[Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News] 04/01 Links Pt2: The ISM - Now Recruiting Human shields; Something Amazing at the NYTimes

From Ian:

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The ISM: Now Recruiting Human shields

If you've got a hankering to be used , abused and even sacrificed by terror supporters, this is your chance. Training will be held (where else?) in Berkeley.
The head of the Northern California International Solidarity movement Paul Larudee has been under fire recently by his anti-Israel peers, who have accused him of everything from financial impropriety, to political showboating. He has been kept at arms length by those alarmed by his allegiance to Iran, his support of violence as well as his ties to notorious anti-Semite Gilad Atzmon. Its not clear whether the disagreement is truly philosophical in nature, or if its simply politically expedient to distance oneself from those with clear ties to terror.
Paul has been desperately trying to recapture a place for himself in the anti-Israel movement Its hard to feel sorry for Larudee, who helped organize the failed Flotilla, and the failed Global March to Jerusalem.

Anne Bayefsky: Obama's foreign policy failures lead to disaster at UN

Then consider the Council’s resolution on the “Syrian Golan.” The Council declared that it was “deeply concerned at the suffering of Syrian civilians in the occupied Syrian Golan due to the…violation of human rights by Israel.” The resolution didn’t mention the suffering of Syrian civilians due to the violation of human rights by Syria.
The fact that Syrians flee to the Golan in order to be saved by Israeli doctors from the wounds inflicted by their own government was also mysteriously missing. The Syrian Golan resolution even complained that because of Israel, Syrians are failing to visit “their relatives in the Syrian motherland.” In the UN human rights world, only the United States voted against.
Behavior at the Council does clarify that the demonization of Israel at the U.N. is really about denying Jewish self-determination and encouraging the ultimate destruction of a Jewish state.

Carlos the Jackal fined for anti-Semitic comments

The international terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal was ordered to pay a fine for anti-Semitic comments directed at a prison official in France.
The Venezuelan, whose name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, was fined $3,500 on Monday for calling the female prison official “Israeli,” a “Zionist” and a “dirty Jew” during his appeal last May. He denies using the term dirty Jew, the French news agency AFP reported.

Christians to EU: Israel is Our Safe Haven

Some 150 Israeli Arabic-speaking Christians on Sunday demonstrated outside the European Union mission in Tel Aviv, demanding that the international community stop nitpicking against Israel and start combatting the severe persecution of Christians everywhere else in the Middle East.
“Nations, organizations and international missions are quick to raise an accusing finger against Israel at every opportunity,” said Father Gabriel Nadaf, spiritual father of the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum, which organized the rally.
Those same nations and organizations “don’t life a finger against the ethnic cleansing of Christians in the Middle East,” the priest continued.

Israel soccer official rebuffs threat of FIFA expulsion

A top Israeli soccer official dismissed the possibility that Israel would be kicked out of FIFA, the international professional soccer association, because of lack of progress on resolving travel restrictions for Palestinian players.
FIFA officials have said they want to see the long-simmering issue resolved, and in February the Palestinian Football Association said that it would seek to expel Israel from FIFA during the FIFA congress this summer in Sao Paolo unless conditions improved.

Factual errors behind the anti-Israel vote by Royal Institute of British Architects

CiF Watch recently posted about a motion passed by the Royal Institute of British Architects calling on the International Union of Architects (UIA) “to suspend the Israeli Association of United Architects’ (IAUA) membership until it acts to resist projects on illegally-occupied land and observes international law and accords”.
The decision was based partly on a presentation given to the group by an anti-Israel activist (and Guardian contributor) named Abe Hayeem.
Here is a response to some of the glaring factual errors which led to the RIBA anti-Israel vote.

