11/20 Links: PA Ambassador Admits UNESCO Resolution Was To Claim Temple Mount Is Muslim Only ~ EoZ

From Ian:

IsraellyCool: Palestinian Ambassador Admits UNESCO Resolution Was To Affirm Temple Mount Is Muslim Only

First, Ambassador Ajran explicitly laid out the reasons for the Palestinian and Arab-led vote at UNESCO last month. Most Western countries ended up supporting or abstaining from the vote by highlighting the late addition of a line reaffirming the ‘importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls for the three monotheistic faiths, Islam, Christianity and Judaism.’ There were many who said Israel overreacted to the resolution saying that just because it didn’t mention the Hebrew names for the Temple Mount and Western Wall, it doesn’t mean it is sought to deny the Jewish connection to them.
But that is exactly what the Ambassador says was the motivation behind the resolution!
“Kuwait… sponsored and recognized fully that the Palestinian issue is a Kuwaiti issue carried by Kuwaiti officials to all international forums, most recently Palestine’s victory at UNESCO and the issuance of the historic decision that the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Buraq wall, and underneath it and around it is a right for Muslims only and not others.”
But the Ambassador’s speech was also remarkable for another reason. Not for what he said, but for what he didn’t say. Most people have forgotten that in 1991, towards the end of the First Gulf War and after, Kuwait expelled over 400,000 Palestinians. If you have never heard of this, you aren’t alone. You won’t heard about this massive ethnic cleansing at any pro-Palestinian event. No organizers Israel Apartheid Week will mention this mass expulsion. And of course, there were no protests in the Western or Arab worlds nor any UN resolutions condemning the Kuwaiti government for its carefully planned and well documented actions. In fact, Kuwaiti diplomat Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Sabah told the Washington Post that
“thousands [of Palestinians] who do not have jobs will be deported or their permits will not be renewed. … And I think we have a perfect right to demand” it, he said. “It’s not just us in the government demanding it, it’s the people in the street who are demanding it.” … Having a large number of Palestinians in Kuwait would not be “helpful to our security,”

Portuguese restaurant vandalized over chef’s visit to Israel

Anti-Israel activists vandalized a restaurant in Portugal because its head chef participated in a food festival in Israel.
The perpetrators, who are believed to be activists for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, on Friday night spilled red paint on the facade of the Cantinho do Avillez restaurant in the northern city of Porto and posted signs on it reading: “Free Palestine,” “Avillez collaborates with Zionist occupation” and “Entrée: A dose of white phosphorus.”
The attack, which is rare in Portugal, followed picketing opposite the restaurant by BDS activists over the participation of chef Jose Avillez along with at least 11 other chefs from renowned dining establishments around the world in the Round Tables festival in Tel Aviv this month, which is sponsored by American Express.
Robert Singer, CEO of the World Jewish Congress, condemned the BDS movement for the attack, which he said was anti-Semitic.

Take action! Demand that UNRWA remove inciting material from their classrooms.

Ruthie Blum: Alt-left delete

One may not agree with the above, but it is a valid position that has nothing to do with white supremacism. And the millions of voters who elected Trump do not deserve the mud-slinging.
Furthermore, what all anti-Trump conservatives must know in their hearts is that even if Trump had not ended up winning the Republican primary race, the Left would have gone after any of the others in the same fashion. Had Ted Cruz been left standing against Hillary Clinton, he would have received the very same treatment, and had similar, if not identical, epithets hurled at him and his supporters. In addition, the only antisemitic diatribes to which I personally have been exposed on social media are from left-wing radicals, calling me a “dirty Jewess” and “Israeli killer of Palestinian children.” But somehow, when such slurs come from the Left, they are considered expressions of a political viewpoint, rather than what they really are.
In Israel, too, the settler movement and anyone who believes in Jewish rights to the land – as well as those warning against the true aim of the Palestinian leadership – are vilified and likened to the fringe members of the Right who violate laws on behalf of an extreme position held by very few people. As is the case in America, the alt-left in America has a prominent place in the mainstream media and ivory tower, where thought-policing and debate-stifling is the norm. And we right-wingers on both sides of the ocean have had enough.
It is time to acknowledge that it was the alt-left the American voter was responding to when he or she cast a ballot for Trump, not the alt-right.

