From Ian:
Col. Richard Kemp: Balfour Declaration, November 2016
Flying in the face of the long-standing US bipartisan policy of rejecting the so-called 1967 borders, there is increasing concern that President Obama's parting shot at Israel might be to either endorse such a resolution or fail to veto it. Such actions would have incalculable consequences -- not least a flare-up in violence and the prospect of global sanctions against Israel.
Depending on his audience, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas claims to desire a two-state solution. But his actions speak louder. How can it be possible to bring about peace with a country or a people that you constantly vilify and attack? Hatred of Jews and denial of their rights permeate PA speeches, TV shows, school-books, newspapers and magazines.
Arab Jew-hatred has caused Britain up to the present day to sometimes fail to condemn Arab aggression against Israelis, and to find excuses for their violence. All in the name of appeasing the Arabs and their supporters in the Muslim world and even at home.
Britain can be intensely proud that it alone embraced Zionism in 1917. And it was the blood of many thousands of British, Australian and New Zealand soldiers that created the conditions that made the modern-day State of Israel a possibility.
Even 99 years after the world-changing Balfour Declaration, we still have our work cut out for us in supporting the Zionist project, which owes so much to the unequalled historic backing in Great Britain.
Haaretz: The Politics Behind the Drafting of the Balfour Declaration
Ninety-nine years after it was written, the British document supporting the formation of a 'national home for the Jewish people' is back in the news. But it caused unrest among some British Jews at the time, too.
“His Majesty’s Government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a centre of Jewish culture.” Had it been up to British-Jewish lawmaker Sir Philip Magnus, that would have been the formulation of the Balfour Declaration, which was published 99 years ago this week and paved the way for the establishment of the State of Israel.
Magnus was among the Jewish leaders canvassed by the British government regarding the suggested declaration, a few weeks before it was eventually published on November 2, 1917. But unlike some of his fellow peers in Britain’s Jewish community, Magnus was not an enthusiastic Zionist. He saw Britain – and not the Land of Israel – as his national home.
The fascinating correspondence between Magnus and the British government concerning the declaration is stored at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem. Until now, no one showed much interest in it. Recently, though, ahead of the declaration’s upcoming centenary, Dr. Hezi Amiur discovered the letters anew. The curator of the Israel Collection at the National Library regards his find as like unearthing a great treasure: “It’s just one of the millions of items preserved here, but I rubbed my eyes when I read it,” he said.
As Amiur discovered, the letter was part of a chain of correspondence and talks conducted at the time between the British and leading Jews – some of whom were Zionists and some not – concerning the final version of the declaration.
Some may consider this to be irrelevant and outdated, while for others renewed discussion of the Balfour Declaration – mainly because of the Palestinian Authority’s threat to sue Britain over it – has stimulated new interest in the original process, even 99 years after the fact. (h/t Elder of Lobby)
Hillel Neuer Testifies to US Congress
Ten Years Later: The Status of the United Nations Human Rights Council
Hearing of the U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Tuesday, May 17, 2016 – 2:00pm
Phyllis Chesler: She stood at Berkeley's Sproul Plaza holding an Israeli flag
She attended BDS planning meetings incognito to help publicize their nefarious intentions.Tribute to a courageous, honest, lover of Israel - and a real heroine.
Thyme did not fail me or the moment. Thyme would stand at Berkeley's Sproul Plaza, (!) holding an Israeli flag, just waiting for anyone to mess with her. And mess with her they did. She kept holding that flag. Thyme also became one of the best undercover journalists, working with bylined journalists. She would go into the BDS or Israel Apartheid Week planning meeting, blend in, take notes, reveal what took place to distinguished journalists, who would publish what was said and planned.
When I was asked to be part of a "Feminism and Anti-Semitism" panel by Jennifer Roskies--it took place at Yale at the very best conference on anti-Semitism in the 21st century, under the aegis of Dr. Charles Small--I immediately suggested that Thyme join us. And so she did, together with Nora Gold, whose novel, Field of Exile, memorialized the various "intifadas" on Canadian campuses.
