09/12 Links Pt2: Jerusalem Skyline Lights Up in Memory of 9/11; Qanta Ahmed: Sarsour as Sanders surrogate: Intersectionality meets Islamist anti-Semitism; Labour's Anti-Semitic Conference Line-Up ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Jerusalem Skyline Lights Up in Memory of 9/11

A new art installation lit up Jerusalem's skies Tuesday evening in a ceremony marking 18 years since the devastating attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001.

The ceremony held at the KKL-JNF 9/11 Living Memorial Plaza in Jerusalem Park presented an art installation called a “Tribute in Light.”

The installation comprises two 300-meter tall illuminated pillars shining from Emek Ha’arazim in the north of the city all the way to the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway.

At the ceremony, jointly held by KKL-JNF and JNF-USA, the beams were lit up by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, U.S. Ambassador David Friedman, KKL-JNF Chief Development Officer Ronnie Vinnikov and JNF-USA Chief Israel Officer Eric Michaelson.

The “Tribute in Light” has been held each year in New York in remembrance of the victims of the September 11 attacks, with Israel being the first country to participate in this ceremony outside of the United States.

“Tribute in Light” will continue through the annual 9/11 Memorial Ceremony on Wednesday until the morning of September 12.

MEMRI: Jordanian Journalist: Muslims Are The True Victims Of 9/11 – Since Then, Six Million Muslims Have Been Killed In Wars Against Them Launched By The West

To mark the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, columnist for the Jordanian Al-Dustour daily Ismail Al-Sharif, a previous CEO of the paper, wrote that the Muslims are the real victims of the attacks. Since September 11, 2001, he claimed, "no fewer than six million Muslims" have been killed in direct and indirect crimes and wars launched against Muslims by the West.

He explained that after the fall of the Soviet Union, the U.S. and the West needed a new enemy to fight and chose Islam, as they saw it as a threat to Western civilization, and that ever since, and in particular ever since 9/11, the West has provoked wars in various Arab countries – Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and others. It is fanning the flames of these wars to this very day, he added, thus allowing Muslim blood to continue to be shed as they are slaughtered in droves. He urged Muslims to adhere to Islam and to instill its lofty values in their children, because this, he added, is the only way to become stronger and change the situation.

The following are translated excerpts from his column:
"In a few days it will be the 18th anniversary of the events of September 11, [2001], and on television we will see the victims' families shedding tears for their loved ones and hear commentary attempting to prove that this operation was nothing but a big conspiracy. Obviously, the president of the world's most powerful country [the U.S.] will deliver a speech in which he will say: 'These events have made the U.S. stronger.'

"[Meanwhile,] in other parts of the world, mothers will weep for children who died in an attack in the springtime of their lives; people will be arrested for no reason; refugees will be expelled; and people will be tortured. The common denominator of all these people is that they are Muslims – the greatest victims of the September 11 events. We will perhaps debate the question of whether the events were [indeed the result of] a conspiracy, or whether bin Laden planned them in a cave in Afghanistan. In this context, it should be mentioned that the well-known British journalist Robert Fisk wrote in one of his books that he had met with bin Laden in a cave in Afghanistan, and that bin Laden was eager to know what was happening in the world since the [only] source of information he had at the time was a two-month old copy of Newsweek!...

MEMRI: Al-Qaeda Releases Video Featuring Its Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri Urging Mujahideen To Target Israeli, American, European, And Russian Interests Worldwide

On September 11, 2019, Al-Sahab, the media arm of Al-Qaeda, released a video featuring the group's leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri urging the mujahideen in Palestine and across the Muslim ummah to target Israeli, U.S., European, and Russian interests worldwide.

In the video, which was posted on Al-Sahab's official Telegram channel,[1] Al-Zawahiri addressed Muslim scholars, who had condemned Al-Qaeda for killing unarmed civilians and asked them to attack U.S. and European military bases around the world if they want jihad to be only against military targets. Al-Zawahiri also accused Iran of partnering with the U.S. in its wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, and praised the Taliban saying they have drained the U.S. "which sought to negotiate with Taliban to get out of Afghanistan."

The video, which is titled "And they shall continue fighting you" (Quran 2:217), started by condemning the U.S. and accusing it of continuing to be hostile against Islam and Muslims, citing President Trump's decisions to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights as examples.

