06/10 Links Pt2: Co-opting Black Lives Matter to target Israel; Where there's Antifa there is antisemitism; 'Post' inquiry leads to closure of French BDS terrorism group's PayPal ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Co-opting Black Lives Matter to target Israel

Groups on the far-Right and far-Left, including pro-Palestinian organizations with links to terrorism, have been engaged in a campaign to co-opt the Black Lives Matter movement to target and delegitimize Israel.

"The cynical use of the Black Lives Matter by groups backed and controlled by foreign terror movements is nothing less than a repeat of the many other times that terror groups have used human shields to push their violence and hate," Mark Greendorfer, president of the Zachor Legal Group, told JNS.

A "civil-rights movement (Black Lives Matter) has been hijacked by extremists to push an agenda focused on promoting hate, in the form of anti-Semitism, rather than seeking justice," he said.

Last week, it was widely reported when several Jewish institutions were targeted during protests in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, which included vandalism to Jewish businesses and synagogues, such as Congregation Beth El, which was vandalized with graffiti stating "Free Palestine" and "F*** Israel."
While these incidents drew headlines and condemnations, several far-Left anti-Israel groups have been engaged in a campaign on social media and in protests blaming Israel for police violence and linking the Black Lives Matter movement to Palestinian uprisings.

In particular, anti-Israel groups have been using the protests over the public murder of 46-year-old George Floyd in Minnesota by a police officer to target the Jewish state over past training programs set up between the United States and Israeli police departments.

"This is where the Minneapolis Police Department learned their police brutality tactics from. Israeli occupation terrorist soldiers (on the Left) murder Palestinians on a daily basis. We must stop training our American police officers to be gestapo units. #GeorgeFloyd #Palestine." tweeted Abbas Hamideh of the group Al-Awda, a pro-Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions group.

Similarly, the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights and a student leader in Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) also blamed Israel for the police tactics.

The anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which in 2017 launched its "Deadly Exchange" campaign, has long blamed Israel for helping to train U.S. police in "extrajudicial executions, shoot-to-kill, police murders, racial profiling, massive spying and surveillance, deportation and detention."

Over the past week, JVP's campaign has spread and become a popular conspiracy theory among anti-Israel activists, according to the Canary Mission, an anti-Semitism watchdog group.

"Anti-Israel activists have claimed that Israel and American Jewish organizations are responsible for police brutality resulting in the deaths of black people, such as George Floyd," said the Canary Mission. "They state that US police forces are trained by Israel to deliberately use brutal methods of policing. They further claim that this training is organized and sponsored by the American Jewish community."

Where there's Antifa there is antisemitism

Several demonstrations in Germany against restrictions of freedom due to the Corona pandemic included antisemitic incidents. The infiltration of Jew-hatred not related to anything Jewish or Israeli has been a frequent occurrence in Western mass protests in past decades. Now, an even worse illustration of this phenomenon has emerged: the violent expression of antisemitism during the anti-racist protests in the United States after the murder of George Floyd by a policeman in Minneapolis.

Many of these were not demonstrations but sprees of lawless burning and looting. Some of the worst violence took place in Los Angeles. Various Jewish shops were destroyed in the Fairfax district. A variety of Jewish institutions were damaged including synagogues and a school. A statue of Raoul Wallenberg was smeared with anti-Semitic slogans. In Richmond, Virginia a Reform congregation, Beit Ahaba, had its windows smashed by rioters. Attacking synagogues is an act of antisemitism.

Commentators highlighted aspects of antisemitism in the demonstrations. In the British daily, Telegraph, Zoe Strimpel wrote: “Yet alongside those peacefully protesting are those criminally marauding in the name of social justice. Some of these do it in the name of anti-racism – as seen above – and some in the name of anti-fascism. The ring-leaders of the anti-fascists are the loathsome group, Antifa.

"While Antifa goes beyond Jews it seems that people purporting to be 'antifascist or antiracist' will sooner or later begin to behave like the lowest of criminals and bullies using a cause as an excuse for vandalism and destruction.…It is a notable irony that where there's Antifa there is antisemitism.”

