10/04 Links Pt2: Why anti-Zionism and antisemitism are inextricably linked; Kamala Harris’ silence vs Sarah Silverman’s noise; The Associated Press war of words against Israel

From Ian:

Why anti-Zionism and antisemitism are inextricably linked

Since 2014, we have seen a dramatic shift regarding the discourse around Israel. In a nation that celebrates free speech, almost any conversation is encouraged. But when that conversation borders on incitement and causes Jews to feel unsafe, then there is a serious problem. The US State Department upholds the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism, which posits that it can and does entail attempts to delegitimize Israel.

As for both Jews and non-Jews who want to criticize Israel and flinch every time they are accused of being antisemitic or a self-hating Jew, I would say this: We can have a whole discussion about the standards that Israel is held up to, as well as its policies. However, Israel is held to a different standard than any other country in the world when defending its citizens.

A misguided and simplified narrative that looks at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a powerful aggressor and an innocent underdog fails to understand that there are two sides to this complex situation, with people across Israel's border in the Middle East all too often committed to the country's demise. Moreover, an obsessed and myopic view on what the one Jewish state in the world does or does not do? That is antisemitic.

No matter what political affiliation we have, we are Jews first and foremost. It is crucial to come together on this issue before we splinter off into partisan leanings.

Across the Atlantic, for Israelis who think this is exclusively a problem for American Jews, they must understand that the broader erosion of support for Israel may very well lead to diminishing bipartisan support for the Jewish state, which will have a detrimental effect on Israel's own security.

On a macro level, though, antisemitism has historically been the canary in a coal mine. Any society that actively embraced Jew-hatred has shown acceptance for discrimination and prejudice that far extends beyond Jews. It may start with us, but it never ends with us.

To that end, I call on communal and world leaders to call out antisemitism when they see it and advocate for schools to actively teach about this complex phenomenon and what constitutes it (while also explaining that criticism of Israel is legitimate and valid). Meanwhile, politicians must cease using antisemitism as a political tool. Too often, we see politicians blame the opposing party of having anti-Jewish members for the sake of accruing political capital. Jews are not political pawns. We are active, contributing citizens of the United States who deserve protection and security amid this growing crisis.

As for our community, right now it is imperative for global Jewry to come together. It should not have to reach a point where we all speak out against antisemitism only when violence breaks out. We do not need another Pittsburgh or Poway. What we need is unity.

The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism Is Itself Antisemitic

The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA), presented in March 2021, was created to replace the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, which had been adopted by 35 countries by 2020. The writers of the JDA wished to “clarify” the IHRA, which they feel is insufficiently obsequious to the Palestinians. Their real object is to use the fight against antisemitism as another weapon with which to vilify Israel.

The Jerusalem Declaration of Antisemitism (JDA) is the product of a group of international scholars of antisemitism and related fields who have been meeting since June 2020 in a series of online workshops convened by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. Essentially, the new document charges the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism with blurring the “difference between antisemitic speech and legitimate criticism of Israel and Zionism.” As a result, the IHRA definition “delegitimiz[es] the voices of Palestinians and others, including Jews, who hold views that are sharply critical of Israel and Zionism.”

The JDA was purportedly written as a resource for strengthening the fight against antisemitism, because “there is a widely felt need for clarity on the limits of legitimate political speech and action concerning Zionism, Israel, and Palestine.” The JDA is presented as the alternative, a “corrective to overcome the shortcomings of the IHRA definition.”

Nowhere in the IHRA definition are Palestinians mentioned; nor does it mention BDS. There are, however, three clauses that can be construed as applying to the actions of Palestinians and pro-Palestinian activists. These are:
- the denial of the Jewish people’s right to national self-determination; e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor
- the application of double standards by requiring of Israel behaviors that are not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation
- the comparison of Israeli policies to those of the Nazis.

Pro-Palestinian activists and anti-Israel groups have long complained about the IHRA definition because, in the grip of their fixation on Israel as fundamentally illegitimate and their flat denial of the Jews’ right to self-determination, they reject the premise that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.

How to Use Antisemitism Against Antisemites

So what is the Jewish community to do with all this perceived power? The gap between reality and perception is wide. Yet it opens up a space for skillful negotiation by thoughtful Jewish leaders who understand that, as in certain martial arts, the key to winning is to turn an opponent’s momentum against him.