Al-Zawahiri then claimed that the majority of Zionists throughout history have been non-Jews, saying Napoleon, Balfour, Mark Sykes, President Trump, and thousands of others were "non-Jew Zionists." According to Al-Zawahiri, "these Zionists plot against Muslims everywhere and immigrate to Israel from all over the world; therefore, it is necessary to take the battle to them everywhere."

Encouraging martyrdom-seeking mujahideen to carry out attacks around the world, Al-Zawahiri noted that those who want to wage jihad against Israel can do so anywhere. He said: "After ensuring that his target is permissible in the light of the shari'a, that no harm should occur to Muslims as a result of his actions, and that the benefits of his actions outweigh the costs, all he needs to do is to put his trust in Allah and head for his target after leaving a message that the aim of his jihad operation is avenging the crimes in Palestine and all such Muslim lands."

MEMRI: MEMRI TV Clips And Reports From The MEMRI 9/11 Archives Project 2019: Iraqi News Flash: 'Heart Of Evil' Has Been Struck; HTS Official: Post-9/11 Attacks Would Have Brought Down U.S.; Iranian Filmmaker: 9/11 Is A Big Lie, 3,000 Jews Were Warned To Stay Away; Al-Qaeda Urdu Magazine Marks 9/11, Quotes Bin Laden; Pittsburgh Imam: 9/11 Was False Flag Operation

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has been monitoring, translating, and documenting content about them in Middle East- and South Asia-based media. For the 10th anniversary of 9/11, MEMRI launched its 9/11 Documentation Project, which examines the roots of the ideology that ultimately led to the attacks. It features primary-source material from Arab and Islamic print, broadcast, and online media, and from other sources; together with the archive of MEMRI research from the past two decades, it comprises the most extensive collection of material on this and related subjects in the world.

The MEMRI 9/11 Documentation Project includes MEMRI translations of documents from Al-Qaeda and affiliate organizations, speeches by and interviews with Al-Qaeda and affiliated leaders, wills and statements by the 9/11perpetrators and their colleagues, and Al-Qaeda recruitment and indoctrination materials. It also tracks and documents conspiracy theories from across the Arab and Muslim world denying any Arab responsibility for the attacks and implicating others in them.

Throughout 2019, MEMRI has added new clips and reports to the project website. Among these are an archival clip of a September 11, 2001 Iraq TV news bulletin in which a reporter stated, in a voice-over to footage of the burning World Trade Center and chaos in Manhattan, that the "heart of evil" had been struck; a clip of an official of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) organization stating that additional large-scale attacks in the U.S. after 9/11 would have caused the country's collapse; a clip of an Iranian filmmaker calling 9/11 a "fabricated crime" and reiterating the claim that 3,000 Jews had been warned the previous day to stay away from the area; a report from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor on Al-Qaeda's Urdu-language magazine's commemoration of 9/11; and, from the MEMRI Sermons By Imams In The West project, a report on a Pittsburgh imam who in an audio recording stated that 9/11 – and most other terrorist attacks – were false flag operations.

Qanta Ahmed: Sarsour as Sanders surrogate: Intersectionality meets Islamist anti-Semitism

The announcement of political activist Linda Sarsour’s appointment as Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign surrogate comes as little surprise to those who understand the enamorment of some on the political left with Islamism. The tendency for some on the left to assign the prestige of select victimhood as the pinnacle of American culture, allows them to be duped into believing Islamism is de facto Islam and not its appalling imposter.

In reality, Islamism’s right-wing supremacist totalitarian origins are only masked as a minority religion. Add to this the ill-disguised but virulent anti-Semitism that passes for anti-Zionism among some on the left, and American democracy has now mainlined Islamism into a presidential election.

The irony here is that Sarsour recently announced, “I would be so proud to win, but also to make history and elect the first Jewish American president this country has ever seen,” even as she has long endorsed an anti-Zionism consistent with Islamist sympathies.

Sarsour, the Muslim American of Palestinian origin, co-chair of the 2017 and 2019 Women’s March and former executive director of the Arab American Association, openly embodies contemporary anti-Zionist sympathies typical of an Islamist ideologue.

