[Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News] 07/25 Links Pt2: Joan Rivers Defends Israel In Epic Rant; Himmelman's Maximum Restraint; #TeamIsrael ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Los Angeles-based Jewish rocker Peter Himmelman has released a new song in support of Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas terror from Gaza. "Maximum Restraint" challenges claims Israel is responding disproportionately in the current conflict.
According to Himmelman, people "sitting in Santa Monica sipping lattes" are in no place to judge Israel's response to Hamas rockets.
"It's a disingenuous fantasy to think that Jews should just turn the other cheek. For Jews, turning the other cheek is a sin," he says.

Maximum Restraint (written and performed by Peter Himmelman)

Joan Rivers -- GOES OFF on Epic Israel/Palestine Rant

Douglas Murray on bigoted global anti Israel animosity

Fallen IDF soldiers in Operation Protective Edge

To date, 35 soldiers been killed in action during Operation Protective Edge. Oron Shaul, officially considered as missing in action since July 20, was formally confirmed as dead by the IDF's chief rabbi on July 25.
The operation, which began on July 8, is ongoing at time of writing.
What follows is a list, with a short bio, of the soldiers who have lost their lives in what the prime minister called "the most just war of all… for our home." If necessary, the article will be updated. We hope not.

Family of Fallen American IDF Soldier Thank Israelis for Support

The parents of US-born IDF soldier Max Steinberg have said they feel overwhelmed at the outpouring of support and condolences from Israelis across the country, after their son fell in battle in the Gaza Strip.
Despite being a "lone soldier" (the term given for soldiers without close family in Israel), some 30,000 people turned out for Max's funeral on Wednesday, after public calls brought throngs of people to pay their last respects to a Jewish boy from LA who sacrificed his life for the country.

Heroes on the mend

Just two months ago, Ran was at the Final Four in Milan. He was always a big fan of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team, and when he saw it advance to the Euroleague finals, he decided he had to be there. He got a ticket to the game at a moment's notice, bought a plane ticket, and persuaded his battalion commander to give him 24 hours' leave. That was how he got to see his beloved team win the cup and post a selfie of himself at the celebrations.
On Monday, he managed to grab another photo of himself before another operation, lasting 10 hours, that went into the next day. It was then that Ophir woke him; the Israeli players on the team, Guy Pnini and Yogev Ohayon, had come to visit him, bringing the cup with them.
"Suddenly I woke up and sat up energized," he recalls. "When they came into the room I sang the songs that we always sing to them from the stands. They were in shock. That gave me so much strength. I sang the Maccabi team songs even on the way into the operating room."

Parents of Lone Soldier Flown to Israel to See Their Injured Son

The parents of Moshe Hirt, an American soldier who was wounded during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, were able to fly to Israel to visit their son thanks to El Al, Israel's national airline, and the head of Moshe's yeshiva.
Hirt, from New Jersey, was a student at the Birkat Moshe hesder yeshiva in Ma'aleh Adumim. The head of the yeshiva, Gilad Gross, recalled what happened after Hirt was wounded in a conversation with Arutz Sheva on Thursday.
"Moshe came to us from the United States for a year at the yeshiva. After he finished his studies he joined the paratroopers," said Gross.

Dozens of Canadians have gone to Israel to take up arms for the Jewish state

If things had turned out differently, Orli Broer would be starting her second year at Montreal's McGill University, spending her days studying and her nights dancing.
Instead, the 19-year-old moved to Israel and joined the Israeli Defence Forces. Now, she spends her days in the West Bank and her nights with a gun under her pillow.
She is one of thousands of lone soldiers, young adults from around the world who come to Israel to fight for the Jewish state. Some are Israeli citizens who grew up elsewhere, others visited on school trips and felt compelled to take up the Zionist cause. Few have close family in the country.
Of the 2,500 lone soldiers serving in the IDF, about 145 are from Canada, says the Nefesh B'Nefesh lone soldier program.

Behind the lines, Israelis help out with the war effort

It's taken a war for Israelis to reach out and help one another, but once motivated, they've been coming through in a range of creative ways.
Communities have been packing boxes of food, underwear and other necessities, and shlepping them down to soldiers on the frontlines.
In central Jerusalem on Thursday, an initiative by a local real estate agency raised donations of several thousand dollars and prepared 300 care packages for soldiers — boosted by goods supplied cost-price by some local traders and free of charge by others.

'Redemption Song' of U.S. Lone Soldiers in Israel

Why do boys like these choose to rush headlong into harm's way?‎
They may think that evil is not only caused by the actions of others, but their ‎inaction as well.‎
What song plays in the hearts of foreign nationals who forsake life and home for ‎the mud, blood and tears that inevitably, inexorably accompany a combat unit ‎crossing into hostile terrain?‎
If I had to guess, I would say it's "Redemption Song." The redeemed souls of Sean and ‎Max, having slipped the surly bonds of earth, have touched the face of G-d.‎
May their memories be a blessing.‎

Daniel Mael: This is How The Jews Will Have to Fight

The story of Max Steinberg is one of unimaginable heartbreak and sorrow. A young boy who grew up thousands of miles away from the Jewish homeland and who paid the ultimate price. A young man with no direct relatives in the region who was mourned by 30,000 of his Israeli kin.
In the face of tragedy we all seek to internalize what has happened. We find similar features, identifying characteristics that mirror that of our own.
The story of Max is close to home for me; almost too much so.