Melanie Phillips pointed out the strange attitude of many Jewish organizations. She wrote that in a statement by the Jewish Council of Public Affairs, 130 organizations said that they were "outraged by the killing of Floyd, declared 'solidarity' with the Black community and called for 'an end' to 'systemic racism.'" Phillips remarked: "They make no protest against the specifically targeted attacks on synagogues and Jewish businesses." Phillips called Black Lives Matter, an "anti-white, anti-capitalist and anti-Jewish hate group."

The American Black Lives Matter movement aims to rectify the wrongs perpetrated against African American citizens in the past and present. Its 40,000 word manifesto accuses Israel of perpetrating genocide against Palestinians, labels Israel as an ‘apartheid state’ and joined with the BDS movement in calling for the total academic, cultural and economic boycott of the country. No such demands are made for any other state.

In a blog posted by the Zionist Organization of America, Daniel Greenfield also addressed the attitude of the Jewish organizations writing: “One would think that the hateful vandalism of 8 Jewish institutions and a mob screaming slurs after trashing Jewish businesses would lead to some sort of meaningful response. But, that would be the optimistic perspective of people who haven’t experienced the unmitigated level of cowardice and appeasement that comprises Jewish institutional life at virtually every level.

Israel Advocacy Movement: Is Ice Cube antisemitic?

We Must Re-Think Identity, Privilege and Oppression in the Middle East

Conversations on identity in the U.S. are strongly connected to the notion of privilege, which is understandably based on history, imperialism, conquest and oppression. MENA Jews, because of their wider regional and historic experience, sometimes see an Arab Muslim privilege in a somewhat similar way that a person of color might see a white person in the U.S.

This is what possibly shapes the fact that on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, MENA Jews remain on average more hawkish than their European Jewish counterparts. The Arab culture, language and mentality is instantly more familiar to them because it was one forced on their community for the last 1,300 years.

However, the culture, language and tradition of MENA Jews is sadly less familiar to people in the U.S., who judge Israel according to what they see through the lens of a supposed European semi-colonial implant—thus erasing Israel's indigenous identity and culture.

In fact, there are arguably even hints of racism when some figures in the U.S., predominantly among those highly critical of Israel, simply do not see or recognize what Israel is or has become. Frequently, their conception of Israel is through a Westernized prism that just erases MENA Jews.

They want to see Israel as a European invention and extension—as a privileged nation in a sea of local and indigenous people. The presence of a majoritarian MENA Jewish culture disturbs this worldview and its privilege. Which is all the more reason that there needs to be a greater understanding and respect for what it means to be a MENA Jew.

Unfortunately, we see debates, conferences and commentators on the Israel-Palestinian conflict ultimately using narrow prisms of understanding that reflect the debate they seek—rarely including any MENA Jews, and certainly not taking their community's position and historic narrative into account. Including MENA Jews would disrupt this distorted reflection, even if it would be morally and intellectually more honest to include them.

This blind spot, whether intentional or because of ignorance, must be ended once and for all.

The current debate in the U.S. is an opportune time to talk about identity, oppression, colonization and privilege in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Understanding the historical context of Israel and the Jewish people in the region would break the racist and false paradigm surrounding the conflict's current narrative—and allow for the possibility for a realistic peaceful solution, based on historic justice.

Remembering a Jewish Crusader Against Racism

A gruff old professor when the “Jazz Age” of the 1920s opened, Franz Boas was nevertheless an intellectual trendsetter during that youth-oriented decade.

Boas was born in Westphalia in 1858 to parents who were assimilated Jews. Though disinterested in Judaism, he loathed antisemitism, whose intensification led him to leave Germany. His career included founding the first anthropology department at Columbia University.

Boas was a magnet, attracting brilliant students, including extraordinary women such as Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead, and Zora Neale Hurston, the African-American folklorist.

The story of Boas’ group is told in Charles King’s book Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century (2019).

In 1907, the US Congress created the Dillingham Commission, whose prejudiced premise was the inferiority of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. The Commission ignored the findings of Boas’ research that it had funded.

Boas’ famous “skulls study” compared the crania of Jewish and Italian immigrants with those of their offspring. Boas did anthropometric measurements to prove that head shape and size were not determined solely by heredity. The children of Jewish immigrants who grew up in an American environment were healthier with larger cranial capacity than their parents. Boas’ 1911 book The Mind of Primitive Man helped convince a younger generation that racial determinism was wrong.