Her actions have long demonized Jewish Zionists and been perceived widely as anti-Semitism both in the Jewish community and beyond, including among those who work to combat contemporary anti-Semitism.

Sanders’ embrace of Sarsour means that the future of the Democrats as the progressive left envisions it will be defined through the lens of racist anti-Zionism.

Son of 9/11 Victim Criticizes Omar at Ground Zero Ceremony

A man speaking at a ceremony memorializing the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on Wednesday criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) for her comments in March that "some people did something" on 9/11.

Nic Haros spoke at the site of the twin towers in New York City to honor his mother and friends lost in the attacks on the World Trade Center. He pointed at his black t-shirt, which read "some people did something," and called out Omar.

"‘Some people did something,' said a freshman congresswoman from Minnesota to support and justify the creation of CAIR," Haros said. "Today I am here to respond to you exactly who did what to whom. Madam, objectively speaking, we know who and what was done. There is no uncertainty about that. Why your confusion?"

Haros then said members of al Qaeda had killed thousands of people and caused billions of dollars in economic damage.

"I was attacked. Your relatives and friends were attacked," he said, pointing at the audience. "Our constitutional freedoms were attacked. And our nation's founding on Judeo-Christian principles were attacked. That's what some people did. Got that now? We are here today, congresswoman, to tell you and the Squad just who did what to whom. Show respect in honoring them, please."

Father of First U.S. Casualty in Afghanistan: Ilhan Omar’s 9/11 Comments ‘Disgusting’

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) March 23 dismissal of the Islamic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 — describing the murder of thousands of Americans as “some people did something” — is “disgusting,” said Johnny Spann, father of Mike Spann, a former CIA officer and the first American killed in the war in Afghanistan.

Spann joined Wednesday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow on the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Marlow asked if Americans are remembering and learning the lessons of 9/11.

“I think, maybe, the majority of people have made good on that,” replied Spann, “but I’m really fearsome that a lot of folks are forgetting [and] becoming complacent, again. You can just look around and see the people that we’ve elected to put into Congress and the Senate, and we’re beginning to get people with … that far-left mentality, and people that are not as vigilant to keep America strong and free. It worries me.”

Spann continued, “If you told me 20 years ago when this happened that we’d ever be in the position we’re in right now, I would’ve said, ‘No, we won’t be, because we’re all of one accord, right now,’ but, hopefully we’re going to be able to regain consciousness of what happened and [make sure] it can’t happen again.”

PreOccupiedTerritory: I Like To Lecture Israel About Its Overblown Security Concerns From The Safety Of My NY Office By Susan Lefkowitz-Li, J Street donor (satire)

My status as wealthy Jewish-American grants me numerous privileges, which I acknowledge, but I savor none of them as much as I enjoy pontificating about the excessive measures the Jewish State takes to protect its citizens, a task I undertake from the comfort and sanctuary of the suite I inherited at Daddy’s firm.

Yesterday’s somber anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil in history called to mind the horrific events of that day, back when I was in an out-of-town college, and restrictions on New York-area air traffic prevented me from riding in my father’s helicopter all the way back home to be with him at our town house. The frustration, anger, and powerlessness of that time have stayed with me, forming part of what drives to work toward the prevention of anyone else’s concerns getting in the way of what I feel is right. Media images and commentary sympathetic only to Palestinian distress give me all I need to form an opinion about the generations-old conflict; suggesting that I absorb and assimilate the concerns of Israelis, even fellow Jews, takes me out of my comfort zone and will not put you on my list of people to invite to the next celebrity-studded event.

I do my assimilating on my own terms, ever since preschool.

Not surprisingly, the now-confirmed antisemites of @BDS_Wi are very proud of how they disrupted a showing at an Israeli film festival in Germany this week. They act like babies and they want everyone to see! OK:https://t.co/bWjm7i3F8O
— Elder Of Ziyon ҉ (@elderofziyon) September 12, 2019

NJ councilman uses term ‘Jew us down’ to criticize developers

A city councilman in Paterson, New Jersey, used the term “Jew us down” at a public meeting to criticize developers looking to buy land for less money.

Colleagues of Michael Jackson condemned his use of the term, calling it “highly insensitive,” “reprehensible” and “totally inappropriate.”

