[Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News] 09/09 Links Pt2: The media's tragic obsession with Israel; Chloe Valdary: Christian, black and pro-Israel

From Ian:

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The media's tragic obsession with Israel

The irony of all the extra scrutiny of Israel, of course, is that no country in the region already engages in more internal scrutiny and self-criticism than Israel.
When Israel goes to war to defend itself, it's surrounded by a mini army of lawyers and watchdogs to make sure it doesn't commit war crimes. And when mistakes are made, as inevitably happens in war, it has its own media breathing down its neck. No media is more ruthless than Israel's, and few countries have more internal investigations.
The swarm of foreign reporters who focus mostly on Israel's mistakes and who pile on the attacks think they're being courageous. They're not. There's no courage in beating up someone who's already beating himself up. You want courage? Report on Hamas.
But as annoying as all the extra media scrutiny might be for Israel's supporters, those who pay the highest price are surely the millions of persecuted people throughout the Middle East and elsewhere.
"The real victims of the media's obsession with Israel and the Palestinian conflict," author Yossi Klein Halevi wrote in an email from Jerusalem, "are the dispossessed of the world whose case almost never gets heard because the Palestinians have sucked up most of the air."
Given the terrifying Islamic violence currently spreading throughout the region, it's ludicrous that the media is so obsessed with scrutinizing the one civil society that allows freedom of speech and freedom to dissent.
If the media wanted to chase a really big story in the Middle East, it would be this one: The 22 countries of the region will never build stable, decent societies until they start emulating the democratic ways of the Jewish state. Now that would be a worthy media obsession.

Chloe Valdary: Christian, black, rising star of pro-Israel campus activism

Growing up in New Orleans, Chloe Valdary kept kosher, studied the Jewish Bible and celebrated Jewish holidays with festive meals. In recent years she has become an outspoken pro-Israel campus activist, contributing regularly to the Jewish press, and speaking and posting widely about the merits of the Jewish state on social media.
But the senior at the University of New Orleans is not Jewish. She is Christian — a member of the Intercontinental Church of God, whose adherents revere the Hebrew Bible and follow the Jewish calendar — and she is black.
In July, Valdary, 21, garnered widespread attention for a Tablet piece in which she accused pro-Palestinian activists of misappropriating the rhetoric of the black civil rights movement. In the piece, titled "To the Students for Justice in Palestine, a Letter From an Angry Black Woman," Valdary addressed the campus group.
"You do not have the right to invoke my people's struggle for your shoddy purposes, and you do not get to feign victimhood in our name," she wrote.

Who Killed the Israeli Left?

A month ago, former diplomat Alon Liel wrote that "while me and my friends, the shattered remnants of the Israeli peace camp, put our trust in President Obama, it now turns out that he's banking on us for a solution."
Mr. Liel and his friends made the mistake of thinking that outside forces would force Israel to act as they wished – instead of realizing that in a democracy like Israel the primary mission of any political camp is to rally fellow citizens to its cause.
Mr. Obama and like-minded world leaders made the mistake of thinking that the best way to sway Israelis was to pressure their government – instead of realizing that Israelis respond better to policy proposals of outside leaders if they have a measure of trust in those leaders (Israel's close and respectful relations with former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are the best proof that Israelis only listen to you if they trust you).
International encouragement of Israel's left was instrumental in killing it. The outside world promoted the unpopular views of an Israeli political minority, giving the left an inflated sense of its own importance domestically. This illusion led to despair, and then to alienation from mainstream Israeli society – all resulting in a further reduction of the left's political allure.
Israelis can listen to the views of dissenters. They are used to it. But they also want to trust that their dissenters are still a part of the family.

