03/04 Links: Media Misfeasance Exposed in "Eyeless in Gaza"; Marc Lamont Hill’s hypocrisy on racism in the Middle East ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Explain to me how a woman who planted a bomb which killed two young men at the Supersol market in Jerusalem on February 21st 1969 is now an organizer of the upcoming Women’s Strike. The stated goal of this strike is “to increase equality, justice, and human rights for women around the world.” I unequivocally commend this goal.
But, explain how my family is supposed to reconcile the reality that the woman who stripped my uncle of his life is now deemed a hero by many of my fellow Americans. What justification is there for Rasmea Odeh, a woman who killed two people (with the intention of killing more!) to lead a peaceful fight for human rights? In the documentary, “Women in Struggle”, Odeh and her accomplice, Ayesha, talk in detail about their gruesome acts. Ayesha names Odeh as the ringleader. Explain to me how explosives found at Odeh’s home matching those used in the bombings sits with your conscience.
What is the difference between the acts of Omar Mateen, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Dylan Roof, and Rasmea Odeh? There is no difference. They all carried out acts of terror in the name of their causes, which resulted in the death of innocent civilians. Whether they were targeting the LGBT community, Americans, African Americans, or Jewish Israelis, these were all terrorist acts.
Explain to me how Odeh, who was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a US designated terrorist group, was chosen to represent American feminists who seek to peacefully stand up for women’s rights. The Women’s Strike lists as its Principle #1 that “Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. It is a positive force confronting the forces of injustice and utilizes the righteous indignation and spiritual, emotional, and intellectual capabilities of people as the vital force for change and reconciliation.” Rasmea Odeh signed her name to this movement. And she did so with blood on her hands.

Media Misfeasance Exposed in "Eyeless in Gaza" Documentary

Hamas operatives burst into the Associated Press (AP) Gaza bureau during the 2014 war with Israel, angered by a picture shot by an AP photographer. Gunmen threatened the AP staff, which never reported the incident.
The incident shows that Hamas can control what journalists report, and what they don't, former AP Middle East reporter Matti Friedman says in a new documentary, "Eyeless in Gaza."
Producer Robert Magid's 50-minute film, which is screening via pay-per-view online, examines the flaws and challenges in reporting on the 50-day war.
Magid said he wanted to "set the record straight and provide context," after being appalled at news coverage that ignored Hamas' practice of launching rockets from civilian areas. That omission allowed the media to push a false narrative that "Israel was callous in their bombing."
The sullied moral image of Israel that emerged from the media's biased coverage sparked public outrage and anti-Semitism. "Muslims will crush the Jews as they did in Khyber 14 centuries ago," protestors in the film shout. Another says: "I see the Jews in Israel as total Nazis."

‘The Settlers’: An effective work of left-wing propaganda

I would not say it if it were not true. As I emerged from the press screening of Shimon Dotan’s “The Settlers” I met the eyes of a widely read Jewish-American film critic. With a smile he sighed, “Well, at long last it’s happened — I’ve become an anti-Semite.”
He was kidding, of course, but even those of us who watch movies professionally still fall under their spell. (Perhaps more so, and that’s why we choose this trade.)
Dotan’s documentary, which opens in New York this Friday, is a commendable and effective work of propaganda. It gives you just enough of the “other side” to make it seem fair and balanced.
Of course, it isn’t — it has an agenda. Any documentary that employs edits and doesn’t stash its cameras behind potted plants does. This makes “The Settlers” frustrating because so much of it is so very good and, as the most thorough film about this ongoing crisis from which there seems no easy escape, it is likely to become something of an authoritative text.
Dotan digs deep, starting with new interviews of Jews in West Bank settlements, then jumping back to historical news footage. We get another look at the 1948 partition plan and the 1967 Six-Day War. Some credit is due for leaving in what so many leave out: that the preemptive 1967 strike was necessary in the face of Nasser’s military build-up, an obvious point that is more and more forgotten as history turns to misremembered mist.

