From Ian:
Melanie Phillips: Not afraid? What planet are you on?
Apparently, civilisation is saved! Some 3 million people took to the streets of Paris last Sunday to declare "Je suis Charlie" and that they would fight off the threat to freedom just like the French resistance. "We are not afraid," shouted the crowd.
Oh, but they are. If anyone really thinks the Paris march means Europe is now going to save itself, they are living on a different planet. Virtually nobody is Charlie, because virtually nobody will publish a condemnation of Islam. Some papers gingerly reproduced this week's cover of Charlie Hebdo with its cartoon of a tearful Mohammed holding a "Je suis Charlie" sign. Others refused, out of fear.
Virtually no mainstream media has analysed, let alone condemned, the threatening doctrines and assumptions in Islamic religion and culture. They are not going to start now.
Yes, it was heartening that so many turned out to protest their attachment to freedom of speech. But surely, the real issue is barbaric slaughter?
True, the demonstrators also mourned the slain police officers and Jewish shoppers. But if all 17 victims had been Jews gunned down in that kosher deli, does anyone really think 3 million would have marched through Paris declaring "Je suis Juif"?
Micahel Lumish How does it feel to be targeted for genocide?
When I take a gander at a place like Daily Kos, which simply represents typical left-leaning blog space, it indicates a disinclination to actually focus on the murderers in favor of focusing on the crimes of the murdered. They cannot very well blame the Jews at the kosher grocery for being Jewish, so they generally ignore that aspect, or twist it into something to do with Israel in order to place blame on the victims. Generally, however, they simply leave the Jews out of it and place the blame for Jihadi aggression on western “racism” of the type allegedly published in Charlie Hebdo.
It is for this reason that while almost the entirety of Paris was claiming “Je suis Charlie” many Kossacks were insisting “I am not Charlie.” Rather than condemning the source of the Parisian attacks, which is political Islam, the western left generally prefers to blame other westerners who they consider politically incorrect or not sufficiently progressive to avoid the wrath of justifiably angry Jihadis.
In any case, how does it feel to be targeted for genocide?
Not only do many of our supposed allies actually think that the Jewish people deserve whatever beating we get, but they even refuse to acknowledge the reality and vitality of the political movement doing the genocidal threatening and beating.
It is truly a remarkable thing to see the leadership of many tens or hundreds of millions of people literally screech for the blood of the Jews and then see our western “friends” either blame Israel or simply turn their backs.
Gerald Steinberg: Can Mogherini Repair EU-Israel Relations?
The need for a radical change in the EU approach was recently highlighted by Dennis Ross, the primary American expert on Arab-Israeli peace efforts. Ross pointedly criticized the counterproductive role of Europe through fervent support for the unilateral Palestinian statehood strategy, and for the obsessive focus on condemning Israel. Instead, Ross called on Europe to “focus on how to raise the cost of saying no or not acting at all when there is an offer on the table, rather than backing the Palestinians as they seek to avoid mutual concessions with their UN and ICC gambits.” Mogherini should heed Ross, and start to map out these changes.
Indeed, the EU’s role in the Palestinian campaign to “bring Israel to the dock” at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is another destructive policy. This strategy did not suddenly arise out of Palestinian “frustration” at the failure of the peace talks, the setback at the UN Security Council, or other recent events, and many European pundits speculated. Rather, this line of attack was explicitly adopted during the negotiations of the Rome Statute that led to the establishment of the ICC, and has been moving steadily since then. In 1997, towards the end of this process, the members of the Arab League pushed through language that stretched the definition of war crimes to cover issues related to occupation and population transfers. The purpose was clearly to prepare the grounds for exploiting the ICC for “legal warfare” (lawfare) to target Israel. At the time, Europe could have opposed this maneuver to single-out Israel, but Brussels as well as the EU member states went along.
Since then, this lawfare has been joined by a powerful army of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), largely funded by Europe. While the NGO allocation processes in the European Union under frameworks such as the EU Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) remain top-secret and exempted from Freedom of Information laws (another sore point in relations with Israel), the annual total for anti-Israel campaigning related to lawfare and demonization of Israel is estimated at approximately 100 million Euros.
