02/13 Links Pt2: The Jewish nightmare of Bernie vs. Trump; Congresswoman calls AIPAC a ‘hate group’ after it attacks her in ad; 20% of German university academics reject Israel’s existence ~ EoZ

From Ian:

The Jewish nightmare of Bernie vs. Trump

Ask British Jews what advice they would offer to American Jews, based on their experience fighting Corbynism, and the answer is unequivocal: Don’t wait until it’s almost too late to fight for your political home. Don’t pretend it can’t happen to you.

They mean: Pay attention to how quickly a mainstream party with a long pro-Israel tradition and deep roots in the Jewish community can be transformed into a home for enemies of the Jewish people.

Bernie Sanders is not Jeremy Corbyn, and the Democratic Party is not Labour. Sanders has repeatedly affirmed his support for Israel’s right to exist (though he is far more equivocal about its right to defend that right). We all know about his time on a kibbutz. And the Democratic Party has an overwhelming majority of pro-Israel legislators.

But more than any other leading politician, Sanders is responsible for mainstreaming the Corbynist wing of the Democratic Party. The party’s anti-Zionists, like Linda Sarsour, have gathered around Sanders. And Sanders himself supported Corbyn — ignoring the fears of British Jews, who overwhelmingly saw Corbyn as an anti-Semite.

Corbyn has shown us how quickly the politics of the fringe can become mainstream. Under President Sanders, those still-renegade voices within the Democratic Party would have intimate access to the White House.

Why are Democrats skipping out on AIPAC?

Who's going to #SkipAIPAC? The hashtag campaign created by the anti-Zionist IfNotNow group is winning even when their demands that Democrats, and especially their presidential candidates, stay away from the annual AIPAC policy conference next month are opposed.

The radical group scored an unexpected triumph when one of its members ambushed Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at a New Hampshire campaign event. Warren was asked if she would avoid "legitimizing" AIPAC by skipping the annual conference because it was forming an alliance with "Islamophobes and anti-Semites and white nationalists." When Warren answered this falsified and loaded question with a simple: "yeah," it was heralded as a victory for a marginal organization dedicated to torpedoing the US-Israel alliance.

But in some ways, they also won when former Vice President Joe Biden answered a similar question by saying that he would go to the AIPAC event, but only to "convince them to change their position."

Left unsaid by Biden was what position(s) he was referencing.

Is it AIPAC's continued support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict despite the fact that the formula is looking more obsolete than ever? Or is it their uphill fight to preserve bipartisan support for the Jewish state despite the fact that Democrats are deeply divided about the issue, while Republicans are marching in lockstep behind President Donald Trump's efforts to closely align American foreign policy with that of the Jewish state?

While neither Biden nor Warren is likely to win their party's nomination, the fact that even the former felt that the only way he could justify his presence at AIPAC was to confront its supporters was telling.

Gil Troy: AIPAC’s challenge: Celebrating bipartisanship when it’s passé

Israel still enjoys bipartisan approval – 70% of Americans remain pro-Israel. For this now-threatened status quo to persist, AIPAC and other forces cherishing civility and bipartisanship in America must champion those values too, while AIPAC and others who care about keeping the Democratic Party pro-Israel must figure out how to resist the haters too.

Instead, too many have insisted there’s no problem – overlooking the dramatic warning signs. Last year, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer proclaimed at AIPAC that “there are 62 freshman Democrats – you hear me? Sixty-two not three.” But while reaffirming that which still is, worry about what might soon be.

The “three” Hoyer targeted – Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar – are radicals who oppose Israel and bipartisanship. AOC insists that even before Trump, “bipartisanship was s***ty.” But more and more, the same Democrats who reject bipartisanship as “disastrous,” as “ruining America,” as perpetuating power, also demonize Israel. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean claims Israel “embraces ethnic cleansing.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren says “yeah” when a voter claims AIPAC is in an “unholy alliance… with Islamophobes and antisemites and white nationalists.”

More broadly – and worryingly – many Democratic presidential candidates threaten to blackmail Israel with military aid. And most Democrats refused even to read Trump’s “Deal of the Century” thoughtfully, to see if it offered anything positive.

Congresswoman calls AIPAC a ‘hate group’ after it attacks her in ad

A Minnesota congresswoman called AIPAC a “hate group” inciting against her after the Israel lobby featured her in an attack ad.

“AIPAC claims to be a bipartisan organization, but its use of hate speech actually makes it a hate group,” US Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat, said Wednesday in a statement. “By weaponizing anti-Semitism and hate to silence debate, AIPAC is taunting Democrats and mocking our core values.”