Tommy Robinson: The Oscars lied about Islam

ADL warns lone arrest won’t stop ‘unprecedented’ wave of anti-Semitism

Thanking the FBI and police for the arrest of Juan Thompson, who allegedly made eight bomb threats to Jewish institutions, the Anti-Defamation League called the current wave of anti-Semitic acts “unprecedented.”
“Law enforcement at all levels is a close friend to the Jewish people in America,” Evan Bernstein, ADL’s New York regional director, said at a news conference Friday. “Just because there’s been an arrest today around our bomb threats does not mean that the threats have disappeared or will stop.”
Earlier in the day, sources told the media that Thompson was a “copycat” and that the investigation continued into finding the hoaxers behind the dozens of other bomb threats reported since January.
The ADL and several other Jewish groups had met Friday with FBI Director James Comey. According to a statement from the groups in attendance, which were not listed but included the ADL, the Jewish Federations of North America and the JCC Association of North America, the meeting concerned recent anti-Semitic acts and collaboration between Jewish institutions and law enforcement.
“All the organizations in attendance expressed the deep gratitude of the entire community for the extraordinary effort that the FBI is applying to the ongoing investigation,” the statement said. “The representatives of the Jewish community left with the highest confidence that the FBI is taking every possible measure to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.”

Jewish Bomb Threat Arrest Shows Trump Was Right Not To Jump To Conclusions

The arrest of a 31-year-old leftist journalist for making bomb threats against Jewish centers across the U.S. is a vindication of sorts for Donald Trump, who came under fire earlier this week after he refused to jump to conclusions about the identity of the threat-makers.
Juan Thompson was arrested in St. Louis on Friday for phoning and emailing threats to at least eight Jewish centers and the Anti-Defamation League.
Thompson, who is black, supported Bernie Sanders for president and once wrote for the liberal website, “The Intercept.” He was fired after he was discovered fabricating quotes for his stories. His threatening calls appear to have been made, in part, to get revenge on a former girlfriend.
But the consensus among journalists and pundits has been that a pro-Trump white supremacist was behind the threats, which led to evacuations at the Jewish centers.
“The Intercept,” which was founded by anti-Trump billionaire Pierre Omidyar, even published an article asserting that Trump supporters were making the threats.
Trump was also blasted for saying that it was too early to conclude who was making the phone calls.

US FCC approves waivers to track Jewish center threats

The US Federal Communications Commission is granting an emergency temporary waiver to Jewish community centers and telecommunications carriers that serve them to help track down callers who have made threats, the agency said on Friday.
Jewish community centers and schools in at least 13 US states have reported receiving bomb threats this year, stoking fears of a resurgence of antisemitism.
"This agency must and will do whatever it can to combat the recent wave of bomb threats against Jewish Community Centers,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement. "I am pleased that we are taking quick action to address this issue and hope that this waiver will help Jewish Community Centers, telecommunications carriers, and law enforcement agencies track down the perpetrators of these crimes."

Marc Lamont Hill’s curious hypocrisy on racism in the Middle East

In a recent article (“Why I Applaud The NFL Players Who Spoke Out Against Israel“) addressed to Michael Bennett and the other NFL players who recently boycotted a trip to Israel, author and activist, Marc Lamont Hill urged the “players to consider the political ramifications of attending the trip, the letter drew on the undeniable connections between the struggles faced by Black and Brown communities in the U.S., and Palestinian, Afro Palestinian, Eritrean and Sudanese communities in Israel and Palestine.”
Hill, however, neglected to mention the struggles faced by Africans in Arab countries. The omission is puzzling, since Hill recently experienced Arab racism first hand while in Egypt on December 30, 2016:
Hill concluded his stop was attributable to White Supremacy, suggesting Arabs are incapable of racism without western influence. That argument would be more plausible if Hill was referring to former colonies like Haiti or Rwanda, where the European colonists created racial division among the local populaces, but the Arab countries, which have been engaging in the African Slave Trade long before the start of the Atlantic Slave Trade? The same Arab Slave Trade that was in some instances far more brutal than the Atlantic Slave Trade; for instance, Arabs would castrate their African slaves (discussed by Dr. Marcus Garvey Jr., son of Marcus Garvey who founded the Negro Improvement Association in America)?

