07/16 Links: How The UN Overlooks Evidence Of Hamas Human Rights Violations; European Parliament planned Israel trip with Nazi sympathizer delegate ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Joe Truzman: How The United Nations Overlooks Evidence Of Hamas Human Rights Violations

Last month, a new United Nations Commission of Inquiry released its first report on human rights violations committed by Israelis and Palestinians. While the report condemns Israel for having “no intention of ending the occupation” and “having clear policies for ensuring complete control over the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the authors make no serious attempt to document war crimes committed by Hamas-led militant organizations, such as the use of human shields and child soldiers.

This is not just an oversight. I know from experience that UN investigators have difficulty processing information that points toward misconduct by Palestinian armed factions.

Four years ago, a UN team investigating the violent 2018-2019 Gaza protests interviewed me to discuss my research. The team was looking at the role of Palestinian militant organizations in fomenting the unrest, commonly known as the Great March of Return.

The lead investigator questioned me on a range of subjects related to the riots, such as how I obtained evidence of terrorist activity at the Gaza border and my opinion on how Palestinian militant organizations were involved in the Gaza protests. My evidence was derived from various open-source channels, and it was compelling: Hamas and like-minded militant groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) were orchestrating attacks at the security fence between Israel and Gaza under the guise of civilian protest.

The UN investigators conducted interviews with participants from both sides of the conflict, as well as independent analysts. They obtained thousands of documents. Yet their final report in 2019 said almost nothing about the role of Hamas and other militants in orchestrating riots that targeted Israeli troops and installations. Instead, the report focused on Israel’s responses without explaining that Hamas-led militant activity was largely responsible spurring the clashes.

The UN is now investigating again, and it is reverting to form. Last month’s report from the new Commission of Inquiry once again omits clear evidence of war crimes committed by Hamas and other Palestinian organizations during last year’s conflict in Gaza.

European Parliament planned Israel trip with Nazi sympathizer delegate

A European Parliament committee canceled its planned visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority after Israeli officials refused to meet the group as long as a Nazi sympathizer was a member, and declined to allow them to visit arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti.

The Foreign Ministry notified the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights that it would not meet with the group because it includes Estonian lawmaker Jaak Madison, leading to the trip’s cancelation on Thursday night.

“We clarified to the heads of the committee that we will not agree to hold official meetings with members of parliament who express opinions inspired by the Nazi worldview,” the Foreign Ministry said on Friday. “In the end, the committee chairman decided to cancel the visit to Israel.”

Madison has called for a “final solution” against immigration to Europe. In 2015, he wrote a blog post sympathizing with the Nazis, in which he said “it is true that there were concentration camps, forced labor camps, games with gas chambers…but at the same time, such strict order brought Germany at the time out of a thorough ‘s***hole.’” He called fascism “an ideology that consists of quite a few positive and necessary nuances to preserve the nation state.”

On the delegation’s schedule for next week was a meeting with Barghouti, a leader of the Tanzim terrorist group, who is serving five life sentences in Hadarim Prison for masterminding deadly terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada, though Israeli authorities ultimately denied them permission to meet with him.

The Subcommittee on Human Rights, led by Belgian socialist MEP Maria Arena, also planned to meet with Qaddura Fares, President of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, which represents scores of terrorists, as well as representatives of six Palestinian NGOs that Israel designated as terrorist organizations last year due to their extensive ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Though the EU considers the PFLP to be a terrorist group, nine member states released a statement this week rejecting Israel’s designation of the NGOs.

MEP Prof. Karol Karski of the European Conservatives and Reformists group welcomed the decision, in light of the planned meetings with Barghouti and Fares.

House Republicans introduce resolution against US consulate for Palestinians

New York Rep. Lee Zeldin has introduced a concurrent resolution joined by 22 of his fellow House Republicans opposing President Joe Biden’s proposal to reopen a US consulate in Jerusalem for the Palestinians.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday that it is the administration’s position that it would like a consulate in east Jerusalem. “Obviously, that requires engagement with the Israeli government – it requires engagement with the Palestinian leadership as well,” he said.