Israeli UFC fighter headed home 'to protect' his country

A 15-hour flight awaits Noad Lahat on Sunday morning, only hours after he faces Steven Siler on Saturday in a three-round featherweight bout at UFC Fight Night 12 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.
Little good will come of the trip, but Lahat, 30, has few options.
He's headed to war, to join his countrymen in the seemingly never-ending struggle to defend Israel.
Lahat speaks bluntly but matter-of-factly. It's a part of a Jew's life to fight and defend the homeland, he said.
"I hear it a lot, especially when I'm here in California, because people don't understand how we have to live," he said. "Life here is very good, you know? It's a good life. What do you worry about? Do you worry about paying your mortgage or making the payment on your car? That's not real life. People here in the States, they don't understand real life. Americans are fortunate. In the rest of the world, real life is totally different.
"You don't have to worry about driving in a certain [area] because that population there is hostile. We live knowing we are never safe. You live your life and go about your business every day, but we know [an attack] could come at any point. Everyone has someone or knows someone they've lost [to war]. Everyone. When something happens to one of our soldiers, the whole country feels it."
His parents are both generals. His older brother has been in the military service, as has his sister. His younger brother is preparing to serve.

Tel Avivians show their soaring affection for the Iron Dome

There's no sound quite like the "boom" that rumbles through the sky each time the Iron Dome intercepts a rocket.
For residents of Tel Aviv and the country's center, it's become a welcome chorus as they sit out each siren in a bomb shelter, safe room or stairwell. This is the part of the country that had previously received few rockets, only to experience a steady stream over the last few weeks.
And it's thanks to the Iron Dome that only one missile — the one that hit a house in nearby Yehud on Tuesday — appears to have hit the ground in a residential area in the center.

'#TeamIsrael': 10 celebs using social media to stand with Israel

As Hamas fires thousands of rockets into Israel, where are the celebs using Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to support Israel's right to exist? Where are the prayers for the IDF and for an end to terrorists' use of civilians as human shields? Right here:

Unrally around Hamas flag

It was an alarming visual. We can't believe it's come to this.
A Hamas flag waved on the streets of Canada.
Yesterday at an Ottawa pro-Palestinian march, at least one flag from the terrorist organization was carried.
The Ottawa Citizen reported that this "caused a stir on social media and upset the local Jewish federation."
This should upset everyone. The publication also spoke with the flagbearer, 27-year-old John Adam: "He acknowledged Hamas supporters use it, but he insisted it wasn't only a Hamas symbol, comparing it to the Christian cross."
Right ... and historically the swastika was just a traditional Hindu symbol.
Yet we all know stating that fact would be no defence if someone scrawled it across a synagogue.

Gaza, Liberals, and Moral Equivalence

Rula Jabreal on MSNBC and other public apologists for murderous jihad claim that American media tilt overwhelmingly toward Israel. But the only positive treatment of the embattled Jewish state stems from its ability to describe war aims while no one on the other side will explain the aims of Hamas. Instead of explaining why Gaza thugs opted to launch a major war, Hamas sympathizers cite meaningless and false clichés about the way that pressure on any population necessarily generates violence and hatred. Yes, 100 rocket attacks a day may express such hatred but it has no purpose whatever other than satisfying the bloodlust of crazed killers and fanatics.
In this contest, the distinction between the two sides isn't fuzzy, difficult or obscure. Israel is fighting to put an end to violence; Hamas is fighting to perpetuate and intensify terror aimed at random civilian targets. If Hamas disarms, there's a chance that brutality would give way to some form of wary coexistence. If Israel disarms, it's obvious that her residents would bear the brunt of increased attacks and looming disaster.
The moral contrast remains so clear that only the most stubborn and blinded relativist could refuse to acknowledge it. One war aim is admirable. The other is evil.
It shouldn't be difficult for any individual or organization to decide which of the two sides deserves passionate support.

The Real Palestinian Massacre

Yarmouk was home to the largest Palestinian refugee community before the conflict began. 180,000 Palestinian civilians called it home. Now only 20,000 remain. Food and medical supplies are routinely denied entry, and starvation is one of the three main causes of death. Recently, in the Jarabulus area, 22 people were killed and thrown into the streets to instill fear in the population. Some of them were children.
Amnesty International has called for the immediate lifting of the siege, the cessation of shelling and other indiscriminate attacks, and for humanitarian agencies to have unfettered access to the area. The disproportional attacks on civilians must end.
Down with Israel? Not quite. Yarmouk and Jarabulus are in Syria.

