10/14 Links Pt2: Phillips: Hysteria greets British PM's embassy move proposal; Amnesty UK refuses to sack official who likened Israel’s Gaza policies to the Shoah ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Hysteria greets British PM's embassy move proposal

Few expect that the British embassy will actually be moved. Indeed, given the chaos that has engulfed Truss since she became prime minister, with the financial crisis and collapse in electoral support sparked by her scorched-earth economic policies currently threatening to bring her down before she has her feet properly under the Downing Street table, moving the embassy would hardly seem to be a priority.

If it were to happen, however, it would not only be an enormous boost to Israel. It would also represent a dramatic change in British policy.

Unlike the US, where despite various presidents' relative coolness towards Israel the Christian heartlands remain solidly supportive, Britain's attitude towards the Jewish state has always been at best ambiguous and at worst – as in Mandatory Palestine – actively hostile.

Moving the embassy would not only start to reset Britain's shameful attitude towards Israel. It would also advance the cause of peace.

The only reason this century-old conflict continues is that the Palestinian Arabs have repudiated the two-state solution. They have refused repeated offers of a state of their own, because their goal is not a Palestinian state but the eradication of the Israeli one.

Towards this infernal goal, their principal weapon has been the refusal by Britain and other western countries to recognize the Palestinians' real agenda, providing them instead with funding, training and diplomatic recognition.

In other words, Britain and the rest of the west have incentivized, rewarded and perpetuated the war against Israel by going along with the morally bankrupt proposition that the Palestinian Arabs are entitled to a state of their own, even though their actual purpose is to use that state as a means to destroy Israel.

By moving the embassy, Truss – who describes herself as a "huge Zionist" – would be signaling an end to the shameful British capitulation to the Palestinians' lies and blackmail.

That is precisely why there's been such a reaction. While the average British citizen doesn't have an opinion about Israel one way or the other, Britain's elites loathe Israel on a scale that just doesn't exist in America.

The proposal to move the British embassy has lifted a stone, and we can all see what has crawled out from underneath.

Amnesty UK refuses to sack official who likened Israel’s Gaza policies to the Shoah

Amnesty International UK is defying calls to sack a senior official who shared a post comparing Israel to Nazi Germany and likened the Jewish state’s treatment of Palestinians to the Holocaust.

Garry Ettle, who represents the human rights charity as “country coordinator for Israel and Occupied Palestinian territories”, retweeted a message asking how video footage showing Israeli youths shouting at a Palestinian woman was “any different from Nazi Germany”.

The activist called Israel’s policies towards Gaza a “slow holocaust” in a Facebook message posted on 27 January 2020.

He also condemned US band Black Eyed Peas for playing a gig in “apartheid Israel” in another social media post last year.

Mr Ettle’s hardline views, which were revealed by online investigations group GnasherJew, have led to calls for Amnesty International UK to sack him.

Tory peer Lord Leigh of Hurley, an executive board member of the Conservative Friends of Israel, told the JC he thought Mr Ettle should be dismissed, adding: “Amnesty International UK has a very worrying record and this is the moment for decisive action to be taken by them.”

And a spokesperson for advocacy group Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Only at Amnesty and like-minded organisations could someone who allegedly compares Israel to Nazis describe himself as a ‘human-rights activist’.

“Such comparisons are a breach of the universally accepted International Definition of Antisemitism. We would call on Amnesty to investigate and dissociate itself from this individual, but the organisation’s record on antisemitism gives little reason to think that it holds the views of the Jewish community in anything but contempt.”

Both the left and the right have turned on the Jews

Conservatives claim to abhor anti-Semitism, and yet foolishly believe they can ride the coattails of non-conservative loose cannons like Kanye West and greedily feed off the cultural scraps that fall to the ground; all while trampling on the supposed principles that were their “hills to die on” in their battles with the opposing side.

