05/02 Links Pt2: Shapiro: Don’t Give Anti-Semites What They Seek; Hamas and the Terrorism Double Standard; PA misrepresents photos of Holocaust victims as Arabs killed by Jews

From Ian:

Ben Shapiro: Don’t Give Anti-Semites What They Seek

When you look at a rabbi with a white beard wearing a black hat, a long black coat and a gartl, what do you see? Anti-Semites see a refugee from the ghettos of Europe, a secret emissary of a global power intent on ruling from within. But what do you see?

When you look at an Israeli living in Sderot, what do you see? Anti-Semites see an emissary of Israeli intolerance, a thumb in the face of Palestinians, a hypnotizer of the world. But what do you see?

When you look at a 60-year-old Jewish woman living near San Diego, what do you see? Anti-Semites see a recipient of privilege, an inherent victimizer in the hierarchical power structure. But what do you see?

Anti-Semites see the Jews as part of a pattern. Each Jew is a data point in that pattern; every Jew can be pigeonholed as a member of a broader conspiracy. Right-wing white supremacist anti-Semites see the Jews as an eternal threat, a racially “mongrelizing” threat to white purity, a religious blot, a nefarious group of schemers threatening their race-based civilization. Radical Islamist anti-Semites see the Jews as the sons of pigs and monkeys, religious threats who must be exterminated. Left-wing anti-Semites see the Jews as defenders of brutal hierarchies, purveyors of exploitation.

Each of these types of anti-Semitism carries its own level of threat. White supremacist anti-Semitism, in the United States, is the type most likely to end with dead bodies: White supremacists have been responsible for an ever-increasing number of terrorist attacks, as more and more young men are radicalized through online forums. Radical Islamic anti-Semitism is the type most likely to end with dead Jews worldwide, in anti-Semitic attacks throughout Europe, as well as terrorist attacks against Jews in Israel. Left-wing anti-Semitism is the type most likely to be mainstreamed — just view The New York Times’ decision to print a virulently anti-Semitic cartoon that could have come from the pages of Der Sturmer. The fact that the Times’ editors didn’t even notice the anti-Semitism shows how easily anti-Zionism has merged, for the mainstream left, into outright anti-Semitic propagandizing.

Washington State man arrested for making ‘extremely serious’ death threats against Ben Shapiro

TMZ reports that a man in Washington state was arrested today for making death threats against Ben Shapiro and his family.

Law enforcement sources tell us, Shapiro, who frequently appears on cable news shows and has a hugely popular podcast, filed a police report with the LAPD…

We’re told the Department got in touch with the FBI and created a joint task force to hunt down the culprit…

We’re told these threats were “extremely serious” … not just someone blowing off steam.

Shapiro confirmed the gist of TMZ’s report by tweeting a link to the story and thanking law enforcement:

Want to Fight Anti-Semitism? Then Defend Israel.

Israel's basic purpose is to protect the Jewish people, both by serving as a place of refuge and by maintaining a standing military to defend the nation. Israel is of course the homeland of the Jewish people, where Jews yearned to return for 2,000 years. But even more fundamental is physical survival, both as individual Jews and as a people who share beliefs and traditions—a luxury that too often could not be enjoyed in exile. No Israel in the 1930s and 1940s meant millions of Jews were trapped in Europe. Imagine how many lives could have been saved.

Today, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and other efforts to destroy Israel as the Jewish state through demonization and delegitimization would undermine this basic purpose of protecting Jews. Indeed, they would undermine Israel to the point that it effectively ceases to exist as the world has come to recognize it. With anti-Semitism resurgent in Europe and all too prevalent in the Middle East, the implications for Israeli Jews would be disastrous. Moreover, these anti-Israel efforts are inherently anti-Semitic as they single out the Jewish state for boycott and condemnation when, by all relevant standards, other countries are far more deserving.

Abraham Foxman described the latter point well in 2015 shortly before retiring as national director of the Anti-Defamation League. "Fifty years ago," he explained, "prognosticators said: ‘Anti-Semitism, it's a historical fact of the past. You don't have to worry about it.' They said: ‘In 50 years, Israel will be a normal nation among all the nations.' Boy, how wrong they were! Israel has become ‘the Jew among the nations.'" What does that mean exactly? Foxman continued: "What everybody else can do, Israel can't do. Tell me a country in the world that can't decide its capital, has to defend its right to defend itself, has to deal with double and triple standards in terms of being told what it should do, how it should do it, who it can do business with, who it should play soccer with, what person can come and sing."