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee declined to comment. The lobby removed and apologized last week for at least two Facebook ads that slammed “radical” Democrats in Congress, and altered an online petition that said Israel’s harshest critics in Congress pose a threat “maybe more sinister” than ISIS and other terror groups.

“This is not a call to action, it is incitement,” McCollum said. “Elected representatives in Congress ‘more sinister’ than ISIS? Last year, I met with AIPAC representatives from Minnesota in my office. Do forces ‘more sinister’ than ISIS sit down and meet with AIPAC’s advocates?”

On Twitter, McCollum rejected what she called AIPAC’s “non-apology.” In its statement of apology, AIPAC said the ad was poorly worded” and “inflammatory,” but also said it “alluded to a genuine concern of many pro-Israel Democrats about a small but growing group, in and out of Congress, that is deliberately working to erode the bipartisan consensus.”

One of the ads was illustrated by a collage of three of Israel’s toughest critics in Congress, including McCollum, who is the lead sponsor of a bill that would link Israel’s assistance to its treatment of Palestinian juvenile detainees.

This language will be very familiar to people who followed @uklabour’s decline into moral insanity. @GnasherJew https://t.co/ludhJBSD5x
— Brits For Israel (@BritsForIsrael) February 13, 2020

MEMRI: Fatah Representative In Poland: The Holocaust Wasn’t The Only Atrocity Committed During WWII; Israel Inflates The Number of Holocaust Victims To Justify Its Crimes

Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, marked on January 27, 2020, Dr. Khalil Nazzal, secretary of Fatah's branch in Poland, published an article on this topic in the Palestinian Authority (PA) daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. In the article, he acknowledged the horrific suffering of the Jews during World War II, but noted that the Nazis' victims included not only Jews but nationals of all European countries, and that other crimes were perpetrated during that war as well, such as the dropping of the nuclear bombs on Japan, the destruction of Warsaw in 1944 and the rape of German women by the soldiers of the armies that advanced on Berlin. He added that the 'occupation state' (Israel) has illegitimately appropriated their suffering and uses it as an excuse to perpetrate crimes against the Palestinian people, while the West remains silent due to its guilt over the Holocaust.

Stating that "opinions differ regarding the number Jewish victims" of the Holocaust, he advised those who question the six-million figure to do so carefully, while basing their claims on "objective studies", and added that the Zionist entity inflates the number of victims in order to blackmail the world and force it to accept its policies. He also complained that the Palestinians, who were not involved in World War II, are paying the price for Europe's crimes against the Jews.

The following are translated excerpts from Khalil Nazzal's article:[1]
"The 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz detention camp, which was established by the Nazi occupiers of Poland during World War II, is approaching. The camp was liberated on January 27, 1945 by the Soviet forces that were pursuing Hitler's armies as they retreated towards their unavoidable fate. The world was appalled by the magnitude of the crimes perpetrated in this large prison, which held a vast number of victims from several of the European countries that had been under Nazi occupation, most of them Jews of various nationalities. This was part of the systematic Nazi policy which was intended to completely eliminate the Jews using many nefarious measures, among them the use of poison gas as an efficient means of mass murder. There isn't the slightest justification for minimizing the gravity of the crimes committed against the people of Europe and the world during World War II.

"These victims of these crimes were primarily the Jews, but there were other victim as well, for the dropping of the nuclear bomb on Japan was [also] a crime; the destruction of Warsaw and the murder of hundreds of thousands of its residents during the 'Warsaw Uprising' of 1944 was a crime, and the rape of thousands of German women by soldiers of the armies advancing on Berlin was a crime. We oppose all these crimes, and we oppose persecuting Jews just because they are Jews. [We oppose this] first of all because these are crimes against humanity. We cannot conceivably accept the oppression, persecution or killing of innocent people because of their religion, nationality or skin color, for people are born free and it is forbidden to violate their right to life or to treat them with disrespect, under any pretext.

"Opinions differ regarding the number Jewish victims who were killed as the result of the Nazi crimes during World War II. Some historians claim that the number reached six million, while others reduce the number to hundreds of thousands. Regardless, we are convinced that the unjust loss of [even] one life is tantamount to the loss of an entire world, and that arguing about the number of victims is neither reasonable nor moral.

