a suicide bomber was apprehended at Tapuach Junction and the explosives he was carrying on his person safely detonated.Real Madrid punished for fans’ racist behavior
At least one BBC journalist was aware of that incident but, like the rest of the above security incidents and terror attacks throughout May, it too was ignored by the BBC meaning that the corporation’s audiences remain unaware of vital information necessary for them to be able to “participate in the global debate on significant international issues” as pledged by the BBC.
NYON, Switzerland — Champions League winner Real Madrid was punished by UEFA on Friday for “racist incidents” by its fans during a semifinal match against Bayern Munich after some supporters displayed a Nazi banner.Jimmy Carter Advising UK Holocaust Commission On How To Remember Holocaust
Two sections of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium — sectors 120 and 122 — will be closed for the club’s first home match in the Champions League group stage next season.
“Real Madrid are obliged to display a banner with the wording ‘No to Racism’ in those sectors,” UEFA said.
The Onion called and asked for its story back.Was the Farhud a Nazi event?
I doubt Carter can remember whether or not he put on his diaper, let alone the Holocaust.
But more to the point: Carter really does have a hard time remembering the Holocaust, or at least mentioning it.
How does one explain that Arabs murdered Jewish neighbours and policemen took off their uniforms and joined rioters in the Farhud pogrom, whose 73rd anniversary falls at the festival of Shavuot? Lawyers in Israel are bringing a case against the Israeli government for compensation by claiming that the pogrom, which claimed more victims than Kristallnacht, was a direct result of German-Nazi propaganda. Haaretz reports: (With thanks: Imre; Lily)Eco Wave Power Takes Top Prize at Mixiii 2014 Innovation Event
A legal struggle that Farhud victims are waging against Israel provides a possible explanation of the motives. Based on the professional opinion of historians, the plaintiffs claim that Nazi Germany was behind it. Accordingly, they are demanding that the government recognize the victims of the Farhud as victims of the Nazis, granting them compensation and benefits according to the Disabled Victims of Nazi Persecution Law. Their claims, which were denied, are now being clarified by an appeals committee.
Israeli wave energy technology developer Eco Wave Power won the most innovative technology award at this weeks Mixiii 2014 event.Israel to share agricultural expertise with Montenegro
“The fact that Eco Wave Power, an alternative energy company, took home one of the top prizes in Mixiii, shows once again that Israel’s cleantech companies are at the forefront of innovation,” said Adi Yefet, head of the water arena at Israel NewTech. Yefet noted that the event covered innovation in all areas, from biotech, to hi-tech and more.
Israel is willing to share its experience in the application of latest skills and technologies in agriculture with Montenegro’s farmers in order to achieve better results, the meeting between the two countries’ agriculture ministers Predgar Ivanović and Yair Shamir concluded in Podgorica earlier today.Israel rides out drought with desalination
Montenegro’s Agriculture Minister Predrag Ivanović told the press following the meeting that he was impressed by Israel’s willingness to transfer its experience in promoting agricultural production, irrigation, researches, as well as its achievements in the forestry sector.
"One of our challenges in agriculture is how to increase quantity and quality of food. Israel is far ahead of us in the use of technology, innovation and application of know-how in the field of agriculture and we have a lot to learn from them in order to achieve better results in agriculture. I am sure that our cooperation will be slowly transferred to other sectors of the economy, which will contribute to the strengthening of bilateral cooperation ", Minister Ivanović explained.
After experiencing its driest winter on record, Israel is responding as never before — by doing nothing.Israel’s Peres Hosts LA Lakers Center Pau Gasol, Along With Arab, Jewish Teen Basketball Players
While previous droughts have been accompanied by impassioned public service advertisements to conserve, this time around it has been greeted with a shrug — thanks in large part to an aggressive desalination program that has transformed this perennially parched land into perhaps the most well-hydrated country in the region.
“We have all the water we need, even in the year that was the worst year ever regarding precipitation,” said Avraham Tenne, head of the desalination division of Israel’s Water Authority. “This is a huge revolution.”
Israeli President Shimon Peres on Sunday hosted Pau Gasol, co-captain of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, along with a delegation of young Jewish and Arab basketball players at the president’s residence in Jerusalem.Look who’s headlining Israel’s hot-ticket summer
Pau Gasol, in his first visit to Israel, is leading a basketball workshop for Jewish and Arab children to promote peace and coexistence.
Israel is undoubtedly on the international music touring lists: Justin Timberlake, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Lana Del Rey, Prodigy, Soundgarden, Paul Anka, Chicane, Yanni, Backstreet Boys, Kansas, Passenger and Gogol Bordello will all stop by for some hummus and falafel.CNN lists Tel Aviv in ’10 gay honeymoon hotspots’
“Israel’s population is as big as some of the smaller European countries. There’s no difference between us when it comes to music. We have an audience and there’s money to be made here,” Benny Dudkevitch, a veteran Israel Radio editor and popular music historian, tells ISRAEL21c.
CNN recently listed Tel Aviv as one of the world’s best gay honeymoon destinations, citing the city’s beaches, nightlife and tolerance in its reasoning. The list also includes Cape Town, Lesbos and Mykonos, Miami and the Florida Keys, Phuket, Sitges, Sydney, Puerto Vallarta and Brighton.Mass. rolls out red carpet for Israeli start-ups
“Tel Aviv doesn’t have a gay village because the whole city considers itself gay-friendly, but Rothschild Avenue is a particular focus, where as many same-sex couples walk hand in hand as straight couples,” writes CNN.
Ten Israeli start-ups have been selected to set up shop in Boston, where they plan to compete for as much as a million dollars in funding, courtesy of the State of Massachusetts. The MassChallenge competition awards over $1 million in cash prizes to winning start-ups, with no strings attached, along with top-tier mentoring, training, free office space, access to funding, legal advice, media and over $15 million of in-kind support.A Victory for Jewish Unity at Israel Day Parade
While Israeli start-ups compete in tech challenges around the world, MassChallenge is different. The MassChallenge program is five years old, and is being run in Israel for the second time. It is the only place outside Massachusetts to be so honored.
The annual Israel Day Parade on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue is unfolding Sunday, with over 35,000 people marching in support for the world's one and only Jewish State.Samuel L. Jackson at NY Israel parade
Concerns were raised about the presence of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) groups participating in the parade, sparking tensions between differing American Jewish organizations over the past several weeks.
But despite the pre-parade tensions, Arutz Sheva staff members at the scene report that the event is replete with Jewish unity, providing a positive ending to a potentially ugly debate.
By contrast, the only extremist elements causing a ruckus at the parade include two small protests by anti-Israel extremists Neturei Karta and the fundamentalist political hate group, the Westboro Baptist Church.
Thousands of people gathered in New York City on Sunday for the annual Celebrate Israel parade, but only one of them has ever had to battle an airplane full of snakes.Celebrate Israel Parade
“Celebrate Israel Parade in NY today,” actor Samuel L. Jackson tweeted along with a “selfie” photograph of himself at the event.