Minister backs Bannon, thanks him for ‘friendship with Israel’

Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel has written a letter of support for Stephen Bannon, the recently appointed White House strategist who has been accused of harboring anti-Semitic views, thanking him for his “friendship with Israel.”
The text of the letter was reprinted by Breitbart News, a right-wing news website formerly run by Bannon.
In the letter, the Jewish Home minister wrote that although he does not know Bannon personally, “dear friends of mine including Rabbi Shmuley Boteach have shared with me your strong opposition to the Iran nuclear agreement, which threatens Israel’s survival, your opposition to BDS and your opening of a Jerusalem bureau in Israel while head of Breitbart in order to promote Israeli point of view in the media.”
Since Trump announced Bannon’s appointment — along with naming Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus to be his chief of staff — some Republicans, Democrats and various Jewish organizations have denounced the decision, saying that Bannon represents a brand of populist nationalism that emboldens racists and should not be near the Oval Office.

Israeli Envoy Ron Dermer Calls Trump and Pence ‘True Friends of Israel’ After Meeting

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer said he looks forward to working with the entire Trump administration on strengthening the US-Israel alliance, after meeting Thursday with the president-elect at Trump Tower in New York City.
“Israel has no doubt that President-elect Trump is a true friend of Israel,” Dermer told reporters after the meeting.
He also said that Vice President-elect Michael Pence “was one of Israel’s greatest friends in the Congress, one of the most pro-Israel governors in the country.”
Dermer added that he hopes to work closely with Steve Bannon, who has been named Trump’s chief strategist, a role equal to that of chief of staff.

Trump adviser Bannon blames lazy media for antisemitism allegations

Stephen Bannon, who will serve as chief strategist for Donald Trump's incoming White House administration, has attempted to stamp out the recent barrage of antisemitism allegations against him in an interview this weekend with the Wall Street Journal.
Trump's appointment of Bannon has been criticized by Jewish groups, Democrats, civil rights organizations and some Republicans, who denounce the former Breitbart News chief as having made the website a forum for the "alt-right," who they describe as a loose grouping of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and antisemites.
When asked Friday by the Wall Street Journal about the antisemitism allegations, Bannon denied the veracity of the accusatory headlines, saying, "these claims of antisemitism just aren't serious. It's a joke."
According to the New York-based newspaper, he blamed the attacks on a lazy media apparatus.
In an apparent display of proof of his close relations with members of the Jewish community, he mentioned Breitbart senior-editor-at-large Joel Pollack among his "many Jewish partners and writers."

Steve Bannon: 'Zero Tolerance' for Anti-Semitic, Racist Elements of the Alt-Right

Bannon also highlighted the diversity of views that were given a platform at Breitbart News, while also making it clear that both he and the site had “zero tolerance” for “racial and anti-Semitic” views.
He acknowledges that the site is “edgy” but insists it is “vibrant.” He offers his own definition of the alt-right movement and explains how he sees it fitting into Breitbart. “Our definition of the alt-right is younger people who are anti-globalists, very nationalist, terribly anti-establishment.”
But he says Breitbart is also a platform for “libertarians,” Zionists, “the conservative gay community,” “proponents of restrictions on gay marriage,” “economic nationalism” and “populism” and “the anti-establishment.” In other words, the site hosts many views. “We provide an outlet for 10 or 12 or 15 lines of thought—we set it up that way” and the alt-right is “a tiny part of that.” Yes, he concedes, the alt-right has “some racial and anti-Semitic overtones.” He makes clear he has zero tolerance for such views.
All this said, Mr. Bannon explains he’s on sabbatical from Breitbart and has had “nothing to do with the site since August 15,” when he joined the Trump campaign. Now he will take an “extended leave of absence and cut all association with the site while I’m working at the pleasure of the president.” He adds that Breitbart “didn’t get a scoop from the campaign from the minute I took over; they’ve had to scramble like everybody else.”