An Open Letter to Prime Minister Rt. Hon. David Cameron

Israel and the Jewish people worldwide are now being treated as the scapegoats for the world's ills and held responsible for occurrences beyond their involvement.
Significantly, England has the unique distinction of being the first country in the world to expel its Jewish population. In 1290 the insignificant Jewish Community was expelled, penniless because prior to their expulsion their assets were seized by the Crown. Since that period, even after the Resettlement of Jews in England in 1656, the Crown and HM government have never even offered to compensate for these seized assets.
Moreover, the vast majority of the English towns from which the Jews were expelled don't acknowledge that there was a Jewish presence and have failed to erect plaques in the areas where Jews lived.
It is ironic, that this precedent has been followed by numerous Arab countries in the expulsion of their Jewish communities in the past 65 years.
Furthermore, in any conflict civilians are permitted to move away from the areas under attack but in this case the terrorist organisations deliberately prevent such movement and the adjoining Arab state, Egypt, refuses to permit these people to enter into Sinai and in the past six weeks no attempt has been made by the international community, which has the necessary resources, to arrange sea evacuation, but is prepared to permit Hamas and Islamic Jihad to sacrifice the inhabitants of Gaza and then blame Israel. What hypocrisy!

Towards a Zionism of Inclusion

One would be hard-pressed to find an allegation that has not been leveled at the Jewish people's movement for self-determination in their homeland: Zionism is racism. Zionism is colonialism. Zionism is apartheid. No social evil has been missing from the placards raised at anti-Israel and anti-Zionist demonstrations, all claiming "Zionism = X."
These allegations have been exposed time and again as libels and smears, but even the greatest defenders of Zionism have failed to notice a much more positive, and indeed remarkable, facet of this century-old ideology: Zionism = Inclusion.
That is to say, Zionism was, is, and will likely continue to be on a steady trajectory of increasing inclusiveness. Contrary to those who say Zionism is an exclusivist ideology, from the moment of its foundation, it was one of the world's most inclusive national and political movements.
This is not to argue that the Zionist inclusiveness has been one of singing "Kumbaya" with open arms. Zionism became inclusive because it was necessary for its survival. Its inclusiveness was, originally, largely due to pragmatic considerations. Only later did it become inherent in the ideology itself. Without inclusiveness, Zionism would have died in infancy.

A Jewish Applicant for an UNRWA Job Opening

As CEO of one of the largest privately-held public relations companies in the world, I recently noticed a job which I would like to apply for as I believe if accepted could make a major difference towards a lasting peace in the Middle East.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is advertising an employment opportunity for "The Director, External Relations and Communications" who will among other things, "Lead and manage the External Relations and Communications Department (ERCD), ensuring that its staff and units function coherently and contribute effectively to UNRWA's external relations, fundraising and resource mobilization goals;".
In addition, he will work in donor relations, "communications Function – including developing common messaging and materials development to be conveyed in print, broadcast, internet and social media;", and "Partnership-building."
In terms of the desirable qualifications, I have knowledge of Middle East culture and environment", and "knowledge of the United Nations."

Christians Respond to the War on the Jewish State

As the attacks on Israel turn wild and violent around the world, perhaps it is time for those who do support Israel–Jews and Christians–to join forces?
On June 23, 2014, two days after the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) voted 310 to 304 to divest from companies doing business with Israel, the organization Christians United for Israel (CUFI) issued an "action alert" to its 1.75 million members. The alert condemned the action and said, "Happily, this small and shrinking denomination does not speak for America's Christians."
Within 24 hours, 26,000 CUFI members emailed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying, "As an American Christian, I want you to know that the PCUSA does not speak for me."
PCUSA's membership has been declining for more than a decade, while CUFI's has grown exponentially. Pastor John Hagee, head of the non-denominational, 20,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, founded CUFI in 2006. Two years later, it had grown to 100,000 members, reaching one million in 2012, 1.5 million in 2013, and now has 1.75 million today. Its membership currently exceeds the total number of all Presbyterians in the United States.
CUFI is now the largest pro-Israel organization in the world in terms of membership, and one of the most active Christian organizations in America. It has held more than 1,700 pro-Israel events, including 260 formal "Nights to Honor Israel." It hosts an average of 40 pro-Israel events a month; holds regular conference calls with Israeli and American officials and pastors; has a growing campus organization at more than 300 colleges; publishes a quarterly magazine; and has a Facebook page with 1.2 million "likes," more than 10 times that of AIPAC and J Street combined.