Cornel West Attacks Israel in C-SPAN’s Martin Luther King Commemoration

Beyond the unreliability of the statistics themselves is the fact that Prof. West takes them out of context and distorts them into a claim demonizing Israel as vicious and ruthless baby killers. Even the questionable sources claiming over 500 innocent children killed, acknowledge that the majority (greater than 65 percent) were neither babies nor toddlers, but minors between the ages of 7-17, used by Hamas as pawns or human shields in the terror group’s war against Israel. Yet Professor West repeatedly refers to 500 “babies” being killed (presumably because it stirs more empathy and emotion and serves better as a propaganda claim, no matter that it is false).

As to the question of why any minors at all were killed, it is relevant to note that Gaza Strip terrorist leaders used Palestinian civilians as human shields during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-9 and again in Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

The evidence of Hamas use of human shields during Operation Cast Lead includes the firing of rockets at Israel from densely populated neighborhoods.

During Operation Protective Edge, schools and playgrounds were specifically chosen to store and fire weapons from them. And rockets were routinely launched from civilian areas, including schools. For example:
- The United Nations admitted that rockets were stored and fired from Gaza UNRWA (U.N. Relief and Works Agency) schools for children (violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law).
- UNRWA said that rockets were found in between two other UNRWA schools that are being used to host 1,500 displaced people.
- UNRWA condemned placement of rockets, for a second time, in one of its schools.
- Hamas placed weapons and missile launchers in densely populated neighborhoods and sent men, woman and children to act as human shields for terrorists.
- Hamas admitted it fired rockets from civilian areas.

'I see everything through the lens of my Jewish upbringing, my Jewish values'

An interview with Rep. Brad Schneider, who fights BDS, anti-Semitism and puts past Israel experience to use in House.

Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider has been in Congress, serving Illinois's 10th Congressional District since Jan. 3, 2017, when he returned after winning back his seat the previous November.

Prior to that, he served as a congressman for the district between 2013 and 2015.

Schneider, 58, was the managing principal of a life-insurance firm for six years until becoming the director of the strategic-services group at Blackman Kallick, followed by starting his own consulting firm in 2008.

Schneider, who is Jewish, and his wife, Julie, have two children.

Q: What are the biggest issues facing the Jewish community in your constituency?

A: I don't know that there's one or even a shortlist. From all my years working in the community – whether it was the Federation, American Jewish Committee, other organizations – the importance of Jewish continuity, from generation to generation, is crucial.

At the same time, for the American Jewish community, in particular, we're part of the fabric of American life. Obviously, sitting here and talking to you in my office in the United States House of Representatives is a reflection of that. But it's our involvement in not just leadership roles, civic life in the broader community, but understanding that we have a place we're going to stay, building bridges with other groups. I spent four years as the chairman of the Alliance of Latinos & Jews in Chicago.

I think [what's] paramount in people's concerns at home and globally is the rise in anti-Semitism. I'm part of the Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism. I had my bill this summer on fighting BDS. The tensions for Israel and prospects of peace for Israel's security are a paramount concern to my community.

Uh oh, major dilemma for @IlhanMN.
One of the US companies on the UN #blacklist is @GeneralMills, which employees 10000s of Americans. Its HQ is in Golden Valley, Minnesota, which is represented by Ilhan Omar!
So will she support the #BDS blacklist?
Or the ppl of her district? pic.twitter.com/foK4hhh5Kr
— Asher Fredman אשר פרדמן (@fredman_a) February 13, 2020

Lord Mann says Jeremy Corbyn’s inaction led to growth of antisemitism and not enough people are challenging it

Lord Mann has opined that “Jeremy Corbyn’s lack of action as Labour leader led to a growth of antisemitism on the Left,” adding that “there’s also virulent antisemitism on the Right.”

Lord Mann, who serves as the Government’s independent advisor on antisemitism, lamented that “not enough people are challenging antisemitism. We need to be more robust in standing up to it.”

He also noted that antisemitism was becoming the most acceptable form of racism and that society had a responsibility to tackle it. He urged politicians to address the climate in which people “feel confident” to make antisemitic remarks, noting too that it was a constant issue for the electorate during the general election.

On 28th May 2019, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Labour expels 25 people over antisemitism in a single day

Labour recently expelled 25 party members in a single day over antisemitism as a result of “significant reforms” to disciplinary procedures made by General Secretary Jennie Formby, the party has revealed.

Party sources confirmed on Wednesday the crackdown on those found to be guilty of anti-Jewish racism and said those who were expelled were among Ms Formby’s most recently published breakdown on figures.

Labour also revealed that party staff were themselves responsible for intervening and identifying around 10 per cent of antisemitism cases emerging against members in 2019 – with most leading to suspensions.

Party staff took a proactive stance in flagging up Labour members' on social media and after reviewing the bi-annual reports from the Community Security Trust.