Councilman Al Abdelaziz, who is of Palestinian descent, was the first to call for an apology, the Paterson Times news site reported. Business administrator Vaughn McKoy left the council chambers after hearing the remark.

Jackson called the comment a “mistake.”

“That statement should have never been made. I ask everyone to forgive me for my brief lack of sensitivity,” he said, adding that he meant it with “no malice.”

Jackson said he heard the phrase growing up and that it was then a “term of endearment.”

Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon attended rally with activists suspended over comments about Jews and Israel

The Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, Richard Burgon MP, reportedly participated in a “Standing with Corbyn” rally in Brighton on Monday along with numerous activists who have been suspended by the Party over their comments about Jews and Israel.

In addition to Mr Burgon, who has stated that “Zionism is the enemy of peace” and then lied about having done so, other prominent activists to appear at the rally included Lara McNeil, who represents Young Labour on Labour’s National Executive Committee, and Liam Young, an activist running for the London Assembly.

According to political website Guido Fawkes, participants in the rally included:

Daniel Harris, who was reportedly suspended from Labour after posting a video of councillors who had stood up to antisemitism adorned with Jewish prayer shawls and skullcaps;

Alex Braithwaite, who was suspended from the Party over a series of tweets which included conspiracy theories about Israel and the Rothschild family, as well as dismissing Labour antisemitism as a smear;

Anne Mitchell, who was reportedly suspended from the Party over allegedly antisemitic posts; and

Mel Melvin, who left the Labour Party (which has not disclosed whether she was expelled or suspended) over tweets claiming that Israel faked a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad against his own people.

In case any further evidence were needed that the Labour Party’s disciplinary process is entirely unfit for purpose, even those who are removed from the Party over antisemitism are apparently still able to participate in its activities. Even more appallingly, senior figures in the Party are evidently happy to associate with them. Clearly, Labour’s leadership cannot be trusted to address the antisemitism crisis, which cannot be solved by those who created it.

Labour's Anti-Semitic Conference Line-Up

A party’s conference is their opportunity to allow members to debate policy, market their party to donors, and show the public the best of what their party has to offer. The Labour party are ensuring they tick this last box this year with a number of very questionable fringe events this year, featuring Jackie Walker and Chris Williamson.

Labour conference-goers can also look forward to a “Labour Against the Witchhunt” meeting with Ken Livingstone and Jackie Walker. The problem for Labour is surely within their party these views are no longer fringe…

Sara Conway quits as Labour's Finchley and Golders Green candidate after antisemitism comments

Labour's candidate in Finchley and Golders Green has announced she is standing down after a backlash against her for saying that antisemitism had been "weaponised."

Sources close to Sara Conway have told the JC she believed she could not continue as Labour's parliamentary candidate in the marginal seat after the reaction from Jewish voters over her comments.

In the interview last week with the Jewish News, Ms Conway sparked fury by saying: "You can’t weaponise without there being a problem but this issue has been weaponised by certain media commentators. I don’t mean necessarily in the community."

While stressing that she was not seeking to “dismiss or push back” claims about antisemitism she said she felt the row had been “whipped up”.

The Barnet councillor later conceded she "used the wrong word by saying weaponised" and then claimed she was "referring to Far Right commentators particularly on Twitter who use this issue as a political football to create polarisation and division."

UNESCO adviser speaks against Holocaust memorial in London park

"UNESCO seems to have taken a position against" a planned Holocaust memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens in Westminster, London, said Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations Dr. Shimon Samuels in a press release.

The concept for the Making Memory UK National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre was born in 2015, but the planning application is still being considered by Westminster City Council.

Royal Parks, a charity, described the gardens as a "highly sensitive location in planning and heritage terms," insisting that “the structure will dominate the park and eclipse the existing listed memorials which are nationally important in their own right.”

The park is currently home to three other memorials.

A member of the "Save Victoria Tower Gardens" campaign claimed that “The scale... is deliberately obtrusive because it’s intended to be shocking and attention-grabbing” and that the memorial should be moved to Westminster's College Green or the Imperial War Museum.

"The memorial is designed to honour the Jewish victims of the Holocaust and all other victims of Nazi persecution, including Roma, LGBT and the disabled," said Samuels. "The planners argue that they will take up 27% of the green space currently in the park...Its propinquity to the British Parliament aims to focus on the need to sensitize the public and their MP’s to the dangers of bigotry, prejudice, hate and violence against the other."