Turning the Tables on Israel's Critics

Author, scholar and specialist in the study of campaigns demonizing Israel, Manfred Gerstenfeld seven years ago launched the ingenious blog Bad News from The Netherlands which continues to make an important point powerfully. If news media ONLY (or nearly only) report the negative stories about a nation, readers will inevitably gain the impression that nation is bad. As he describes in a September 3, 2014 Jerusalem Post column, his device was to focus on Holland where Israel is often given rough media treatment and simply to post stories in blog form every day about the shortcomings of that country, its corruption, discrimination, sloth, violence and general failure to operate as a wholesome, just society.
Begun in 2007, the Bad News blog now has 2,800 entries and reading it underscores the experience ordinary news consumers may have in reading about Israel in stridently negative and biased news outlets. However much one may hold positive views about Holland (or Israel), immersion in endless stories about misconduct has an impact.

A night for hate against Israel at University of Helsinki funded by the Finnish Government…….

Then came Jamal Zahalka:
He only had one sound level, belching loud. I was relieved that I took to the third row of seats, for spittle was clearly reaching the first two. He picked up where Hass left off. "Apartheid under S.Africa was more preferable to what the Arabs were/are suffering under Israeli hegemony". He also championed the notion that Israeli leaders, and those working directly under them, should be held by the international community for war crimes.
While both were polished speakers, knowing how to work the clapping seal crowd, Zahalka was the more dangerous of the two. Using a twisted sense of logic, he very cunningly cast Israeli democracy into doubt, without someone debating him, his evil descriptions and insinuations and full reversal of reality, hit home with many in the room.
In the Q&A section of the venue, I got a chance to take them on, as well as a couple more people who came to challenge the speakers' views. Things got somewhat restless after a few (and justifiably) raised their voices in protest to the absurdities being hurled from the podium, and were escorted out.

Jewish UNC Charlotte Student Told To 'Go Burn in an Oven'

A student on the campus of the University of North Carolina Charlotte was told "to go burn in an oven" and accused of killing Christ among other alarming anti-Semitic epithets.
"On Thursday evening I was sitting in the Student Union. A group of female students walked by. One of the girls stopped," said Neili Eggert, who told TruthRevolt that one girl then approached her.
"She came up to me and I removed the headphones I was wearing, to be respectful. She looked at me with a straight face and said, 'to go burn in an oven.'" The reference was to the Nazi extermination camps during the Second World War.
"I didn't know what to do or say to her, I was in complete shock," said Eggert. "She walked away with the other girls laughing."
Eggert told TruthRevolt that she is "scared to be on campus this week" following the anti-Semitic incident.

B'Tselem Sticking by Staffer Accused of Holocaust Denial

Left-wing Israeli activist group B'Tselem is standing by a staffer who allegedly called the Holocaust a "lie" while taking a journalist on a tour of the West Bank, claiming the comments were taken out of context.
However, the reporter who filmed the remarks said the footage clearly shows the staffer denying the Holocaust—and challenged B'Tselem to sue him if they want to dispute it.
B'Tselem researcher Atef Abu-Alrub reportedly told undercover gonzo reporter Tuvia Tenenbom that the Holocaust "is a lie. I don't believe it," during a visit to the Bedouin village Khirbet Al-Makhul.
At the time, Tenenbom was posing as a left-wing German reporter named "Tobi" for his book Catch the Jew, which was released last week in Israel.
B'Tselem, an Israeli NGO, often takes journalists on tours of the West Bank to show them alleged human rights violations committed by the Israelis against Palestinians.
While the remarks about the Holocaust were captured on video, which has been aired in part by Israel's Channel 2, a spokesperson for B'Tselem said the group "addressed the matter with Atef, who categorically denies the accusations and states that it is a falsehood and a misrepresentation of the interaction, designed to damage B'Tselem."