Up through World War II, Boas’ pupils carried on his work, often with support of Jewish-endowed foundations, some of whom also tried to support African-American scholars.

Hitler’s rise horrified Boas. In 1931, he lectured in Germany, where he criticized the antisemitic, racist Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics. The Nazis burned his books and rescinded his doctorate. While dying of a heart attack in 1942, Boas uttered a warning against racism.

Israel Haters Reject AIPAC’s Sympathy Message for George Floyd’s Tragedy

IfNotNow this week moved from merely being a bunch of useful Jewish idiots who harass summer camp administrators and Democratic presidential candidates with their furious hate for Israel – to an enemy of the Jewish people. They did it by dedicating themselves to widening the rift between the mainstream Jewish American community and the African American community, and in their demented zeal to soil the Jewish State’s good name may have caused real damage.

And so a couple hundred Jewish kids bereft of a moral compass who buy themselves one by throwing dirt on their Jewish brothers and sisters in America and Israel have now joined the efforts of serious anti-Semitic players such as Louis Farrakhan to foment anti-Jewish hate.
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It began with a statement of sympathy with the plight of African Americans that was issued on June 7 by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee:
“On the eve of George Floyd’s funeral, we join with millions of Americans who continue to mourn his murder. His death is a shattering reminder of the injustice & inequities that Black Americans still endure in our society. The scourge of racism, intolerance & inequality must end.

“AIPAC is deeply and unshakably committed to the core American values of equality, freedom and justice. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Black community in its ongoing struggle for the same rights and respect to which all Americans are entitled.”

To which our young friends at IfNotNow responded in an angry tweet:
“At what point in time was AIPAC ever committed to equality, freedom, or justice? AIPAC was too busy dehumanizing Palestinians and their allies all these decades to care about that. P.S. the cowards at AIPAC couldn’t even manage to say #BlacklivesMatter.”

This was followed, as expected, by the usual bombardment of professional anti-Israel voices, all of them lambasting a major Jewish American organization for daring to say they were sorry for the suffering of black Americans.

Top Saudi cleric: Jews, Muslims need to join forces to fight antisemitism

The Muslim World League, a Saudi Arabian government-funded NGO, is prepared to fight “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Jews from around the world to defeat antisemitism, head of the group Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa said on Tuesday.

“We in the Muslim World League are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish brothers and sisters to build understanding, respect, love and interreligious harmony,” said al-Issa from Mecca in a virtual conference organized by the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement and the American Sephardi Federation.

He said that Jews and Muslims need to work together to rebuild ties and create “bridges of dialogue” between their communities. “Whereas Jews and Muslims lived centuries together, in these last decades we have sadly grown apart,” al-Issa said. “Now, we must rebuild the bridges of dialogue and the bonds of partnership between our communities... Since taking over the Muslim World League, it has been my mission to fight the forces of hatred and violence.”

Earlier this year, al-Issa visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, where he said, he “stood united alongside my Jewish brothers and said: Never again. Not for Jews, not for Muslims, not for Christians, not for Hindus, not for Sikhs. Not for any of God’s Children. History’s greatest horror, the Holocaust, must never be repeated.”

Additional speakers at the event included Elan Carr (US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism), Sam Brownback (US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom) and Ahmed Shaheed (UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Belief and Religion). During the event, al-Issa was honored with an inaugural award for his contribution towards fighting antisemitism.

Israel Police to 'Post': We do not have a 'George Floyd' procedure

“There is no procedure that allows an officer of the Israel Police to carry out an arrest by placing a knee on the neck of a suspect,” Israel Police national spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told The Jerusalem Post.

“There is no police counterrorism training in the Israel national police force to foreign law enforcement officers that involves such a measure,” he continued. “It does not exist in any police text book.”

Rosenfeld’s comments come after the UK website Morning Star published an article accusing Israel of training the cops responsible for the death of George Floyd.

“Officers from the US police force responsible for the killing of George Floyd received training in restraint techniques and anti-terror tactics from Israeli law-enforcement officers,” the author wrote.

Floyd, an African-American, was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis. The officer placed his knee into Floyd’s neck to restrain him, which ultimately took his life. A video of the death shows Floyd pleading, “I can’t breathe.”

After the Morning Star publication, related rumors started swarming on social media.