Iron Dome Cannot Stop These Missiles

Hamas has failed to achieve its goal primarily because of the incredible Iron Dome missile defense system that has kept civilian casualties to a minimum.
But there is no iron dome technology that can slow Hamas' other long-range attacks—the unleashing of history's oldest hate—anti-Semitism– on every continent.
There are precious few Jews left in the Arab and Muslim worlds. Most were driven out as a result of the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. Morocco, once home to a magnificent Jewish community and respected subculture, still has 3,000 Jews. Last week, a rabbi in Casablanca was severely beaten, his cries for help from passersby went unheeded.
Last Saturday, Frankfurt police's contribution to keeping the peace was to allow a pro-Hamas speaker to climb on their police car and use its megaphone, so that he could whip the anti-Israel demonstrators into an ugly mob. They followed their Pied Pier atop the police car to his shouts in both Arabic and German "child murderer Israel" and "Allah Akbar!" In Berlin, protesters yelled "Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the Gas Chambers." The Imam in the German capital's Al-Nur Mosque openly calls for genocide against the Jews. Those unable to attend personally can hear the inspirational rhetoric online.

War "Statistics": The New York Times Deceives Again

The Daily Tally, favoring a more simplistic formula that implicitly frames the conflict as one between good and evil, obfuscates these distinctions. It also neglects to inform readers that as many as 70% of the Israelis support a Palestinian state backed by the UN, according to a survey done by Hebrew University's Harry S. Truman Research Institute. Instead, the Daily Tally simply demands to be frequently refreshed -- counting the dead while ignoring the demands of the living.
Maps, images, and infographics can, of course, easily become the instruments of promoting particular political ideologies, and might even have been chosen for that reason. By choosing to represent only particular aspects of a story, however, the people who post the Daily Talley know they are capable of swaying opinion and motivating viewers to think about a situation in a particular way. But that is not "all the news that is fit to print;" that is propaganda.
Creating compelling clickbait in the form of infographics is a disturbing trend in news today. Journalists would be more credible if, instead, they were even interested in embracing a more complete approach to communicating authentic stories, rather than competing for the bloodiest image. It would be refreshing if journalists would recommit themselves to promoting the truth, as closely as they could, behind the images and numbers they present. In promoting this partial and often false knowledge, it is easy to inculcate a misguided sense of righteousness on both sides. In the search for truth, infographics, images, and numbers give only the illusion of knowledge. The real thing often looks quite different.

Krauthammer: 'Rank Ignorance' Pervasive in Media Covering Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Krauthammer said anti-Semitism is partly to blame for the world's skewed view of Israel, but it also comes down to just not understanding history of the conflict.
"The more prevalent one among the American media is simple rank ignorance," Krauthammer said. "They don't know the story. They don't know what Israel offered Gaza, what it offered the West Bank. Do you ever hear anybody report that when Israel left Gaza nine years ago unilaterally, at the same time it dismantled four settlements in the West Bank? That was a signal from Ariel Sharon that he wanted to eventually leave all the territories and live in peace with the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. But you never hear that."

Pro-Palestinian Guest of Hannity Won't Answer Whether He Thinks Hamas is a Terrorist Organization

A pro-Palestinian guest of Fox News host Sean Hannity refused to answer his repeated questions about whether he believed the militant group Hamas was a terrorist organization Thursday night.
In a heated exchange, Hannity said Yousef Munayyer, the executive director of the Jerusalem Fund and Palestine Center, could not seem to get a simple question through his "thick head." Munayyer had earlier in the interview retorted to one question that Israel should end its "decades-long military occupation of Palestinian territory."
"You're making a rationalization for rockets and kidnapping and murder, and you want to blame the victims in this case!" Hannity said.
"The only people blaming the victim here is you," Munayyer said.

Stand With Us Videos: Idiotic Behavior of Hamas

Hamas Human Shields

The Deadly Strategy of Hamas

Oops - Hamas Rockets End Up Harming Gazans

Hamas lives to fight - Israel fights to live

Dermer Slams CNN's Israeli-Palestinian Coverage: You Do Your Viewers a Disservice

Dermer reminded Burnett Hamas has been using schools, hospitals and other non-military installations as weapon depots.
"It would be a disservice to your viewers for a reporter from Gaza not to mention that in the last week we had two different UNRWA schools where we had actually rockets found in the schools and handed over to Hamas," he said.
Dermer grew angrier when he mentioned he'd watched two hours of CNN and not heard a single reporter tell the viewers of this practice.
"I have not heard a single person say what I just said to you now, and I think that that does a disservice to your viewers to not give them the context they need to make these judgments," he said. "Hamas is placing missile batteries in schools, in hospitals, in mosques, and there must be outrage by the world at Hamas to end this." (h/t MtTB)

Watch: Danny Danon Tells BBC 'We Won't Sit Back and be Attacked'

In a televised interview with the BBC, MK and former Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon was questioned as to the morality of the decisions made by the IDF and the Israeli government regarding Israel's Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.
Although the interviewer downplayed the role of Hamas's responsibility in the events taking place vis-à-vis civilians in Gaza, Danon persisted in his efforts to present a more balanced picture of the conflict, explaining that despite the IDF's efforts to avoid collateral damage, the civilians in Gaza were in the untenable position of being held hostage in their own homes by Hamas.
"Do you have any better ideas? What would you have us do…sit idly by and be attacked?" he queried.