The administration’s proposal “would violate the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and reward the Palestinian Authority, despite its continuing efforts to serve as an obstacle to peace in the region,” Zeldin said in a statement on Thursday.

“The Palestinian Authority has made it abundantly clear that its push for separate diplomatic outreach from the United States is for the purpose of dividing Jerusalem, which the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 was crafted to specifically prevent. The law states that Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of Israel and remain undivided,” he said.

“The Biden Administration’s proposal is a unilateral concession to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for no concessions in return, which has been proven to be a failed policy time and again,” the NY representative said. “Congress has a duty to make it clear to the administration that its attempts to circumvent the law will not be ignored or tolerated.”

David Friedman: 'My version of Biden's Mideast speech'

In this week's "Top Story," guest host Melanie Phillips meets with former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman to discuss U.S. President Joe Biden’s arrival in the Middle East. During the discussion, Friedman offers his own version of what Biden should have told Israel and Saudi Arabia and what needs to be done to attain further peace in the region.
Other topics of discussion include:
- Economic incentives for America in the region,
- Israeli relations with Saudi Arabia and
- U.S. support of the Palestinian government.

Contradicting Biden, Saudis deny opening of airspace is step toward ties with Israel

Contradicting the departing US President Joe Biden, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Saturday that Riyadh’s decision to open its airspace for all civilian overflights had “nothing to do with diplomatic ties with Israel” and was “not in any way precursor to any further steps” toward normalization.

Prince Faisal appeared determined to pour cold water over the declared expectations in Jerusalem and Washington that the kingdom’s decision, announced Thursday, to open its airspace to all civilian carriers — a move that will enable flights to and from Israel to China and India through far shorter and less costly routes — marked a first step toward formal relations with Israel.

“No, this has nothing to do with diplomatic ties with Israel,” the minister said in a press conference after the GCC+3 regional summit in Jeddah. “The issue of overflights is a decision we took… in the interest [of] providing connectivity between countries in the world, and we hope that it will make some travelers’ lives easier. It’s not in any way a precursor to any further steps.”

In a speech late Friday night after a pair of bilateral meetings here with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Biden called the overflights decision by Riyadh “a big deal, not only symbolically but substantively.

“This is the first tangible step on the path of what I hope will eventually be a broader normalization of relations” between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Biden added.

IDF chief to make unprecedented official visit to Morocco

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi will be making an official visit to Morocco on Monday for three days, marking the first time that Israel’s top military officer has visited the country.

Jerusalem and Rabat reestablished ties under the Abraham Accords along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

In November, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding that established a solid security cooperation framework formalizing defense relations between them. The MoU allows for increased cooperation in the fields of intelligence, industrial collaboration, military training and more.

Following the signing, relations between the two countries increased tremendously.

In March, IDF Strategy and Third-Circle Division head Maj.-Gen. Tal Kalman, Foreign Relations Division head Brig.-Gen. Efi Dafrin and Operations Division head in the Intelligence Division Brig.-Gen. G. took part in the IDF’s first official visit.

They met with Moroccan military chief Lt.-Gen. Belkhir el-Farouk and senior Moroccan military officers, including the heads of the country’s intelligence and operations directorates in Rabat.

Gaza Rockets, Israeli Air Strikes Accompany Biden’s Middle East Visit

Israeli fighter jets struck Gaza following rocket launches from the Palestinian territory on Saturday, hours after US President Joe Biden flew from Israel to Saudi Arabia on a Middle East trip aimed at deepening Israel‘s integration into the region.

The Israeli military said it hit two facilities belonging to Hamas, the Islamist militant group that governs the blockaded strip. One of the targets was an underground rocket-manufacturing plant, the military said.

Gaza witnesses described the two sites struck as Hamas training camps. No injuries were reported.

Hamas has condemned Biden’s visit, and group spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said the Israeli bombing “reflected US support and encouragement the Zionist entity had received to pursue its aggression and crimes.”

Gunmen had fired at the Israeli planes, Barhoum said.