Miss Israel Responds After Miss Lebanon Distances Herself From Joint Photo: ‘It Doesn’t Surprise Me, But it Still Makes Me Sad’
Miss Israel, Doron Matalon, has responded to the controversy surrounding a ‘selfie’ she took together with Miss Lebanon at the ongoing Miss Universe competition in Florida, saying that she is saddened, by not surprised by the Arab beauty’s decision to strongly distance herself from the picture.
“It doesn’t surprise me, but it still makes me sad. Too bad you can not put the hostility out of the game,” Matalon wrote on Instagram on Sunday. “Only for three weeks of an experience of a lifetime that we can meet girls from around the world and also from the neighboring country.”
The controversial picture was first posted by Matalon on January 11th and was captioned: “Good morning from us!”
After an avalanche of criticism from within the Arab world, which often frowns on contact with Israel, Miss Lebanon, Saly Greige, on Friday issued a stunning repudiation of the image and even claimed to have been avoiding Miss Israel throughout the competition.
“The truth behind the photo,” she claimed was that “Since the first day of my arrival to participate to Miss Universe, I was very cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss Israel (that tried several times to have a photo with me) … I was having a photo with Miss Japan, Miss Slovenia and myself; suddenly Miss Israel jumped in, took a selfie, and put it on her social media…this is what happened and I hope to have your full support in the Miss Universe contest.”
Top 10 developments from Miss Universe Pageant (satire)
Yesterday, Beirut was up in arms at an Instagram photo of Miss Israel and Miss Lebanon appearing together at the Miss Universe pageant.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 other developments from the pageant:
9. After the photobombing incident, the UN Security Council condemned Miss Israel for not dropping photoleaflets beforehand.
7. Miss Lebanon fumed to the judges claiming Miss Israel’s Jewish shape-shifting talents gave her an unfair advantage in the swimsuit contest.
6. After Miss Israel withdrew from the bathroom of their hotel suite, Miss Lebanon responded by launching shampoo bottles at her. Miss Iran denied putting her up to it.
5. Despite letting Miss Israel sit at their lunch table, Miss Jordan and Miss Egypt talked trash about her the minute she left to powder her nose.
4. Even though Miss Syria killed all 20 of her own trained doves before the talent competition, the international judges docked 100 points from Miss Israel and Miss Israel only.
Alan M. Dershowitz: Brandeis University: Both Pro-Israel and Pro Free Speech
Hateful speech against Israel, America and Western values must be responded to in the marketplace of ideas. It cannot be defeated by the censor. It must win the battle for the minds and hearts of open-minded students and faculty. President Lawrence has a difficult job but in my view he is doing it well. Reasonable people can disagree with specific decisions, such as the withdrawal of an honorary doctorate from Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I do. But that was not so much a matter of free speech – she was not prevented from expressing her views on the campus.
It was a question of who the university should honor. With regard to other issues, President Lawrence has expressed strong personal support for Israel and Zionism while defending the rights of those who disagree with him to express contrary views.
There are few more difficult jobs today than being a university president. They must balance so many conflicting principles and values. President Lawrence has tried hard to strike the appropriate balance under challenging circumstances. In my view, both he and the university have done a commendable job.
Brandeis, as an institution, remains deeply committed to the Jewish and Zionist principles of its founders and namesake. It has close connections to Israel. It presents a safe environment for supporters, detractors and critics of both Israel and its enemies.
As an institution, and through the words and deeds of its president, Brandeis University is supportive of the nation state of the Jewish people.
I would be both proud and comfortable sending my own children and grandchildren to Brandeis University, knowing that they will have a safe and intellectually challenging experience in an environment supportive of Jewish, Zionist and freespeech values.
Crossing The Line - Exclusive Preview
Hypocrisy After the Paris Terror Attacks
European Jews have been under attack for more than a decade. But there were no marches after Halimi’s death, the Brussels murders, and numerous other incidents. There were some protests after Toulouse, most likely due to the general horror at a killer deliberately targeting children, but nothing on the scale of this past week. Many French Jews felt that those protests were quite muted, given the horror of the event. More troubling, nowhere have I heard an acknowledgement that Europeans have failed to take seriously these attacks on Jews. Instead, people have explained away the attacks by suggesting they’re a response to Israel’s actions in the Middle East. That argument telegraphs the message that, while killing Jews was wrong, it was understandable. The BBC’s Tim Wilcox expressed precisely this sentiment when, during an interview with a Jewish woman at Sunday’s march in Paris, he interjected that “Many critics though of Israel’s policy would suggest that the Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well.” (He’s since apologized.)