Shmuley Boteach: Naomi Wolf's Embrace of Hamas Spells the Fall of a Feminist Icon

Her dedication to defending Hamas seems something of an irrational addiction. In one post she defends Hamas by condemning people who "repeat the uncritical allegations of the IDF that Hamas is "hiding" among civilians. Where else the f– are they supposed to go NOT to 'hide"? Gaza is all civilian! There is no battlefield!"
This astonishing comment demonstrates not only a total ignorance of Gaza topography but justifies Hamas using schools for weapons caches and infirmaries and hospitals to fire rockets. It would also deny Israel the right to defend itself so long as Hamas terrorists reside among civilians.
But not content to demonize Israel, Naomi is so enmeshed with conspiracy theories that she even questions whether ISIS is a true dander. Last Saturday she posted, "And I am very sorry to report that Obama has put together a coalition of nine money-grubbing War Inc oligarchs, sorry, allied nations, to hunt ISIS creating pretext for all kinds of metanational heavy breathing mayhem."
One can only assume that by "creating pretext" she is referring to the thousands of innocent Arabs that ISIS has shot in the heads and crucified. It seems that if Arabs murder other Arabs Naomi has no real objection, just as long as they are not Palestinian terrorists killed by Israel.

Daily Beast Flogs Gaza Atrocity Story Even Human Rights Groups Won't Touch

The story revolves around the claim that during the height of the fighting in the terror tunnels along the Israel-Gaza border, the Israel Defense Forces "executed" five Islamic Jihad terrorists who had supposedly peacefully laid down their arms. This is the tale left-wing Canadian journalist Jesse Rosenfeld has been peddling for the last month but none except his employers at the Daily Beast have been biting on it. This troubles Rosenfeld, who complains bitterly in his latest story about the indifference of the world to the allegations as well as the lack of an official commitment by the IDF to investigate his claims.
But there are a couple of easy explanations for this that have nothing to do with any sympathy for Israel on the part of a media corps that is deeply hostile to the Jewish state or the willingness of groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to circulate biased attacks on the IDF.
The first and most basic problem with Rosenfeld's story is that he has no real proof that any such execution took place.
Islamic Jihad hasn't made any such claim. Though perhaps that can be explained by the fact that although Rosenfeld's narrative tries to make the terrorists in question appear as if they were making a heroic, if futile last stand against the dastardly Israelis, the group isn't likely to embrace any story that ends with fighters that are supposedly eager to embrace death meekly surrendering.

Al Jazeera Claims Video of Foley, Sotloff Beheadings Faked -- Retracts

Just a few weeks ago I wrote about the fact that Al Jazeera America's real problem isn't its abysmal ratings as much as it is traction. Sure, the Qatar-owned cable news network has abysmal ratings, but so do MSNBC and CNN. Ratings, though, are a secondary concern for news outlets. What these left-wing outlets really crave is the ability to have an impact on the national political conversation.
As loathsome and unpopular as both are, CNN and MSNBC still have an impact on the national political conversation. AJA does not. It's like the network doesn't exist. Stories and narratives the network broadcasts and writes about just sit there. Nothing's gone viral. Nothing's impacted anything.
Al Jazeera finally made some headlines this week. But not for a good reason. AJA's sister network, Al Jazeera Arabic, published an article on its website suggesting that the recent beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were faked.

Independent cites 'EU source' in baseless claim on Gaza import restrictions

Of course, the most likely explanation for why this "anonymous EU source" couldn't find this Israeli-only goods rule "written down anywhere in official policy" is that it seems to be a fabrication.
Interestingly, the Indy reporter failed to note that the very article at EurActive she linked to included the following flat-out denial by Mark Regev
"Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli prime ministers' office, denied claims that Israel's entry policy to Gaza prevented non-Israeli-made reconstruction materials from entering the Strip.
"I know that policy, and it is not true," he told EurActiv over the phone from Jerusalem."

Middle East Reporter Robert Fisk Suggests ISIS is Payback for 'Palestine in 1948′

His prose is quite confusing, but it seems clear – based on the context, as well as his history of animosity against the Jewish State – that he's suggesting the violence committed by ISIS against innocent civilians, such as Steven Sotloff and James Foley, can rightfully be seen, at least in part, as payback for Western 'collusion' with Zionism in 1948.
While we're of course quite used to U.K. media analyses that (at least implicitly) blame Israel, or support for Israel by Western powers, for Islamist extremism, the mere ubiquity of such Judeocentric explanations for terrorism and its onslaughts doesn't render it any less appalling.