Sirens sounded in southern Israel on two occasions early on Saturday, warning of incoming rocket fire.

One rocket was intercepted and three projectiles landed in open spaces, the military said.

No group claimed responsibility for the launches.

A rocket from Gaza was apparently intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome system a short while ago. pic.twitter.com/gwdvXvifNn
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) July 15, 2022

The IDF released video of airstrikes against Hamas sites after rockets were fired at Israel overnight. pic.twitter.com/JHMS0LhRgj
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) July 16, 2022

A close view of IDF strikes in #Gaza after rockets were fired at Israel Saturday morning. pic.twitter.com/sPhu5EFUxM
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) July 16, 2022

After Gaza rockets, Israel freezes move to allow in 1,500 more workers

Israel on Saturday said it was freezing a planned expansion of work permits for Gazan Palestinians by 1,500 (to a total of 15,500), after terrorists in the coastal enclave launched four rockets at southern Israel overnight.

Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians, widely known by its acronym COGAT, had announced the additional 1,500 permits on Tuesday, as part of a series of gestures ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit to the region.

But following the rocket attacks in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, Defense Minister Benny Gantz decided to freeze the move, COGAT said in a statement.

The announcement came following a fresh security assessment held by Gantz and top defense officials, including military chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, head of Military Intelligence Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, and the military liaison to the Palestinians Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian.

“The Hamas terror group bears responsibility for everything that is done in and emanates from the Gaza Strip toward the State of Israel, and it will bear the consequences,” the statement said.

Israeli and Hellenic Air Forces Hold Joint Training Drill

The Israeli Air Force and the Hellenic Air Force held a joint air exercise in Israeli skies, the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit announced on Wednesday.

The drill, which took place on Tuesday, saw the two air forces simulate a wide range of aerial scenarios, including advanced air-to-air combat and airborne refueling.

“The exercise constitutes a platform for shared learning and enhancing the relationship between the two air forces, and symbolizes an important milestone in reinforcing strategic and international cooperation between the State of Israel and Greece,” stated the IDF.

It also helped advance the militaries’ different combat capabilities and boosted their operational standard in combat, “which in turn improves the abilities of the aircrews and technical teams,” it added.

The exercise was part of the IDF’s 2022 planned joint-training program.

Biden Administration: The Friendliest to Iran's Mullahs?

Even [Iran's mullahs] probably cannot believe that they have gotten away with so many violations since the Biden administration assumed office.

Now, in Natanz, the Iranian regime is digging an underground nuclear facility that is reportedly extremely difficult to bomb.

The problem is that Iranian leaders keep testing the Biden administration with violations -- such as increasing uranium enrichment to near weapon-grade levels, the transfer of weapons and oil to Venezuela, attempting to kill former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, trying to kidnap a US citizen on American soil, targeting US bases in Iraq with barrages of missiles, harassing US Navy ships, smuggling weapons in violation of UN resolutions, and turning off International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cameras that monitor the regime's nuclear activities -- and keep witnessing no repercussions.

As a result, the ruling mullahs have become even more emboldened to ramp up their nuclear program.

Iran's leaders can also see that the Biden administration is not holding accountable those countries that are violating the sanctions on Iran, including China and Venezuela, which continue to buy Iranian oil.

The Biden administration's appeasement and inaction, sadly, have done nothing but breed terrorism and transgressions. It is to be hoped that the Biden administration will not leave the world an expansionist, terror state, Iran, imminently armed with nuclear weapons.

The idea that this Ayatollah kiss ass is lecturing anyone on pursuing rotten American foreign relations is insulting. https://t.co/3lutobJE18
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) July 15, 2022

FLASHBACK, May 2016. An @AP investigation discovered NPR took $100,000 to do writing on "Iran's nuclear program" from the Ploughshares Fund, one of the biggest funding hubs for Iran echo chamber disinformation. Even NPR's internal ombudsman found it off the charts inappropriate. https://t.co/MNBQL2oMtu pic.twitter.com/Kc0yfd6EfW
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) July 16, 2022

Iranian police have established a vast network of 7000 undercover officers only in Tehran, whose job is to inform police of alleged moral transgressors in the Islamic Republic. #WalkingUnveiled is a crime in Iran. Brave women use their camera to expose the undercover agents. pic.twitter.com/xDjshNNAdW
— Masih Alinejad ??? (@AlinejadMasih) July 16, 2022

The Presbyterian Church voted to declare Israel an apartheid state. Jewish organizations are calling the move antisemitic.