Israel’s Arab Citizens Enjoy Rising Economic Integration Amid Cultural Tensions

The Israeli media has been highlighting the varied and complex nature of Arab life in the Jewish state — namely, rising economic integration amid lingering cultural differences.
In February, Israel’s Channel 10 broadcast a report featuring interviews with hundreds of young Arab Israelis — some of whom described themselves as Palestinians — who have moved to Haifa and Tel Aviv. In Haifa, there are bars specifically dedicated to these new Arab customers.
Asked if this phenomenon represented coexistence, a group of young Arabs rejected that notion, with one woman saying, “There is no such thing.”
Yet it is difficult to generalize about Israel’s Arab citizens, who make up approximately 20 percent of the country’s total population.
While Arab Israelis are integrating economically into various sectors, they mostly remain culturally distinct — and often maintain a separate way of life in Arab-majority cities and villages.
Rodayna Badir, an Arab doctoral candidate and the coordinator of a special master’s program for Israeli Arabs at Bar-Ilan University, told JNS.org that there is a stark cultural separation between Israeli Arabs and Jews.

Palestinian man caught with knife in Hebron

A Palestinian man carrying a knife was arrested on Saturday outside the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, police said.
The man, said by police to be in his 20s, was arrested at a Border Police checkpoint leading to the site after officers found a knife in one of his pockets.
According to Hebrew media reports, the Hebron resident was searched by police earlier in the day at the same checkpoint, and his return aroused officers’ suspicion.
Following his arrest, the man was taken for questioning by security forces.

Dutch antisemitism watchdog asks government to ban ‘Hamas front’ conference

A watchdog on anti-Semitism in the Netherlands petitioned the government to ban an upcoming Rotterdam conference that it said was organized by Hamas-affiliated groups.
The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, or CIDI, on Friday asked Justice Minister Stef Blok and Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk to stop the conference, titled “Palestinians in Europe,” which is slated for April 15. CIDI said it has made repeated appeals to Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb to prevent the forum.
“The organizers of this conference are affiliated with the terrorist group Hamas,” CIDI wrote in a statement, noting that Hamas is classified by the European Union and the Dutch government as a terrorist entity, and espouses an anti-Semitic policy.
CIDI also wrote that the German security service, BfV, has called the PRC group that organizes Palestinians in Europe conferences “a front for Hamas.”
The watchdog said in the statement that Aboutaleb, a Labor politician who was born in Morocco to a Muslim family and has spoken harshly against anti-Semitism, told CIDI that he had consulted with the Dutch National Coordination for Counterterrorism and Security, a homeland security organ of the government, and it said there was no grounds to ban the event.

Jordan hangs 15 convicts as deterrent to terrorism

Jordan hanged 15 death row prisoners at dawn on Saturday, its information minister said, in a further break with the moratorium on executions it had observed between 2006 and 2014.
Ten of those put to death had been convicted of terrorism offences and five of “heinous” crimes including rape, Mahmud al-Momani told the official Petra news agency.
All of those hanged were Jordanians and they were hanged in Suaga prison south of the capital Amman.
King Abdullah II had said in 2005 that Jordan aimed to become the first Middle Eastern country to halt executions in line with most European countries.
Courts continued to hand down death sentences but they were not carried out.

UN: If confirmed, chemical attacks in Mosul a war crime

The United Nations warned that the alleged use of chemical weapons in Mosul, if confirmed, would be a war crime and a serious violation of international humanitarian law, according to a statement released Saturday.
“This is horrible,” Lise Grande, the humanitarian coordinator in Iraq said in the statement. “There is never justification — none whatsoever — for the use of chemical weapons.”
The alleged attack occurred this week in eastern Mosul, an area declared fully liberated by Iraqi forces in January. The attack hit a neighborhood along the Tigris River — which roughly divides the city in two.
Doctors in an urgent care hospital in the nearby city of Irbil say they began receiving patients showing symptoms of chemical weapons exposure on Thursday.