It is important to keep Foxman's words in mind on a day when Israelis, no matter what they were doing, stopped for two minutes of silence to remember the six million Jews murdered as sirens wailed across Israel. Remembering the Holocaust should be a reminder of why Israel is so important to the Jewish people, and why demonizing it is so nefarious. The wellbeing of the Jewish people—and of Judaism itself—is tied to the wellbeing of Israel. Those serious about fighting anti-Semitism should be serious about defending Israel. Anyone else is either a bystander or, worse, part of the problem, isolating Israel as the Jew among nations.

And now... #Holocaust denial tweets read by Holocaust survivors. Because you jerks need to know how stupid you sound. https://t.co/uK1FtQ7IYo #NeverAgain #YomHashoah pic.twitter.com/gdIQZr0g87
— The Mossad (@TheMossadIL) May 2, 2019

Hamas and the Terrorism Double Standard

Many members of the Western press seem to have two standards for covering terrorist groups: one for those whose primary target is Israel, and another for everyone else. An examination of recent news coverage proves it.

Few examples better highlight the media’s double standard on terrorist groups than reporting on the so-called Gaza “March of Return,” which began in the spring of 2018, and has waxed and waned in intensity ever since. Although many commentators incorrectly characterized the “march” as a grassroots “protest” by Palestinians at the Israel-Gaza border, in reality, Hamas — the US-designated terror group that rules the Gaza Strip — orchestrated it for propaganda purposes.

Armed Hamas operatives, as well as those from other Palestinian terrorist organizations, including the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), and others were interspersed among unarmed Palestinian civilians attempting to break into Israel.

Israeli authorities responded with a mixture of live fire and non-lethal munitions; the former targeting terror leaders and those perpetrating violent acts, and the latter, including tear gas and rubber rounds, aimed at dispersing the thousands who had gathered at the border under the auspices of Hamas and other terror organizations.

Hamas and the other Palestinian terror groups involved hoped to put international pressure on Israel to end or reduce a blockade that Jerusalem had initiated to curtail the flow of arms to the terror group. Hamas also wanted increased international aid to fill its coffers. To achieve these objectives — and to elicit widespread condemnation of the Jewish state — Hamas sacrificed its own people. Terrorists used mirrors and burned tires to obscure the vision of IDF snipers who were specifically targeting the terror leaders hiding among civilians. And children and the disabled were bused in with the hope that they’d catch an errant bullet and perhaps make for a good headline.

At White House, Poway synagogue rabbi thanks Trump, ‘a mensch par excellence’

Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, one of the victims of a weekend gun rampage at a California synagogue, praised US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday as a “mensch par excellence,” using a Yiddish phrase for a person of integrity.

Goldstein, the rabbi of the Chabad of Poway synagogue, near San Diego, was among four worshipers hit on Saturday — one of them fatally — as a gunman burst into a service and opened fire.

“Mr. President, when you called me I was at home weeping. You were the first person who began my healing. You heal people in the worst of times and I am so grateful to that,” Goldstein told Trump at a national prayer service at the White House.

“My dear rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, taught me the way we react to darkness with light,” Goldstein said, referring to the late Chabad leader.

Goldstein recalled facing “evil and the worst darkness of all time” as the shooter, identified as 19-year-old John Earnest, opened fire in the Poway synagogue during prayers on the last day of Passover.

Greenblatt visits Chabad of Poway days after fatal shooting

U.S. Special Envoy for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt visited Chabad of Poway in Southern California on Wednesday in the aftermath of the shooting during Shabbat-morning services that left one woman dead and three injured.

He is the most senior Trump administration official yet to visit the site.

“We must continue to stamp out anti-Semitism & all other forms of hate. Rabbi [Yisroel] Goldstein is a pillar of strength for his community/our nation. A very moving visit. He & others acted heroically. I shared the Administration’s heartfelt sorrow for Poway’s loss & thanked him for his message to turn a hateful act into a lesson on tolerance,” he tweeted.

Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, was killed in the attack and three others injured, including the founding rabbi of the Chabad center and an 8-year-old girl.

An off-duty Border Patrol agent who was in the synagogue, which is located about a half-hour outside of San Diego, fired at the suspect, 19-year-old John Earnest, hitting his car. The gunman fled the scene, but was soon apprehended without incident after he called 911 to admit to committing the crime, in addition to providing his location.