Kanye West, who in a matter of days argued that Jared Kushner sought peace in the Middle East to make money, repeatedly promoted the radical Black Hebrew Israelite conspiracy theory that American blacks are the “real Jews,” implied that Jews created cancel culture and announced that he would be going “death con 3” on “Jewish people,” has shown no signs of apologizing.

And yet, days later, conservatives celebrated Kanye West—an open and unapologetic anti-Semite—on the red carpet, labeling his very presence iconic.

A line has been crossed.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke with Jeremy Corbyn and said veiled anti-Semitic things in the past, and conservative media—myself included—never let it go. And quite rightly so.

Kanye West, who has far more cultural influence than Ocasio-Cortez, pushed multiple explicit anti-Semitic tropes, and what was the result?

Many high-profile conservatives shrugged and moved on that same day. Some didn’t even shrug at all.

Now, many have responded to my vocal criticism of this appalling conduct with “whataboutism,” declaring that the leftist media ignores anti-Semitism all the time.

Yes, they do. So what?

I was under the impression that we were meant to be the principled ones. If that is true, where on earth are our principles?

I do understand the attitude of wanting to bring culturally-powerful people into our tent based on their supposedly aligned views on single-issue topics. (Let’s leave aside for now the fact that Kanye West’s “pro-life” views are based on an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.) However, if there are no entry requirements to the ideological tent, if admission numbers are the only metric of value, what does that tent even represent?

Until our movement is willing to look in the mirror and stick to their supposed principles, the Jewish people cast out from this tent will wonder whether any of this is worth fighting for.

Yet again, Jews are alone.

Jonathan S. Tobin: Partisan bias created a toxic media culture that tolerates anti-Semitism

Owens is, of course, free to express her opinions. But when Shapiro and Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing were asked about why they were willing to go on providing her with a platform, they answered that while they disagree with her position, they conside it to be merely a difference of opinion that should be tolerated in any forum that values free speech.

That they don’t wish to lose a valuable contributor who has a large and loyal audience is understandable. But they are essentially saying that defending an anti-Semite—and engaging in the kind of arguments that both manifest ignorance about and can easily be interpreted as indifference to Jew-hatred—crosses no red line for them.

Even outlets that defend free speech impose limits on the content they will allow to be published on their sites. It’s doubtful that the Daily Wire would simply shrug it off as a fair subject for debate if, for example, one of their contributors wanted to use it to support critical race theory or transgender ideology.

There’s nothing wrong with that. And the same applies to liberal and left-wing outlets that don’t publish pieces attacking their cherished beliefs or advocating for ideas they abhor.

Yet we all judge publications by their standards. Those left-wing outlets that routinely publish anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic material, or rationalize and defend anti-Semites like Linda Sarsour or Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), are rightly denounced by pro-Israel conservatives for tolerating hate. But if conservatives are now agnostic about colleagues who are guilty of doing the same thing, how is that any better?

What this controversy has shown is that the toxic media culture that the left has championed has not just trashed the credibility of mainstream journalists. It’s also engendered a belief among conservatives that they must circle the wagons around anyone the liberal media targets, even if he or she really is awful.

Ben Domenech: We deserve better than Candace Owens

Candace Owens’s latest foray into the sphere of defending antisemitism ought to be something everyone can easily condemn. Discussing rapper Kanye West’s controversial post, which has gotten him locked out of his social media, Owens said Monday: “If you are an honest person, you did not think this tweet was antisemitic. You did not think that he wrote this tweet because he hates or wants to genocide Jewish people. This is not the beginning of a Holocaust.”

That post in question, as you’ve probably seen, was:

I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.
I’m no Jewish Studies professor, but that seems pretty antisemitic to me. And that “dishonesty” Owens is condemning apparently must extend to Ben Shapiro, who founded the Daily Wire, the company she works for, who said Kanye’s “‘death con 3’ posts and Black Hebrew Israelite language are clearly antisemitic and disturbing.”