We’ve seen this attitude before. I have said it in these pages: Jewish blood is cheap. In 2012 the International Olympic Committee refused to set aside one minute—60 seconds—to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich games. The committee claimed that they didn’t want to mar the joy of the opening ceremony. What the committee didn’t admit was that a portion of the opening ceremony was to be devoted to those who had been killed in the London 7/7 bombings and those who had died in other circumstances. In other words, a commemoration was already scheduled but not for Jewish victims.
I feel a bit like a curmudgeon when I complain that the march’s wonderful joining of the victims of the attacks—journalists, polices, and Jews alike—felt hypocritical. But, given the silence at every other attack on Jews, it seems clear that the only reason the public at large paid attention was because of the Charlie Hebdo connection. I sadly predict that in the future, if only Jews are victims, people will just shake their heads and move on.
I stress: I am not asking for sympathy. I ask the general European population to recognize that these attacks directly threaten them and the liberal democratic society they treasure. It begins with the Jews but it never ends with them. They must realize that they ignore atrocities against Jews at their own—not just our—peril.
David Singer: "Charlie Hebdomania": David Singer on the flaws & shortcomings of President Hollande's unity march
Hollande’s unity march – led by more than 40 international leaders locking arms in solidarity – should have concentrated solely on calling for the eradication of those responsible for the terrorist attacks – Islamic State and Al-Qaeda – rather than marching ahead of a sea of “Je suis Charlie” banners hoisted defiantly aloft behind them.
Collective international military action is undoubtedly needed to degrade and destroy these enemies of humankind engaging in unimaginable acts of violence all around the world and threatening its peace and security – including groups such Boko Haram, Jabhat Al-Nusra, Taliban, Hamas and Hezbollah.
The message should be clear and unyielding – no state will tolerate under any circumstances the deliberate targeting of its civilians for any reasons whatsoever.
Hollande’s march should have been just the first stage of a world unity march by all world leaders to the United Nations in New York – demanding the passing of a Resolution by the UN Security Council to take military action against Islamic State and Al Qaeda.
Until 193 world states identify and eradicate their common enemies, CharlieHebdomania will remain an incurable illness with frightening consequences.
Hebdo Shames Media For Not Showing Cartoon: 'You Blur Out Democracy' With Censorship
Biard told moderator Chuck Todd that networks that blur out the cartoon or censor it “blur out democracy” with their decisions.
NBC News, CNN and The New York Times all decided to blur out the cover.
“Listen, we cannot blame newspapers that already suffer much difficulty in getting published and distributed in totalitarian regimes for not publishing a cartoon that could cost them at best jail, at worst death,” Biard said.
“On the other hand, I’m quite critical of newspapers which are published in democratic countries,” he continued. “This cartoon is not just a little figure, a little Mohammad.”
“It’s a symbol of freedom of religion, democracy, and secularism. It is a symbol that these newspapers refuse to publish.”
“When they refuse to publish this cartoon, when they blur it out, when they decline to publish it, they blur out democracy, secularism, freedom of religion, and they insult the citizenship,” Biard concluded.
The delusional thinking of Israel-haters
It’s often said that Jew-hatred is irrational, and this is obviously true when you look at the absolutely insane beliefs of Jew-haters. For example, Muslims in Paris suburbs believe that Jews, even “a hybrid race of shape-shifters” were responsible for the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, “to make Muslims look bad.” Right.
But exactly the same kind of delusional thinking characterizes obsessive “critics of Israel.” Several years ago there was a scandal over the master’s thesis of one Tal Nitzan at the Hebrew University, in which she argued that the fact that there are no reported rapes of Palestinian Arab women by Jewish IDF soldiers is ‘evidence’ that Israelis are racist. Nitzan argued that they deliberately do not rape them because their racism makes Arab women undesirable to them! Nitzan’s thinking is clearly irrational, but she received a high grade and a prestigious award for her thesis.