One of Israel's counter-terrorism experts came to shake all our hands.
"I had no idea the war was this hot over here, among women, among academics, among progressives."
It sure is.
May Thyme Zipporah Siegel rest in peace and may we all be comforted. The death of heroes is always the hardest for me to bear.
PMW: New PA libel: Israel plans to assassinate Abbas like it did Arafat
Israeli is planning to “eliminate Abbas politically and physically,” as it did Yasser Arafat, according to the newest Palestinian Authority libel against Israel.
With the 12th anniversary of the death of former PA leader Yasser Arafat approaching, the PA is using the opportunity to reiterate its old libel that Israel murdered Arafat, ignoring the fact that it has been disproven by several different medical teams. To this libel documented by Palestinian Media Watch numerous times, Palestinians are now adding a new libel, warning of the impending “assassination” by Israel of current PA Chairman Abbas.
Israeli leaders’ criticism of Abbas is being twisted by Palestinian leaders as a sign of Israel plotting his imminent “elimination”- “politically and physically.” In an article entitled "Will Israel repeat the scenario of the assassination of Arafat with PA President Mahmoud Abbas?" the independent Palestinian news agency Ma’an quoted Fatah Movement Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi:
“The Israeli statements regarding President Abbas are most dangerous and testify to an Israeli plot in the region and exploitation of the situation in order to eliminate Abbas politically and physically.” [Ma’an, independent Palestinian news agency, Oct. 26, 2016]
No one will shut me up, says Israel’s first Arab news presenter
Lucy Aharish has gotten used to criticism and threats from every possible direction. Now she’s hitting back at everyone: At Israel’s ‘whining’ Arabs, at Tel Aviv’s ‘enlightened’ liberals, and at all the Jews who expect her to convert.
We have gotten so used to Lucy Aharish’s presence on our screen, to her pleasant personality and to the words coming out of her heart, that we have forgotten how dangerous it actually is to be Lucy Aharish.
To be more exact, we have gotten used to it. We have gotten used to the regular buzz of threats against her. We have gotten used to the racist filth being poured on her on Facebook. We have gotten used to the complete chaos, a sort of terror routine, which is present in the daily life of one young woman.
“In the past year I have been abused by my mother’s family,” Aharish says. “My aunt, my mother’s sister, is preventing her from entering the house and seeing my grandmother. And she says to her, ‘There’s no entry for sluts, or for your slutty daughters.’ In other words, she’s calling me a slut for allegedly ‘going astray.’ Can you believe it? People are insane. And my mother collapses at the entrance, and most of her siblings, eight out of 10, are not talking to her.
“My cousin’s son,” Aharish says emotionally, “a child, like my little brother. I changed his diapers, he grew up in our home, he is my soul. On my Instagram there is a picture of him kissing me on the cheek. So my mother’s family is claiming that I slept with him. Do you understand? That’s primitiveness. Calling my mother, your big sister, a slut? Preventing her from seeing her mother before she passes away? And my grandmother doesn’t have much left. Super serious Alzheimer’s. You think it’s easy, seeing my mother suffer like this? Forget about me. I was never close. But my mother? I find it shocking.” (h/t Elder of Lobby)
Netanyahu appeals for US to not seek UN move on Palestinians
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a public plea Sunday for the US continue its support for Israel and not seek a UN resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “whoever wins” Tuesday’s election.
In an apparent message to incumbent US President Barack Obama, Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting he expects the “United States will remain true to its commitment for many years that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be resolved through direct negotiations without pre-conditions, and of course not through decisions by the United Nations of other international bodies.”
Netanyahu also said ties would remain strong no matter who won Tuesday’s vote.
Members of the Israeli government are worried that before he leaves office in January but after his successor is chosen, Obama may seek to impose or advance a solution to the conflict, or at least set out parameters for how it should be solved. This may manifest itself in the Security Council, where the US could opt not to use its veto against any anti-Israel resolutions.