In a move Jewish organizations are condemning as antisemitic, the Presbyterian Church USA voted to declare that the actions of the Israeli government against the people of Palestine meets the legal definition of apartheid.

Commissioners of 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted 266 to 116 in their annual meeting to make public the church's stance that both affirms the right of Israel to provide security to its borders and criticizes human rights offenses perpetrated against Palestinians.

"In 2018, Israel passed a nation-state law, which declares the distinction between Jews and non-Jews fundamental and legitimate, and permits institutional discrimination in land management and development, housing, citizenship, language and culture. This decision among many other practices have confirmed that the policies and practices of Israel constitute apartheid," read a letter by Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, stated clerk of the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church.

The clerk's letter added the Presbyterian Church, which consists of over 1.7 million members, recognizes the legitimacy of the Israeli state but it opposes continuing occupation of Palestine, which it declared to be "illegitimate, illegal under international law, and an enduring threat to peace in the region."

Nelson has previously described Israeli policies toward Palestinians as "enslavement," angering some Jewish organizations. The latest letter has garnered similar reactions, with some accusing the clerk and the Presbyterian Church itself of being antisemitic.

"Jewish Federations are not surprised by the latest antisemitic action taken by Presbyterian Church USA PC (USA) in its vote to adopt a resolution calling Israel an apartheid state. There was a time when their words mattered. That time is long gone." The Jewish Federations of North America said in a statement. "This resolution does nothing to further peace or foster a better future for Christians, Jews, and Muslims; Palestinians or Israelis. Its only intention is to demonize the Jews and Israel with the offensive and false allegation of apartheid."

Zionism in 1?? minute: pic.twitter.com/BlduaNGUkU
— Emily Schrader - ????? ?????? (@emilykschrader) July 16, 2022

You are platforming contemporary antisemites @AnneFrankTrust #Shameful https://t.co/t2kXciTU8e https://t.co/cWLJAnxnOB pic.twitter.com/IA5w0afvC5
— GnasherJew®????? #JusticeforMalkiRoth (@GnasherJew) July 16, 2022

1/ Congrats to @JeremyBenAmi and @jstreetdotorg for pushing the absurd and ugly slur that mainstream American Jews are racists and misogynists. pic.twitter.com/bOgufk6dkH
— Gilead Ini (@GileadIni) July 15, 2022

New York Dem Accused of ‘Challah-Washing’ Her Anti-Israel Views

A New York House candidate under fire for endorsing the anti-Israel boycott movement attempted damage control by posing for a photo surrounded by Jewish foods on Thursday.

Democratic candidate Yuh-Line Niou retweeted, and then later deleted, a snap of her holding a loaf of Challah bread while sitting next to bottles of Israeli Coca-Cola, an Israeli-made SodaStream, and stacks of Jewish prayer books.

Niou praised the bread effusively in a Twitter post, saying it was the "[b]est challah I’ve had in a long long time."

"Heated in the oven just a bit to make it like fresh. Double butter is right!!!" she wrote. "Best challah I've had in a long long time. I couldn’t even put into words how perfect the inside was. Perfect crust. Soft with just a little density. Miriam also put some toppings on. Dreams."

Political leaders and members of the Jewish community objected to the photo and described it as an attempt by Niou to "challah-wash" her anti-Israel position. The post came just days after Niou expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which seeks to wage economic and political warfare on Israel.

"Here I am spending hours upon hours fighting Anti-Semitism, Anti-Semites, and BDS. While our ‘leadership’ is busy promoting them. Shame!" wrote New York City councilwoman Inna Vernikov.