But we all know that academics are often, shall we say, different from the rest of us. So we can chalk this up to academic silliness. Not so for the next example, which appeared in the New York Times. A writer named Sarah Schulman popularized the term ‘pinkwashing’, “a deliberate strategy to conceal the continuing violations of Palestinians’ human rights behind an image of modernity signified by Israeli gay life.”
Schulman’s argument was that Israel’s LGBT-friendly policies, rather than being evidence for its being an advanced liberal and tolerant democracy, were actually a “public relations tool.” Never mind that Israel is in fact one of the best places in the world (and by far the best in the Middle East) for people with non-traditional gender identities, and that gay Palestinians often flee to Israel to escape persecution. One is not allowed to mention these facts because it will obscure the oppression of Palestinians.
Law trainee says 'kuffar who killed our people' are to blame for Paris terror in online video rant
A trainee lawyer at one of the world’s biggest law firms has posted a 21-minute online rant in which he blames the Paris attacks on non-Muslim “kuffar” who “killed our people and raped and pillaged our resources”.
Aysh Chaudhry, from international law firm Clifford Chance, tried to explain the terrorist atrocities that left 17 people dead and how Muslims should respond.
Mr Chaudhry, who works in the firm’s mergers and acquisitions department, criticised moderate Muslims for allowing their minds to be “colonised” and claimed Islam was “superior” to Western ideology.
Referring to non-Muslims insultingly as “kuffar”, the 22-year-old claimed the attacks may not have happened had the West not “killed our people and raped and pillaged our resources”.
The American Cartoonist Forced to Change Her Identity Because of Islamic Terror Threats
According to Larry Kelley, “Molly Norris is the first … American journalist forced into hiding by radical Islam inside the United States.” Mr. Kelley is a writer and founder of the Free Molly Norris Foundation.
It was April 2010 when the Seattle-based cartoonist Molly Norris protested Comedy Central’s decision to censor an episode of “South Park,” so as not to offend Islamic extremists. A radical Muslim website had posted addresses of Comedy Central’s offices along with photos of Theo Van Gogh. It seemed to imply that the producers could meet the same fate as the murdered Dutch filmmaker. Molly Norris wanted to push back against the fear.
Molly declared May 20 ”Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” on Facebook. Norris told KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross that cartoonists are meant to challenge the lines of political correctness. “That’s a cartoonist’s job, to be non-PC.” Norris’ campaign went viral. Days later a fatwa was issued against her.
Things moved quickly.
“It’s been horrible,” Norris told a Seattle paper. “I’m just trying to breathe and get through it.” When Pakistan blocked Facebook in response to her actions, it must have seemed surreal to Norris.
French Mayor Bans Oscar-Nominated Muslim Film
While Charlie Hebdo returned to Parisian newsstands with a defiant image of a contrite Mohammad emblazoned on its cover, Timbuktu, a much-praised, Oscar-nominated movie by the internationally known Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako was unceremoniously yanked out of a theater in the Paris suburb, Villiers-sur-Marne.
The district, which has a large North African population, is the birthplace of Hayat Boumeddiene, the fugitive companion of the perpetrator of the Hyper Cacher massacre Amedy Coulibaly. The town’s mayor Jacques-Alain Bénisti (a member of the Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement) first called the movie, which he had not seen, “an apology for terrorism” and then had it removed Friday from the Cinema City Casino because he feared that young people might take the jihadists for a model.
In fact, Sissako’s point, impossible to miss, is that the first victims of jihadism are Muslims. Far from idealized, the jihadists are shown as brutal enemies of Malian tradition and culture. This exquisitely photographed movie bluntly details a jihadist reign of terror, including the implementation of sharia law, in an idyllic village in northern Mali—a region where, for much of 2012, Islamic fundamentalists, including al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, held sway. (Last January, the French army intervened and fighting in concert with Malian troops, retook the Islamist strongholds, including the ancient city of Timbuktu. Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita marched arm in arm with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the head of the massive unity march through the French capital last Sunday.)
ONE Cartoon Has Sent Muslims Into Christian-Murdering Rage In Niger
Violence erupted throughout Niger Saturday during the second day of protests against a cartoon that caricatured the Muslim prophet Muhammad — resulting in church arson and the deaths of several people.