Support for or promotion of such a resolution would mark a drastic change in policy for the US, which has consistently vetoed and/or threatened to veto any UN resolutions deemed unfavorable to Israel.
PreOccupiedTerritory: Rabin Memorial Attracts Crowd From Across Segment Of Political Spectrum (satire)
Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered Saturday night to commemorate slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin twenty-one years ago, representing a wide swathe of the society ranging from the far Left to the not-as-far Left.
The unofficial ceremony-cum-political event featured speakers from across the political spectrum, including such diverse personalities as Opposition leader and Labor Party chief Isaac Herzog and HaTnuah Party leader Tzipi Livni, who sits an entire seat apart from him in the Zionist Union faction.
Despite their differences, both Livni and Herzog struck similar themes, reminding the diverse crowd of non-Likud, non-Jewish-Home, non-Shas, non-United-Torah-Judaism, and non-Yisrael-Beiteinu voters that the very soul of democracy needed their protection from the irresponsible policies of the people elected to the Knesset by a majority of the voters.
Herzog, dogged by many months of reports he has sought a unity government with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud, declared in no uncertain terms that he would no longer pursue unity [this is actually true], thus defending the notion of overcoming differences in a civil, respectful fashion. Livni took a bold stand for diversity and inclusion, mentioning that despite her opposition to the late Rabin’s policies at the time, she has long since been committed to a broad-based approach to demonizing as fascist, Nazi, dictatorial, or totalitarian those who disagree with the Left’s ideas.
Russia PM: 'We never denied Israel’s right to Jerusalem, Temple Mount'
Moscow has never denied Israel’s rights to Jerusalem, the Temple Mount or the Western Wall, Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev said in advance of his visit to the Jewish state later this week.
“These rights are clear and it would be absurd to deny them,” he told Channel 2 anchorwoman Yonit Levy.
He spoke warmly of Russia’s ties with Israel, despite Moscow’s votes against the Jewish state at the United Nations and its delivery of the S-300 missiles to Iran.
Levy quizzed him about those controversial issues as well as his support for Syrian President Basher Assad and charges that his country had intervened in the US elections.
How does Russia explain its support of the UNESCO vote “to disregard the historic connection between the Jewish people and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem,” Levy asked Medvedev.
The issue had been blown out of proportion, he responded speaking in Russian, with a Hebrew translation by Channel 2.
There have been some ten votes by UNESCO Boards and Committees on such Jerusalem resolutions, Medvedev said.
“There is nothing new here,” he said, as he dismissed the significance of UNESCO texts that refer to the Temple Mount solely by its Muslim name of Al Haram Al Sharif.
“Our country has never denied the rights of Israel or the Jewish people to Jerusalem, the Temple Mount or the Western Wall,” Medvedev
Twitter users lampoon Palestinian claim to Dead Sea Scrolls
The Twittersphere was alight with humor on Sunday after it was reported that the Palestinian Authority is attempting to lay claim to the Dead Sea Scrolls at the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Using the hashtag "#PalestinianClaims," hundreds of Twitter users posted pictures of famous historical figures, pieces of art and landmarks with a satirical description of its Palestinian roots. The hashtag quickly rose to the top of the trending list for Israel.
The scrolls are a large cache of mostly Hebrew writings from the Second Temple period and its immediate aftermath. They include many biblical texts and are believed to have been penned by members of a Jewish sect known as the Essenes.
Among the most popular tweets was that of pro-Israel Israeli Arab Yahya Mahamed, who posted a picture of the American landmark of Mount Rushmore and wrote "#PalestinianClaims the dead sea scrolls? Maybe next they'll claim Mount Rushmore as a Palestinian monument?"
What a Trump presidency would mean for Israel
If the GOP nominee wins, his key advisers say, he’ll move the US embassy to Jerusalem, won’t tell Israel where it cannot build in the West Bank, and might not push a two-state solution; he would also warily honor the Iran deal… for now
Managing US-Israel relations
When it comes to the US-Israel alliance, many in Trump’s inner circle insist he wants to warm relations after eight tempestuous years under President Barack Obama. “He’s going to be a great friend of Israel,” said retired physician and former presidential candidate Ben Carson. “The long winter will be over.”