In which BBC R4 misrepresents an Israeli law and its roots

Adie states that "Jewish law" is the factor responsible for the "large numbers" of patients on life support. In fact Israeli state law is of course a separate issue from Jewish law, which is itself open to many different interpretations and by no means as simple and straightforward as Adie suggests.
According to Hammond, "the law in Israel was informed by Jewish tradition". In fact the relevant law was the product of years of discussion by a public committee – the Steinberg Committee – appointed in the year 2000 by the Minister of Health. Members of that committee included, for example, Mr Ziad Abu Moch – Director of the College for the Study of Shari'a and Islamic Sciences in Baka al Gharbiya; Father Dr George Khouri – theologist and psychologist, President of the Greek-Catholic Court in Haifa and Sheikh Professor Fadel Mansour – member of the management committee of the Higher Druze Religious Council in Ussafiya and a biologist at the Vulcani Centre. Other members of the committee included experts in civil law, Jewish religious law, ethics, philosophy and medicine.
As we see, Hammond's claim that the law "was informed by Jewish tradition" is a very partial and selective representation of the facts.

Diverse Jewish voices converge to back US anti-Semitism bill

A bipartisan congressional resolution urging increased action by the United States and other countries to address resurgent anti-Semitism has wall-to-wall Jewish organizational support.
In a letter to colleagues in the US House of Representatives seeking co-sponsorship of the nonbinding resolution, the initiators of the resolution make a point of noting the range of Jewish organizations backing the resolution, among them the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Zionist Organization of America and J Street — groups that rarely if ever join together in any action.

Report: Newton, MA School System Teaching Children with Plagiarized Material from Islamist Website

An advanced copy of the report provided to TruthRevolt shows that a page in the Newton, MA school system devoted to "Islamic History: The Umayyads, Isalmic Spain and The Coming of The West" contains three sections which were not only unattributed but originated from www.Islamicweb.com. As noted by Verity Educate, "The lack of citation or attribution raises issues of academic dishonesty and present a poor example for students. It also prevents students and parents from understanding the hate-filled source of this material."
One section on www.Islamicweb.com says, "the Anticrist (sic) will appear (sic) and a greater war will start between Jews and Muslims for 40 days (longer that (sic) usual days) and will end when Jesus (pbuh) will come and Muslims will kill all Jews. All people will convert into Islam. Peace will pervade the whole world."
Verity Educate highlights 35 misleading claims that the Newton Public Schools took from www.Islamicweb.com which included an equation of Zionism with European colonialism and a mischaracterization of Jewish history, and a demonization of Jews.
"It is important that we do not lose focus of the fact that the curricular material is also regularly wrong, or inaccurate," explained Dr. Wald. "Inaccuracies range from misidentifying the entire Middle East as a region that stretches to Southeast Asia, to mistakes of dates and names, to more insidious errors like identifying Hamas as a political group. It is a designated terrorist organization. "

Germany: Two Arrested for Synagogue Firebombing

Five weeks following the arson of a synagogue in Wuppertal, Germany, Germany police placed two German nationals under arrest for the crime.
At the height of Israel's Operation Protective Edge, amid a major surge in anti-Semitic attacks in Europe, Molotov cocktails were thrown at the synagogue, seriously damaging the building's facade.
Security cameras managed to film three suspects. One of the suspects was arrested at the scene, and the police launched a search for the remaining two.
All three suspects were described as "Palestinians", according to Germany's Die Welt.

Belgium Jewish Museum to Reopen in Message to 'Brutes'

The Jewish museum in Brussels will reopen on Sunday under tight security, in a message of defiance after terrorist Mehdi Nemmouche, a former torturer for the brutal Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in Syria, shot dead four people there in May.
"We should not give free rein - I dare say - to bastards," the museum's secretary general Norbert Cige told reporters when asked what message the reopening gave. "We are continuing our educational work. In this world of brutes, it's necessary."
The museum did not have special security precautions before the May 24 attack, unlike synagogues and other Jewish community sites in Brussels which were forced to take the steps due to the rise in violent European anti-Semitism.
But on Sunday, the European Day of Jewish Culture, two police officers will guard the museum entrance, a metal detector will be set up and visitors searched, officials said.