By population, the Jews are a tiny people: almost 15 million worldwide, about 0.2 percent of the global population and about 2 percent of America’s. There are approximately 6.9 million Israeli Jews, compared with an Iranian population of over 80 million, more than 420 million Arabs, and almost 2 billion Muslims. By sheer numbers, Jews are clearly outmatched. The intersecting echo chambers I have described mutually reinforce one another in a way that elevates the perceived power of a people who usually haven’t had much power at all.

Yet the malignant perception of overwhelming Jewish power comes with a hidden but potent benefit: the chance to leverage the tropes used against Jews to Jewish advantage. If Khamenei, Hamas, and Hezbollah prefer to believe that Jews pull all the big levers of American might, it only feeds a mindset of paranoia and illogic that is usually self-defeating. It might even give them more reason to fear us than to fight us. If Tehran (or the Washington press corps) wants to feed the perception that my modestly sized think tank dictates U.S. policy in the Middle East, who am I to complain?

What goes for U.S. policy in the Middle East goes for other areas of Jewish concern: Especially in a democracy, the perception of power is power, at least in the hands of those who know how to use it judiciously.

From biblical times onward, Jews have often proved adept at this, not for nefarious reasons but because we appreciate how necessary that perception can be to our own survival. To take one example: In 1991, after Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam lost his Soviet patron, he approached Israel as a conduit to Washington — doubtlessly on the idea that Israeli influence in Washington would surely be enough to rescue him. The belief was antisemitic, but it still helped set the basis for negotiations leading to the rescue of Ethiopian Jews in Operation Solomon.

Something similar might be said about the way Jewish politics play out in the U.S. By any standard metric, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is far from the biggest lobby in Washington — certainly not when compared with, say, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Rifle Association, or the pharmaceutical lobby. What actual power AIPAC has derives mainly from three strengths: the talent of its staff; the passion of its members; and, above all, the instinctual support that a majority of Americans (only a small fraction of whom are Jewish) feel for a country they rightly see as an embattled bastion of democracy facing and fighting the same enemies that threaten the United States.

Yet AIPAC’s critics, at home and abroad, like to paint it as a Washington juggernaut that politicians cross at their own peril. In a city where perception counts for almost everything, such a view can work in AIPAC’s favor. As in the 1959 Peter Sellers classic, The Mouse That Roared, it’s better to be a midget thought of as a giant than the other way around.

Kamala Harris’ silence vs Sarah Silverman’s noise - comment

Not every “truth” should be heard or legitimized by the vice president of the United States. Not everyone is entitled to turn lies into their own truths. Not everything is a narrative. Some views should be suppressed, such as the one about Israel committing ethnic genocide. Why? Because it is a lie. There are facts. And one fact is that Israel is not committing ethnic genocide. Period.

How can one prove that fact to those who will only think the worst about Israel? Simple: by looking at the numbers.

Before the Six Day War in 1967 when Israel won control of Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, there were some 955,000 Palestinians in those areas; today that number stands at about five million. Say what you will about Israel’s policies in the territories over the last 54 years, but those numbers do not add up to genocide.

The fallout from Harris’s appearance followed a predictable pattern. The Israeli press jumped on the story while, except for Fox News, it did not make that much noise in the non-Jewish media in the US.

AT LEAST in the beginning.

Israel supporters then pushed back, the Vice President’s office realized it had a problem on its hands, and then did damage control by reaching out to a few major Jewish organizations. The story then started to gain traction in the general media.

The message from the VP’s office was simple: she did not mean what her silence implied.

And surely she didn’t. Harris is a moderate Democrat with a good record on Israel. Neither anything she has ever said nor would her voting record on Israel lead one to believe that she actually thinks the Jewish state is committing ethnic genocide.

Then what’s the problem?

The problem is that she didn’t challenge the statement in real-time, with the other students in the room. The problem is that her silence could be interpreted by them, and others who might have seen a video clip of the exchange, as implicit consent.

Corbyn speaks at Cable Street rally next to activist suspended for antisemitism remarks

Jeremy Corbyn has delivered a speech at a rally marking the 85th anniversary of Cable Street aided by an activist suspended by Labour last year for writing a letter criticising his MP’s efforts to try to improve relations with the Jewish community.

Labour members from Liverpool contacted Jewish News to express dismay that suspended activist Hazuan Hashim was seen standing alongside Corbyn holding a microphone for him during his speech on Sunday.

Hashim was one of four members of Liverpool Wavetree CLP suspended after circulating a letter criticising their local MP Paula Barker for an article she wrote in a local Jewish newspaper expressing a wish to patch up relations with the community after the breakdown of relations under Corbyn.

In her article for the Jewish Telegraph MP Barker also said it was “deeply regrettable” that her predecessor Luciana Berger felt she could no longer stay in the party.