Carson, who for nearly 20 years was director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, was Trump’s rival during the primary. A week after Carson withdrew his candidacy, in March 2016, he endorsed the real estate magnate, saying Trump was “the voice of the people to be heard.”
In an interview last week, Carson said that Trump “recognizes the importance of the Judeo-Christian foundation of this country and the strong ties that we have with Israel.”
He emphasized that the GOP nominee would “do everything he can” to prevent Iran from going nuclear, stabilize the region and maintain a relationship of trust between the two countries and its leaders.
Clinton Emails: Use Arab Female Agitators To Shame Israel
Retired U.S. diplomat Thomas Pickering - who operated several ambassadorships across Republican and Democrat administrations - advised then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in late 2011 to promote anti-Zionist agitation with Arab females in and around Israel in order to politically pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into further compliance with the State Department’s vision of statehood for the “Palestinians.”
In an email dated December 18, 2011, Pickering recommended the deployment of Arab females rather than males for use in protests against Israeli policies towards “the peace issue.” He claimed to draw inspiration from a speech delivered by Clinton a day earlier at Georgetown University in which the former first lady pushed a feminist narrative of “the role of women in ending conflict and building lasting security.”
Pickering surmised that the exclusive use of females as anti-Zionist agitators will reduce the likelihood of Israeli police or the Israeli Defense Forces using necessary force to suppress them. The exclusive use of women, he added, would also place a greater degree of left-wing pressure - both domestically and abroad - on Israeli leadership to acquiesce with political pushes for the “two-state solution.”
Unrest in Egypt associated with the “Arab Spring” was pointed to as a model to be followed by Pickering. What happened in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, he wrote, should be replicated in and around Israel.
Netanyahu’s prime ministerial office should also be targeted by this political agitation using foreign-funded Israeli-based anti-Zionist left-wing groups such as Peace Now, recommended Pickering.
Trump’s daughter, son-in-law visit Lubavitcher rebbe
The daughter and son-in-law of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited the grave of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Queens, New York, Saturday night.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner visited the grave site, known as “the Ohel” — Hebrew for “the tent” — which houses the remains of the former rebbe of Chabad, Menachem M. Schneerson, as well as those of Schneerson’s father-in-law, who was the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Trump, like her husband, practices Orthodox Judaism.
The Ohel is visited by tens of thousands of Jews annually who come to pray and pay homage to the late rebbe, who is hailed as the messiah by many of his followers. The Chabad website describes the Ohel as being a “place where thousands come and continue to receive inspiration and blessing from the Rebbe.”
While he was alive, many politicians would come to visit the rebbe and ask for his blessing, hoping to use these meetings as a demonstration of the spiritual leader’s support.
Satmar: Vote for Hillary
Leaders of one of the groups of the Satmar anti-Zionist hasidic sect have told their followers to vote for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton next week. Satmar split into two groups after the former Grand Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum's death.
According to those Satmar leaders, Republican candidate Donald Trump is pro-Israel and works to strengthen the Jewish state, and it is therefore forbidden to vote for him. Satmar believes that it was forbidden to create a Jewish state until the coming of the Messiah as the Talmud says that Jews in exile must not antagonize the non-Jews.
In the notice sent to thousands of hasidim, the group justified their decision on other grounds as well, stating that Clinton "has stood with the haredi sects for several years, when she was First Lady, New York Senator, and Foreign Minister."
A fringe group related to Satmar and often confused with them, known as Neturei Karta, organizes anti-Israel rallies, and often organizes protests at pro-Israel gatherings in the US in which Satmar participates. (h/t Elder of Lobby)
Al-Qaeda Leader Welcomes Drone Strikes to Avoid Being Subjected to More Election Coverage (satire)
Reports from Afghanistan suggest that senior Al-Qaeda leadership are running out into fields waving red flags and waiting for the sweet release of death to avoid any more 24-news coverage of the US presidential election.