Danny Ayalon: Keeping America safe from BDS

Laws against boycotting Israel already exists under the anti-boycott amendments to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). These provisions prohibit citizens or companies from complying with any boycott fostered by a foreign country against a country that is friendly with the United States.
But BDS is a movement, not a country, although it did originate through the Palestinian Authority.
The EAR amendment was written during an age when power was predominantly concentrated at the state level. But in our current era of powerful non-state actors, the loophole must be closed. Accordingly, the current administration should push new legislation that would increase the scope of the EAR anti boycott provisions to include boycotts created even by non-state actors, such as the BDS movement.
BDS is biased and unfair, but if measures are not taken to stymie its growth it will spread its message of bigotry to the United States. To counter this, Americans must be vigilant to expose its advocates and uncloak their prejudice using the legislative tools at their disposal.

Pro-BDS Groups to Take Part in New York Israel Day Parade?

Leftist Jewish groups supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel will be participating in New York City's Israel Day Parade - and one watchdog group is rallying to prevent them from ruining one of the US's biggest pro-Israel events.
JCCWatch noted Monday that three pro-BDS groups are participating in the Israel Day parade, each of them blatantly promoting anti-Israel causes.

J Street U Defends Aggressive Anti-Israel Group on Campus

J Street U came out in support for groups they deemed to have been censored on college campuses. In a statement titled, “J Street U Statement on “Israel Apartheid Week” and Recent Censorship Attempts,” the student branch of the lobbying organization rushed to the defense of anti-Israel groups on campus:
Most troubling of all is J Street U’s highlight of the Northeastern University SJP. The group was suspended for its pro-terrorism and anti-Semitic messaging, which was conveyed through highly questionable tactics on campus. Full details were reported on FrontPage Mag.

Hillel Defends Breaking The Silence: 'Trust Your Peers'

Hillel International continues to defend the decision of St. Louis Hillel at Washington University to host the IDF-bashing group, Breaking the Silence. Reached via email, David Eden, Hillel's Chief Administrative Officer told TruthRevolt:
Hillel International's statement calls into question president Eric Fingerhut's insistence that there is a line that cannot be crossed in Hillel buildings.

BBC One serves up BDS at Breakfast

It is not unusual to see Hollywood actors appearing on television shows as part of the promotion of their latest film and so the March 26th interview with Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson on BBC One’s ‘Breakfast’ was unremarkable – until presenter Louise Minchin decided to re-route the hitherto light-hearted chat by throwing in some out-of-context global politics. BBC One Breakfast
The interview can be viewed here for a limited period of time.
At 4:42 Minchin asks Johansson: “And just on a serious note before we go on – and I know you’ve got to go – with regards to what happened with SodaStream; will it change your view on what you choose to do – the way you make choices – in the future?”
After the interview ended, audiences were informed by Minchin (not shown in the above clip) that SodaStream has a factory in a ‘Jewish settlement’ in the ‘occupied territories’.
In other words, the BBC’s amplification of the PR of the anti-peace BDS campaign continues – even with your cornflakes.

Something Amazing at the NYTimes

Three "Letters-to-the-Editor" --- and not one pro-Pal:
You tread so carefully on the story of Muqdad Salah that you pass over the most important question of all: Why do Palestinians insist on treating Mr. Salah, who admitted to killing an elderly Holocaust survivor, apparently as he slept, as a national hero?
In what sense does the murder of an innocent civilian constitute a legitimate act of protest?

Swedish Jewish center targeted during anti-Semitic rally

Police in Malmo arrested two people who tried to break into a Jewish community building during a demonstration that featured anti-Semitic slogans.
Five people gathered outside the Jewish community center on Kamrergatan Street in Malmo’s center on March 27 and tried to force their way inside past security, the Sydsvenskan regional daily newspaper reported.

Treblinka Finds Show World Truth About Holocaust, Expert Says

Professor Greif noted that excavations like these - which reveal the true horrors of the Holocaust - are extremely important for Jewish history and for the world to see, because Nazi Germany made sure to hide their role in the atrocities as much as possible.
"Every document, every tallit [prayer shawl], every tefillin [phylacteries] found becomes hugely important," Greif stated. He noted that almost one million Jews were murdered in Treblinka - and that the creulties at the camp were extreme.
The Nazis bulldozed Treblinka in 1943, after several brave Jews attempted to revolt against their Nazi oppressors, Greif noted. As such, the camp was hidden - its full atrocities unknown - until now.