Reuters reports that “stone-throwing Muslim youths” clashed with police, torched churches and looted stores during riots in the capital city of Niamey. It is unclear how many churches were attacked in Niamey. Two churches were burned in the city of Maradi and one was burned in Goure.
Niger’s second largest city, Zinder, also experienced a wave of anti-Christian violence Saturday as rioters invaded churches and the homes of Christian residents. A charred body was found in a local Catholic Church after protesters left the premises.
At least ten people were killed in the cities of Niamey and Zinder on Saturday, most of them civilians.
“They offended our Prophet Mohammad, that’s what we didn’t like,” a demonstrator in Niamey told Reuters.
Iran protesters chant ‘Death to France’ over cartoon
The demonstration was in response to French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s use of the cartoon in an edition published a week after 12 people were killed by Islamist gunmen at its Paris offices.
The image has angered many Muslims as depictions of Muhammad are widely considered forbidden in Islam, and has triggered protests in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, some of which turned deadly.
Iran denounced the Paris massacre but it also condemned the magazine’s new cartoon, where the prophet holds a “Je suis Charlie” sign under the heading “All is forgiven.”
Plans for Monday’s protest led the French ambassador to announce that the embassy, located in busy downtown Tehran, would be closed all day.
The gathering, organized by students but attended by all age groups, was given a heavy security detail of around 150 Iranian police, and although noisy it passed off peacefully after two hours.
Hundreds of thousands protest Charlie Hebdo in Chechnya
Hundreds of thousands marched through the Chechen capital on Monday to protest the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which again put a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad on its cover.
Demonstrators in Grozny, capital of the predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia, released balloons and carried posters that read “Hands off our beloved prophet” and “We love the prophet, we don’t love Charlie.”
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov wrote on his official Instagram account Friday that those who defended the weekly Charlie Hebdo were his “personal enemies” and vowed that at least 1 million people would join the government-sponsored protest in Grozny.
On Monday, Kadyrov spoke from a stage wearing a vest with “We Love the Prophet Muhammad” written on it.
Jihadists in Gaza rally against France, hail Islamic State
Hamas security forces allowed a rare rally on Monday by rival jihadist Salafi activists in the Gaza Strip in support of Islamic State and the deadly attacks by three Islamist gunmen in France.
"Today, we are telling France and world countries that while Islam orders us to respect all religions, it also orders us to punish and kill those who assault and offend Islam's Prophet Mohammad," said one of the protesters, Abu Abdallah al-Makdissi.
The demonstration was held five days after French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, in its first issue since two gunmen burst into its Paris office on January 7 and shot dead 12 people, again published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad, sparking violent clashes in some Muslim countries.
Many of the activists in Gaza, an enclave dominated by the Hamas Islamist group, wore uniforms similar to those of Islamic State fighters and identified themselves as supporters of various jihadist Salafi factions.
Anti-Zionist civil rights activists dishonor Dr. King’s legacy
I was in a social media debate about Israel and Zionism the other day, when my opponent asked me a curious question. “Why point to MLK’s stance on the issue of Israel as a debate point?”
I explained to my opponent that, particularly in the discussion of human rights and answering false accusations against the Jewish State, quoting Dr. King in context is an advisable starting point. This is particularly true when anti-Zionists attempt to twist Dr. King’s words to denounce Israel. Very often, Israel’s enemies refuse to accept the fact that the unparalleled civil rights champion of the 20th century was a staunch, vocal supporter of Israel and loyal friend to the Jewish people.
One person who knows Dr. King’s position on Israel full well is avowed anti-Zionist, and former Black Panther Party member, Angela Davis. There is no disputing Ms. Davis’ long and storied anti-racism career. (Few people in the world have had protest songs written in their honor by the Rolling Stones and the Beatles). Sadly, there is also no denying Ms. Davis’ anti-Zionist rhetoric and anti-Israel libel; the type of language Dr. King strongly denounced. So, having Angela Davis provide the keynote address at an event that purports to honor Martin Luther King is a bitter irony, and completely misguided. Such is the case with events at University of North Carolina of Chapel Hill on Monday, January 19, and University of California Santa Cruz on Wednesday, January 28. The title of these events is, “Racism, Militarism, Poverty: From Ferguson to Palestine”.