A spokesman for the group said; “On reflection, it was a mistake to sign up for the full news package from Al Jazeera. We should have stuck to YouTube videos of suicide bombers from Syria and those cats that attack toddlers.”
He continued; “It’s not really surprising that sitting in a cave with only the Quran and footage of angry white people shouting ‘lock her up’ for entertainment, that a number of the guys were going to snap. We try to reason with them, you know, ‘come on Ahmed it’s not so bad, why don’t we go and stone some gays, you know that always cheers you up.’ But sadly sometimes they see the latest polling from Florida, and it tips them over the edge.”
“I’m just thankful our Wi-Fi isn’t so great because otherwise we might be reading news on Breitbart.com and I’m not sure the mental health of the organization could handle that kind of shock.”
In Haaretz Headline, Alleged Attack Becomes Fact
Not for the first time, a Haaretz headline upgrades an unproven Arab allegation to fact.
A page-one print headline in the English edition today states as fact: "Palestinians harvesting olives attacked by settlers."
But as the accompanying article itself makes clear, Palestinians allege that settlers attacked olive harvesters, but that claim is under investigation and has not yet been confirmed. Jack Khoury and Yotam Berger wrote:
Four Palestinians were treated at a hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah yesterday, reportedly after they were attacked by Jewish settlers near the village of Al-Janieh, west of Ramallah. The Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Police said they were investigating claims that around 20 people attacked the Palestinians with metal rods.
Large-scale attack against IDF forces thwarted by PA in Hebron
Palestinian Authority security forces foiled a terror attack against Israeli Defense Forces this weekend.
The sophisticated attack was thwarted after the IDF received intelligence from PA security about an explosive device attached to a barrier that separates the Israeli side of Hebron from the Palestinian side.
A Palestinian security source said that the suspected attacker, who was arrested on Friday before he could carry out the attack, was a resident of the West Bank town of Qalqilya and was part of a cell which was based abroad.
He had planned to throw a Molotov cocktail towards IDF forces and escape, planning to remotely detonate the device, a 12kg gas cylinder, while being pursued in order to maximize the number of casualties.
Palestinian security forces immediately informed the IDF and Israeli police and the device was safely detonated by the police on Friday night. Footage captured by residents showed a large fireball, but no injuries were reported.
Israel postpones temporary expansion of fishing zone off Gaza’s coast
The IDF decided to postpone a temporary expansion of the fishing zone off the coast of the Gaza Strip from six to nine nautical miles.
On October 26, the Coordinator for Government Affairs in the Territories (COGAT), a branch of the Defense Ministry, announced that it concluded an agreement with the PA to expand the fishing zone on November 1.
COGAT initially did not comment on the reason why the agreement was not implemented on November 1, but stated on Sunday that it delayed its implementation because the PA did not fulfill its commitments to it.
“It has unfortunately become clear that the Palestinian side did not implement what was agreed to in order to allow the decision [to expand the fishing zone] to go into effect,” Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordecai, the head of COGAT, posted on his official Twitter account.
Mordecai specified that Palestinian side was supposed “to place a boat to monitor” and ensure Palestinian fishermen do not exceed the the permitted fishing boundaries.
Lack of sugar highlights Egypt’s bitter, deepening financial crisis
The waters of the Nile River turned yellow this week. Some say they even turned brown. The heavy rains, which also hit Israel, caused powerful floods that carried tons of mud and other substances into the Nile, changing the water’s color and disrupting the supply of water to some residential areas.
For some, it was an omen of bad news — or, perhaps, a comment about the present situation in the most populous Arab nation.
The water problem is only one in a long list of problems Egyptians have faced in recent weeks, a list that includes a dire sugar shortage. Simply put, there is no sugar. The drop in supply caused the price of sugar to soar from three Egyptian pounds a kilo a few years ago to five several weeks back, and to 10 and even 12 Egyptian pounds in the past few days. The government decided this week to set the price of subsidized sugar at seven Egyptian pounds per kilogram, a 40-percent increase since just before the current crisis.