Dear BBC – Have Hamas ever done anything wrong?

Their page about ISIS opens with a description of them as a jihadist organisation. They are "brutal rulers" and "a threat to the region," who have stolen "millions of dollars".
Compare this with the BBC page about Hamas. There is not a single unqualified criticism of Hamas in the entire page. Any criticism is immediately explained away, and many of their crimes are almost explicitly justified.
After saying that the U.S. and E.U. sees Hamas as a terrorist organisation, and that Hamas` charter commits it to the destruction of Israel, the BBC say that "it`s (Hamas`) supporters see it as a legitimate movement."

Wiesenthal Center: Huffington Post Headline on Gaza 'Takes Art of Lying to New Depths'

Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper on Thursday slammed the Huffington Post and reporter Sophie Jones, its Middle East correspondent, for the sensationalist headline, "'They Just Wanted to Kill as Many People as Possible."' Cooper said the headline, accusing Israel of targeting civilians in its current war against Hamas in Gaza, and Jones's reporting, "takes the art of lying and self-delusion to new depths."
The Huffington Post article quoted Israel Defense Forces Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, the IDF's official spokesman, describing Israel's policy and procedure to warn civilians before striking Gaza targets, but then accused Israel of targeting civilians as collective punishment.

Guardian incites the crowd: Israel quickly blamed for Gaza school attack

So, though while the sequence of events are unclear at this point, a day after the tragedy, this didn't stop the UK media's immediate rush to judgment – blaming Israel for the Palestinian deaths, and ignoring Hamas's use of human shields.
While some US media outlets were – quite tellingly – much more fair and circumspect in their initial assessments (avoiding headlines which blamed either side), the following headlines at the Guardian, Independent and Times (of London), published when very little information was known, indicate a troubling lack of restraint and objectivity.

UK news site actually publishes anti-Hamas cartoon

While The Times (of London) is one of the better British newspapers on issues relating to Israel, it's surprising nonetheless that any major paper in the UK would publish the following cartoon (by Peter Brooks), as it represents an unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and calls out the Islamist group for their tactic of using human shields.
Such open criticism of an antisemitic extremist group is, sadly, the rare exception within a UK media which, conversely, often posts graphic agitprop advancing the most toxic calumnies about the democratic Jewish State - a sad commentary on the moral confusion which grips the opinion elite in that country.

CNN Error: Top US Official Accused Israel of War Crimes

In CNN Newsroom yesterday, Brooke Baldwin mistakenly claims that a top American human rights official accused Israel of war crimes. She erred:
"And we are hearing some pretty strong criticism of Israel today. Coming from one of the U.S.'s top human rights officials. The criticism came during an emergency meeting in Geneva."

BBC News website whitewashes attack on Israeli footballers

That is a rather different picture to the one presented by the BBC article – and particularly interesting because the image later added to this BBC report clearly shows one of the 'protesters' kicking an Israeli player, but that part of the story is not reflected in the text. The Daily Mail has similar images, as well as a picture suggesting that the BBC's euphemistically termed "Pro-Palestinian protesters" would be more accurately described as anti-Israel.

BBC avoids giving audiences the whole picture on Hamas' pre-ceasefire demands

There is nothing novel about BBC misrepresentation of Israel's naval blockade on the Gaza Strip and the restrictions placed on the entry of dual-use goods to that territory. However, that topic now moves into the limelight once again because one of the demands put forward by Hamas – and, significantly, now backed by the PA – is the lifting of the blockade as a pre-condition for a ceasefire to bring an end to the current hostilities.

Astronaut's 'Gaza-Israel' conflict photo is Tel Aviv lights

A photo taken from space that purports to show explosions in Gaza and rockets flying over Israel went viral Thursday, posted on dozens of Facebook pages and blogs, including the official blog of NASA, the US space agency. Just one problem – it's a picture of routine nighttime lights in Israel, not blasts.
At first glance, the image might appear to show explosions over the coastal strip and Israel, as it's presented. At second glance – one taken by Professor Michael Harper of Utah Valley University – the photo turns out to show the lights mainly of Tel Aviv, and as far away as Beersheba in Israel's south. Gaza is in the picture, but it's mostly dark.
There is no sign of bombs or rockets, Harper says.
"I've been to Israel personally and know the geography — even when looking at the nighttime image," Harper told The Times of Israel. "The story makes the statement that bombs and missile attacks can be seen. I refute that with the images I posted."