Why FDR wouldn't condemn Hitler

Despite the intensifying anti-Jewish persecution in Germany in the 1930s, Roosevelt not only refused to criticize the Hitler government, but he personally removed critical references to Hitler from at least three planned speeches by Interior Secretary Harold Ickes in 1935 and 1938. Even Roosevelt’s criticism of the infamous Kristallnacht pogrom—a public statement which has often been cited as proof of the president’s willingness to denounce the Nazis—did not contain a single explicit mention of Hitler, Nazism, or the Jews.

Roosevelt said nothing about Hitler’s action in the Rhineland (1936); applauded the Munich agreement, which handed western Czechoslovakia to the Nazis (1938); and, eighty years ago this week, ducked reporters’ questions rather than utter a single critical word regarding Hitler’s threat to Danzig.

FDR was, of course, saddled with the burden of a largely isolationist public and Congress. He was understandably reluctant to be seen as doing anything that might seem to edge America close to war with Germany.

Yet a president’s job is to lead, not to follow. A few words from the White House directly taking issue with Hitler’s aggressive actions and persecution of the Jews could have helped alert the public to the Nazi danger.

Explaining President Roosevelt’s refusal to comment on Hitler’s remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936, the diplomatic correspondent of the Washington Evening Standard reported that the president “is determined not to take sides under any circumstances.” But there are circumstances when, even if it is unpopular, a president needs to publicly “take sides”—to take the side of good against the side of evil.

A stronger response from President Roosevelt over Danzig or the earlier crises also would have indicated to Hitler that there might be consequences for his actions—something that was particularly important in the early and mid 1930s, when the Nazi leader was still testing the waters.

“It is not trade but empire that is Hitler’s goal,” a New York Times editorial acknowledged following the Danzig speech. “How far he will go and how fast he will go toward acquiring it will depend solely upon how much opposition is offered him.” FDR’s non-response to Danzig sent Hitler exactly the wrong message.

PWM: PA Holocaust abuse: PA misrepresents photos of Holocaust victims as Arabs killed by Jews - again!

Official PA TV last month deceitfully broadcast pictures of bodies of Holocaust victims in a Nazi concentration camp presenting them as pictures of Arab victims killed by Jews in the village of Deir Yassin in 1948.

Two other pictures (below), which PA TV also claimed were of Arabs killed in 1948 by Jews, were actually pictures from the Sabra and Shatila massacre of Palestinians by Christian Phalangists in Lebanon in 1982.

Palestinian Media Watch has documented that presenting Holocaust victims as Arab victims of Israel is recurring practice of official PA TV, and that PA TV in 2018 deceptively presented these same photos from Sabra and Shatila as from Deir Yassin.

Official PA TV's lie:
PA TV's text on screen: "Occupied Jerusalem - 71 years since the Deir Yassin massacre" Official PA TV News, April 9, 2019]

Original source:
Below is the original photo from the concentration camp at Nordhausen, originally a sub-camp of Buchenwald, showing hundreds of dead victims. The picture was taken right after liberation of the camp by the American army:

PA TV also presented the photo below as being from Deir Yassin, showing dead bodies in striped uniforms similar to the ones Jews and other victims wore in Nazi concentration camps. PMW has not been able to identify where this photo is from, but some websites suggest it is from the Leitmeritz concentration camp in Germany, now part of The Czech Republic. Either way, Arabs in Deir Yassin didn't wear striped uniforms like those of inmates in Nazi concentration camps.

Corbyn Israel Has 'Unbelievably High Levels of Influence' Over the BBC

Fresh from making clear that he doesn’t subscribe to the anti-Semitic “elements” of Hobson’s “brilliant” theories about how “men of a single and peculiar race” control the policy and press of European nations and the “house of Rosthchild” has enabled every European war, Jeremy Corbyn has been uncovered giving his own views about who controls the BBC. You’ll never guess who he thinks is behind it all:
“What this embarrassing saga demonstrates is the contempt that the BBC directors appear to have for the views of the licence fee-payers and the unbelievably high levels of influence that Israel’s government appears to have in the upper echelons of parts of the media.”

The Campaign Against Antisemitism respond:
“Due to the weight of evidence, we have had no option other than to conclude that the reason Mr Corbyn promotes these views is that he himself is an antisemite.”