What’s causing the problem? It seems to be the result of a worldwide sugar shortage combined with the cessation of sugar imports from abroad and a work stoppage at several sugar processing plants in Egypt.
PreOccupiedTerritory: Egypt Devalues Pound, Palestinian Lives (satire)
With the currency flotation, as the switch is termed, operative, the IMF is expected to approve an agreed $12-billion loan to revive the Egyptian economy, following an accord reached in August. The loan will be used to help increase foreign investment and offset lost revenues from slumping tourism, and comes along with a new Value-Added Tax and rationing of certain goods. Egyptians have yet to protest the increasing economic hardship, but have seldom in recent memory protested the country’s treatment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who receive hundreds of truckloads per day of food, clothing, medicines, and consumer goods from Israel, but barely a trickle from Egypt.
Perversely, note economists, international pressure to increase the value of Palestinian lives has been directly exclusively at Israel, which has taken measures to shore up that value even while conducting wars with Hamas, the militant Islamist organization that governs Gaza. “It’s more than a little odd,” observed Anne T. Smitts of the World Bank. “The international community has all but ignored the role of Egyptian policy in the value of Palestinian lives, even though Egypt actually controlled the Gaza Strip between 1948 and 1967. But everyone just ignores that connection.” She noted the absence of protests directed at the Cairo government to alter its continued devaluation of Palestinian lives and contrasted it with daily criticism of Israel for merely maintaining those lives’ value.
Smitts predicted that investors will continue to focus only on Egypt’s devaluation of its currency and continue to ignore the value it places on Palestinian lives. “Investors are wary of bait-and-switch schemes, and the value Arab governments place on Palestinian lives, even when higher than its historic average, ends up burning the investor in the end,” she explained. “In the end the scheme is always about the political leverage that can be gained from that artificially propped-up value, and never about the actual value of Palestinian lives, which has always hovered close to zero in the Arab world.”
Muslim Mob of 150,000 Demands Death of Christian Governor in Jakarta
A mob of 150,000 Muslim protesters took to the streets on Friday in Jakarta, Indonesia, calling for the death penalty for the capital’s Christian governor.
Clashes following the protest resulted in one death and another twelve people injured, according to Indonesian police.
Islamist groups denounced Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama for “insulting Islam,” after the governor suggested that a Qur’an verse allegedly prohibiting Muslims from voting for non-Muslim leaders is a lie. During the march, demonstrators carried signs demanding that the official be put to death for blasphemy.
“Our message is clear: if he is not declared a suspect today, we won’t stop until this happens,” organizers said. “We have already planned a three-day movement. We urge all Muslims across Indonesia to rise up in their own region.”
The route of the march was secured by some 20,000 police and military personnel for fears it erupts into violence. Police stopped a mob from entering the housing complex where Gov. Purnama lives in northern Jakarta by firing tear gas into the crowd.
As a Christian and an ethnic Chinese, Mr. Purnama has two strikes against him in the world’s most Muslim country and hardline Islamic groups have protested his rule ever since he was elected in 2014.
Governor of Pennsylvania signs anti-BDS bill into law
Pennsylvania’s governor signed a bill Friday preventing the state from contracting with businesses or entities that participate in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.
The legislation, which has been passed in a number of other states in recent years as well, will “prohibit contracting with BDS businesses” and dictates that an “entity must certify that it will not engage in such boycotting during the duration of the contract,” according to an official statement released by the governor’s office.
The BDS movement supports economic and other pressure on the State of Israel for its perceived ill-treatment of the Palestinians.
Pennsylvania is the 14th state to pass anti-BDS legislation. The other states are California, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Alabama, South Carolina, Rhode Island and Iowa. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order against doing business with Israel boycotters.
Chicago Jews’ attempt to boycott Israeli film festival falls flat
Artists, activists and cultural workers are staging a #DropTheFilmFest twitter campaign targeting the Music Box Theatre and the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema. In keeping with the global cultural and academic boycott of Israel, organizers are calling for the Music Box Theatre to cease screening festival films, and for the festival itself to be canceled.