As is so often the case with Owens, she leans into controversy when it elevates her personally, typically around the time she has something to promote — in this case, a Daily Wire documentary on the long-known BLM funding scandals. And this defense of Kanye’s posts apparently came at the same time Owens was convincing the infamous Ray J — Kim Kardashian’s ex-boyfriend, who shot the sex tape that launched her to global fame — to appear with Kanye at the documentary premiere in Nashville — something TMZ reports was her doing, in a deliberate attempt to troll Kanye’s ex-wife.

The standard Owens creates here is laughable. Just because you don’t want to actually start a holocaust — and of course there’s no indication anyone here is actively engaged in planning genocide of any kind — that doesn’t mean the thing Kanye just said wasn’t antisemitic. At a time when crime targeting Jews has been dramatically increasing, endorsement of such attitudes by a powerful and influential figure takes on an additionally disturbing quality.

Wow, @dailywireplus has such a wide range of opinions! It has antisemitic Conservatives AND Conservatives who aren't antisemitic but happily platform them and treat their antisemitism as though it's just another political point of view. Thanks @benshapiro! https://t.co/0E30xLOhTA
— Judean Peoples Front?? (@JudeanPF) October 13, 2022

Shockingly, her antisemitism is well know but @nyweekly desired her regardless. pic.twitter.com/6M2YyDuzaM
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 13, 2022

Report: More than 350 anti-Semitic incidents occurred on US college campuses last school year

A total of 359 anti-Semitic incidents took place on U.S. college campuses during the 2021-22 academic year, according to a report released by the Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday.

The ADL’s Campus Report documented instances of accusations or “genocide” and “ethnic genocide” levied against Israel as well as the “ostracizing of Jewish students from campus organizations because of their assumed support for Israel or Zionism.”

Among the incidents, there were 165 protests/actions, 143 anti-Israel events, 20 BDS resolutions and referendums, 11 incidents of vandalism, nine instances of targeted verbal and/or written harassment and one physical assault.

In response to the large number of incidents, the ADL announced that it would be “broadening its educational and programmatic investment on campus, including the launch today of an expanded online resource to support students and combat anti-Semitism on campus.”

According to the ADL, the report exhibits a snapshot of a growing campus radicalism that places opposition to Israel and Zionism as “core elements of collegiate life or as a requirement for full acceptance in the campus community.” Subscribe to The JNS Daily Syndicate by email and never miss our top stories The report provided information about the sources of funding for the student clubs responsible for many of the incidents, including Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace. While most funds come from student activity fees, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund funds JVP and Westchester Peace Action Coalition sponsors SJP.

UC Berkeley is enabling the normalization of anti-Semitism

The university tried to minimize the problem at the School of Law by saying that only nine out of more than one hundred student organizations adopted the ban. I wonder how faculty would feel if the U.S. News and World Report rankings of universities mentioned that “only” about 9% of the students at its law school are anti-Semitic. As Marcus wrote in his response to the law school dean, “Would it be okay for only 5% or 10% of the campus to be segregated?”

Marcus also rejected the freedom of speech defense. “Discriminatory conduct, including anti-Zionist exclusions, is not protected as free speech,” he noted. “It would not be acceptable for students to adopt bylaws banning Black or Chinese speakers, perhaps with an exception for Black or Chinese students who agree to criticize their communities. This would immediately be recognized as exclusionary conduct, not protected speech.”

And where are the liberal defenders of minority rights? Alan Dershowitz has compared the ban to the “loyalty oath” of the McCarthy era, which was opposed by liberals and civil libertarians. “Today’s liberals and civil libertarians should also strongly oppose these ideological tests as well,” he said. “But because they come from the intersectionalist left, many are silent, while others are complicit.”

Beyond the immediate impact on campus, what is particularly disturbing about the Berkeley ban is that the members of the organizations that adopted it will graduate and may be employed by prominent law firms, corporations and government agencies. Perhaps they will enter politics. It is very likely that they will bring their views with them and help normalize and spread the poison of anti-Semitism.