Jack The Ripper's Reported Jewish Descendants Fearful of Anti-Semitic Backlash (VIDEO)

The family "are very afraid of anti-Semitism, that Aaron was a Jew, so they asked to remain anonymous because they still live as Jews and do not want to link it to them," Edwards said.
The family, who are practicing Jews, "are afraid that [hostile elements] will come to their home and harm them," Edwards said.
"In those days, tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants from Poland – who suffered from the government – arrived [in England], and the last thing we want is to tarnish an entire population," he said.
However, not everyone is convinced that it was Kominski, and say the shawl used as evidence passed through hundreds of hands since then, and, as such, is useless.
According to London businessman and Ripper-phenalia entrepreneur Richard Cobb, speaking with The Times, "The shawl has been openly handled by loads of people and been touched, breathed on, spat upon…"
"My DNA is probably on there. What's more, Kominski is likely to have frequented prostitutes in the East End of London. If I examined that shawl, I'd probably find links to 150 other men from the area," Cobb contended.

Slovakian Priest: The Jews Brought The Holocaust Upon Themselves

Slovakian Catholic priest Emil Floris was officiating for solemn Mass commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Slovak national uprising against Nazi Germany in Slovak Čadca last month when he blamed the Jews for the hatred against them during the Holocaust. He warned that the same thing could happen again to the Roma (Gypsies).
According to Slovakian news site E15, in a televised sermon Floris said:
"From all over Europe, they took the Jews to concentration camps. And do you know why? Because there was hatred toward them, but those who are hated often do it to themselves. Now there is a risk for some Roma. And you know why? Because of abuse of the system and the kindness of others."

French Racists, Anti-Semites 'Have Lost Their Taboos'

France has also seen a surge in an already worrying rate of anti-Semitism, coming from both the far-right and Islamists, which has triggered an unprecedented number of French Jews to leave for Israel.
Jewish Agency worker Ariel Kandel voiced similar concers about racism to Yamgnane, citing a "climate of anti-Semitism that is losing its taboo" as well as economic difficulties in France, which is suffering from zero growth and record high unemployment, as being the prime causes for the skyrocketing immigration.
"In the Western or free world, we've never seen one percent of the Jewish community emigrating to Israel," added Kandel.
The anti-Semitism rearing its head in France has recently broken all previous levels of proportion, with numerous physical attacks and a recent planned terrorist bombing on a synagogue in Lyon that was foiled last week.
The anti-Semitism has flared particularly intensely during Operation Protective Edge, with violent protests in Paris. In a similar incident, 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.

Anti-semitism leads Yeshiva Centre at Bondi to build bomb-proof perimeter around school, synagogue

A Jewish school in Bondi has built a bomb-proof wall to protect its students from terror attacks.
The concrete wall, constructed using the latest Israeli expertise, has been erected in front of the Yeshiva Centre on Flood St, housing Yeshiva College which offers education from kindergarten to Year 12.
Closed-circuit television cameras, intercoms and bomb-proof windows have been installed at the centre which is also home to the Yeshiva Synagogue and Chabad Youth NSW.
The stepped up security follows a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the eastern suburbs.
Director Rabbi Dovid Slavin told the Wentworth Courier the wall was designed to withstand the force of a car bomb left outside.

New memorial to honor Poles who saved Jews

Poles who saved Jews during the Holocaust will be honored with a new memorial in the Polish capital Warsaw paid for by the children of survivors, organizers said Monday.
"It will be a gesture of gratitude, not from a government, or a city, but from the Jewish diaspora, from those Jews who were saved and whose descendants now want to show their gratitude," Zbigniew Rolat, of the Remembrance and Future Foundation, told reporters.
The memorial will be located near the Polish capital's new Museum of the History of Polish Jews and the nearby Warsaw Ghetto memorial, dedicated to the victims of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, when Jewish partisans launched a valiant but doomed revolt against the Nazis.

'Jewish Schindler' reaches goal of saving more than 1,200 Muslim and Christian refugees

The Jewish Canadian philanthropist Yank Barry — dubbed the Jewish Schindler — surpassed his goal last week of rescuing 1,200 Middle Eastern refugees from war-torn and repressive countries, repatriating them to Bulgaria.
His aim was to replicate the number of Jews (1,200) Oskar Schindler, a non-Jewish German businessman, saved during the Holocaust.
Barry, who previously told The Jerusalem Post that he does not compare himself to Schindler, stressed the significance of the number of reaching 1,218 saved refugees.