The new drive is believed to explain the decision to suspend Wirral council Jo Bird – who had previously been suspended for her “Jew process” and “privileging” or anti-Jewish racism remarks last March - last Thursday as she campaigned to be elected onto Labour’s ruling body.

CAA exposes Show Racism The Red Card CEO Ged Grebby’s persistent dismissal of Labour Party antisemitism despite his role heading charity meant to fight racism

In addition to his social media pronouncements, in 2019 Mr Geddy also appeared on a platform alongside individuals with their own worrying records, including Labour’s Richard Burgon MP, who said that “Zionism is the enemy of peace” and then lied about having done so, and Mark Serwotka, the General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, who suggested that Israel may have “created” the antisemitism crisis engulfing the Labour Party, as well as Anas Altikriti of the Muslim Association of Britain and Mohammed Kozbar, the Chair of Finsbury Park Mosque.

He also signed a joint letter with Labour frontbenchers and close allies of Mr Corbyn, John McDonnell, Diane Abbott, Labour’s Laura Pidcock MP and the Unite chief, Len McCluskey, and others.

Show Racism the Red Card has itself been involved in controversies over antisemitism as well, most recently when it invited the outspoken filmmaker, Ken Loach, to join a panel of judges for a school competition on creative anti-racism designs, despite Mr Loach’s own history of denying Labour antisemitism and his past refusal to denounce Holocaust denial. Mr Geddy described Mr Loach as a “valued supporter” of his organisation, which has included Mr Loach as a guest of honour in the past.

Some of Show Racism the Red Card’s sponsors are trades unions that have dismissed antisemitism in the Labour Party, and Show Racism the Red Card has also hosted Mr Corbyn at a panel at Arsenal. Mr Corbyn has also been featured as a promoter of Show Racism the Red Card’s campaigns, including by Mr Geddy directly.

It has been noted that Show Racism the Red Card receives a significant amount of funding from government departments and public bodies, as well as unions.

I have absolutely no idea to which group of people Waters may be referring. https://t.co/Qnf8zp0Rti
— (((David Lange))) (@Israellycool) February 13, 2020

20% of German university academics reject Israel’s existence

A new study shows that a fifth of German academics want the right to reject Israel’s existence on college and university campuses as part of free speech.

According to the study, which was reported in German media on Tuesday, more than a fourth (27%) of professors and lecturers also want to be allowed to reject Islam as part of academic freedom. The Kondrad Adenauer Foundation, the think tank of the Christian Democratic Union Party, commissioned the Instituts für Demoskopie Allensbach to survey 1,106 academics about free speech within the university and college setting.

Sigmount Königsberg, the representative to combat antisemitism for Germany's largest Jewish community in Berlin, tweeted in connection with the study: "And then you wonder that at Humboldt an antisemitic event takes place under the guise of ‘freedom of science.'"

The release of the Adenauer study comes amid an alleged antisemitism scandal at Berlin-based Humboldt University. The president of the university, Dr. Sabine Kunst, permitted an alleged antisemitic professor to deliver a talk on Wednesday. The anti-Israel academic Georg Meggle promotes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. Last year, the Bundestag classified BDS as antisemitic.

Humboldt students urged the university not to allow the event to take place, classifying it as antisemitic.

After Six-Hour Debate, University of Illinois Student Government Passes BDS Resolution

After more than six hours of deliberation, the student government at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) passed a BDS resolution in the early hours on Thursday morning that calls on the university to divest from “companies that profit from human rights violations in Palestine and other communities globally,” as well as from firms that provide weaponry and technology to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a copy of the resolution obtained by JNS ahead of the vote, which includes endorsements from the student government’s leadership committee.

The final vote was 20 in favor, nine against and seven abstentions.

The BDS resolution named companies such as Elbit Systems Ltd., Northrop Grumman and Raytheon as “involved in human rights violations and violations of international law, including the confiscation and destruction of Palestinian lands, criminalization of immigrants and communities of color, and other human rights violations,” and therefore “make UIUC complicit in these crimes.”

The resolution was co-authored by Dunia Ghanimah, president of the university’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and has 22 sponsors, including Academic Affairs chair Sihah Reza.

It was endorsed by half of the student senate’s leadership committee, including Director Marissa Finley; Kirsten Peterson, chair of Community & Governmental Affairs; Internal Affairs Chair Katrina Rbeiz; Campus Affairs Chair Alexis Perezchica; Financial Affairs Chair Jessica Tiggelaar; Bugra Sahin, chair of Sustainability, Resilience and Environmental Justice; and Shelby Sears, an event management student ambassador at the university’s division of intercollegiate athletics, according to her LinkedIn profile.