University of Toronto nixes speech by Palestinian accused of terrorist ties

A speech by a Palestinian man accused of having significant ties to a terrorist organization was moved off the University of Toronto campus following protests by Jewish groups.

Issam Al-Yamani, who lives in Canada, is alleged by the Canadian government to have played a significant role in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and has been under a deportation order since 2006. He was to speak on Tuesday night.

But the groups hosting the event — Students Against Israeli Apartheid U of T St George, the Canadian Union of Public Employees 3902 Racialized Workers’ Caucus and U of T Divest — announced the night before that the address titled “Worker Solidarity, Israeli Apartheid and Struggle for Palestine” would be held at a venue off campus and not related to the university.

Al-Yamani spoke at a building belonging to a branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents professors and teaching assistants at the university.

“We are surprised that a Canadian union representing public employees would agree to allow someone to speak at their office who is an accused terrorist, someone alleged to have been involved in terrorist operations that led to the death of children,” Avi Benlolo, president and CEO of the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement.

NY Times Reports ‘Airplanes Took Aim’ at World Trade Center on 9/11

The New York Times deleted a tweet and updated a piece Wednesday after writing that the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred when "airplanes took aim" at the World Trade Center.

"18 years have passed since airplanes took aim and brought down the World Trade Center," the Times Twitter account tweeted. "Today, families will once again gather and grieve at the site where more than 2000 people died." The language about the airplanes "taking aim" was lifted from the linked Times piece.

The Times's assignment of agency to inanimate planes, and apparent reluctance to acknowledge that they were flown by Islamic terrorists, immediately sparked mockery and criticism. "Man, those towers really must have done something to upset those airplanes," read one typical tweet. Others noted that "more than 2000 people" was an awkward descriptor, when the casualty total was closer to 3,000.

Eventually the Times deleted the tweet and updated its piece. The piece now reads, "Eighteen years have passed since terrorists commandeered airplanes to take aim at the World Trade Center and bring them down."

It is pretty incredible that on the 18th anniversary of 9/11, the NYT online op-ed page has precisely one editorial on that historic marker -- and it’s about the effects of Islamophobia on American Muslims post-9/11. pic.twitter.com/dpBAZO3eJG
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 11, 2019

AFP Whitewashes Terrorist Convicted in Henkins’ Murder

A series of Agence France-Presse photograph captions this week erased the crimes of Bassam al-Sayeh, a Hamas field commander convicted for the authorization and finance of the murder of Rabbi Eitam and Naama Henkin, shot to death in front of their four children as they were driving in the West Bank in October 2015.

When al-Sayeh died this week in Israeli prison, as a result of complications from cancer, AFP photo captions ignored both his crime and his disease. While the captions noted that he died in Israeli prison, and included many other biographical details such as his age, that he was from Nablus, that he was allegedly the 221st Palestinian prisoner to die in Israeli jail, and that he was arrested by Israeli forces in October 2015, they omitted the two key points to understanding why he died in prison. 1) He died from his disease. 2) He was in prison for his role in a double murder. The failure to note his fatal medication condition falsely implies that he died due to prison conditions.

Here is a sample of the many incomplete captions AFP which omit his terror conviction but nevertheless include far less significant and less relevant biographical information about al-Sayeh:

Notably, the posters featured in the above photo are emblazoned with an antisemitic, inciting poem that originated in North Africa and is popular among Islamists including the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. The poem reads:

Take a hear that became as hard as iron
Take it and stone [with it] all Jews
Take my spirit/soul that will provide shade to you all
It didn’t live while flapping [it wings] from far away
My people, be patient for the dawn is coming
And the sun of victory shall rise again

Sky News Arabia omits fact that deceased Palestinian prisoner was a terrorist

Having learned that as-Sayeh died of cancer, the outlets (AFP on Sep. 9, Independent Arabia on Sep. 9 and Sky News Arabia on Sep. 8) uncritically quoted Palestinian officials who leveled allegations at “the Occupation” (i.e, Israel) for “medical negligence”, “withholding treatment” and engaging in a “slow-motion execution” – though without providing any evidence of such conduct.