IsraellyCool: WATCH: Latest Transparent Palestinian Attempt to Co-Opt Anti-Trump Protests

Nothing subtle about this attempt to exploit anger against Donald Trump to foment even more hatred against Israel.
Notice how she refers to Israel as the “so-called” state of Israel. Again, this is about Israel’s very existence.
You also have to love her concern about Trump’s “homophobia.” Assuming she actually is palestinian, where she comes from, gays are murdered.
The fake tears at the end are the cherry on top.

Trump team confirms Romney vetted for US secretary

US President-elect Donald Trump was set to meet a slate of potential cabinet members at his golf club Sunday, including Chris Christie, indicating he remains supportive of the New Jersey governor after booting him from the transition team.
Trump began the day by tweeting “General James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, who is being considered for Secretary of Defense, was very impressive yesterday. A true General’s General!”
Vice President-elect Mike Pence confirmed to Fox News that 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was being considered for the position of secretary of state. Romney was “under active consideration” to be nominated, “along with some other very distinguished Americans,” Pence said.
Trump and Pence met with Romney on Saturday for a “substantive and in-depth conversation about world affairs, national security and the future of America,” a transition team statement read.
Romney was reportedly in the running for the top US diplomat despite trading barbs with Trump throughout the White House campaign, describing him as a “fraud” and rebuking him for proposals such as temporarily banning the entry of foreign Muslims.
If chosen, he would bring a more orthodox Republican worldview to foreign policy.

Jerusalem official suggests Trump a game-changer for building over '67 lines

Following a purported, protracted “de facto freeze” during the Obama Administration, a Jerusalem Municipal official on Sunday claimed City Hall is prepared to approve construction of 1,400 housing units in east Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo, amid an expected thaw under Trump.
The unidentified official told Channel 2 that President-elect Donald J. Trump’s rhetoric has signaled far more favorable construction terms for contested neighborhoods beyond the 1949 Armistice Green Line, including this growing, primarily ultra-Orthodox, community.
“Even if [Obama’s] State Department or White House condemns it, it won’t be worth much at this point,” the official said. “In Jerusalem, it’s as if Trump is already in office. The problem is that nobody knows what his policies will actually be.”
The city official added: “There’s an unstated understanding between us that whatever we’ll be able to accomplish in the coming months may not always be an option later.”

Crimea Annexed, Assad In Power, Ukraine Under Siege, And Obama Tells Trump To Stand Up To Putin

President Barack Obama expressed hope Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump will stand up to Russian deviation from “values and international norms.”
Obama appeared at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, where he stated that Trump should not, “simply take a realpolitik approach and suggest that if we just cut some deals with Russia, even if it hurts people or even if it violates international norms or even if it leaves smaller countries vulnerable or creates long-term problems in regions like Syria, that we just do whatever’s convenient at the time.”
Under Obama’s presidency, Russia has illegally annexed Ukrainian Crimea, slaughtered thousands of civilians to prop up Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, and surreptitiously waged war against the Ukrainian government in the Donbass region.
Obama’s own record also shows him constantly striking deals with Russia. His government has brokered two failed U.S.-Russian ceasefires in Syria, a failed Syrian chemical weapons deal, and Russian inclusion in the Iranian nuclear deal.

Hollywood Acting Coach now teaching Bibi to say with a straight face that he will miss Obama (satire)