But after the article was published four members of the Wavertree CLP executive sent a statement to local members describing Barker’s article as taking an “inaccurate and factionally motivated position on antisemitism which was used in order to personally attack and seriously undermine Labour’s socialist programme during the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.”

Labour chiefs reacted swiftly and suspended Hashim, and the three others who had signed the inflammatory statement.

The suspended officials became known as the “Wavertree 4” as their actions were defended by groups such as Labour Against The Witch-hunt, who are now banned by Labour for downplaying or denying antisemitism.

Some people generously imagine Pilger must have fallen a long way to say things like this. He’s actually always been heedless of facts & hopeless at investigative journalism. He attacked western aid agencies after fall of Khmer Rouge for noting that Vietnam was blocking food aid. pic.twitter.com/9B5MsVvQa2

— Oliver Kamm (@OliverKamm) October 3, 2021

Journalism professor violates hate speech rules in comparing Israeli Defense Force to the Mafia

Since Mitrovica could never adduce such an example, he encourages the reader to believe that the IDF is not only unethical in its attitude to children, but uniquely so. Ironically, his piece is a perfect example of unethical journalism.

Let readers judge for themselves who is the more reliable authority on the IDF's ethical standards.

On the one hand we have a journalist with no expertise in Middle Eastern or military affairs, who proudly bruits his hatred of all adult Jewish citizens of Israel; a journalist whose polemically pithless rodomontade can only find a home in a publication where credibility regarding Israel ranks just millimetres north of what you'd ascribe to a neo-nazi blog run by some gormless Holocaust-denying pyjama'd loser out of his mother's basement.

On the other hand, we have the judgment of high-ranking, long-time professional soldiers from democratic countries whose own militaries set a high bar for honorable behaviour, military experts who have no ideological axe to grind, and who speak from a wealth of experience facing enemies in every imaginable kind of war theatre involving a variety of cultures.

It's totally up to you whom you should trust.

Circling back to Sheridan College's hate speech policy: I call upon Sheridan College president Janet Morrison to answer a question put to her on Twitter by Honest Reporting: "Does Sheridan consider that Professor Mitrovica's comments were delivered 'thoughtfully and respectfully' according to Sheridan's hate-speech policy guidelines?"

I know that Dr. Morrison has received scores of complaints from community leaders and from Jewish students. One deeply offended Jewish student wrote a heartfelt letter of concern to Morrison, writing, "I am horrified by [Mitrovica's] suggestion that Israeli soldiers believe 'life — including the budding lives of children — is considered cheap and disposable in the pursuit of their base, parochial instincts and interests.' It is a dangerous and misleading statement that has zero credibility."

"But who's to say that one of Mitrovica's students, after reading this article, would not come to the same conclusion about a country they know little about that's thousands of kilometres away?" she wrote.

Indeed, in which case, it seems to me, Mitrovica would have "incited" hatred of Jews. Over to you, Dr. Morrison.

University of Colorado Dental School Student Dana Ziyadeh (@dziyadeh)

- refers to Jews as pigs
- tweets "F*ck the Jews [yahood in Arabic]
- tweets "Cant wait till the Jews burn in hell"

Medical professionals must be held to the highest of standards @CUAnschutz @CUAnschutzDEICE pic.twitter.com/GxcgTdfw40

— StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites) October 4, 2021

Watch How the Media (Mis)Reports Palestinian Casualty Numbers - Honest Reporting Canada

In every conflict between Israel and Hamas, the world media tallies up death tolls and Israel is invariably accused of a “disproportionate response” by journalists, critics in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and by the United Nations.

But when looking at the actual casualty figures, it becomes quickly apparent that, far from being a “disproportionate response,” the number of Palestinians injured or killed is actually significantly less dramatic than the news coverage would suggest, especially in comparison to worldwide deaths due to conflict. Even more so, when you look at the breakdown of casualties, there’s almost a 1:1 ratio of combatant to civilian casualties, which explains why Israel has an earned moniker for being the most moral army in the world.

In our latest Rumble.com video, learn how the media (mis)reports Palestinian casualty numbers to tarnish Israel’s reputation.

The Associated Press war of words against Israel

Associated Press (AP) is at it again. See: There you will find an article with a headline saying that "Israelli troops kill Five Palestinians in West Bank gunbattles" which is actually a biased report on an Israeli counter-terrorism operation against Hamas terrorists. The article terms as "militants" those terrorists who target civilians, so as to give them some kind of moral equivalency to the Israeli army, when they should be pointing out that the dead operatives were terrorists planning an attack on Jewish civilians.