Far-right National Front makes massive gains in French vote

French President Francois Hollande is set to take the ax to his beleaguered government after it suffered humiliating losses in local elections in which the far-right National Front (FN) made historic gains.
The outcome of the first nationwide vote since Hollande was elected in 2012 was described as “Black Sunday” by one Socialist lawmaker.

French Immigration to Israel Sharply Rises in Early 2014

French-Jewish aliyah rose sharply in the first few months of 2014, according to figures released by the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI).
JAFI said 854 new immigrants arrived in Israel from France in January and February 2014, up from 274 during the same time period last year. JAFI attributed the 312-percent increase to its increased efforts to strengthen relations with the French-Jewish community, and to growing anti-Semitism in France as well as a worsening economic situation in the country.

Ormat Technologies signs finance deal for Indonesian power plant

Israel and Indonesia don’t have diplomatic relations, but soon Israeli technology will be providing electricity to citizens of the world’s most populous Muslim country. This week, Ormat Technologies, a US-based holding company, announced that it signed a $1.17 billion financing agreement with an Indonesian group that is building the huge 330-megawatt Sarulla geothermal project in Tapanuli Utara, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The geothermal technology was developed in Israel by Ormat.

8200 start-up boot camp turns entrepeneurs into tech warriors

For high-tech companies, “8200” is a special number – it’s the go-to IDF unit for firms seeking top talent in engineering, communications, and just about any other area of technology. Responsible for many of the advances in technology employed by the IDF to keep Israelis safe, the soldiers of Unit 8200 take their skills with them when they leave the army and go on to develop the technologies that have changed the world. Among the companies alumni have established: Check Point, ICQ, Palo Alto Networks, NICE, AudioCodes, Gilat, Leadspace and Ezchip, to name just a few.
Those who are chosen for 8200 get in because they’re talented, but still, they appreciate the opportunity given them. And they are eager to return the favor by helping provide opportunities for others, said Inbal Arieli, head of 8200 Entrepreneurship and Innovation Support Program (EISP), an accelerator run by the 8200 Alumni Association. “It’s our way of giving back,” said Arieli. “We had the privilege of being part of an amazing organization, where we learned the technological and entrepreneurial skills to succeed, and developed a network that helps us leverage our resources to build applications, services and businesses. We want to use our experiences to help others to succeed as well.”

A taste of Israeli tech in Facebook’s $2 billion buy

One of the top technology engineers in Oculus, the virtual reality headset maker that was recently bought out by Facebook, is a graduate of Tel Aviv University — an institution that prepared him very well for the work he is doing now.
“I studied at TAU as an undergraduate and got a degree in computer science and electrical engineering,” Israeli-born Dov Katz told The Times of Israel in an exclusive interview. “Israel’s educational system is excellent, and what I learned in university gave me an excellent background for the work I am doing now on virtual reality (VR) systems.”

Visit the world’s largest collection of Bauhaus architecture from your desk

Tel Aviv has a lot to offer visitors, including the world’s largest collection of Bauhaus buildings. But for design lovers who are unable to travel to Israel, artist Avner Gicelter has just the thing – a wonderful series of colorful graphics that illustrate each historical gem.
Inspired by José Guízar and his website ‘Windows of New York’, Gicelter says on his website TLV Buildings “I want to share my love for Tel Aviv and its unique and stunning architectural styles.”
Every week the artist uploads a new, very detailed graphic modeled after a specific home or building, accompanied by an address in both English and Hebrew.
To date, the artist has illustrated 23 out of more than the 4,000 Bauhaus structures that give Tel Aviv its nickname the “White City.”
Head over to TLV Buildings to see a few more images and stay tuned as Gicelter adds new designs to this brilliant collection every week.

15 photos of Israel that will blow your mind

Photography is about creating a reality that we can only imagine — it’s about nurturing and enhancing something so exquisite, so profound that it can take your breath away.
And occasionally, a photograph can capture the sublime…
And when I saw these photos by Yehoshua Derovan — an incredibly gifted digital photographer — I was blown away. By all of them.

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Posted By Ian to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News at 4/01/2014 06:00:00 PM