Rosenfeld, who served in the Police counterterrorism unit for a decade, said that “there is no direct connection” between the Israel Police and the cops who allegedly killed Floyd, and that to his knowledge they had not been in Israel for any training.

"The BDS movement is continuing to distort facts. Police only use necessary measures and not the use of force that is prohibited,'" he stressed.

Given some of the egregious attack on #Israel in the wake of #GeorgeFloyd death and #BlackLivesMatter protests, in unprecedented step, @israelpolice has had to clarify this: pic.twitter.com/Ttn1htkZuf
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) June 9, 2020

BBC News recycles redundant linkage between events in Jerusalem and Minneapolis

Apparently that incident was not deemed newsworthy by the BBC and neither was a condolence visit paid by the Jerusalem Chief Rabbi and the city’s deputy mayor.

The BBC’s article presented some of the relevant context which, as we noted at the time, was absent from the previous report.
“In recent years there has been a spate of attacks – many of them deadly – by Palestinians against Israelis in and around the Old City, with assailants shot dead by police in many cases.”

However it also repeated the same redundant linkage and ‘parallels’ seen in the first report.
“Activists have drawn parallels with the killing of George Floyd in the US, which has sparked widespread protests. Social media users have been using the hashtag “Palestinian lives matter” to share their outrage. […]

It comes at a time of rising tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in the wake of Mr Netanyahu’s declared intention to annex parts of the occupied West Bank – something which has been met with outrage by Palestinians.”

Iyad Halak’s death of course has nothing at all to do with the as yet theoretical application of Israeli civilian law to certain parts of Area C and there are no valid “parallels” between that incident and the one in Minneapolis.

Nevertheless, the BBC continues to amplify those who opportunistically exploit of the tragic death of a young man to promote a political agenda. Palestinian lives of course matter but so do Israeli lives and the context to the shooting of Iyad Halak is that- as the BBC well knows – Israelis have been murdered in that part of Jerusalem by Palestinian terrorists. No such comparable context exists in relation to the incident in the US.

Mitch McConnell blasts 'double standard' between Black Lives Matter protests, anti-lockdown ones

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said America’s mayors and governors applied a double standard to allow racism protests but shut down other gatherings because of the coronavirus crisis.

Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, praised those marching for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but said those in power were picking and choosing which First Amendment rights to support.

“For weeks, the mainstream media heaped scorn on any small citizen protest, outdoor gathering, or even the suggestion that other important values might require a reappraisal of certain restrictions,” he said. “But now, many Americans feel they’ve just seen those fastidious regulations and that puritanical zeal disappear in an instant because a new cause has emerged that powerful people agree with.”

“A month ago, small protest demonstrations were widely condemned as reckless and selfish. Now, massive rallies that fill entire cities are not just praised, but in fact, are called especially brave because of the exact same health risks that brought condemnation when the cause was different,” Mr. McConnell added.

He criticized the “inconsistency” from leaders who attend and take photos at Black Lives Matters protests but implemented strict stay at home orders that prevented some from even putting together funerals or go to religious services.

“Here in the District of Columbia, the Mayor celebrates massive street protests. She joins them herself. But, on her command, churches and houses of worship remain shut. I believe even the largest church buildings in the District are still subject to the 10-person limit for things the Mayor deems inessential,” he said.

Or is the destruction of statues entirely based in ideology? pic.twitter.com/jttpOe7DPA
— Turning Point UK (@TPointUK) June 9, 2020

We demand @SadiqKhan remove the Sphinx statue in London this reminds us of OUR Jewish slavery in Egypt @Campaign4T #blm #antifa pic.twitter.com/MddL1Ksmz6
— Eye On Antisemitism (@AntisemitismEye) June 9, 2020

'Post' inquiry leads to closure of French BDS terrorism group's PayPal

The giant American online payment service PayPal closed the account of the pro-BDS French organization Collectif Palestine Vaincra because of its ties to the US and EU sanctioned terrorist organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), The Jerusalem Post learned on Wednesday.

The PayPal notice on the website of Collectif Palestine Vaincra reads: “This recipient cannot receive money at this time.” After a notice that funds can no longer be transferred, the account is typically shut down.