With the Era of Trump only 2 months away, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is racing against time to master an impossible task: the ability to tell outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama that he will miss him without giggling like a schoolgirl at a One Direction autograph signing. To meet this nearly insurmountable task, the Likud Party has enlisted the help of Joey Feldman, Acting Coach to the Stars. The Daily Freier managed to speak with Joey between rehearsal takes at the Prime Minister’s Residence.
“Listen pal, I’ve been in this business for forty years, and trust me, I’ve seen it all and done it all. I got all of the Eagles to pretend they liked each other for their Reunion Tour. I managed to convince the World for almost a decade and a half that Ricky Martin was into chicks. But nothing, and I mean NOTHING compared to this challenge. I’ve got less than seven weeks to teach this Bibi character to say that he’s going to miss Obama and all the good times they’ve had. I’m pulling my hair out over here.”
Joey led us into the rehearsal studio he had set up in the Prime Minister’s living room and allowed us to sit in on his coaching.
“OK Bibi baby. One more time. From the Top….And…. GO!”
“Mr. President, as you and Michelle prepare for the next Chapter in your lives, I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart, that I will not miss…. I mean I will miss….. I’m sorry. This is too much!” At this point the Prime Minister chuckled and looked around the room embarrassed.

PreOccupiedTerritory: For Trump Visit, Arab MKs To Throw Tiny Gloves Instead Of Shoes (satire)

No date has been announced for the trip to Israel President-elect Donald Trump has promised to make once he assumes office, but the country’s Arab lawmakers are already preparing to greet the controversial leader with a traditional display of disrespect, modified to suit the particular recipient of the treatment.
Members of the Joint List parliamentary alliance of Arab parties decided unanimously today that if and when Trump makes his official visit to the Knesset, instead of throwing shoes at a man perceived as hostile to Muslims and Arab interests, they will throw gloves and mittens sized for small children as a reference to his supposedly tiny hands.
Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh and his colleagues agreed at a delegation meeting today to coordinate the move, and named MK Dr. Ahmad Tibi as supervisor of the effort to obtain, store, and, when the time comes, distribute the gloves to the other twelve members of the alliance. Tibi told reporters he felt honored at being selected, but that the occasion for the honor removed any other positive feelings.
“Trump is a bigot,” proclaimed the legislator, whose party supports homophobia and misogyny, and denies the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish State. “We will protest his attitude and the statements he made throughout his campaign by subjecting him to the dishonor of being pelted with shoes, but instead of shoes, we will throw small gloves to fit his tiny, tiny hands,” added Tibi, who, along with his Joint List colleagues, never feels the need to compensate for shortcomings.

Paris peace parley proceeding as planned, France insists

France will hold an international peace conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict next month, French officials said over the weekend, rebuffing several reports claiming that Paris had decided to shelve the planned summit.
The reports had quoted French President Francois Hollande as saying that he was facing difficulties convening the summit due to heavy international opposition, particularly from Israel but also from the United States.
French diplomats over weekend said the reports were “erroneous.” Hollande never said the confab was scrapped, merely that it was subject to “incertitude” that bears clarification after the US election, they said.
“As President Hollande reaffirmed in his speech to the UN General Assembly on September 20, our goal is to convene an international conference in order to help relaunch the Middle East peace process,” a spokesperson from the French Foreign Ministry said Thursday. “We are working closely with our partners and in collaboration with the parties to that end.”

Israeli ambassador's wife excluded from event held at Palestinian venue

The diplomatic community in Chile is up in arms after the wife of the Israeli ambassador was not invited to an annual charity event held by the Diplomatic Spouses Club in the country because it it set to take place at a Palestinian venue.
The event, to which all of the other ambassadors' spouses in Chile have been invited, is set to take place on Sunday. Because the chosen venue is a Palestinian club in the capital Santiago, organizers told Michal Hayat, the wife of Ambassador Eldad Hayat, that they cannot invite her.
The ambassador's wife strongly protested this to the head of the Diplomatic Spouses Club, claiming it was a complete violation of the diplomatic code and arguing the organization was in effect supporting the boycott against Israel, which is led by the large Palestinian community in the country.
"If we had been invited, we would've been happy to attend," Michal Hayat told the organization's head. "You are politicizing both the organization and the event, which is meant to raise money for the needy in Chile."
The heads of the Chile Diplomatic Spouses Club did apologize, but stressed that it was too late to change the situation and that the event will go ahead as planned—without the Israeli ambassador's wife.