Now in its 11th year, the 2016 edition of the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema runs from November 1-13. The festival showcases Israel’s most current award-winning feature films, documentaries, shorts and TV shows, with guest appearances by Israeli film stars, filmmakers, and critics. This year’s festival features films in Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi.
Although Chicago is known for having a large anti-Zionist community, just a handful of demonstrators showed up to protest the film festival on November 3 outside the Music Box Theatre. Organizers had hoped for between 30 and 60 protestors, but numbers were considerably smaller as only a dozen people arrived by its conclusion.
Protestors chanted slogans such as “Ethnic cleansing isn’t pretty, no film fest in this city,” while festival-goers walked by to attend the screening of Ido Haar’s documentary “Presenting Princess Shaw.” The festival event was co-hosted by the Israeli Consulate General to the Midwest and Israel House.
IsraellyCool: BDS Bullies Making Life Hell For Real Estate Agent
A real estate agent for RE/MAX films BDS-holes disrupting an open house – just because the company she works for does business in Israel.
You can hear the worry in her voice as she says she does not know what to do.
Here is the real estate agent’s web page – if you live in North Virginia and want a place, check out her listings.
As for BDS, this what they do – they bully other people, all because of their hatred of Israel. And they don’t care about the consequences – even if it means affecting someone’s livelihood.
British University Ordered to Compensate Jewish Student for Rejecting His Complaints Against Campus Group’s Antisemitic Activity
A British university has been ordered to compensate a Jewish student for failing to address his complaints about rampant Jew- and Israel-hatred on campus, UK campus and antisemitism watchdog groups reported.
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) ruled that Sheffield Hallam University in South Yorkshire must pay the student — who is disabled — a sum of £3,000 ($3,750) for taking nine months to respond to a formal complaint he lodged against the antisemitic and anti-Zionist activity of certain groups at the school — and then for rejecting it.
The OIA strongly condemned Sheffield and, in what is being called a precedent-setting move, called on the school to formally adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism — which includes certain forms of anti-Zionism — as it is “of particular relevance.”
The evidence that the student originally submitted to the school’s administration to back up his complaint was a series of social media posts written by Sheffield’s Palestine Society, which incite against Israel and Jews.
Does The Daily Beast Think Jewish Artifacts Are a Hoax?
Last month the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) came into possession of a piece of papyrus that experts have identified as being from the the First Temple Period, in the 7th century B.C.E. This particular artifact prominently mentions Jerusalem as being central to Jewish life at that time.
The Daily Beast, based on exactly no actual evidence whatsoever, referred to the discovery as a “hoax” while describing it as “shady.”
Why does the artifact appear to be genuine?
First of all, carbon dating establishes the age of the papyrus. Second, the IAA’s Dr. Eitan Klein explains that the text’s orthography (style of writing) matches with other texts from the period, thus confirming the carbon dating. Finally, the consensus opinion among scholars who have actually been involved with authenticating the artifact is that the find is, indeed, genuine.
Canadian Jewish Organization Decries Appearance of Neo-Nazi Newspaper on York U Campus
A blatantly antisemitic, racist and homophobic publication has “no place” at Canadian universities, an official from one of the country’s major Jewish organizations told The Algemeiner on Friday.
Aidan Fishman, campus advocacy coordinator for B’nai Brith Canada, was referring to the recent appearance of Your Ward News — which has been widely condemned by a number of human rights organizations for its neo-Nazi character — on the York University campus.
“Anyone can see that its content is manifestly absurd,” Fishman said of the newspaper, whose graphics are accompanied by text, such as: “Never before have Satan’s ZioMarxist arrows missed their mark,” and “Keep firing, you spazzy putz! The blood of 6 million lampshades is on your hands!” — a reference to the Nazi practice of using the skin of Jews to craft certain products.