"Well that picture is ridiculous. It looks like a grotesque parody of an anti-Semite demonstrating her love of the Jews. It’s like ‘jewwashing,’" said Seth Barron, managing editor of the American Mind.

Social media post from Kentucky county GOP about 'Jewish junta' draws criticism

A Facebook post by the Bracken County Republican Party attacking the new director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as being part of the "Jewish junta" drew criticism Friday from Jewish leaders in Kentucky.

The post about new ATF director Steve Dettlebach went up early Friday morning was deleted shortly after a Courier Journal reporter contacted Bracken County GOP chair Karin Kirkendol about it.

“A Jewish anti-gun activist, Steve Dettelbach, has just been made director of the ATF," read the Facebook post. "The Jewish junta is getting stronger and more aggressive.”

The post — linking to a tweet Tuesday from a gun reform organization celebrating Dettelbach's Senate confirmation — went on to criticize two Republican senators who voted for his confirmation.

The antisemitic post today by the Bracken County Republican Party was absolutely unacceptable.

We appreciate the quick condemnation from Party chair Kirkindol, but the message went beyond inappropriate & insensitive, and further inquiry is needed.

Hate has no place in KY. pic.twitter.com/djkdxywjAC
— KY Jewish Council (@KyJewishCouncil) July 15, 2022
Asked in a voicemail and text who made the post, Kirkendol initially replied in a text that she hadn't read it. The post was deleted shortly thereafter, and Kirkendol did not respond to follow-up questions about the author of the post.

Shortly before noon, the Bracken County GOP Facebook had a new post signed by Kirkendol about the now-deleted missive.

"Earlier today, I was made aware of an inappropriate post on the Bracken County GOP Facebook page," Kirkendol wrote. "That post does not represent the values of the Bracken County Republican Party. It was incredibly insensitive. We will investigate how this occurred and we commit to tighter oversight of our social media going forward."

Kirkendol wrote an email to The Courier Journal early Saturday morning claiming the site was "hacked" and decided to delete the county party's entire Facebook page "due to the hurtful nature of the article, and how much harm it was bringing to so many."

"The Bracken county republican party would not, and did not publish anything antisemitic ― as some of our very own members have Jewish heritage," Kirkendol wrote. "Whoever hacked into our account meant to divide. Let’s not give them that satisfaction."

Goldman admits to ghost righting op-ed - "Jews cry wolf" re: antisemitism, place various others as authors including Virginia Woodward (Dem party head), proofs horrifying political ad.

Why is Woodward and the Democrats STILL not denouncing this?https://t.co/baaeWBKBDo pic.twitter.com/G30SHpT67q
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) July 15, 2022

HAPPENING TODAY: Cori Bush is hosting a fundraiser with a woman who wants to murder all Israelis with her own hands. ?? pic.twitter.com/QspKyQb2J4
— JusticeDemWatch (@JusticeDemWatch) July 16, 2022

My Favorite Antisemite: Hans-Jürgen Syberberg

Hans-Jürgen Syberberg is sitting on couches with Susan Sontag, Martin Scorsese, and others, watching his recent news appearance on American television. It is January 1980, and the German director is in New York City promoting the seven-and-a half-hour Hitler: A Film from Germany (titled Our Hitler in the U.S.). A presenter says his film is about Hitler as “seen through the eyes of Germans.” Syberberg, an impish yet regimented presence, periodically photographs those in the room as they observe his interview on the screen. Sontag, smirking, agrees with Scorsese that Syberberg’s pitch to American media went well: “People got something that’s clear and easy to remember.” Footage of the U.S. tour is eventually appended to copies of the film.

Sontag called Hitler the most extraordinary film she had ever seen. Her NYRB essay on Syberberg’s opus remains one of the most committed and perceptive attempts to describe it—an almost impossible task to carry out adequately yet succinctly. The methods and interpretations in the film are vast and disorienting, comprising a system of thought that encompasses the grandest questions of modern German and Western culture and politics. The “total experience” the director sought to inflict on the viewer aims to be punitive and transformative. In exploring his theme of “Hitler in us,” Syberberg challenges the myths and orthodoxies of the post-World War Two order in a maximally discomforting and subversive way.