An amendment to take out all references to Israel failed by a vote of 11 in favor, 22 against and six abstentions.

Canary Mission: Top 5 Professors Who Tried To Make Anti-Semitism Cool

Anti-Semitic professors have too much power over students - through the lectures they teach and the grades they give out.

Here are 5 professors who have used their position of authority to spread anti-Semitism on and off-campus.

Jewish Harvard students form anti-Zionist organization

A group of undergraduate students at Harvard University has formed what they call an “anti-Zionist Jewish organization” that supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.

The Harvard Jewish Coalition for Peace introduced itself in a public statement posted Monday on Facebook as “a new organization founded in the idea that Jewish liberation is inextricably bound up with the liberation of all people.”

The group said it will focus on Palestinian solidarity work; fighting antisemitism and for the safety of Jews and all people through solidarity; and creating Jewish spaces and events outside of Hillel.

“We build on a long history of Jewish anti-Zionism which teaches us that Jewish safety or liberation will never come at the expense of other people’s lives and land, and are committed to following the leadership of Palestinians in supporting the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement on and off Harvard’s campus,” the group said.

Jewish Voice for Peace, a pro-Palestinian group that backs the BDS movement, has a number of chapters on campuses across the country that push the boycott movement.

The Harvard coalition grew out of discussions about the need for an organized anti-Zionist organization following the spring 2019 Israeli Apartheid Week organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee at the Boston-area school.

UC Berkeley student gov’t won’t condemn display featuring Palestinian terrorists

A student government committee at the University of California, Berkeley, on Monday voted down a resolution condemning a display by a pro-Palestinian student group.

The Associated Students of the University of California Senate’s University and External Affairs Committee vetoed 4-1 the resolution presented by a Jewish student senator, Milton Zerman.

The vote came a week after the committee adjourned a meeting early following an argument between pro-Palestinian members in the crowd and Zerman, according to the The Daily Californian student newspaper. Dozens of students spoke for and against the bill last week and on Monday.

The display includes photos of what Bears for Palestine called “Palestinian leaders” Fatima Bernawi, Rasmea Odeh and Leila Khaled, who all were convicted of terror attacks in Israel.

After a chaotic UC Berkeley student government meeting last week, a resolution condemning a photo display that pro-Israel students said glorifies terrorists failed in a 4-1 vote on Monday night in a senate committee.https://t.co/mbZDcSqgH2
— J. The Jewish News (@jewishsf) February 12, 2020

The resolution, titled “Condemning Bears for Palestine for Their Display in Eshleman Hall Glorifying Violent Terrorists,” calls on the group to “significantly alter” or remove those photos.

“Clearly Berkeley is not united against hate,” campus senior Nathan Bentolila said at the meeting, the Daily Californian reported. “I honestly have very little to say — the Jewish community is beyond disappointed.”

Congrats to @Miftah_org, a Palestinian group that incites antisemitism (led by PLO eminence Hanan Ashrawi, whose recent blood libel was retweeted by Rashida Tlaib), on being officially accredited by Russia, Turkey, China & others on the UN Cttee on NGOs.https://t.co/mx4N75pbPk pic.twitter.com/3FvTJgO9Cf
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) February 13, 2020

Anti-Israel students protest UK and Israeli military speakers at Bristol Uni

Supporters of Israel clashed with pro-Palestinian activists at the University of Bristol on Monday night, as students from an Israel advocacy group welcomed former British and Israeli military figures speakers to campus.

A vocal protest greeted the arrival of former British Army commander Col. Richard Kemp and Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, an Israeli defence and security analyst, whose appearance had been facilitated by the Pinsker Centre.

Kemp commanded British Forces in Afghanistan while Kuperwasser led the research division within the IDF’s Military Intelligence, before becoming the director general of Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs.

Event organisers called the protesters “antisemitism deniers” and retweeted a post calling them “snowflakes, oddballs and geeks”. It also accused them of “harassing and slandering” Kemp, posting a video that had been viewed 55,000 times.

Tonight our speaker British veteran @COLRICHARDKEMP - a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan - was harassed and slandered as he went to share his experiences with students at @BristolUni pic.twitter.com/SWmiWhcvyi
— The Pinsker Centre (@PinskerCentre) February 10, 2020

Benjamin Hayton, media director of the Pinsker Centre, said the protesters voicing opposition to Kemp’s appearance in Bristol were members of Bristol Friends of Palestine, the Socialist Workers Party and Bristol Students Union.