Associated Press supplies international news to western news media who can’t afford their own international bureaus. Since the cost of foreign bureaus is prohibitive, Associated Press, by default, exercises a large international influence.

The AP News Agency has approximately 15,000 media customers that in turn shares its reports to half of the world population every day, writes Amotz Eyal/TPS. Its bias, therefore, is a major problem for Israeli hasbara.

Its anti-Israel bias has been well documented by:the late Manfred Gerstenfeld in “The Associated Press Has a Clear and Dangerous Anti-Israel Bias" who wrote: "One wonders whether journalists new to the AP’s Israel office get an introductory session where they are told that they must not make use of the words 'Palestinian terrorists'.”

Amotz Eyal, TPS, in “The Associated Press (AP): A history of biased and anti-Israel media” writes, citinbg examples, that "the agency, which is supposed to be international, objective and professional, repeatedly reveals serious biases in its reporting on Israel."

Bassam Tawil at Gatestone Institute, in “Why Western Media is Biased Against Israel”, writes of a reporter at AP: "The AP evidently knew that Hamad was engaged in political activities. It nevertheless chose to turn a blind eye because Hamad was directing his hate only against Israel. As far as the AP is concerned, the moment Hamad spoke out against the brutality and repressive measures of the Palestinian Authority security forces, he crossed a red line. That is when he was informed of the decision to terminate his employment."

New U.S. Command Center to Monitor Anti-Semitic Threats

A state-of-the-art security command center was unveiled this week by the Secure Community Network to ensure that the Jewish community is prepared in the event of any violence or threats.

Dubbed the National Jewish Security Operations Command Center, JSOCC was built with funding by private donors and gives the SCN – the security arm of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations – a high-tech, centralized location where its intelligence analysts and security professionals can monitor and track threats to the Jewish community and coordinate responses with its partners including local, state and federal law enforcement.

"The JSOCC will enhance our ability to provide greater protection and improved response time more effectively and efficiently, moving us into a more proactive position to address security concerns and threats with key partners from law enforcement to Jewish communities," Michael Masters, national director and CEO of SCN, told Jewish News Syndicate.

According to Masters, the command center, which is located in Chicago, will be staffed 16 hours a day, but can be increased to 24 hours a day if needed. It includes a 16-foot video wall to allow for "optimal incident track and response," as well as individual workstations. JSOCC can seat eight people, but has an overflow capacity to accommodate additional staff in the event of a major incident.

It is, he said, "a significant step forward in protecting our people."

"We are in the most complex and dynamic threat environment we have seen. In many years, recent data from the FBI and DHS, along with our own assessment and that of partners like the [Anti-Defamation League] confirms this," Masters said. "This past week, [FBI Director Christopher Wray] testified that the number of domestic terrorism cases doubled in the last year – roughly three cases a day are being opened."

Jewish Umbrella Org Announces $54 Million Initiative to ‘Secure Every Jewish Community’

As American Jewish communities have increasingly been the target of antisemitic harassment and violence over the past year, the Jewish Federations of North America announced a $54 million campaign to help deliver the resources and know-how needed to secure their institutions.

The three-year LiveSecure campaign aims to ensure that each of the 146 US communities with a Jewish Federation will have a community security initiative, up from 45 today.

“Together through our LiveSecure campaign, we are working to make sure that the entire Federation system has undertaken this task, and that all of them can continue to upgrade their efforts to meet the new risks and adapt newly-developed best practices in security,” Jewish Federations President and CEO Eric Fingerhut said at the organizations annual general assembly on Sunday.

Also speaking at the event, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called for forging “alliances with other communities that have been the targets of hate.”

“We must ensure that Jews are safe to be Jews in America and elsewhere around the world,” Herzog said.

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley cautioned that there is an “urgent need to protect Jewish communities” and that the rise in antisemitism is “proof that we are surrounded by a moral pandemic.”

New York Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres said: “We are sitting on a powder keg of antisemitism, and the Jewish community and all of us cannot afford to be complacent. All of us in public life have an obligation to speak out forcefully against extremism, no matter what form it takes.”

Belgian Muslim Organizations Join Jews in Opposition to Ban on Religious Slaughter Following Court Ruling

Jewish organizations opposed to Belgium’s recently reaffirmed ban on religious slaughtering have been joined by two of the country’s major Muslim organizations.

Belgium’s Constitutional Court last Thursday upheld the country’s ban on all slaughter of animals that are not stunned beforehand. Both Jewish and Muslim religious dietary laws do not allow for stunning the animal, meaning the ban effectively makes both kosher and haram slaughter illegal.