But while Hitler found some important admirers outside of Germany, it was overwhelmingly rejected within the country. Rather than the film serving as a precursor to professional success and expanding legitimacy, Syberberg’s career as a director dwindled in the 1980s. From a position of professional and ideological marginalization, Syberberg began lashing out in interviews and essays, where his challenges to the intellectual and artistic conformity of his time became increasingly colored by antisemitic polemic.

Chief of German art festival quits after antisemitic works go on display

The head of a major art show in Germany has resigned after an exhibit featuring antisemitic elements prompted an outcry at the event’s opening last month.

The board of the Documenta 15 show said Saturday that Sabine Schormann was leaving her post as chief executive by mutual agreement. It also expressed regret about what it described as “unambiguously antisemitic motifs” visible in one of the works shown at the opening weekend.

“The presentation of the banner ‘People’s Justice’ by the artists collective Taring Padi with its antisemitic imagery was a clear transgression and thereby caused significant harm to the Documenta,” the board said.

The banner featured a soldier with the face of a pig, wearing a neckerchief with a Star of David and a helmet inscribed with the word “Mossad,” the name of Israel’s intelligence agency. It was taken down within days after widespread criticism from Jewish groups and German and Israeli officials.

The Taring Padi collective, based in Indonesia, has already apologized for the incident. It said the work — which it said was first exhibited at the South Australia Art Festival in Adelaide 20 years ago — was “in no way related” to antisemitism, but instead referred to the post-1965 dictatorship in Indonesia.

A reminder, the Vichy regime in France was a willing collaborator in the mass murder of Jews in the Holocaust! https://t.co/yffDZ5P2Fs
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 16, 2022

'COVID agenda is Jewish': Antisemitic flyer found at Melbourne synagogue

An antisemitic flyer was placed on the front steps of a Melbourne synagogue this week, claiming that the coronavirus pandemic is an elaborate conspiracy procured by Jewish people.

A religious Jewish woman found the flyer at the Sassoon Yehuda Synagogue in the heart of the religious Jewish community of the city. The woman was the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors.

The flyer lists Australian CDC members with Jewish background or names as a form of evidence for the claim that "every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish".

Among the names listed were Robert Kapito, founder and president of the New York City-based investment management firm BlackRock, and Mortimer J. Buckley, CEO of The Vanguard Group.

The flyer then claims these two companies "are the two largest shareholders of both Pfizer and GSK plc, a British multinational pharmaceutical company.

Israeli farm school gives Asian and African students skills for life

Kelvin Ombongi, 27, stands in a classroom in southeastern Israel, far from his native Kenya.

He’s been at the Arava International Center for Agricultural Training (AICAT) in Sapir since 2019, learning advanced Israeli farming methods that he hopes to plow into a career in urban agriculture back home.

Graduates of AICAT, he says, are featured in the Kenyan media and sought after by employers.

“What the program really gives, aside from the knowledge, is changing our mindset,” Ombongi tells journalists visiting AICAT with one of the center’s sponsors, Jewish National Fund USA.

“By the time we go home, we’ve learned the art of starting something small and building it to completion, and not giving up on the way,” says Ombongi.

“It’s not only education; AICAT is also creating leaders.”

Ombongi’s unscripted words bring a warm smile to the face of AICAT’s director, Hanni Arnon, an educator who founded the center in 1994 with partners including Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and Agriculture Ministry.

Former soldiers renovate schools in Tanzanian village

Like many young Israelis planning their post-army trips, Rafi Ryker envisioned exploring the rainforests of Costa Rica or island-hopping in Thailand.

Then the pandemic hit and the 25-year-old Jerusalemite ended up in Africa, which was one of the few places in the world open to foreign visitors at the time.

The unexpected trip to Tanzania was a life-changing experience for Ryker, inspiring him to found a nonprofit organization called Afrikan — Working Together that sends volunteer delegations of former Israeli army officers to renovate schools and build clean water infrastructure.