Not that it will make a jot of difference to his diehard supporters and media outriders who will happily continue twisting themselves in knots to defend the indefensible. He’s just the unluckiest anti-racism campaigner in history…

Awkward https://t.co/5vUIWYP4Hu cc: @tenenbom
— Ozraeli Dave (((דיויד לנג))) (@Israellycool) May 2, 2019

Corbyn Holds Memorial for ‘German Reputations’ Lost in Holocaust (satire)

As people in Israel, and throughout the world, mark Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Memorial Day, UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn issued a touching eulogy to the thousands of Germans who saw their reputations suffer under Nazi rule.

“We can never forget the terrible tragedy of Europe’s concentration camps, where innocent Germans were verbally attacked simply for doing their jobs,” Corbyn said in a heartfelt speech. “Every citizen of the world can imagine the suffering of these poor guards, scientists and executioners who bravely defended their country from the Zionist occupiers only to be met with criticism.”

For Corbyn, the speech was meant as an olive branch to the Jewish community following the opposition leader’s controversial appearance at last year’s Passover Seder of the radical anti-Israel group “Jewdas.”

“Look, I said that the Holocaust was bad,” Corbyn told The Mideast Beast. “What more do you want from me?”

Cartoonist Blames Outrage Over Anti-Semitic Work on ‘Jewish Propaganda Machine’

Antunes told CNN he did not believe the cartoon was anti-Semitic, but major non-partisan Jewish organizations disagreed. Antunes claimed right-wing Jews use charges of anti-Semitism to insulate themselves from criticism.

"The Jewish right doesn't want to be criticized," he said. "Therefore, when criticized they say, ‘We are a persecuted people, we suffered a lot… this is anti-Semitism.'"

Antunes, who is Portuguese, first had the cartoon published in a Lisbon paper. Antunes described himself as having the "utmost respect" for Jews. He has previously compared Israeli soldiers to Nazis and drawn several cartoons taking aim at Israel.

According to a story published in the New York Times Sunday, the image came from an automated feed of cartoons submitted for inclusion in the international edition of the paper. Editors for the New York Times said they need to "sporadically review the feed and remove work that is biased or racist."

The provider of that menu defended the image but said he respected the decision to remove it from circulation.

A New York Times reporter told CNN the cartoon's publication was a "self-inflicted wound" by the self-styled paper of record.

New York Times to discipline editor who gave OK to antisemitic cartoon

The New York Times is taking disciplinary measures against a production editor who gave the go-ahead to an antisemitic cartoon.

“We are taking disciplinary steps with the production editor who selected the cartoon for publication,” publisher A.G. Sulzberger said in a note sent to staff, according to CNN reporters posting excerpts Wednesday on Twitter.

“We are updating our unconscious bias training” to include “direct focus on antisemitism,” the note said.

Jewish Americans are least Islamophobic faith group, survey finds

A majority of Jewish Americans have positive feelings about Muslims – and the feelings are mutual — according to a survey released Wednesday.

The 2019 American Muslim Poll, conducted in January, found that 53 percent of Jewish Americans reported having positive views of Muslims — the highest of any non-Muslim faith group surveyed — compared to 13 percent with negative views. The same percentage of Jews reported that a candidate’s endorsement of a Muslim ban would decrease their support for that individual.

Likewise, 45 percent of the Muslim-American respondents had favorable views of Jews, while just 10 percent reported having negative views. The remaining respondents were neutral.

Personally knowing a Muslim may contribute to the positive sentiments: 76 percent of Jewish-American respondents said they knew a Muslim, compared to 54 percent of the general public, and 45 percent of the Jews said they are close enough with a Muslim that they would call them if they needed help.

Does Judge Robert Pitman's Opinion Enjoining Texas's anti-BDS Law Stand Up to Scrutiny?

Short answer: no, not even close

Last Thursday, federal district judge Robert Pitman released a lengthy opinion enjoining on First Amendment grounds a Texas law that requires state contractors to certify that they don't boycott Israel-related products. The opinion is a mess. I'm not going to point out all of the problems it has, but instead will note the two most serious.