Court rules state can confiscate ship which tried to reach Gaza

Haifa Naval Court judge Ron Sokol approved Sunday the state's request to confiscate the ship "Marianne," which was stopped by the Israeli navy in June 2015 when it attempted to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The state filed the request to order the confiscation of the ship in accordance with the British Naval Prize Act of 1864, which applies in Israeli law.
The Swedish-registered Marianne of Gothenbur was boarded and captured without injury and towed to the port in Ashdod. The crew was questioned by the IDF before being expelled from Israeli territory.
The state said in its request that the crew knew of the existence of the blockade and that ships were banned from entering the Gaza Strip.
The ship was sold for scraps due to its dilapidated condition. The hearing was to determine who owns the 66,000 Euros (about $70,000), which was the value of the ship at the time of sale.

PreOccupiedTerritory: I’ll Buy This Cave Fair And Square So No One Ever Fights Over It By Abraham (satire)

My beloved Sarah has passed on after a hundred -twenty-seven years, and now I turn to the task of acquiring a burial place for her – that is, for us. It is appropriate, then, to integrate the reunion of our material bodies with the dust from which we came, in a way that fulfills the divine promise to make this holy land a place of belonging: we to it, and it to us. What better way to bring that into manifestation than to publicly take on that belonging by means of a binding purchase agreement? I will buy the Machpelah Cave from the Hittite in whose possession it now lies, in a public forum, for a full and fair price, so that none shall ever dispute its Hebrew pedigree, and none shall fight over who “owns” it.
Down through the ages, the echoes of this purchase shall resonate, and none will credibly question that it belongs to my descendants. I paid for it and took possession of it, after all, and am beholden to no one for the rights to it. Here I will inter my wife, the mother of my beloved Isaac, the progenitor of kings, as promised by the LORD. Isaac and his descendants will forever retain those rights, and anyone who claims the site – and, by extension, the rest of the Promised Land – belongs to someone else can be summarily dismissed as lying, delusional, or mistaken. The idea that anyone might question its chain of succession will be laughable.
As I have foreseen by the grace of the LORD, Isaac, too, will use this as his family plot, and after him, the son who carries on his legacy will in turn be buried there. For thousands of years hence, our cumulative heritage will find expression in the tombs we construct of this cave, the uninterrupted chain of relationship with the Almighty as expressed in embodied life – and death. A place of belonging, of return, and therefore of pilgrimage. A place upon which all of humanity can look and declare, “There is the spot that Abraham purchased and acquired, forever uniting the land with the people he would produce.” The unequivocal purchase will prevent any ambiguities or challenges to my people’s connection to the site, and it would be ridiculous to conceive of any outright violence being used in such a case. It would be absurd.

Abbas advisor to 'Post': Fatah will activate mass popular resistance

Fatah plans to adopt a strategy to strengthen popular resistance against Israel’s military rule at an upcoming leadership meeting, Husam Zomlot, Palestinian Authority President Abbas’s adviser for strategic affairs, told The Jerusalem Post.
“We plan to activate fully popular resistance at the Fatah Congress,” Zomlot said in a meeting at the Grand Park Hotel on Wednesday. “While we have already activated this part of our strategy and seen many successes with protests against the separation wall and boycott of Israeli products during the last Gaza war, we need to expand popular resistance and build a larger protest movement against Israel, raising the cost of the occupation.”
The Congress, set to take place on November 29, will gather some 1,400 Fatah members, who will elect leaders to the movement’s two most authoritative bodies, the Central Committee and Revolutionary Council, and set a strategy for the upcoming five years.

Hamas chief says Israel ‘playing with fire’ by muffling mosques

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal on Sunday threatened Israel over proposed legislation that would ban mosques from using loudspeakers to sound the traditional call to prayer.
In a statement sent to the official Turkish News Agency Anadolu, Mashaal, who resides in Qatar, said that by advancing the bill, Israel was “playing with fire.”
Last week, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved draft legislation to limit the volume on announcements from Israeli houses of worship. The Muslim prayer calls, traditionally announced through minarets five times a day and often amplified with loudspeakers, have been a frequent target of right-wing ire, with some claiming they are an unnecessarily loud nuisance that echoes in Jewish towns and neighborhoods.
“What the Israel occupation state is doing at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as preventing the call to prayer in Jerusalem, is playing with fire,” Mashaal said, referring to the mosque on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, where Palestinians allege — and Israel firmly denies — that there have been changes to the status quo agreement. “This created a fierce reaction in the Palestinian community and the whole of the Islamic nation.”