Fresh Controversy Hits ‘Selma’: Daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel ‘Shocked’ by Exclusion of Her Father From Film
The recently released film ‘Selma’ is facing a fresh controversy after the daughter of a famed rabbi who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement told The Algemeiner she was “shocked and upset” by the exclusion of her father from the movie.
Susannah Heschel, a Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, whose father Abraham Joshua Heschel marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King at the third protest march from Selma depicted in the film, said that the iconic photo of her father marching with Dr. King “has meant so much to so many people,” even President Obama.
“President Obama said to me ‘your father is our hero’, everybody knows that picture,” Heschel said. “I felt sad and I had moments when I felt angry,” she said of the omission, describing it as “tragic.”
Martin Luther King Jr: "Israel... is one of the great outpost of democracy in the world"
MK Shaked Asks France: Cancel B'tselem Show
MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) has fired off an urgent letter to the French ambassador to Israel, Patrick Maisonnave, regarding recent reports that a performance-art show associated with ultra-leftist NGO B'tselem is about to tour France.
Shaked wrote that the show by Arkadi Zaides is a controversial dance act that is based on photos and video taken by B'tselem activists. It caused deep pain and anger in Israel, where it was removed from an exhibition hall after complaints by bereaved parents.
"The exhibits portrays IDF soldiers in a false, twisted and hurtful manner,” accused Shaked. She asked him to “show leadership” and make sure that the exhibit is cancelled in France.
She added: "As the representative of the French Republic, I ask you not to allow the exhibits – which show terrorists as victims and IDF fighters defending Israeli citizens with their bodies as criminals – to take place.”
Justifying hate by anti-Israel lobby groups in South Africa
There were many condemnations in South Africa as well, including by the Muslim Judicial Council. Unfortunately, not everyone in the tip of Africa felt the same way about those acts of terror. They included spokespeople for the Media Review Network, a hardened anti-Israel organization whose mission statement presents it as being a body working to “dispel myths and stereotypes about Islam and Muslims and to foster understanding between the diverse people” of South Africa.
MRN executive member Iqbal Jassat told The Star newspaper on 8/1 that “The murder of 12 people in Paris should send a clear message to the world that the lampooning of Muhammad is unacceptable. …Although the loss of life is regrettable, the media had repeatedly been asked not to cross this line.”
The attacks were further justified by fellow MRN Executive Director Firoz Osman, who wrote, “The deliberate provocation of six million Muslims in France and the 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide through constant racial vulgarities and indignities directed at the Prophet and Islam under the guise of freedom of speech is reckless and utterly reprehensible”.
Osman, in his Politicsweb article last week, calls for “dignity, privacy and respect” and for people to, “imbibe Islamic values of tolerance, respect and honor”. It is an ironic assertion, in light of the MRN’s long history of Holocaust Denial, Jewish conspiracy theories (including around 9/11 and the 1998 bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania) and the promotion of antisemitic canards.
How disinformation works: science and tech magazine misleads on Jerusalem
The piece includes a timeline, graphics and a short article explaining the city’s historic significance.
Here’s a blurb at the bottom of the article:
The blurb of course omits the fact that Jerusalem is not just “considered holy” to Jews, but is Judaism’s holiest city. Note also that the magazine – while informing readers that the city is home to one of Islam’s holiest mosques – fails to mention the presence of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the holiest site in Judaism.
However, there’s another significant mistake, which we highlighted below:
Whilst Palestinians would like east Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state, the claim that, today, it is the capital of the “sovereign state” of Palestine is of course completely erroneous. Not even the most pro-Palestinian UK media outlets make such a patently false assertion.
We’ve contacted the magazine’s publisher to complain about the errors, and will update you when we receive a reply.
Bias at the BBC
The problem also lies with French President Francois Hollande who hosted an anti-terrorism march while inviting known terrorist par excellence, Mahmoud Abbas, whose credentials include bankrolling the infamous Munich Massacre, instigating Palestinian terrorism and martyrdom, and the custom of celebrating Jewish deaths by providing new homes for the martyr’s parents and distributing sweets to the townsfolk. In fact, only one day after Abbas participated in the anti-terror march, his Fatah party memorialized one of the worst Palestinian terror attacks in Israel’s history, the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, when terrorists attacked a bus, brutally murdering 37 Israeli citizens and wounding more than 70.