Berkeley has made it clear that it will take no action to prevent this from happening, so the question is whether anything can be done from outside the university.

The reaction to the environment at Yale’s law school could be a precedent. A dozen federal judges said they would no longer hire clerks from Yale because they are dissatisfied with the university’s lack of intellectual diversity and actions that have undermined freedom of speech. If there are judges who agree with Marcus that Berkeley is not seriously addressing the misconduct of its students and stop hiring them, it would seriously damage the school’s prestige and lead some aspiring lawyers to choose a school that is not an incubator for anti-Semitism.

Maybe then the university will actually do something.

Actor and pro-Israel activist Noa Tishby visits Berkeley amid law school controversy

In August, nine student groups at Berkeley Law adopted a bylaw pledging, among other points, to not host “speakers that have expressed and continued to hold views … in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel, and the occupation of Palestine.”

On Thursday, Israeli actor and pro-Israel activist Noa Tishby, author of the 2021 book “Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth,” joined with Berkeley student group Tikvah: The Zionist Voice to speak to students about antisemitism on campus.

The event took place in Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza, a main gathering place on campus and center of student activity where groups regularly set up tables to promote their causes.

Tishby and students stood in front of a table displaying Tikvah’s logo—a Star of David with a lion at the center—and a banner that read “Anti-Zionism is antisemitism.” A crowd of more than 20 surrounded the booth, including students, among them members of Berkeley’s Hillel. The Israeli-American Council, a nonprofit that works to represent the Israeli community in the United States, had gathered members of the larger Bay Area Jewish community to attend the event. Those supporters waved Israeli flags while standing next to the student booth.

“We understand that the Jewish kids and students at Berkeley are feeling uncomfortable,” Tishby told J.

Tishby said she was inspired to visit Berkeley after 10 student groups, including Tikvah, released a statement on Oct. 3 condemning the organizations that adopted the anti-Israel bylaws, and after a provocative op-ed by Kenneth J. Marcus appeared in the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, “Berkeley Develops Jewish-Free Zones.”

The conversations on Sproul Plaza grew heated many times, as students approached the booth to engage with Tishby. At one point, passing students chanted, “Free Palestine.” A member of Tishby’s team was present filming interactions.

Amir Grunhaus, Berkeley senior and president of Tikvah, said Thursday’s event was about standing up for Jewish voices on campus.

“We know that Berkeley is very hostile to Jewish and Zionist students,” Grunhaus said. “This is clearly a violation of the human rights of Zionist students. This is why we’re here today.”

Berkeley's Asian Pacific American Law Students Association is directly funded by @CovingtonLLP, @JennerBlockLLP, @lathamwatkins, and
more: https://t.co/Eb6ckXXfeE
2/7 pic.twitter.com/yKlg5Qpq39
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) October 13, 2022

The truck says "All in favor of banning Jews, raise your right hand." It was a response to the controversy surrounding Berkeley Law groups banning Zionist speakers.
— Gabe Stutman (@jnewsgabe) October 13, 2022

CBC Journalist Defends Freelancer Who Glorified Palestinian Terrorism

On October 5, Hosam Salem, a freelance photographer working for the New York Times, posted on Twitter that his freelance work with the newspaper would be discontinued.

Salem, who had previously covered the conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, told his followers the reason was because of his past posts on social media where he had “expressed support for the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation.”

Salem’s Tweet – which was posted on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar – was liked by more than 55,000 people, and shared nearly 14,000 times. In subsequent Tweets, he argued that the true reason for his contract’s termination was “a systematic effort to distort the image of Palestinian journalists as being incapable of trustworthiness and integrity.”

But Salem did more than merely express his support for the Palestinian cause – he glorified Palestinian terrorists who had murdered and maimed Israelis.