Lebanese Army constructing wall around parts of Palestinian refugee camp

The Lebanese military has started building a tall cement wall and watchtowers around parts of the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, near the southern city of Sidon, inspiring popular protest on social media.
The wall and watchtowers come as a part of an agreement between the military and the Palestinian factions in the camp and will take 15 months to complete. The Lebanese Armed Forces are not allowed to enter the camp.
Munir al-Maqdah, the head of the Joint Palestinian Security Forces, told Sky News Arabia that “the wall is being built outside the camp and far away from residential areas.”
The military informed Palestinian leaders in Lebanon that “the wall and [watchtowers] are being built for security concerns, which we accepted,” Maqdah added.
He acknowledged, however, that the wall will have a bad effect on camp residents. “The psychological implications of a wall will be negative and difficult [to overcome],” he said, adding that the military agreed to a number of Palestinian proposals to amend the wall’s path and the watchtowers’ locations.

Ashton Kutcher shuts down protester calling for 'Airbnb out' of Israeli settlements

As American actor and investor Ashton Kutcher took the stage Saturday to speak at the Los Angeles event, Airbnb Open 2016 A Festival of Hosting, one protester had different plans. According to People Magazine a protestor stormed the stage yelling about Airbnb's housing options in West Bank settlement communities.
The woman, identified as Ariel Gold, was representing CODEPINK, an organization that identifies itself as "a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement." One of the group's main protest subjects are Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Dressed in a pink getup Gold stormed the stage, as many in the crowd booed, and she held a poster bearing the slogan "Airbnb Out of Settlements" and featuring the group's Twitter handle.
Footage of the incident captured by one attendee showed Kutcher greeting the protestor, shaking her hand and asking her how she is. "Let me explain to you something about what Airbnb means to me," stated Kutcher.
"Let me first tell you what Airbnb is doing to Palestinians,"shouted back Gold
"Well you also don't have the stage," Kutcher responded.
Kutcher continued to defend the peer-to-peer rental company, and Airbnb's founder Brian Chesky.

Activists at Washington U Protest Guest Lecture by Israeli LGBTQ Rep; Call It ‘Pinkwashing’ of Jewish State’s ‘Oppression of Palestinians’

Anti-Israel activists at Washington University protested a recent event highlighting the Jewish state as a “haven” for the LGBTQ community, accusing it of”pinkwashing” the country’s oppression of Palestinians.
In an op-ed in the campus newspaper Student Life on Thursday, the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter said their staged walkout of a lecture last Monday by Israeli LGBTQ activist Etai Pinkas was due to what they called both the school’s and Israel’s “complicit[y] in the normalization of the violent israeli [sic] occupation of Palestine.”
SJP wrote that branding Israel as gay-friendly “normalize[s] and distract[s] from violations of international law: demolitions of Palestinian villages, illegal settlements in the West Bank, forced relocations and denial of the right of Palestinians to return to their homes, and an extended occupation under military rule. How can these violences, committed against Palestinians, including queer Palestinians, be considered ‘LGBTQIA* [sic]-friendly’? Do drone strikes spare gay Palestinians?”
According to a separate report by Student Life, over 10 members of SJP appeared to have timed their walkout of Pinkas’ speech to coincide with the question-and-answer period — when protesters, wearing tape over their mouths, exited the premises, carrying signs reading, “No Pride in Apartheid.”
Despite the disruption, the report said, Pinkas was able to finish his remarks and field questions from the audience.