On Tuesday, the Post verified that donors could still continue to donate money via PayPal to Collectif Palestine Vaincra. When asked about the account, a PayPal spokesperson told the Post that “We’re unfortunately unable to comment on any specific accounts, but our team will review and take appropriate action as needed.”

PayPal has a robust enforcement policy of cracking down on organizations that raise funds for terrorism or the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) campaign targeting the Jewish state. Under France’s anti-discrimination law, the advocacy of BDS against Israel or Israelis is defined as bias based on national origin.

Collectif Palestine Vaincra lists the PFLP as one of its partners on its website and declared the convicted PFLP terrorist Leila Khaled a “Member of Honor.” Khaled lives in Jordan.

Khaled was a key member of the terrorist cell that hijacked TWA Flight 840 in 1969. A year later, she participated in the attempted hijacking of EL AL Flight 219.

UC Davis student government president vetoes boycott Israel resolution

The president of the student government at the University of California, Davis, vetoed a resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.

The day after the measure passed last week, Kyle Krueger said he acted “because it included minimal to no input from the Jewish community beforehand,” and the resolution “has been widely condemned by Jewish students of many different sects/beliefs who feel marginalized by ASUCD and its actions.”

The Associated Students, University of California Davis, or ASUCD, had passed the measure in a 5-4 vote with one abstention, the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles reported Monday.

It was the third time the student senate had passed such resolutions in the past several years, but the others were overturned — once by a student court and once by the campus Judicial Council.

Krueger said in a statement defending his decision that he has “been humbled by (the) overall nuance and complexity” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“As a 20-year old who has not finished a college degree and who is not from Palestinian or Jewish descent, I do not feel qualified to make a decision about one of the most complex international conflicts in the world on my own,” he said.

Krueger said the student government has failed the campus Jewish community, pointing to a history of antisemitism on campus, and acknowledged that ASUCD must be an ally to Palestinian students as well.

“But our respect for the Palestinian community cannot come at the expense of the respect for the Jewish community,” his statement also said.

Ever notice how almost every time you come across one of these photos, it is fauxtography? https://t.co/Wbmb7WX0tb
— (((David Lange))) (@Israellycool) June 10, 2020

No Apology Received for ‘My Son’s Torture,’ Mother of Australian Jewish Boy Subjected to Antisemitic Bullying Tells Hearing

The mother of an Australian Jewish boy who was subjected to extreme antisemitic bullying at an elite private school in Melbourne has revealed that the family has yet to receive an apology for his ordeal.

“The outcome for us in real terms, has been nothing. Nothing,” the unnamed mother told a public hearing set up by the educational authorities in the state of Victoria to probe the bullying claims. “I find it incomprehensible that my son endured six months of racial and religious torture and no one has apologized or been held accountable.”

The 12-year-old boy was subjected to several months of antisemitic abuse at the prestigious Cheltenham Secondary College that began with an incident in which he was forced to kiss the shoes of a Muslim fellow-student.

Interviewed by The Australian Jewish News (AJN) last October, the boy’s mother revealed that her son had been lured into a public park by fellow students who invited him to play football.

As soon as he arrived, the AJN reported, he was presented with an ultimatum: Bow down and kiss the feet of a Muslim child, or face the threat of violence by the nine other 12 and 13-year-olds.

Vastly outnumbered, the student complied. The incident was photographed, filmed and posted on Instagram.

In the ensuing months, the student was also subjected to antisemitic slurs including “Jewish ape,” “Jewish n****r” and “Jewish gimp.” He was followed home from school daily, and physically assaulted in the school corridor by an assailant who called him “a cooked up Jewish c__.”

His mother told last Thursday’s hearing that she had feared for her son’s life in the six-week period after he left Cheltenham Secondary College and began at a new school.

RJC Not Backing GOP Candidate in Gun Ad, Photos With Former Neo-Nazi Leader

The Republican Jewish Coalition announced on Tuesday that it will not endorse or support a candidate in a safely Republican district in Georgia who is leading in fundraising, as she has trafficked in conspiracy theories and posed for photos with a former neo-Nazi leader.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a businesswoman, has posed for photos with former Ku Klux Klan leader Chester Doles, posted them on social media and shared conspiracy theories about the Rothschild banking family, left-wing billionaire George Soros and factions of Saudi Arabia’s monarchy.