What the Times Gets Wrong About Israel

If you read the Jerusalem Post today, you would've learned about foreign correspondents in Gaza being harassed for accurately reporting that Hamas is using civilians as human shields. Over at the New York Times, however, the story has a different focus: it's about reporters in Israel complaining of intimidation. The piece does not mention the significant complaints voiced by western journalists in Gaza; nor does it acknowledge that intimidation in Israel means being harangued by angry citizens—an unpleasant nuisance swiftly curbed by the police—whereas in Gaza it means being threatened by a murderous terrorist organization, or that those journalists bothered in Jerusalem are then absolutely free—as they are not across the border to the south—to complain about it as loudly as they please.
It's easy to blame this glaring discrepancy on the reliable "the Times hates Israel trope." But the tale that emerges from both pieces is more complicated. It is, primarily, about the blogger who wrote the piece, Robert Mackey, and what his continuous employment by the Times says about the paper of record's pitiful worldview.

LA Times Features Pro-Hamas Article

The article creates the impression that life in Gaza was so torturous due to Israeli behavior that a negotiated cease-fire between Hamas and Israel would leave the residents of Gaza in an unbearable situation.
In one case, the Times presents the Israeli and Egyptian security processes on the sea border as unfair and unnecessarily contributing to the suffering of innocent Gazans:

Letter to the Editor Shreds Boston Globe's Anti-Israel Bias

Steve Gerzof, a Massachusetts resident, shredded the Globe's thesis and moral equivalence through an impassioned Letter to the Editor:
In editorial comments yesterday, you frame the current Gaza situation as Israeli "retaliation" to Palestinian "provocation". This is like saying that Hiroshima was "retaliation" for the "provocation" of Pearl Harbor, instead of an end to the war. Gaza, complete with 3,000 greenhouses, was given to the Palestinians to start a country. Instead, they elected Hamas, who openly declared war on Israel, dismantled the greenhouses for parts to build rockets and tunnels, and began their war. Your assertion that Natanyahu apparently lacks "commitment to any end game" ignores his being the reluctant respondent to changing Hamas tactics. His end game remains the survival of Israel; Hamas's is to its destruction.

A Disgraceful Smear: Blaming Judaism for Israel's Fallen

Now we're getting somewhere. It's not about Birthright per se. It's about connecting Jews to their ancient homeland–their historical identity, in other words. And that connection, if successful, leads–not always, but logically, in Benedikt's mind–to Steinberg's tragic end. "This is what you get," she says. War, death–this is what happens when you help Jews connect to a crucial part of Jewish life, history, practice, and identity.
It's not Birthright that killed Max Steinberg, in Benedikt's telling. It's Judaism. Compartmentalize your Judaism by separating yourself from the global Jewish community and from Eretz Yisrael–keep your people's history hidden–and you should be OK. "Maybe Max was especially lost, or especially susceptible, or maybe he was just looking to do some good and became convinced by his Birthright experience that putting on an IDF uniform and grabbing a gun was the way to do it," Benedikt offers, trying to explain Steinberg's Zionism by ascribing it to mental weakness, to emotional instability, or to a moral naïveté that his fellow Jews took advantage of.
To teach a Jew about his people and his history, according to Benedikt, is to play a dangerous game. And this, she says, pointing to the death of a 24-year-old soldier, is what happens; "This is what you get."

Slate's Blood Libel Against Birthright Israel

Max Steinberg is the apogee of their heroism. His name and Benedikt's do not belong in the same sentence.
No nation in history has been the target of more unbridled, irrational hatred than the Jews. We have been ghettoized and imprisoned, tortured and gassed, burned and incinerated, exterminated and brought to the verge of extinction. And the only thing that has reversed these horrors is the creation of a Jewish army to declare once and for all that Jewish blood will never again be cheap.
No nation is more understanding of what the Jews have suffered, and more committed to ensuring it never happens again, than America, the most benevolent, caring, and compassionate nation on earth. It was American G.I.s who liberated the concentration camps and saw Jewish children turned into discarded mounds of human surplus. And it is the American people who contribute billions of dollars annually to Israel's defense so that American values and freedoms can flourish in every part of the world, especially the Middle East.

NYT: Hamas Started War Because 'They Had Nothing To Lose'

The New York Times's Anne Barnard attempted to rationalize Hamas' attack on Israel by portraying the terrorist group as "so hamstrung, politically, economically and diplomatically, that its leaders appeared to feel they had nothing to lose." The real reason for the war Hamas initiated with Israel, the piece explains, was 50% unemployment—caused by Israel pulling out of Gaza and tightening border restrictions—and the loss of some key allies, particularly Syria, Iran, and Egypt.
Barnard argues that when they first launched the rockets, Hamas had been backed into a corner due to severe political and economic pressures. Over the last year, the group lost support from key allies, including Syria, Iran, and Egypt:

Philadelphia, USA "Stands With Israel"

Our Israel solidarity rally here in Philadelphia yesterday afternoon, which drew 2,500 people to LOVE Park, was a huge success and a great time. And a helpful, much needed reminder to people like me who sometimes spend more time than we should in dark, hate-filled corners of the internet, that the antisemites at places like Daily Kos are truly a tiny, though loud and vicious, minority in our society, and that Americans continue to stand with Israel, as she seeks to end the current terror launched on her by a genocidal terrorist organization which hides behind its women and children, stores missiles in schools and uses ambulances to transport its 'brave' fighters.