Even more telling was the fact that all three outlets ignored as-Sayeh’s conviction in an Israeli court for a series of terrorist acts, the most significant being his role in the murder of Eitam and Na’ama Henkin in October 2015.

The Itamar couple was gunned down in front of their four children while driving the family car, and As-Sayeh was found responsible for funding and authorizing the attack. While AFP and Independent Arabia mentioned his involvement as merely an Israeli accusation used to justify his “arrest” (thus omitting his conviction), Sky News Arabia – a venture between UK-based Sky News and UAE-based Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corp – ignored his connection to the attack altogether:
AFP:
“As-Sayeh was arrested in 2015, having been accused of participation in the shooting deaths of two Israeli settlers near the settlement of Itamar […]. The Israeli prosecution demanded that as-Sayeh be sentenced to life in prison.”

The report also refers as-Sayeh as “detainee” (Arabic: Mu’taqal) rather than “captive/prisoner” (Aseer/Sajeen), thus creating the false impression he was still waiting trial, or sentencing, at the time of his death.

Independent Arabia:
“Four years after the arrest of Bassam as-Sayeh under the accusation of killing two settlers near the city of Nablus, the latter has died after a long suffering from blood and bone cancer, [which lasted] since 2011.”

Ironically, the most decisive confirmation of as-Sayeh’s involvement in the Henkins’ murder appears in Hamas’ response, which was indirectly quoted by Independent Arabia:
“The ‘Izz ad-Deen al-Qassam battalions, the military wing of Hamas movement, has stated that Bassam as-Sayeh was one of its field leaders, and one of those who committed the ‘Itamar attack’ in October 2015.”

If you are still on @facebook take this account down NOW! this vile excuse for an account apparently sharing too many lost cats can lead to a 30day suspension but sharing #Jew hate is fine ! #Antisemitism pic.twitter.com/YBOcsqr9ev
— Eye On Antisemitism (@AntisemitismEye) September 11, 2019

New Italian gov gets green light, Holocaust survivor warns against hatred

Italian Auschwitz survivor and senator for life Liliana Segre gave an impassioned speech warning against hatred in public discourse and urging a more humane and open society, ahead of the vote on the new country’s government on Tuesday, a day that also marked Segre’s 89th birthday.

Addressing the Italian Parliament’s highest chamber, the senator announced that she would vote in favor of the unprecedented coalition formed by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, and the center-left Democratic Party “with some concerns but also with hopes.”

A month-long political crisis in Rome officially came to an end on Tuesday, with the new government receiving a green light.

Born into a Jewish family in 1930 in Milan, Segre was expelled from public school in September 1938, after fascist dictator Benito Mussolini passed anti-Jewish laws in the country.

In January 1944, she was deported to Auschwitz at the age of 13, after she and her father had been sent back to Italy by Swiss guards who patrolled the border to prevent hunted Jews from finding refuge in the neutral and Nazi-free country.

President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella appointed her senator for life ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day in January 2018.

Rome to rename streets dedicated to antisemitic scientists

The city of Rome is going to replace street names dedicated to scientists who signed the anti-Jewish Manifesto della Razza (Racial Manifesto) in 1938, and rename them after scholars who opposed and were persecuted by the fascist regime, including two Jewish scientists, Mayor Virginia Raggi announced on Tuesday.

The process for changing the names of the selected streets started about a year ago. A motion was approved by Rome’s municipal council, Raggi wrote on Facebook, adding that the actual rededication might take a little longer.

Students and residents of the neighborhoods where the streets are located participated in the process of choosing the new, historical figures to honor.

The streets are currently named after Arturo Donaggi and Edoardo Zavattari. Zavattari was a biologist who promoted the idea of scientific racism, and Donaggi was a psychiatrist.

The Racial Manifesto, which they both promoted along with other prominent Italian scholars, became the ideological and pseudo-scientific base of the racial policies of the regime.

Subway stranger demands NY gay Jewish activist remove his pink kippa

A New York activist who is gay and Jewish tweeted a video he took on his cellphone of a stranger who approached him at a Manhattan subway station and demanded he remove his pink kippa.

The man told Adam Eli that he was “desecrating the name of God.” In addition to the pink kippa, Eli was carrying a pink bedazzled purse and wearing a denim jacket with a rainbow patch and the words Never Again is Now surrounding an upside-down pink triangle.