Hateful Anti-Zionism at Duke University Press

Duke University Press has a long history of promoting antisemitic views masquerading as academic scholarship. Their authors have compared Israelis to Nazis, and have updated antisemitic blood libels by alleging that Israel specifically targets Palestinian children to maim them and then profits from their incurred disabilities.

As I previously wrote in 2018, seven members of Duke University Press (DUP)’s Editorial Advisory Board signed initiatives related to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, and a number of Duke University Press editors publicly support the BDS movement. Duke University Press is recognized by some as the “publisher of choice” for those who support boycotting Israel.

Now, in early 2020, Duke University Press is signaling once again its commitment to targeting Israel by promoting an editor who is a self declared anti-Zionist, and who publicly uses language that many find offensive, antagonistic, and hateful.

In late January, Joshua Gutterman Tranen became Assistant Editor, and will be directly assisting Ken Wissoker, who is the Editorial Director. With this promotion, Tranen reports that he is now responsible for acquiring books for publication. The day before Tranen announced his promotion, his Twitter profile prominently stated he is an “anti-Zionist” working at “@dukepress.” The same day Tranen announced his promotion at Duke, he changed his Twitter profile by removing “anti-Zionist.” He did not, however, clean up his past tweets.

Sky News and Independent (in Arabic) deliberately ignore Holocaust commemoration

Out of all the Arabic-speaking, Western-branded media outlets CAMERA Arabic regularly monitors, there are two we place in a different category than the others: Sky News Arabia and Independent Arabia.

Whereas the other media outlets can generally be described as Arabic-speaking departments of already existing Western broadcasters (whether public or private), Sky News Arabia and Independent Arabia present a different model of operation and ownership. Namely, both regard themselves as “joint” ventures between the English speaking outlet whose name and logo they bear, and a media group that originates in the Persian Gulf.

In the case of Sky News Arabia, it is the Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (ADMIC), headed by none other than the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Prince Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the Abu Dhabi royal family. The prince currently owns half of Sky News Arabia, which is also headquartered in the city of Abu Dhabi, with Philadelphia-based Comcast holding the other half (as part of the company’s control of the entire Sky network). As for Independent Arabia, although it is headquartered in London, the outlet is fully owned by the Riyadh-based Saudi Research and Marketing Group. In turn, SRMG is headed by ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin Ibrahim ar-Ruwayta’, an associate of the Saudi royal family; it is also responsible for the publishing of the well renown pro-Saudi London newspaper ash-Sharq al-Awsat.

As we’ve pointed out on several occasions before, this shared model is highly problematic when it comes to maintaining even minimal journalistic standards, as it provides complete autonomy to editorial boards controlled by Gulf royals. A good recent example of the biased and unprofessional conduct that characterizes the journalism of these two outlets is their deliberate gross under-reporting of the 2020 World Holocaust Forum – the events of which took place in Jerusalem on January 23rd and 24th.

“The terrorist should come and stab you – I am against Zionists”, Jewish family is told in Covent Garden

A Jewish family was told by a male passerby that he is “against Zionists” and that a “terrorist should come and stab you”.

The encounter, which took place on 10th February, saw the racist individual rantingly tell the family that “You should not come out because you supported Boris; the terrorist should come and stab you! I am against Zionists.”

The incident took place in Covent Garden and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD4120 10/02/2020.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

MEMRI: British Preacher: Infidels in the U.K. Are So Filthy They Don’t Care How Many People You Sleep with

British preacher Imran Ibn Mansur, also known as “Dawah Man,” uploaded a video to the Internet on February 1, 2020 in which he had a discussion with young men and boys about marriage. He asked his audience what they would do if somebody were to try to take their moms or sisters as girlfriends, and when one boy answered that he would want to kill the man, Ibn Mansur responded that he is not allowed to do that and that an Islamic court would have to deal with the issue, but that he would have to “move back home” for this because there is no Islamic law in England. In addition, Ibn Mansur told his audience that they can have as many as four wives, even though he advises against it, and he explained that only Allah’s form of marriage matters and that it’s only illegal to have more than one wife on the wedding registry, but that it isn’t illegal to have multiple partners, because the infidels in the U.K. are so filthy that they don’t care how many people one sleeps with. He added that while some people say that getting married young may increase chances of divorce, it is nonetheless better to get married young and ultimately get divorced than to commit adultery at a young age.

Reality checkWoman kicked off Swedish ‘Big Brother’ for anti-Semitism

Sweden’s version of “Big Brother” was rocked by scandal this week shortly after the reality show returned to the airwaves following an extended hiatus when contestant Isabel Pereira made an anti-Semitic statement, local outlet Expressen reported.