Even more striking, at least visually, is a Facebook ad put up by the businesswoman showing video of her with an AR-15 rifle and warning the far-left group Antifa “stay the hell out of northwest Georgia.”

Facebook took down the video ad on Monday. Greene accused the social-media giant of “defending terrorists.”

Greene has raised more than $1.15 million in the race on Tuesday to succeed retiring Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.

RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks told JNS that his organization hasn’t “been following this race, and it’s not on our targeted list of races.” He added that if Greene wins, “we will not be endorsing her or supporting her.”

Greene has been endorsed by prominent right-wingers, including Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Charlie Kirk, the founder of the pro-Trump youth group Turning Point USA.

Doles has a criminal record that includes beating a black male nearly to death because he was seen accompanying a white woman and violating federal gun laws.

Swastikas drawn on street in front of New Orleans Jewish cemetery

Swastikas and a crossed-out Star of David were painted on the street in front of a New Orleans Jewish cemetery.

There was no damage inside the Gates of Prayer Cemetery on Joseph Street. Holocaust survivors and World War II veterans are buried there, according to the local CBS affiliate WWL-TV.

The Anti-Defamation League said it did not believe the incident was tied to any extremist group or ideology, and that the graffiti had been daubed over Sewerage and Water Board markings painted in the road, the report said.

The New Orleans Police Department is increasing patrols around synagogues and Jewish institutions.

“The Nazi imagery is painful, it brings up memories, it brings a sense of fear among our people,” Rabbi David Gerber of the Gates of Prayer Synagogue told the WDSU news channel. “We don’t believe this was indicative of any sort of threat or movement.”

City workers on Monday afternoon worked to clean the symbols from the street, covering them with pink paint.

Residents living near the cemetery first discovered the images on Friday.

In first, Sweden and Israel to join forces in research and development

Sweden and Israel are setting up an initiative to boost joint research and development projects, making use of the advantages each nation has in the innovation ecosystem.

The initiative, the first of its kind between the countries, was set up by Sweden’s Innovation Agency Vinnova, Business Sweden – the Swedish Trade and Invest Council, and the Swedish Embassy in Israel.

The organizations have partnered with Start-up Nation Central, an Israeli nonprofit organization that seeks to connect Israeli startup firms to corporations, governments and organizations around the world.

The new platform, called The Connector, aims to create joint market-oriented research and development teams, and allow companies, government organizations and academic players from Israel and Sweden to work together, share data and form partnerships.

The initiative is open to all kinds of companies from both countries — small and bigger startups, tech firms, multinationals active in both countries, research bodies and academic institutions.

“The Connector is a long-term effort to bring two highly creative but also different and complementary innovative ecosystems closer,” the parties said in a statement.

“Innovation has never been more important as key to address global challenges,” said Ibrahim Baylan, the Swedish minister for Business, Industry and Innovation, in the statement. “Israel and Sweden represent the strongest startup hubs in our respective regions and can offer competitive solutions in the global markets. Solutions that are sorely needed in a world that will face the economic comeback after combating the pandemic and saving human lives.”

Sweden and Israel are ranked as top innovation leaders globally and are placed among the top nations in rankings such as the Global Innovation Index (GII), the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and the Bloomberg Innovation Index (BII).

Together they account for a substantial part of patents issued globally, with Sweden recently being ranked number two in patents per capita and Israel number five.

With a population of around 10 million, slightly higher than that of Israel, Sweden is known for its large number of innovative multinational companies and a thriving startup scene. Stockholm has given birth to firms like Skype, Spotify, Minecraft, and Candy Crush.

“Both countries face common challenges in the need to constantly innovate in order to drive economic growth and compete globally,” the statement said.

Exciting Technology Promises to Revolutionize Heart Failure Treatment

#OnThisDay in 1967, the #6DayWar ended, with total #Israeli victory against Arab forces who sought the Jewish state's destruction.

53 years later, Israel can finally correct a long overdue injustice and finally apply Israeli sovereignty & law to Judea & Samaria. pic.twitter.com/f9krbzKEDu
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) June 10, 2020

Teen Zionist: Experience of a lifetime

As Jews or Zionists, we associate the word “Israel” with our beautiful and beloved homeland. However, we sometimes forget that many people automatically associate negativity with the country and its people, or worse, are fueled with hatred towards it.