“Stay in the closet,” the man, who has not been identified, also shouted. “Make sure your closet is in another closet… this is not Judaism!”

The man followed Eli for several blocks before Eli, fearing for his safety, ducked into a store in an effort to get away. He did not file a police report.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the video has been viewed 1.2 million times.

Ohio Man Convicted in Antisemitic Assault at Large After Failing to Surrender to Prison Authorities

A man who committed an antisemitic assault in Symmes Township, Ohio, is now at large after failing to surrender to prison authorities.

According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, Izmir Ali Koch, 34, was convicted of beating a man outside a restaurant after voicing a series of antisemitic threats.

On Feb. 4, 2017, Koch began shouting that he hated Jews and “wanted to slaughter them.”

He asked a group of people, “Who is a Jew?” One man, who was not in fact Jewish, replied that he was. Koch then assaulted him and beat him to the ground, causing facial fractures.

The victim has relocated for fear that he will attacked again by Koch or his “associates.”

Prosecutors pointed out that Koch had shown no remorse whatsoever, saying, “Koch denies yelling antisemitic remarks, denies attacking the victim, denies lying to the FBI, and even denies that the victim and witnesses in this case experienced fear.”

Koch was convicted on federal hate crimes charges and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. However, the judge permitted him to self-surrender.

Prosecutors criticized this decision, saying that Koch was financially capable of flight, but the decision stood.

UK to partner with Israel, US, China to combat infectious diseases

The British government’s research and development agency – UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – will partner with experts from Israel, the US and China to study the evolution and transmission of infectious diseases.

Led by UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the joint project will examine the interaction between humans, livestock, crops, wild animals and plants, which can lead to diseases spreading.

Many devastating diseases have proved able to cross the species barrier and infect humans, including Zika, Ebola, African Swine Fever and Anthrax.

UKRI has announced that it will contribute £8.3 million ($10.2m.) to the joint research project. The agency also unveiled new collaborative projects with US experts to examine subpolar ocean currents in the North Atlantic and with Chinese researchers to create products and services to help the elderly.

Participating in the international effort together with UKRI to combat infectious diseases will be the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Agriculture and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

German giant SAP sets up accelerator program in Tel Aviv

German multinational software firm SAP SE is setting up an accelerator program in Israel, seeking new technologies in order to expand the portfolio of technologies and services it can provide to customers.

The Foundry program will be run by SAP.iO, a strategic business unit of SAP set up in 2017 to work closely with startups and tap into their innovations. The unit either invests in early stage startups or runs accelerator programs that provide selected startups with mentorships, a co-working space, and access to its 400,000 customers globally who can work closely with entrepreneurs to make sure their specific needs are met. The program will also make available data and SAP platforms startups may need to develop their technologies.

“There is a huge ecosystem of very innovative startups in Israel,” said Alexa Gorman, head of SAP.iO Foundries EMEA. “Tapping into these startups will enable SAP “to provide our customers with innovation that we are not necessarily going to develop ourselves.”

The SAP.iO Fund has to date invested in four Israeli startups, out of a portfolio of a total of 24 firms, Gorman said.

Israel & Minorities - The truth is here

Watch the real story of Israel and how it treats its minority groups in this revealing piece.

Dutch woman who helped Jews escape Nazis dies at 99

A US woman from western Michigan who authored a book chronicling her efforts that helped save hundreds of Jews in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation of World War II has died.

Diet Eman died September 3 in Grand Rapids at age 99, according to Seymour Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids.

Eman was born in the Netherlands and was part of an underground resistance following Nazi Germany’s 1940 invasion of the northern European nation. Her 1994 memoirs, “Things We Couldn’t Say,” detailed how Eman provided forged identification cards and shelter for Jews, and how she helped allied pilots shot down by the German military.

During a 2015 visit to Grand Rapids, Dutch King Willem-Alexander called Eman one of his country’s “national heroes,” according to MLive.com.

“We had to help the Jewish people,” Eman told WXMI-TV in a 2017 interview. “You live by prayer … ‘Lord these are your people and we want to help them.'”

Eman also told the television station that she had a fake identification card when stopped by Gestapo inspectors and taken to a prison.

“I was always traveling because they were after me and I had a false name,” she said. “I had so many different names.”

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