First, the opinion misstates the holding of NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware as "recognizing that the First Amendment protects political boycotts." As Eugene V. has explained on this blog, the case actually holds that there is a First Amendment right to advocate economic boycotts, not engage in them. If there were a First Amendment right to boycott for political reasons, then anyone politically opposed to integration, gay rights, and so on would have a First Amendment right to "boycott" minority groups protected by civil rights laws. That's in fact the implication of Judge Pitman's opinion, and it's hard to believe he means it. It's even harder to believe the Supreme Court would endorse his opinion given this implication.

Second, Judge Pitman botches his discussion of a key precedent, Rumsfeld v. FAIR. In that case, the Court held that the law school plaintiffs had no First Amendment right to boycott military recruiters in the face of a federal statute barring recipients of federal funds from discriminating against those recruiters.

DePaul University Condemns Professor Who Expressed Support for Israel

The Faculty Council at DePaul University passed a resolution condemning professor of philosophy Jason Hill faces a censure vote after he wrote an article in The Federalist in support of Israel and condemned Hamas.

Hill wrote that “Israel has the moral right to annex all of the West Bank (even Area C) for a plethora of reasons.” The article offended Muslim students and some faculty, which caused protests and a demand for censure.

Hill’s Article

Hill didn’t state anything incorrect in his article, especially about the Palestinian Authority (PA):

Since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) have enjoyed joint rule by Israeli military government and the Palestinian Authority with around 98 percent of the Palestinians living in areas under jurisdiction of the PA. In such areas, the PA has destroyed the freedom Palestinians enjoyed under Israeli rule and their economy through kleptocracy, corruption, nepotism, and authoritarian forms of governance subject to none of the checks and balances that characterize Israel’s Knesset.

Jewish exceptionalism and the exceptionalist nature of Jewish civilization require an unconditional space for the continued evolution of their civilization. What’s good for Jewish civilization is good for humanity at large. Jewish civilization is an international treasure trove that must be protected.

He stressed that “[N]ot all cultures are created equal” since [S]ome are abysmally inferior and regressive based on their comprehensive philosophy and fundamental principles—or lack thereof—that guide or fail to protect the inalienable rights of their citizens.”

This includes the PA considering its voting record shows that they want the destruction of Israel and have sided with terrorist groups like Hamas. (h/t MtTB)

Pro-Israel Professor Condemned By Other Faculty Tells Tucker: I Will Not Be Silenced

Carlson responded, “Well, it’s ludicrous. “ He then showed a video of the protest against Hill on DePaul’s campus and asked, “Tell us what we’re looking at.”

Hill answered, “Well, I was not there, but I think you’re looking at the Arts and Letters building in the DePaul campus in which students are calling for my removal, are calling for the president to fire me; calling for my downfall; calling for Professor Hill to be dumped; all sorts of nefarious accusations against me. I was made aware of that video only yesterday and then saw it.”

Carlson said, “We’re watching them throw paper; we’re watching them litter, which they’re good at, I noticed. Any idea what they’re throwing down from the balconies?"

Hill: They’re throwing down quotes from the article, tweets that I have made, quotes that I’ve discussed on your show. They’ve taken sections from my book, “We Have Overcome,” in which I defend Israel and defend American exceptionalism. We’ve discussed this on your show before, and they have taken some of these quotes out of context from my book and from the article and pasted them, and they’re throwing them around campus accusing me of genocide and siding with an apartheid state, which they claim Israel to be, which I most vehemently have defended Israel as not being an apartheid state.

Carlson: Hysterical, hysterical children have taken control. I guess we can only hope this moment passes soon, this revolution burns itself out soon. And we are definitely rooting for you, professor, one of the brave voices, I would say. So Godspeed and I hope you’ll come back and tell us how it goes. Good luck.

Spanish Court Admits Criminal Complaint Against BDS Leader Omar Barghouti

A Spanish court has admitted a criminal complaint filed against the leader of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, Omar Barghouti, the group behind the lawsuit said.

Madrid-based ACOM, which counters anti-Zionist and antisemitic discrimination, filed the suit after the City Council of Cadiz, a port town in southwestern Spain, unexpectedly canceled the Israeli Film Cycle in 2017, which was organized in collaboration with the Israeli Embassy in Madrid and set to take place in a municipal building.

According to an email authored by the city’s councilor for culture, Eva Tubio Martinez, the cancellation was linked to the city’s “Space Free of Israeli Apartheid” pledge — a BDS measure adopted by the council’s Local Government Board in 2016.