"This is the Day of the Shahids ... The Sky is Pregnant With Rage, It is Time for a Downpour"

In Melbourne, "the world's most livable city" (so it's claimed), Palestinian flags fly from poles in the downtown area as well as being held by members of the large crowd marking "Palestinian National Day" on 15 November.
Is this what they mean by "Free Palestine" and comparable phrases, chalked by attendees, including quite young kids rigged out in keffiyehs, on a board provided for supportive messages and slogans?
In her speech, which amid whoops of delight heaped extravagant praise on BDS, poet and playwright Samah Sabawi, whose play City by the Sea was accepted for inclusion in the Victorian Certificate of Education curriculum earlier this year (a development broken by li'l ol' Daphne here long before the press and Jewish communal big boys woke up to the fact), appeared to strike a martial note or two:

Note reading ‘Gas Jew die’ left at home of Jewish Oberlin professor

The home of a Jewish professor at Oberlin College in Ohio was vandalized and a note “Gas Jew Die” left near his front door.
The professor has been identified by police as Benjamin Kuperman, an associate professor at the school and chair of the computer science department. The incident occurred early on Thursday morning. Kuperman and his wife are Jewish.
Items on Kuperman’s front porch were damaged and the note, made of letters cut from newspapers, was stuck under the mezuzah affixed to the home’s doorpost, according to reports.
Oberlin Police Chief Juan Torres told Fox News that the act at the college, located about 35 miles southwest of Cleveland, has been elevated to a hate crime.
In an email to students, Oberlin College President Marvin Krislov called the incident “a cowardly, hateful act.”

Hands-free phone opens worlds for paralyzed users

Sesame Enable, a Caesarea-based company that allows people to control their cellphones without using their hands, has reached more than 1,200 customers globally, including in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, in the three years since it was set up.
Founded by Giora Livne and Oded Ben Dov, the startup allows disabled people to control their Android smartphones by using voice and head movements. After Sesame Enable software is installed, users are able to make calls, send messages and even play video games like Candy Crush and Angry Birds by using the phone’s front-facing camera.
“The icon opens and I can start the user application,” said Livne in a video interview with The Times of Israel. “I can do everything with the phone. Even better than you.”
To start the app, you say “Open Sesame.” However, to cater for those who cannot talk or move their head as much as needed, the app can also be activated through finger movements or neck movements. The technology can be customized to the needs of users and has evolved based on customers’ feedback.

Israelis now eligible for expedited entry into UK

The British Embassy in Israel announced Sunday that Israelis will now be able to register for the United Kingdom’s Registered Traveler Service, which allows members of the program to enter Britain faster than before.
In a press release, the embassy said that Israelis will be eligible to sign up for the program from November 21. The service is designed for those who do business in the UK or visit it regularly, and will allow members an expedited entry into the country, after an advance security screening.
The service will be available at 10 British airports, as well at Eurostar terminals in Paris, Brussels, and Lille. Israelis registered for the program will be able to enter the UK using the UK/EU passport line, and will not have to fill out an entry form.
David Quarrey, the British ambassador to Israel, said in the press release that “this is great news for UK-Israel relations, and in particular for Israelis doing business in the UK. The new service will be a further boost to UK/Israel trade, which is already at record levels.”
“The UK is open for business, and the UK is open for Israelis,” he said.

New Film Starring Oscar-Winner Jessica Chastain Tells True Story of Polish Zookeepers Who Rescued Hundreds of Jews From the Nazis
A new film tells the true story of a Polish couple who saved the lives of over 300 Jews during World War II, by hiding the former prisoners of the Warsaw Ghetto in their zoo.
“The Zookeeper’s Wife,” based on the book of the same title by Diane Ackerman, stars Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain as Antonina Żabińska, who ran the Warsaw Zoo with her husband, Jan, and used their facility to harbor Jews after the country was occupied by the Nazis.
In the film’s trailer, released Thursday, Antonina is seen encouraging her husband to smuggle Jews to safety, saying, “We have room, we can hide them. Bring as many as you can.” In another scene, she is heard warning the Jewish refugees, “German troops come every morning, you can’t make a sound.”
“The Zookeeper’s Wife” opens in theaters on March 31, 2017.

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