Apple to open Israel sales office

The new office is expected to boost Apple's business, mainly in sales of its mobile computers, which have not had much success in Israel. Samsung, LG, Asus, and Toshiba have opened offices in Israel in recent years. Some of these companies replaced their importers, invested more in marketing, and managed to launch their products simultaneously with their global launch. In addition, opening an official office is likely to improve the connection with the company headquarters.
Apple regards the Israeli market as important, mainly for research and development. The company has 600 employees in its offices in Ra'anana, Herzliya, and Haifa. Apple will soon open new offices in Herzliya Pituah, where most of its employees will work. The company's new marketing and sales office will also be in Herzliya.

Behind-the-Scenes Reel of Ridley Scott's Moses Epic Shows Scenes Using 4000 Extras (VIDEO)

In the clip, which shows scenes involving up to 4,000 extras, the visionary director discusses what drew him to the biblical tale of Moses.
"The Moses story was a massive challenge, which I really love. I wanted to explore the complexity of his character and I was stunned by the giant lifespan story and what he went through," Scott explained.
"What attracted me to the material is I felt there was a beauty in the massive scale of it," he said, adding that creating the film was "really difficult" because of its production size. "You're working with at least 700 crew plus the 4,000 extras and of course the army will be expanded exponentially: 4,000 will be tiled and grown into 20,000. Pretty amazing."
The action drama tells the story of Moses, the Israelite leader who defied the Pharaoh Ramses, by freeing 600,000 Hebrew slaves and leading them out of Egypt. The role of Moses is played by Christian Bale while Joel Edgerton takes on the role of the Pharaoh.

Brangelina join Krav Maga fad

Could the couple really be fighting so soon after their August 23 nuptials in Correns, France?
Actually, Brad and Angie are apparently doing Krav Maga workouts in preparation for their upcoming film, "By The Sea." They are filming the movie, about a couple making their way through a difficult marriage, on the Mediterranean island of Malta.
The new film, written and directed by Jolie, is the first time the couple will appear together on the big screen since 2005, when they got together while filming "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." In that film, they showed off some hand-to-hand combat moves, but they were apparently not of the Krav Maga variety.
Mail Online reports that Pitt, who starred in the 1999 film "Fight Club," is new to the Israeli martial art. Jolie, on the other hand, first became acquainted with it back in 2001 when she was working on "Tomb Raider."
The couple is reportedly doing Krav Maga workouts for 45 minutes every day, with Pitt losing more than 10 pounds in just three weeks. They are apparently even letting their six children, aged six to 13, learn and practice some modified military combat moves with them.

Iran news site warns of Israeli global Krav Maga conspiracy (not satire)

An Iranian news site affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards has warned this week that Israel is spearheading a potentially dangerous global plot to spread the Krav Maga martial art worldwide.
Mashregh News, which is close with Iran's security and intelligence organizations, writes that Israel is secretly promoting Krav Maga in Europe and North America for "unknown purposes."
According to Mashregh, Israel had previously kept the existence of Krav Maga, which the site describes as a dangerous martial art of "Zionist Jewish origin," under wraps.
"Why, after nearly a century of [Krav Maga] being kept quiet and limited to the boundaries of this regime, it is suddenly being promoted is a question that has drawn the attention of experts," Mashregh claims.
The Iranian news site claims that Krav Maga is the dominant sport in Israel and is taught to the military, police, Mossad, and Shin Bet. "Jewish settlers in the occupied territories" are also given serious training in Krav Maga, Mashregh writes, adding that the martial art is designed to cause maximum damage and cripple an opponent, thus lacking "tolerance and compassion." Mashregh goes on to write that Krav Maga is also practiced by "women Zionists" and is used in war and against "resistance groups," the latter being a reference to Palestinians. (h/t Ha Meshuga)

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Posted By Ian to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News at 9/09/2014 06:00:00 PM