Fishman said his organization received numerous complaints from both Jewish and non-Jewish students at the school, after copies of the newspaper were distributed on the Keele campus.
Israeli rescue teams participate in NATO exercise
Israel was one of 27 countries to answer NATO’s recent call for an international search, rescue and recovery exercise in Montenegro. The National Emergency Management Authority delegation from Israel included 24 people from ZAKA Divers Unit, Fire and Rescue Authority’s central unit, representatives of the Search and Rescue units from the Home Front Command and the Ministry of Defense.
The international exercise enacted a scenario in which the rivers in Montenegro flooded large populated areas, causing severe damage to property and residents.
According to the exercise scenario, some of the bridges had collapsed, roads were destroyed, and the volunteers were mostly moving from place to place by boat. The ZAKA Divers Unit – taking part in their first-ever NATO international search — used the ZAKA Scooter, an underwater motorized scooter, developed exclusively by ZAKA, which is intended for searching for missing people underwater.
“This was a very important exercise – our first NATO exercise – with complex rescue challenges. The ability to work together with the firefighting and rescue teams from around the world allowed us to execute the task perfectly, while earning the admiration of the exercise organizers and accumulating significant knowledge for the ZAKA Divers Unit,” said ZAKA Divers Unit commander Haim Outmezgine. “Without a doubt, participating in such an exercise has given us greater knowledge and experience for use in real-life situations.”
HearMeOut plans Australia IPO by year’s end – founder
HearMeOut, a voice-based social network app, is planning to raise around $5 million on the Australian Securities Exchange by early next month, Issy Livian, co-founder of the Israeli startup, said in an interview.
Through its app, HearMeOut allows people to post and listen to audio clips up to 42 second long on a variety of social networks including Facebook and Twitter as well as HearMeOut’s own platform.
“Voice has made a comeback into the digital space and many more people are using voice to leave messages,” said Livian at the company’s Ramat Gan offices in Israel. “We want to be the Twitter for voice. Voice allows you to give a unique digital signature. It is more intimate, more personal and more powerful than text.”
HearMeOut does not intend to compete with the giant social networks but is positioning itself as the “on-the-go social network, one that allows you to listen to feeds or create feeds while you are driving in your car or are on your way somewhere,” Livian said.
Paving a road for Ethiopian-Israelis in high-tech
Wix program developer Oozy Bitew, 26, was born in Lod to parents who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia in 1977.
Because socioeconomic disadvantages make for a bumpy road to high-tech careers for Ethiopian-Israelis, Bitew turned to Tech-Career, founded in 2002 by Asher Elias and Glenn Stein to smooth the way with specialized courses of study developed by and for Ethiopian-Israelis.
After completing an intensive 10-month developers’ course in 2013, Bitew was on one of the first teams to enter Tech-Career’s 10-month entrepreneur incubator launched in November 2015 with core funding from the US-Middle East Partnership Initiative.
His team’s startup, Service Locator, is a Facebook Messenger bot to help users find crowd-recommended tradespeople and technicians in real time.
“I still need to do a college degree to go further in my career, but I can tell you Tech-Career changed my life,” Bitew tells ISRAEL21c. “I learned a lot about myself and it prepared me for real life.”
Newborn fennec foxes frolic in Ramat Gan Safari
The Ramat Gan Safari introduced its new additions Sunday: four 7-week-old fennec fox kits.
The four are the offspring of proud parents Penny, who was born in the UK and came to Israel five years ago, and French fox Louie, who came to Israel four years ago. Both parents are seven years old.
Penny gave also birth to three kits in 2014, of which just two survived, Ynet reported. The pair, a male and a female, still live in the same enclosure with their parents and the new babies.
Fennecs are the smallest members of the fox family, distinctive for their large ears. In the wild they live in the north African Sahara and are adapted to high-temperature, low-water environments.
In captivity fennecs can live up to 14 years. They are omnivores, eating a variety of insects, rodents, eggs and small birds, as well as plants. Their main predator in the wild is the eagle owl. The fennec is considered an endangered species.
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