Watch: Flashmob Simulates Hamas Rocket Attacks in Vienna

The Jewish community in Vienna staged a flashmob in several public places on Thursday, according to Austrian online newspaper Heute, in order to show solidarity with Israelis living under the constant threat of Hamas's rocket fire.
Flashmobs were launched in Stephen Sqaure, Sweden Square, and the Opera House in Vienna, according to the daily, as organizers struggled to raise awareness of the cause behind Israel's self-defense operation, Operation Protective Edge,
During each demonstration, a siren was sounded, and protestors took 15 seconds to duck or find cover - roughly the same amount of time Israelis living in the Gaza belt, Ashkelon, or Ashdod have to find shelter in the event of a rocket attack.
"The terror, the rockets must stop," one of the organizers told the outlet. "Hamas must be disarmed, so that Israel can finally live in peace."

CMEP: Hamas Rocket Fire a "Kind of Political Speech"

Churches for Middle East Peace, an umbrella "peace" organization supported by approximately two dozen Christian churches and para-church organizations in the U.S., sure has a funny way of looking at things.
Do you get that? Rocket fire into Israel is a kind of political speech, not an act of war. Sending millions of people into bomb shelters is not a war crime.
Nooo! It's political speech! A cry for help! An attention getting gambit!

French Police Ban Anti-Israel March Amid Anti-Semitism Fears

French police said Friday that a protest planned for the weekend in Paris against Israel's military operation in Gaza has been banned, following several similar rallies that turned violent.
Organizers of the rally scheduled for Saturday immediately lodged a legal challenge, their lawyer, Hosni Maati, said.
Three pro-Palestinian rallies, two of them which had been banned but took place anyway, degenerated earlier this month, with some protesters looting, hurling anti-Semitic slogans and clashing with police. Earlier demonstrations saw hundreds of Muslim extremists attacked a major synagogue in Paris, provoking clashes with Jewish youths who rushed to defend the site and worshippers trapped inside.

One million bigots to march against Israel in London

This could make the Guinness Book of Records. The largest collection of bigots ever in one place and at one time. The plan is for a million people -- every single one a bigot by definition -- to join a rally in London on Saturday to abuse and defame the Jewish state for having the temerity to defend itself against terror, and even to exist.
The list of groups who are calling for this obnoxious event tells its own story. Here is the breakdown from the Stop the War Coalition:
"Demonstration called by: Stop the War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Friends of Al Aqsa, British Muslim Initiative, Muslim Association of Britain, Palestinian Forum in Britain."
Crikey. The moral weight of such groups! The only one missing is the Adolf Hitler revival band.
Obviously, they won't get a million people on the march. If they get 10,000 that will be a big deal for them. But let's be open minded. If they do get a million people, we really should send this in as a world record.

Huge Iran al-Quds Day rallies call for 'Death to Israel'

Demonstrations were held in Tehran and more than 700 towns and cities across the country on the last day of prayer and rest of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, state television reported.
In the capital, footage showed demonstrators, carrying placards proclaiming "Death to Israel" and "Death to America," converging from nine different points on Tehran University in the city center.

J Street explains pullout from Boston pro-Israel rally

J Street had agreed at first to co-sponsor the rally for Israel in its current conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The group said it withdrew the night before because its officials did not feel that issues they wanted addressed were sufficiently represented, including grieving for victims on all sides, an emphasis on a diplomatic solution and especially the role of the US Jewish community in advancing such a solution.
"J Street is fully supportive of the rally's call for our community to demonstrate solidarity with Israel and Israelis, to speak for Israel's right to defend itself under very challenging circumstances," Wasserman wrote in the letter to Burton. "What was missing for us in this rally, and what ultimately precluded our co-sponsorship, was that despite our efforts, there was no space made to raise the issues that follow from our commitment to Israel's Jewish and democratic future."
Burton told JTA that speakers at the rally did address suffering on both sides and noted that its immediate emphasis was on Israel's right to defend itself and Hamas' responsibility for the current violence.

Boycott calls against Turkish-Jewish writer prompt anti-Semitism row

Calls for a boycott of Israeli products circulating on social media have been extended to novels penned by Mario Levi, an acclaimed Turkish writer of Jewish descent, drawing criticism of overt anti-Semitism.
The author of many awarded books, including "Istanbul was a Fairy Tale," expressed his sorrow over the Israeli assault on Gaza and regret about the campaign.
"Words are not enough to tell how much the tragic war in Gaza and the death of innocent children is afflicting me with pain. I was meant to experience this too in the country that I love to my bones," Levi said.
Levi also criticized the one-sided coverage of the events by the Turkish media, arguing that such reports could lead people to such reaction.