To Willcox, these crimes are defensible because he mistakenly believes that an invented people (the Palestinians that never existed before 1967) decreed land for themselves, and it suits his predisposition to siding with known extremists rather than what he would term, under any circumstances, the Jewish Lobby. His position clearly is to damn all the Jews for the acts of the Israeli government under circumstances that he cannot or will not understand.
It has been suggested that the BBC adopt a definition of anti-Semitism into its editorial guidelines, so that their journalists may grasp that their insensitive, unsympathetic statements and reporting may be very destructive and may incite more readers to join the jihadi mentality. The time has come for the BBC and its staff to be held accountable for their biased reporting that is strengthening the growing onslaught of Islam against the Jews. They also need to understand that once the Jews are silenced, full attention will then be turned upon the Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and, oh yes, upon the free Western Press.
What then, Tim Willcox? What then?
'Surge in hate crime directed at Jews'
Speaking in the wake of the Paris attacks, the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities said it had recorded 50 anti-semitic incidents between July and September last year. The council's director, Ephraim Borowski, said it recorded just 12 during the duration of 2013 and 13 the previous year.
Police patrols of UK Jewish communities have been stepped up after the Paris attacks in which 17 people, including four Jews, were killed by Islamist gunmen.
Borowski said last year's incidents related to social media, graffiti and personal attacks.
He described a report from a man who was wearing a skull cap on the train. He was asked: "Why do you like killing Palestinian children?"
He also said a young woman living in university halls in Glasgow had a paper Menorah that was pinned to her door reshaped into a swastika.
He added: "We also had three separate stories of children being taunted at school because they were told: 'You killed Christ'.
Hungarian Jews Mark 70 Years Since Ghetto Liberation
Hungarian Jews and Soviet army veterans gathered on Sunday to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation by the Red Army of the Budapest ghetto in World War II.
Several hundred people, including dozens who survived the ghetto, attended the memorial service in the Grand Synagogue, Europe's largest place of Jewish worship.
"Many would not be sitting here today if the Red Army had not arrived that day," Robert Frolich, the synagogue's chief rabbi, told the congregation.
"We celebrate our lives we got back on January 18, 1944" he added.
Two Soviet veterans who took part in the liberation also attended, while the Red Army's Alexandrov Ensemble choir gave a performance.
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau: The Jews won, the Nazis lost
Today, January 20, marks the 73rd anniversary of the infamous Wannsee Conference, at which the main item on the agenda was the implementation of “a final solution to the Jewish question” – namely the annihilation of world Jewry.
Two days prior to the anniversary, Israel’s most celebrated child Holocaust survivor, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv and chairman of the Yad Vashem Council Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, together with Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, launched “70 days for 70 years – Remember the Past to Build the Future” – a 70-day study schedule, with one day for each year since the liberation of Auschwitz, beginning on January 25 and culminating on Passover, the festival of redemption.
The Nazis not only wanted to eradicate the Jews; they wanted to destroy Judaism and Jewish heritage, said Lau, who supported this contention by reminding that on November 9, 1939, 10 months before the outbreak of war, the Nazis, in a single night now known as Kristallnacht, destroyed more than 1,000 synagogues in Germany.
The Nazis understood that the heart of Jewish community life was in the synagogue he said.
But now, almost 80 years after Kristallnacht, said Lau, tens of thousands of Jews are studying Torah and thousands will be reading 70 Days for 70 Years.
“We won,” he declared.
“They disappeared.”
Jerusalem orchestra to play Paris
Several weeks after the deadly Paris attacks, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra will head to the French capital to perform at the historic headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
The UNESCO concert will be held on January 27, International Holocaust Day. It’s the first time the Jerusalem orchestra was invited to play at UNESCO.
“It’s a great honor,” said Yair Stern, general manager of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. “It’s such an important event.”
Conducted by the orchestra’s music director, Frédéric Chaslin, a second generation Holocaust survivor originally from France, the orchestra will perform Shostakovich’s Babi Yar symphony, about the World War II massacre, set to the words of Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko.
A Holocaust drama that speaks Ladino
The film Bulgarian Rhapsody is a sweet-natured coming-of-age drama set during the Holocaust, and it’s a well-made, Ladino-accented variation on a story we’ve seen many times. Even though we all know how it ends, it’s interesting to see how the story plays out in Bulgaria, where Jews were persecuted but mostly allowed to live.