Pereira’s comments came after fellow contestant Kim Kamal mentioned that her former boss was Jewish.

“I liked her husband very much, because he was very kind and he understood me, but she was a Jew, so I understand,” Kamal said.

“I hate Jews,” Pereira laughed.

“There is zero tolerance for this kind of expression. A warning also went out to the whole house and underlined the seriousness of this,” executive producer Joel Bendrik said in a statement cited by Expressen.

US contributes to project aimed at conserving historic Jewish cemetery in Cairo

The US Embassy in Egypt recently announced that the State Department will support a project aimed at conserving a historic Jewish cemetery in the Bassatine district of Cairo that dates back to the 9th century.

The cemetery, which contains the graves of many notable Jews including Rabbi Haim Capusi, who lived in Cairo in the 17th century, has long suffered from accumulation of trash, urban encroachment and theft.

The Egyptian government and the Drop of Milk foundation, an Egyptian group that works to preserve Jewish sites in Cairo, has made greater efforts to preserve the cemetery over the past year, but much of it has continued to sit in disarray.

The embassy said in a statement in late January that the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), an organization that seeks to conserve Egyptian antiquities, would implement the project in collaboration with the Drop of Milk foundation, an Egyptian group that works to preserve and restore Jewish sites in Cairo.

Louise Bertini, ARCE’s executive director, said the project will largely focus on creating a thorough documentation of the cemetery as well as putting together a site management plan for it.

“This is important because it can help inform the local Jewish community on how to deal with any future interventions at the site,” she said in a phone call.

Star of David Now Marks Graves in Philippines of Fallen World War II US Jewish Soldiers

Seventy-five years after the end of World War II, the graves of five US Jewish soldiers who died fighting in the Philippines have finally been marked with a Star of David.

Originally marked with Latin cross headstones, the Star of David headstones were placed on the five graves at a special ceremony on Wednesday in the capital, Manila.

Sung Kim — the US ambassador in the Philippines — tweeted that the ceremony had honored “five Jewish American soldiers who committed the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we all enjoy today.”

Coordinated by the American Battle Monuments Commission and Operation Benjamin, a non-profit organization that commemorates American Jewish servicemen in World War II, the Jewish kaddish memorial prayer were recited at the graves of the five soldiers, one of whom — Pvt. Allan C. Franken — was just 20 years old when he was killed.

“We wanted to bring truth to the historical record,” Operation Benjamin founder Shalom Lamm told Fox News.

Said Lamm: “Amid a time of rising antisemitism, it is important that when someone visits the cemetery that they see the physical manifestation of the Jewish men who bled and fought and died for the United States. The symbolism is important; these were people who were born as Jews, lived as Jews, and died as Jews. That heritage was important to them and their families.”

15th-century prayer book fully restored, put online by National Library of Israel

Restoration of the National Library of Israel's renowned Moskowitz Mahzor has been completed with the manuscript online for the first time.

It was created on parchment in the 15th century by Joel ben Simeon, considered by many to be the most important Jewish artist of the Middle Ages.

Ben Simeon was a scribe and illuminator active in Germany and northern Italy. The manuscript is considered exceptional due to the illustrations and illuminations found throughout, including images of rabbits, bears, fish, squirrels and birds, as well as imaginary creations such as a unicorn, and a diverse range of mythological, religious and astrological symbols.

It includes prayers according to the Jewish Roman rite for the entire year, including weekdays, the Sabbath, holidays, Torah readings, the Passover Haggadah, Pirkei Avot ("Ethics of the Fathers") with a commentary by Maimonides, various blessings and legal rulings related to halachah, Jewish law. It is also exceptionally full of piyyutim (Jewish liturgical poetry), selichot (Jewish penitential prayers) and rare formulas of other prayers.

The months-long restoration work on the 376-page volume was extremely complicated, primarily because poor attempts over the centuries to fix its binding had made it difficult to open without causing damage. A number of Latin texts found inside the binding attest to some attempts to strengthen the cover. Many of the manuscript's illustrations had also faded.

The Mahzor was donated to the National Library of Israel in 1970 by Henry and Rose Moskowitz of New York in memory of Henry's parents, first wife, daughter and other relatives murdered in the Holocaust.

Israel’s Sheba Medical Center Develops Telemedicine to Limit Coronavirus Spread

As fears of the growing coronavirus endemic increase worldwide, Israel’s Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, has developed a groundbreaking way to treat potential patients without risking the health of hospital staff and other patients.