US Jewish group demands PM Erdoğan return award

An association of Jewish Americans said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become the world's "most virulent anti-Israeli leader" and demanded he return an award it gave him a decade ago, partly for his efforts to broker peace between Israel and Palestinians.
The New York-based American Jewish Congress awarded Erdogan its "Profile of Courage" award in 2004 for what it said was his stance on fighting terrorism and working toward peace.
"Now, we want it back," the association's president, Jack Rosen, said in an open letter to Erdogan dated July 23 and made public on Thursday. He cited the Turkish leader's comments last weekend that Israel had "surpassed Hitler in barbarism" through its attacks on Gaza.

NY markets won't pass the Turkey

Morton Williams, a Jewish family-owned food retailer with 12 supermarkets in the New York metropolitan area, has announced that it is boycotting all Turkish food products in response to a Turkish boycott of Israeli products.
Customers at the company may have noticed that items such as Turkish olive oil, dried figs and apricots, stuffed grape leaves, balsamic vinegar, marinated peppers, hazelnut spread, and a variety of snacks and cookies aren't available on the store shelves.
According to Morton Williams co-owners Steven Sloan and Avi Kaner, many of their patrons don't seem to be missing the foods.

While Gaza Conflict Rages, CUFI Summit Rallies Christian Support for Israel

With the conflict in Israel in their hearts and on their minds, thousands of evangelical Christians converged on Washington, DC, from July 21-22 to flex their collective muscles for the Jewish state as part of the annual Christians United for Israel (CUFI) summit.
"Our joy is consistently interrupted by news from Israel. But it is good to be together with loved ones at a sad time. I see the energy more than ever, that we have to speak out and be a voice for Israel," David Brog, executive director of CUFI, told JNS.org.
With nearly 1.75 million members, CUFI calls itself the largest pro-Israel organization in the United States. But CUFI's vocal support for Israel also draws a number of detractors who deride the group's mixing of bible-based morality with lobbying and politics.

"Moral Idiots" from Code Pink Disrupt Israeli Ambassador's Speech at CUFI Gala

Last night, hecklers from Code Pink somehow entered the Convention Center heckling Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer's stem winding speech near the close of the two hour event. They shouted "war Criminal!" Dermer, not missing a beat, referred to the hecklers as "moral Idiots." That led to loud cheers of "Israel, Israel" by the CUFI audience.
Code Pink has perennially protested both AIPAC Washington Policy Conferences and CUFI Summit events. Code Pink representatives were involved with the aborted Free Gaza flotillas. Most notorious of which occurred in 2010 involving the Israeli navy commando raid on the Turkish ferry, the Mavi Marmara owned by Turkish Islamist charity and Hamas backer, IHH.

Anti-Israel Protesters: 'U.S.A. Is The Biggest Terrorist Organization'

Michael Lumish: Professor Kedar did NOT call for Rape

Over at Daily Kos they went completely nuts because they totally misunderstood Kedar's points of view concerning how to stop suicide bombers within a "diary," written by "SaraBeth" entitled, Israeli Professor Suggests Rape as 'Terror Deterrent'.
Professor Kedar suggested no such thing; it is not even close.
Needless to say, of course, many used it as an opportunity to defame the Israelis as the most horrible human beings who have ever lived... but that is what they do on a daily basis, anyway.

Reuven Rivlin sworn in as Israel's tenth president

In a modest ceremony at the Knesset, under the shadow of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Reuven Rivlin was sworn in as the tenth president of Israel on Thursday. Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) chaired a special session of the parliament, which was attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, MKs, and other dignitaries who filled the plenum and its galleries.
Rivlin, his right hand raised and his left on a Hebrew copy of the Jewish Bible, took his presidential vow. After covering his head with a yarmulke, the fresh president then recited a traditional Jewish blessing that marks significant new events, and twin rams' horns were blown to signal the start of his seven-year term in office.

Arab MKs Boycott Rivlin's Inauguration; MK Elkin Bristles

The absence of the Arab members of the Knesset from this evening's (Thursday) inauguration ceremony of President Reuven Rivlin did not go unnoticed. Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Zeev Elkin (Likud) did not mince words in his response.
''The decision of Arab Knesset members to boycott the inaugural ceremony is chutzpah, cynicism and hypocrisy combined. They did not hesitate for a moment take part in the vote in order to try and influence the outcome!" Elkin exclaimed.
"Whoever boycotts their president or their country's military during a time of war of survival against a vile, terrorist organization is not fit to sit in the parliament of that country. It is high time that these traitors leave Israel's Knesset and go contend with Hamas' elections in Gaza," he added.