As my middle school years drew to an end, I become more involved in pro-Israel activism, but did not immerse myself until I joined Rams for Israel Club at my high school as a freshman. I lived in a small bubble, where anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism existed abstractly. It was not prominent in my community and therefore, not an issue I had to deal with.

The bubble burst when I was confronted with anti-Semitism on social media. For months, I scrolled through countless hate posts and comments and could not have been more shocked. I vividly remember when I posted a simple comment on an Israeli flag emoji, a symbol of the pride I felt. Tens of users responded back with Palestinian flags, “Free Palestine” and “Your country and people are a disgrace.”

Following this confrontation, I began to research the roots, causes and the current rise of global anti-Semitism. I realized that although I am fortunate not to encounter this, it is my obligation as a Jew and as a proud Israeli citizen, to protect my homeland and combat anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism any way I can. My parents and I were born in Israel. My mother’s family escaped from Yemen and my father’s family immigrated from Egypt, hoping for a new and safer life. We moved to America when I was two and despite not growing up there, my connection to Israel crystallizes every year.

Celine Dion reschedules Tel Aviv concerts for June 2021

Grand diva Celine Dion announced Wednesday that she postponed the dates of her long-planned concerts this summer in Israel to June 2021.

The new shows will now take place on June 19 and 20, 2021 at the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv

Dion is rescheduling 49 shows in 32 cities, stated Shuki Weiss, the Israeli promoter bringing her to Israel, and getting her again is “a big win,” he said.

When Weiss first announced Dion’s August 4, 2020 concert date in September 2019, the response was immediate and tickets sold out quickly, leading Dion to add a second concert on August 5.

The August concerts were to be held in the city’s Yarkon Park, with a specially built stage meant to mimic Dion’s Las Vegas stage set.

Israeli teen pop star signs major record deal with US label

Israeli teen pop star Noa Kirel on Wednesday signed a recording deal with Atlantic Records, a major US record label.

The deal is the largest and most comprehensive ever signed by an Israeli artist, Channel 12 reported.

The agreement was some two years in the works and includes management, public relations, marketing, strategy and production worth millions of dollars.

Kirel is reportedly planning to develop English-language material in the coming year, including video clips, which will be distributed globally by Atlantic.

Kirel released a new single, “Million Dollar,” on YouTube on Tuesday. The clip has racked up over 1.1 million views.

Atlantic represents leading contemporary artists including Bruno Mars, Cardi B, Coldplay, David Guetta, Jack Harlow and Ed Sheeran, and in the past hosted legendary musicians including Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and Led Zeppelin.

Kirel became a viral hit on YouTube in 2015 and has gone on to star in Israeli movies and television series.

Kirel joined the Israeli Defense Forces in February and serves in the orchestra corps, which performs in parades, official military and state ceremonies, graduation courses and to entertain troops.

Powerful Documentary "Minority of One" to Premiere in a Global Online Event on June 22nd

StandWithUs is proud to announce the online global premiere of our powerful new documentary, Minority of One. The screening will take place on June 22nd at 11am PST, followed by a live Q&A with the subject of the documentary, Hussein Aboubakr. The trailer and a link to register for the global premiere are available on the StandWithUs website.

How does a regular boy from Cairo grow up to hate Jews? How does he free his mind from that toxic hatred and begin actively fighting against it, even at the risk of losing his life? What do pivotal world events like 9/11, the rise of the digital Information Age, and the Arab Spring look like through his eyes? Minority of One answers these questions and more through the harrowing and inspiring story of Hussein Aboubakr, a former political refugee from Cairo, Egypt.

"I believe Minority of One illustrates the crucial importance of education. No one is born evil," said Hussein Aboubakr, who is now a StandWithUs Educator. "I know from personal experience that those who promote antisemitism and other forms of hatred are often themselves victims of indoctrination and bad ideas which pervade their community and society. I hope this documentary inspires people around the world to fight bad ideas with good ones, so they can change their reality for the better."

Aboubakr published a book with the same title on May 20th, 2020, which delves even deeper into the story he tells in the documentary. "

We are very excited to host this unique online premiere that audiences around the world can enjoy from home," said Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs. "This is a story that needs to be told. We believe Minority of One will offer people of all backgrounds inspiration and hope during these difficult times."

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.