A year ago, a pilot delegation headed to the village of Malindi in the northern part of the country near the border with Kenya.

“I got eight ex-military officers and we came here for a month. Our plan was to renovate a school and to see how it goes, how much it costs and how the village will treat us and the whole project,” Ryker says

“It was a huge success – much more than what we expected.”

Ryker is currently leading a second delegation at Malindi, and he is planning to organize a third delegation this August.

Yosef Trumpeldor is Zionist legend

Yosef Trumpeldor is a tarnished hero of the Zionist movement. The heroic Trumpeldor is not at fault for the skepticism which has crept into his legend. There is plenty of blame to go around.

Zionism has revived many Jewish ancient heroes and has brought forth many modern ones. From the ancient revolts of the Maccabees and Bar-Kochba to the military exploits of Moshe Dayan and Ariel Sharon, the Zionist movement has always searched for legends to bolster a beleaguered movement and a state in siege.

Zionism did so to inspire the pioneer generation and toughen their children in the struggle for independence in a fight against all odds. The legend of Trumpeldor a century ago was necessary for its time and integral to the morale of the Yishuv and Jews in the early years of the State of Israel.

However, a new generation of Israeli intellectuals, professors, journalists, and historians have begun to question the pantheon of heroes that has been the source of great inspiration and pride. These are the “post-Zionists” who condemn Israel as colonialist and racist, built on myths that need to be crushed. Some Israeli intellectuals – post-Zionists such as Tom Segev come to mind – have converted Masada, once a legend of Jewish defiance in the face of overwhelming foes, into a self-defeating tale of mass suicide.

While I agree that mass suicide should not be a model for Jews today, 2000 years ago it was a heroic statement of freedom in the face of imperial oppression. The post-Zionists even degrade the great Hannah Senesh as a pawn of an impotent Jewish leadership in Yishuv during the Holocaust. Yet, the one icon that has suffered the most from attacks by polemicists against Zionism is Yosef Trumpeldor, the hero of Tel Hai.

HBO drama 'The Survivor' featuring Israeli actress nominated for Emmy

The HBO drama series "The Survivor" was nominated this week for the prestigious 2022 International Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Television Movie category.

Based on true events, the series tells the story of Harry Haft (played by American actor Ben Foster), who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp after being forced to box against fellow inmates, and focuses on his life after the war with his family in Brooklyn.

Israeli actress Dar Zuzovsky portays Haft's partner, Leah Krichinsky.

Author interviewEpic historical novel digs deep into Zionism’s less probed Western European roots

Hamutal Bar-Yosef, 82, was fed up with the State of Israel’s legitimacy being questioned or attacked.

“As an Israeli, I am insulted and angry when I am called upon to justify the existence of my country,” said Bar-Yosef, a retired literature professor, and accomplished poet, short story writer and translator.

The octogenarian’s response was to write her first-ever novel, a 474-page epic. The tome makes the case for Zionism and Israel as it spans two centuries of the lives of members of a Western European Jewish family in three countries on two continents.

“The Wealthy: Chronicle of a Jewish Family (1763-1948)” was originally published in Hebrew as “Ha’ashirim” in 2017. The English translation by Esther Cameron came out earlier this year.

In an interview from her home in Jerusalem, Bar-Yosef explained her motivations behind the extensively researched novel about a fictional family, but populated with many actual historical figures.

“I wanted to write about Zionism and the birth of the State of Israel from an angle not usually emphasized, one that many aren’t aware of,” Bar-Yosef said.

“When I was growing up, we learned in school about the Holocaust, the pogroms, and the young Eastern European socialist halutzim [pioneers] who came [in the late 19th and early 20th century] to work the land, and who founded the kibbutzim. But that is not the whole story,” she said.

In her novel, Bar-Yosef examines the reasons why Zionism was attractive to a segment of 19th- and early 20th-century Western European Jews, as well. She shows how it was these Jews, with their devoted efforts and financial resources, who made the land purchases in Ottoman and British Mandate Palestine that gave modern Jews a significant and critical foothold in their ancient homeland.