Point Summary of Israel's Aid to the Palestinians

Israel continues to support the civilians in Gaza risking its citizen's own lives. I put this together and I think it's very important to get it out there. Israel seems to be the Palestinians only light during these dark times. Since the beginning of this year:

PA minister: Western Wall "belongs exclusively to Muslims"

Hamas song glorifies kidnappers of 3 teens: "Hide your prey, a child"

From Sudanese Death Row to a Vatican Meeting with Pope Francis

The Sudanese woman who was put on death row for refusing to reject Christianity met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday, NBC News reports.
Meriam Ibrahim was flown out of the country with her American husband and two young children. She was blessed by the pontiff during a private audience and is expected to fly onto the United States in the next few days.

Massachusetts Jewish cemetery vandalized

A Jewish cemetery in central Massachusetts was vandalized for the second time in less than two months.
Vandals toppled 19 headstones at the Worcester Hebrew Cemetery. The damage, including two headstones that cracked in half, was discovered earlier in the week. Beer cans also were discovered at the site, according to Fox's Boston affiliate.
The damage is estimated at about $15,000; the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts is collecting funds to fix the damage.

Anti-Semitic NYC Cupcake Crew Tweets May Be Fraudulent

The "Cupcake Crew" website as well some of the review sites list a number for the business. The person who answered the line said it was no longer the number of the "Cupcake Crew" business. We researched the number and got the name of the person who owns the account and could not find a connection between that person and the "Cupcake Crew" business.
After examining its Twitter history and social media pages, along with calling and researching the phone number, it appears that "Cupcake Crew" went out of business sometime between mid-November 2013 and the first of January 2014. It is also likely that the person(s) sending out offensive tweets using the "Cupcake Crew" account is not the same person(s) who operated the account before January 2014, as the tone and verbiage used is totally different.
Finally the person using the old "Cupcake Crew" phone number does not seem to have a link to the original business. We strongly urge people not to call that number to complain about the offensive tweets as it is very likely the person on the other end has nothing to do with the Twitter account.

Jewish deputy PM to serve as Ukraine's acting PM

Volodymyr Groysman, a deputy prime minister who is Jewish, was appointed acting prime minister of Ukraine following the resignation of Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
Groysman was tapped at a special Cabinet meeting on Thursday, according to the RIA Novosti news site. He joined the government in February as deputy prime minister for regional policy and is a former mayor of the city of Vinnytsia.
Groysman will serve until lawmakers elect an interim prime minister prior to parliamentary elections early next year. Oleksandr Turchynov, the parliament's speaker, has asked parties to nominate candidates.

Israeli economy resilient amid conflict, deputy governor of central bank says

The Israeli economy is weathering the escalating conflict in Gaza as if it was a "bad winter storm," the deputy governor of the country's central bank said Wednesday.
Montreal-born Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg visited Ottawa this week to meet with counterparts at the Bank of Canada after taking up her central banking job this spring. Ms. Baudot-Trajtenberg had to scramble to rebook her return to Tel Aviv on Wednesday night after Air Canada cancelled flights into Ben Gurion Airport when a rocket fired from Gaza landed nearby.
She said the Israeli economy has shrugged off the increased political risk, as evidenced by resiliency in the international bond market, the stock market and the foreign exchange business.

War doesn't faze Start-Up Nation's foreign fans

Tech people aren't overly concerned about the anti-Israel, even anti-Semitic headlines that have been cropping up in places like India and Ireland over the conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Relations between the high-tech industries there and the "Start-Up Nation" are just fine, they say.
Leading business people in both countries who work to develop relationships between Israeli start-ups and local firms say the tech relationship will survive the hostile Protective Edge-generated headlines.
To observers in the Israeli tech industry, the contrast between the tone before and after the start of the conflict has been stark. If just a few weeks ago the majority of stories on Indian news sites discussed new business deals and the prospects of an India-Israel free trade agreement, sites are now full of stories criticizing New Delhi for failing to speak out loudly enough about "Israeli atrocities." Mass protests have been held against Israel throughout the country, and India's sizable Muslim population is even boycotting brand names like Pepsi, Coca Cola, and Nescafe, because they do business in Israel.

Owl hurt by Hamas fire recovering

The fighting in Gaza has extracted a grave human toll, but some animals have been affected as well. One was lucky enough to make it to the hospital.
About two weeks ago, a long-eared owl was injured by mortar shrapnel in Kibbutz Nirim, near the Gaza border. The owl was found by Ben Itay, a kibbutz member and veterinary student, who brought him to his home. When rocket fire from Gaza eased enough to allow Ben to bring him to the Zoological Park in Ramat Gan, also known as the Safari, vets discovered that the poor creature had lost his vision in his right eye, had a broken beak, and was suffering from shrapnel in his head.
The bird is undergoing treatment at the animal hospital, and vets hope he will be able to return to the wild.

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Posted By Ian to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News at 7/25/2014 06:00:00 PM