In an exhaustive dossier prepared beforehand by HonestReporting.com and cited by Salem as a rationale used in his ouster, the Jerusalem-based organization reported that in one Twitter post dated July 20, 2014, Salem cheered the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Oron Shaul by Hamas, the Gaza-based Islamist terrorist group. Salem posted “Resistance captured a Zionist soldier…Glory be to Allah…”

In the immediate aftermath of when five rabbis were violently murdered while at prayer in a synagogue in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Har Nof, Salem took to social media to applaud the killings.

Quoting the Koran, Salem wrote on November 18, 2014: “And if you find the disbelievers, strike the rivals…Summary of #Jerusalem operation today!”

More recently, Salem sympathetically eulogized Mahmoud Salem and Nabil Masoud, who blew themselves up at a marine port in Ashdod in 2004, killing 10 innocent civilians. In a post dated March 14, 2021, Salem referred to the two murderers, not as the terrorists they were, but as “martyrs,” adding “May Allah have mercy on them and have mercy on those who planned, prepared and participated” (in the suicide bombing).

In spite of this mountain of damning evidence showing Salem’s support for Palestinian terrorism against Israel, he has found support on Twitter from a fellow journalist, Gillian Findlay, co-host of the CBC investigative news program “The Fifth Estate.”

'We don't want Jews' - letter threatens to murder French teacher like Samuel Paty

A French Jewish teacher was threatened with death in an antisemitic letter sent to the high school that employed him, according to an image of the letter published by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF).

"The dirty Jew needs to stop being clever. We're going to give a Samuel Paty to him and his father, the old Zionist rabbi. We don't want Jews in high schools, stay in your synagogues. We're going to take care of [the teacher] when we leave high school," the letter reportedly received by Georges Brassens high school in the Paris suburb of Évry-Courcouronnes. Samuel Paty's murder

Samuel Paty was a French teacher decapitated by an Islamist terrorist in a Paris suburb in 2020. The Chechen-French teenager murdered Paty over his showing of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression.

The terrorist was shoot by police and killed during the attack. Almost a dozen were arrested and charged with conspiring to assist the killer. Those charged included students. The attacker had asked students to point out his target before he murdered him.
"The dirty Jew needs to stop being clever. We're going to give a Samuel Paty to him and his father, the old Zionist rabbi. We don't want Jews in high schools, stay in your synagogues. We're going to take care of [the teacher] when we leave high school."
Death threat to Georges Brassens high school
Yonathan Arfi, President of CRIF, responded to the letter's demand to remove Jews from schools, by saying "what I don't want in high schools is antisemitism, rejection of the Republic, hatred of teachers."

Channel 4 purchases Hitler painting for Jimmy Carr to potentially destroy in television programme

Channel 4 has reportedly purchased a painting by Adolf Hitler, with a view to letting comedian Jimmy Carr potentially destroy it in a new television programme.

The programme, titled Jimmy Carr Destroys Art, will see an audience decide on whether artwork from “problematic” artists should be destroyed following a debate surrounding the ethics of separating the art from the artist.

The other artists include Pablo Picasso, Rolf Harris and sexual abuser Eric Gill.

Ian Katz, Channel 4’s Director of Programming, said: “There are advocates for each piece of art. So you’ve got an advocate for Hitler. There’ll be someone arguing not for Hitler, but for the fact that his moral character should not decide whether or not a piece of art exists or not.”

Mr Katz said that if the audience were to decide that the painting by Hitler should not be destroyed, it would not be placed in the Channel 4 boardroom and would be “appropriately” disposed of.

In a statement, Channel 4 said: “Jimmy Carr Destroys Art is a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of the limits of free expression in art, and whether work by morally despicable artists still deserves to be seen. It speaks directly to the current debate around cancel culture and is in a long tradition of Channel 4 programming that seeks to engage a broad audience with the biggest and thorniest ethical and cultural questions.

“In relation to the Hitler painting; the artwork, should the audience decide, will be shredded. Not torched.”