Tubio Martinez and other city councilors were named in two subsequent lawsuits filed by ACOM — one administrative complaint against the council’s conduct, and the other a criminal complaint alleging a possible hate crime. The defendants also included Barghouti and the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de Andalucia, a local group that supports the BDS campaign in Cadiz.

A judge annulled the city council’s cancellation in March, ruling that the decision violated four fundamental rights enshrined in the Spanish constitution, including freedom of expression and anti-discrimination protections. “In that same line, the adhesion of the city to BDS has also been annulled by the courts,” ACOM said.

Did German bank close account of Israeli news website due to antisemitism?

The giant Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank, which advanced Hitler's goal to exterminate of European Jewry, closed the account of the German-language Israeli news website and magazine Israel Heute (Israel Today) shortly before Passover.

On Wednesday, Aviel Schneider wrote on the website that Deutsche Bank terminated Israel Heute's account without an explanation.

"As of mid-June, there will be no more banking for Israel Today in Jerusalem," wrote Schneider.

When asked about Deutsche Bank's closure of the group's account and if it was closed because it is a Jewish, Israeli outlet, a spokesman wrote to The Jerusalem Post by email on Thursday the following:

"Please understand that we cannot comment on suspected or actual customer relationships. Our commitment to Yad Vashem exemplifies our desire for reconciliation and our close ties with the Israeli people. This basic understanding also shapes our business connections. "

The spokesman added: "The closure of account connections can have different causes, including regulatory reasons. However, in no case does it have anything to do with religious affiliation. Deutsche Bank stands for diversity and pluralism."

Schneider asked if there were "political reasons" for the Deutsche Bank's closure of the account.

BDS activists demonstrate against Israeli film showing at JW3

Pro-Palestinian campaigners protested outside JW3 community centre on Tuesday night, over a film it is showing as part of Seret, the Israeli film festival.

Camden Palestine Solidarity Campaign and other far-left activists accused the festival of hosting a fundraiser for the IDF by showing a film called The Other Story.

JW3 was accused by the pro-Palestinians of trying to help recruit young people into the Israeli army to, disputed by organisers, who say it was raising money for Israel’s Scouts’ Association.

Around 20 anti-Israel demonstrators began their protest on Tuesday evening, shouting “free free Palestine” and “Palestine will win” outside the north London Jewish centre.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Football Against Apartheid and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network were among groups present at the demo.

Demonstrators held up signs including “End the Occupation”, calling for an “arms embargo” on Israel, and one protester had a banner around his neck reading LiKKKud, comparing the party of Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the American far-right racist movement, the Ku Klux Klan.

.@RealLindaMartin: "I don’t think all the people in #Israel should be deprived of nearly two weeks of fantastic entertainment.” Thank you for your compassion and common sense Linda! https://t.co/anXsHUXixh #Eurovision #Eurovision2019
— Ozraeli Dave (((דיויד לנג))) (@Israellycool) May 2, 2019

This is us in London .These are your modern day Nazism .This is the imported #antisemitism we are surrounded by police who stand and look whilst Jew haters get away with robbing our property burning our flags and driving us out because we are Jews who stand for Israel #holocaust pic.twitter.com/X1UWdYMTbW
— Eye On Antisemitism (@AntisemitismEye) May 2, 2019

Antisemitism promoted by governments on 3 continents, report finds

Eighty years after the beginning of World War II, antisemitism is being promoted actively by government officials in countries on three continents, scholars said.

Tel Aviv University’s Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry singled out officials in Venezuela, Turkey, Poland and Ukraine as promoters of hatred of Jews in its annual report on the phenomenon published Wednesday.

The report, which was published on the eve of Israel’s national day of mourning for the Holocaust, states that in Venezuela, “Antisemitism is mainly promoted by the state and its various agencies” under the disputed leadership of President Nicolas Maduro.

“Particularly, the anti-Israel policy, the close ties to Iran and its proxies, as well as the adoption of the Palestinian narrative, negatively affect the Jewish community because of the conflation between Israel, Zionism, and Judaism,” the report says.

In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “often equates Israel with Nazi Germany, while his adversaries use the term ‘Jew’ as a smear against him,” the report says. Anti-Semitism is manifested “increasingly in government officials’ statements” that portray “Jews as cruel killers,” the text reads.

In Ukraine, senior officials have spoken out against antisemitism, including former President Petro Poroshenko, the authors wrote. But “several anti-Semitic statements by officials were also recorded,” as well a city-approved march in Lviv featuring Nazi uniforms. Officials in Poland also resorted to anti-Semitic rhetoric.