The Brussels Times reported Sunday that the Executive Council of the Muslims of Belgium (EMB) and the Coordinating Council of the Islamic Institutions of Belgium are considering an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the issue.

The organizations stated that “the current religious slaughter techniques constitute a fully-fledged alternative to stunning and are perfectly compatible with the requirements of public health, food safety, and animal welfare.”

They asserted that the ban is intended to assuage the sensitivities of consumers, and has no real-world benefits.

Following the court’s ruling, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), said that while his group was “disappointed with today’s judgement, we are certainly not surprised as it upholds the status quo in Belgium.”

The ruling, he said, “brings Belgium into line with those few other countries whose bans on shechita date from the Nazi era.”

World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald Lauder said that the decision was “a continued maneuver to discriminate against Belgium’s Jewish and Muslim citizens.”

Counting Crows to visit Israel, set to perform in April

American rockers Counting Crows will be performing for the first time in Israel next year, Live Nation Israel announced Monday. The show will take place on April 20 at Park Ra’anana.

The California-based band is best known for their iconic song “Mr. Jones” off of their smash 1993 debut album August and Everything After, but have generated a strong catalog of durable songs and energetic live shows during the past three decades.

The band’s Jewish singer and lyricist Adam Duritz has been one of rock’s most colorful showmen and articulate writers. He sported trademark dreadlocks for much of the band’s career but shaved them off two years ago.

10 perfect Instagrammable spots around Jerusalem

Jerusalem has many Instagram-worthy spots. If you’re looking to liven up your Instagram feed or just want to explore Jerusalem, searching out these places will be not only an enjoyable task, but you will learn much about Jerusalem’s rich history as you explore the remarkable city sites.

“I ♥️ JLM”
This sculpture (see above) is in Tzahal Square between City Hall and the Jaffa Gate entrance into the Old City of Jerusalem. It is reminiscent of many others around the world and has become a major tourist attraction. You will invariably find people posing with this iconic sign. Whether you’re standing or sitting or with a group of people, this landmark makes for a fun post to show your love for Jerusalem.

2. Western Wall (Kotel)


One of the most famous places in all of Jerusalem and a very religious and spiritual site for Jews, the very photogenic Western Wall attracts people from around the world. It is a small segment of the ancient retaining wall of the Second Temple (516 BCE-70 CE) and was built by Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed king of Judea.

Archaeologists claim to have found location of Noah's Ark

Has the true location of Noah's Ark finally been ascertained? Archaeologists claim to have found a giant shape in the Turkish mountains that matches the shape and dimensions of the iconic biblical craft, but geologists insist that this mountainous formation is simply that – a rock.

Noah's Ark is the vessel in the Genesis flood narrative through which God spares Noah, his family, and examples of all the world's animals from a world-engulfing flood. The story is repeated in various forms in dozens of ancient cultures depicting massive floods, but for the most part, geologists and historians find the Genesis flood myth irreconcilable with the modern understanding of fossil records of the planet's age.

Historical records show that the hunt for the ark dates back to the time of Eusebius of Caesarea (275–339 CE), but no physical proof of the Ark has ever been found.

Now, archaeologists with the Noah's Ark Scans project said that using advanced 3D scans, they have located a giant shape in the Turkish mountains the proportions of which match the biblical descriptions of Noah's Ark.

The discovery was made in the Durupinar site on Mount Tendurek in eastern Turkey, the area believed to be the location of Mount Ararat – the mythical resting place of Noah's Ark, as described in the Book of Genesis.

Researcher Andrew Jones and lead scientist Dr. Fethi Ahmet Yüksel of the Department of Geophysical Engineering, Applied Geophysics Department of Istanbul University told British media that 3D scans of the area discovered a formation of the exact length of the ark, detailed in the bible as being around 150 meters, or 300 cubits in Biblical terms.

"Such parallel line and right angles below the surface is something you would not expect to see in a natural, geologic formation, ... but these results are what you would expect to see if this is a man-made boat matching the Biblical requirements of Noah's Ark," Jones was cited as saying by several media outlets.

Meet Salma Abu Ful, an Israeli Muslim and one of Israel’s finest surgeons at just 34. As minority within a minority, she’s pushing the glass ceiling for women in the field. “I want to progress and show Arab women and Arab girls that we are capable of engaging in this profession.” pic.twitter.com/KSKYsLB37e

— Emily Schrader - ????? ?????? (@emilykschrader) October 3, 2021

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