The movie focuses on Moni (Kristiyan Makarov), a shy, artistically inclined Jewish teenager in Sofia who is fascinated by girls.
It’s his more mature and confident Christian best friend, Giogio (Stefan Popov), who tries to give him lessons on how act with females, but Moni is a slow learner.
Moni and Giogio both take the war in stride. The power outages and bombs don’t scare them, and they treat the yellow star Moni must wear as a nuisance. Giogio’s father, the driver for the head of the government department responsible for keeping tabs on Bulgarian Jews, discourages their friendship, but Giogio is utterly loyal to Moni – the anti-Semitic propaganda is like a dull lesson at school that he ignores.
Israel Sows Cyber Hub in Desert to Make Beersheba Bloom: Cities
Israel is turning the desert green -- khaki, to be precise. Tens of thousands of military personnel are being moved from Tel Aviv to abet the creation of a modern urban center along a burgeoning cyber-security hub in the Negev.
A $20 billion blueprint is transforming Beersheba, the only city in the sprawling desert, into a key front in the world’s escalating cyber conflicts, and not just a target for Palestinian rockets from nearby Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to capitalize on demand from companies and governments for beefed-up defenses against virtual attacks from anonymous foes.
“The biggest challenge for Israel is developing the Negev,” said Rubik Danilovich, the mayor of Beersheba. “If you take the map of Israel and fold it in half, Beersheba is the center of Israel geographically and we want it to have buzz and vision.”
Taming the Negev has been one of the Jewish state’s foundational stories. Israel’s first premier, David Ben Gurion, made settling it a priority, a goal that led to the development of farming advances like drip irrigation. In the 21st century, kibbutzim and oranges are out and cities and high-tech are in.
Technology contributes about half of Israel’s industrial exports. Sales abroad account for about a third of gross domestic product. Israel is known as Startup Nation, stemming from a 2009 book of the same title. Cybersecurity exports totaled $3 billion in 2013, or about 5 percent of the global market. Hacking costs the world economy as much as $575 billion a year, according to a McAfee Inc. study published in June.
From Bangkok to battle-ready
She may have an Israeli name, but don't let that confuse you -- Neta Ragovsky, 19, was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. She is the only child of an Israeli father and a Thai mother. About six months ago, she decided to move to Israel and join the Israel Defense Forces.
"I was born and raised in Bangkok, but every year, we visited my father's family in Israel," Ragovsky said. "I grew up with two cultures and I always felt connected to Israel.
"My father spoke to me in Hebrew, we always knew what was going on in Israel, and as the son of Holocaust survivors, he explained how important it was that Israel have a strong army to protect it.
"As an only child, it was not easy for me to leave my parents and move to Israel. It was also difficult for them, but they understand me, support me and are proud of me.
"For me, Israel is home. And it is important to me to contribute to the country."
Ragovsky went on to explain her plans following the big move. "I want to convert to Judaism and to stay in Israel after the army," she said. "Now that I have finished ulpan [Hebrew language classes] at Kibbutz Maagan Michael, I am going to work at a nearby town and then join the army."
Ryan Bellerose, Métis, Canadian, and Zionist
Ryan Mervin Bellerose, a proud Canadian Métis, is the farthest one can imagine from an Israeli Jew, and yet he has a love for Israel that is as overpowering as his physical stature and his debating ability. Bellerose does not suffer fools gladly.
Bellerose’s support for Israel started at a young age when he was reading the family Encyclopedia. He saw many similarities between the native struggle and Israel’s. He wrote about Israel, “I came to believe that the Jewish people and Israel should serve as an example to indigenous people everywhere. It is with the Jews – and their stubborn survival after being decimated and dispersed by powerful empires — that we have the most in common.”
His support has grown through his contacts with his many Jewish friends, and through his visit to the Jewish state. At the conclusion of his trip to Israel, he wrote, “I will defend these people as if they were my own, because I feel as though they are”. As he said to Canadian journalist Erzra Levant in an interview, he feels that the Jewish struggle for their native land of Israel is the same as the native struggle to gain back rights usurped by the Europeans colonizers.