WJC calls Sweden to combat Neo-Nazis after May 1 Nordic Resistance march

The World Jewish Congress (WJC) called on the Swedish government to combat the Nordic Resistance neo-Nazi party (NMR) after it marched the streets of Swedish cities on May 1.

WJC CEO and Executive Vice President Robert Singer said that “there must be zero tolerance for such manifestations of evil.” In a letter to Swedish Prime Minster Stefan Löfven Singer wrote “a ban on NMR, as is currently being urged in the courts in Finland, would prevent it from entering the political arena.”

The Nordic Resistance movement was founded by Klas Lund, and has branches in Norway, Denmark and Finland. It is seen by many in Sweden as a threat to its democracy due to its usage of violent rhetoric and deploying militia-like training and means.

Paula Abdul stuns crowd with performance in memory of her Jewish father

Paula Abdul stunned crowd with her performance in memory of her father at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.

Abdul's performance included singing, tap dancing and leaping at the waiting hands of the dancers, while her biggest hits played in the background.

Fifty-six-year-old Abdul mentioned that her father passed away two weeks prior to the performance, a year after her mother passed away.

“I’m doing it for my mom and my dad!” Abdul said.

Abdul's father was born to a Jewish Syrian family from Aleppo. Abdul tweeted that "My Father was, and always will be, my superhero.”

“Thank you ALL for the heartfelt condolences. Your love and support is comforting me during this difficult time," she wrote on Twitter.

Abdul also posted a video kissing her father, adding that "Isn’t it a beautiful gift that I still feel his spirit with me?"

Gal Gadot Urges Instagram Users to Follow Account Telling Story of Jewish Girl During Holocaust

Israeli actress and “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot is encouraging social media users to follow an Instagram account that attempts to tell the story of how a young girl in the Holocaust would have documented her experiences on Instagram.

A series of Instagram stories on the account called Eva.Stories depicts the Nazi occupation of Hungary through the eyes of a teenage girl, and the first story went live on Wednesday, in conjunction with Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. The account, created last month, already has more than 392,000 followers.

The project is based on the diary of Eva Heyman, a Jewish teenager who lived in Hungary and died in the Holocaust in 1944, and was created and funded by Israeli high-tech entrepreneur Mati Kochavi, together with his daughter, Maya, in commemoration of the 6 million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. Eva’s diary entries were adapted into a screenplay and filmed in Lviv, Ukraine, with the assistance of about 400 actors, extras and production assistants, according to Ynet.

The Instagram stories include photos and videos of Eva’s friends and family, the guy she had a crush on, Nazi forces taking control of her town, as well as the racial slurs and racist laws she had to endure. The stories also show her family being moved to the ghetto, the violence she faced, and finally the train ride that took her to the Auschwitz death camp where she died.

Ancient 3,000-year-old tablet suggests Biblical king may have existed

The study of an ancient tablet that dates back nearly 3,000 years suggests that the biblical King Balak may have been an actual historical figure.

Published in Tel Aviv: The Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, the study looks at the Mesha Stele and makes the determination that after looking at new photos of the cracked tablet, Balak existed, though the researchers are not 100 percent certain of it.

"After studying new photographs of the Mesha Stele and the squeeze of the stele prepared before the stone was broken, we dismiss Lemaire’s proposal to read (‘House of David’) on Line 31," the researchers wrote in the study's abstract. "It is now clear that there are three consonants in the name of the monarch mentioned there, and that the first is a beth. We cautiously propose that the name on Line 31 be read as Balak, the king of Moab referred to in the Balaam story in Numbers 22–24."

It's Line 31 that is tempering the researchers' enthusiasm. There are "[a]bout seven letters are missing from the beginning of the line [31], followed by the words (“sheep/small cattle of the land”)," the study's abstract adds.

The abstract continues: "Next there is a vertical stroke that marks the transition to a new sentence, which opens with the words (“And Hawronēn dwelt therein”). Evidently a name is expected to follow. Then there is a legible beth, followed by a partially eroded, partially broken section with space for two letters, followed by a waw and an unclear letter. The rest of the line, with space for three letters, is missing."

The Mesha Stele, which is also known as the Moabite Stone, is an inscribed tablet that dates back to 840 B.C. and was discovered in 1868 by researcher Frederick Augustus Klein.

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