ISIS Bans ‘Battlefield Selfies’ (satire)

But ISIS commanders say that such ‘Battle Selfies’ have now become a problem as western recruits vie to post the best selfie online. “This has become a particular issue when we are making a tactical withdrawal, as you just don’t have the time to stop and take a good selfie. If it’s not all smiles it’s no good on the recruiting front. Plus if you stop for too long there is always the chance you are going to take a Hellfire up the ass,” the commander added.
The problem has become so prevalent that commanders have had to enforce a strict ban. “We don’t want to take the fun out of Jihad, and I know the Western lads in particular are excited to show holiday snaps to the chicks back home, but we do have to draw the line somewhere,” another commander explained to TMB.
“We’ve been trying to get them to join in with the local lads. They’ve always been happy with firing their weapons from the hip or up into the air. At least that way there is a chance you might accidentally hit the enemy,” he continued.
“But with these western lads that kind of analog gratification just isn’t enough. It’s got to be all digital with them – it hasn’t happened unless they can post it on Facebook,” he explained. To be honest the ban has also helped with reducing the costs on our group roaming data plan,” he conceded.

ISIS Issues Open-Letter to La La Land After Oscars Mishap (satire)

The confusion at the 89th Academy Awards ceremony, where Moonlight was crowned the Best Picture after La La Land had already been announced, has drawn a heartfelt message from frequent battlefield losers, ISIS.
In an open-letter they share their astonishment at the grace displayed by La La Land producers who had to give up their Oscar gold:
“We are very impressed by the way they lost. We lose all the time, like right now in Mosul. It’s not going well, and we don’t handle it well. Many of us angrily tweet, yell at God, and chop the hands off of cigarette smokers. But when we saw Jordan Horowitz admit his defeat with such good nature, it gave us hope that we too can share our disappointment in such a way. Next time we give up ground to the Iraqi army, we will do so with humility and grace, and hardly any beheadings,” the group said in a letter sent to the Associated Press.
However, the group also said the producers, cast, and crew of the musical should be punished for their depiction of a man and woman living together without being married. They also were ‘troubled’ by the music and dancing in the film, and finished the letter by condemning Hollywood for being ‘too Jewy’.

Iran says S-300 air defense system now ‘operational’

Iran’s advanced S-300 air defense system, delivered by Russia following a July 2015 nuclear deal after years of delay, is now operational, state television reported on Saturday.
Iran had been trying to acquire the system for years to ward off repeated threats by Israel to bomb its nuclear facilities, but Russia had held off delivery in line with UN sanctions imposed over the nuclear program.
“The S-300 air defense system has been tested… in the presence of government and military officials,” the television said.
It said that the test at a desert base had seen several targets, including a ballistic missile and a drone, intercepted.
Air defense commander General Farzad Esmaili told the television that a domestically manufactured air defense system dubbed Bavar 373 which was “more advanced than the S-300” would be tested very soon.
“The S-300 is a system that is deadly for our enemies and which makes our skies more secure,” he said.

German delegation explores Israeli agriculture industry

A high-ranked delegation initiated by the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture and BVEO, the Fruit and Vegetables Association of Germany, is visiting Israel to explore the Israeli agriculture industry and initiate various collaborations.
Members of the delegation include Dr. Hennings Ehlers, the CEO of Deutcher Raiffeisenverband, representing over 2000 growers with over 60 Billion Euros turnover; Mr. Manfred Nussel, the Chairperson of BayWa group, one of the most important fruit-trading companies worldwide; Dr. Christian Weselohe from BVEO and Dr. Markus Reichel, the CEO of Dreberis, a consulting firm based in Dresden that organized the delegation.
The delegation was hosted by the Israeli Export Institute and was intended to be a networking event with Israeli companies. The delegation was amazed by several new Israeli technologies, such as the vertical fields of GreenWall, the coco pit beds of Pelemix and the AgriNation fund that invests in precision agriculture and other advanced Agro-technologies.
The delegation also visited Carmel Yevulim in moshav Hayogev, that developed calcium enriched selanova lettuce that is grown in a hydroponic system, in which the plant has no soil and only water. This technology was developed by Prof. Samuel Edelstein along with Carmel Yevulim and is revolutionary in the concept of functional food.