Using a Vici telemedicine system, designed by virtual health-care company Intouch Health, the robot-like apparatus can be controlled by doctors and nurses to enter the infected patient’s room and even monitor the patient’s vital signs, such as heart rate.

“This is one way to use telemedicine to protect our staff,” said Dr. Galia Barkai, head of Telemedicine Services at Sheba Medical Center. “By minimizing direct contact between the patients and medical personnel, we reduce the percentage risk of health-care staff contracting the virus.”

While coronavirus has not yet spread to Israel, Sheba is also prepared with a number of isolation rooms in case multiple patients are infected at the same time in an effort to protect staff and other patients from risk of infection.

“Although we don’t have any positive patients in Israel, we are always dealing with suspected patients and preparing for the worst-case scenario,” said Barkai. “So, we are creating all these systems to help us deal with the occasion when we might have to deal with many patients.”

Sheba will also use the telemedicine application Datos to help treat coronavirus patients who are not as critically ill. This application allows medical professionals to monitor patients from the comfort and isolation of their own homes.

Data giant Seagate launches Tel Aviv innovation center

Nasdaq-listed data storage giant Seagate Technology announced the launch of an innovation center in Tel Aviv on Thursday, seeking to collaborate with local start-ups and enterprises to solve data movement challenges.

The American company, headquartered in Dublin, aims to form partnerships with businesses through the center, called Lyve Labs Israel, and enable innovation "by providing simple, secure, and efficient ways to work with exabytes of data."

The central Tel Aviv center, located on Ha'arbaa Street, will be Seagate's flagship innovation center. Seagate has an additional innovation center located in Logmont, Colorado, and additional centers are planned globally.

Lyve Labs has already attracted several start-ups looking for solutions "that harness data for the good of humanity," the company said. Solutions offered by Lyve Labs will include proofs of concept, consultations with experts and test-bench facilities.

"The reason Seagate created Lyve Labs is because we understand that innovation cannot happen in silos," said Seagate CEO Dr. Dave Mosley.

"It’s a work of collaboration. The innovators at Lyve Labs are indebted to others. In turn — drawing on over 40 years of Seagate’s research and development — we want to help enable innovations that use data for the good of humanity."

Israeli Krav Maga Experts Teaching Police Officers in Brazil the Combat Sport

Israeli Teen Pop Star Puts Career on Hold to Serve in IDF

Israeli pop singer Noa Kirel has put her blossoming career on hold to enlist in the IDF.

“I influence many young teenagers and it’s important for me to encourage them to enlist as well,” the 18-year-old, who starts IDF basic training on Feb. 17, told Billboard about complying with mandatory military conscription in Israel. “I’m fortunate to experience many exciting things in my career, but the army connects me to my people. I’m about to go through something powerful, like every other girl my age, and I wasn’t about to give that up.”

Kirel first emerged onto the music scene in 2015 through YouTube, where she posted videos of herself singing. She went on to top Israel’s radio charts, has won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Israeli Act three consecutive times since 2017 and starred in her own TV series.

The teen has also served as a judge on “Israel’s Got Talent” since the age of 16, making her the youngest judge ever on the show.

Kirel will be required to serve two years in the army under Israeli law. The singer was born with unilateral renal agenesis, leaving her with only one kidney, and could have appealed to the IDF medical board for an exemption from military service, but she did not hesitate to enlist.

“There was never a doubt in my mind,” she said. “My father and grandfather both served in significant roles, and even if my medical condition would’ve prevented recruitment, I would volunteer.”

Gal Gadot slips into 'Hebrew in Entertainment Weekly' interview

Gadot sits down with the director, Patty Jenkins, and her co-stars, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal in an “Around the Table” video interview available on Entertainment Weekly’s website.

The Israeli star, whose English is extremely good and whose accent is minimal as well as cute, does make one mistake as she speaks, which leads her to speak in her first language for a moment.

“It’s a really good movie. We’ve shot it for eight months, we busted our asses and I gotta say, that it was a great experience. There’s always, you know, you’re always nervous, doing, making another – I hate to say ‘sequel,’ but it is – but we got into this with so much ambitious,” she said, rather than saying “ambition.”

The flub inspires her director and costars to giggle and Gadot asks, “What? Why are you laughing?”

Leaning forward, Gadot switches to Hebrew, saying in her native tongue, “I’ll simply speak in Hebrew because then people will understand me more.”

Pascal says, looking at Pine, “I was hoping Chris wouldn’t have a reaction.”

Switching back to English, Gadot says to Pine, “What did you do to me?”

Jenkins explains, “Ambition versus ambitious, it just brought back memories for Chris.”

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