India and Israel team up for new army air-defense missile

India and Israel will co-develop and produce a medium-range surface-to-air missile for use by the Indian Army at a cost of over $2.5 billion, but there is no clarity on which country will own the Intellectual Property Right (IPR) for the newly developed missile.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) official said the weapon, dubbed MRSAM, will be produced by state-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) in partnership with other state-owned and private defense companies, but refused to say who will own the data package for the technology.
"The formal clearance for the MRSAM project has been given by the Cabinet committee on security headed by the prime minister last week," the MoD official said.
A formal contract will be awarded later this month.
Israel Aerospace Industries executives here were unavailable for comment.
The MRSAM will be developed jointly by India's state-owned defense research agency, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), and Israel Aerospace Industries. The weapon will have the capability to shoot down enemy aircraft and drones at a strike range between 50 to 70 kilometers.

Israeli breakthrough could diagnose sleep disorders while you’re awake

An audio-analysis technology developed in Israel for smart devices can assess sleep-wake disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) while the user is awake, at home and not hooked up to machines or sensors.
“Now we will be able to get a fast, OSA severity estimation without an overnight sleep study,” said Dr. Yaniv Zigel, head of the Biomedical Signal Processing Research Lab at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Prof. Ariel Tarasiuk, head of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Unit at Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheva.
Currently, patients are diagnosed using overnight polysomnography (PSG) to record brain waves, blood oxygen level, heart rate, breathing, and eye and leg movements overnight.
The new system, which does not require contact sensors, could be installed onto a smartphone or other device that utilizes ambient microphones. It analyzes speech during waking hours and records and evaluates overnight breathing sounds using new technology that is simpler and significantly less expensive than PSG.

Two Israeli Startups Make Multi-Million Dollar Acquisitions

Wix and Playtika announced back-to-back multi-million dollar acquisitions this week, with the former picking up DeviantArt online art community platform and the latter buying mobile ad tech company Aditor. Both companies said the acquisitions will boost business and expand their global presence.
Wix, the Tel Aviv-based web development platform, paid a reported $36 million in cash for DeviantArt, a Los Angeles-based online community dedicated to artists, art enthusiasts and designers.
“Over its 16-year history, DeviantArt has built an impressive online community that is incredibly loyal, highly engaged and regularly produces stunning art and design,” said Avishai Abrahami, co-founder and CEO of Wix. “The DeviantArt community is talented and robust and hungry for additional product expertise. We understand their passion, share their creative vision and are excited to offer the power of the Wix platform to their millions of artists.”
Playtika, the Israeli gaming developer based in Herzliya, announced that it has purchased Tel Aviv’s Aditor mobile ad tech startup for a reported $10 million. Aditor offers multi-level data analysis and precision-targeted campaign management.
Playtika is expected to use the Aditor PredictAI technology to target its products to specific sectors.

George Washington's letter to Jewish community becomes musical call to action

Not long into his first term, the president made an epochal pledge to the American Jewish community, affirming the Constitution's vision of a nation of diverse faiths, committed to equality and acceptance. His government, he assured, would give "to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance," and require only that "they who live under its protection" should comport themselves as "good citizens."
The year was 1790, and the commander-in-chief was George Washington, whose letter guaranteeing religious freedom is considered to be among the most important documents -- some say the most important -- in American Jewish history.
More than two centuries later, his 340-word missive will soar again, as a cantata to debut Friday at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park.
New York composer Jonathan Comisar had been commissioned to craft the work to commemorate the congregation's 170th anniversary. But in the six months since he and Rabbi Lance Sussman of Keneseth Israel selected the subject for the musical narrative, a troubling wave of anti-Semitism has manifested itself in desecrated cemeteries, bomb threats, and shattered synagogue windows.
Suddenly, the words of Washington’s "Letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island" took on new urgency, reflecting ideals as “resonant and powerful” as ever, Comisar said. A celebratory composition became a call to action.
The 12-minute cantata, “To Bigotry No Sanction: An American Jewish Cantata,” is a sweeping combination of Hebrew, hymn, and colonial music. “We wanted a serious piece of music. We wanted a statement,” said Cantor Amy Levy of Keneseth Israel. “Music is a vessel of the Jewish experience, a voice of hope and comfort, especially in times when we’ve been oppressed or in need of healing.”

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