Nazi sympathizers vandalize small Spanish town once named Fort Kill the Jews

Three apparent Nazi sympathizers have been arrested in connection with a rash of antisemitic vandalism in a tiny Spanish town whose name for nearly 400 years was Castrillo Matajudios — or Fort Kill the Jews.

For years, the town, which changed its name in 2015 to Castrillo Mota De Judios, or Fort Jews Hill, has been plagued by antisemitic graffiti. Some of it referenced the Holocaust, while others had to do with the Inquisition, the medieval expulsion of Jews from Spain. All of it vexed the town’s mayor, who has sought to rehabilitate the town’s image and put it on the map as a destination of Jewish significance.

“These are cowardly, intolerant and ignorant people who do not value neither heritage nor people; nor do they have respect for anyone or anything,” the mayor, Lorenzo Rodriguez, wrote when sharing pictures of some of the damage last year. “These intolerant people are not allowed here.”

Now, Spanish police have arrested three people — two men and a woman — whom they said were responsible for the incidents, as well as others in which Jewish sites were vandalized near Madrid.

“The investigation has shown that the detainees are related to xenophobic movements with a marked antisemitic discourse, whose messages focus on hatred against the Jewish population and its environment,” Spain’s Civil Guard law enforcement agency said in a statement. “The three detainees are considered members of a radical right-wing criminal group that acted in concert to commit this type of crime, adopting security measures to avoid being discovered.”

Cricketers Azeem Rafiq and Andrew Gale reprimanded by Cricket Discipline Commission for antisemitic social media posts

Azeem Rafiq and Andrew Gale have both been reprimanded by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) for historic antisemitic social media posts and acting in a way that is “prejudicial to the interests of cricket”.

The charges brought against Mr Rafiq by the England and Wales Cricket Board relate to Facebook messages exchanged with former Leicestershire cricketer Ateeq Javid in 2011. According to the newspaper, Mr Rafiq, who was nineteen at the time, and his interlocutor were apparently discussing another professional cricketer whom they appeared to accuse of being reluctant to spend money on a meal out because “he is a Jew”. Mr Rafiq joked that he will “probs go after my 2nds again ha…Only Jews do tht sort of shit [sic].”

Mr Rafiq has since apologised and looked to learn more about anti-Jewish racism. In a JC-organised tour of the Jewish Museum, Mr Rafiq was accompanied by Holocaust survivor Ruth Barnett and Mr Silverman, who explained the history of the antisemitic trope of Jews and money and why Mr Rafiq’s historic remarks had been so hurtful.

In response to the ruling from the CDC, Mr Rafiq tweeted earlier this week: “This summer, I unequivocally accepted a charge from the ECB regarding my antisemitic social media post from 2011. You will hear no complaint from me about the CDC’s decision today.

“It is deserved and I fully accept this reprimand. I want to repeat my apology to the Jewish community. I remain ashamed and embarrassed. I hope I have demonstrated in the past 10-11 months that I am trying to educate myself about the horrors and prejudice the Jewish community has historically – and continues – to face.

“I will keep trying and I thank the Jewish community for the forgiveness and kindness that has been shown to me so far.”

Recently, fresh allegations of antisemitism against Mr Rafiq have surfaced. However, he has denied them as “categorically untrue”.

Chris Wenger is a speech pathologist at Chaffey Joint Union High School District & abhorrent antisemite in Rancho Cucamonga, CA openly spewing conspiracy theories of Jewish power and control to his 100k plus followers. pic.twitter.com/xhu6bZyyVx
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 14, 2022

Israeli asks Saudi ruler to allow him to visit home in Najran

David Shuker, one of the last living Jews from Najran, called on King Salman of Saudi Arabia to allow him to visit his childhood home in southern Saudi Arabia in an interview with Channel 13 published on Friday.

"I'm asking to be allowed to visit my roots and see where my grandparents are buried. I'm interested in visiting the place where I was born and raised. I'm asking for it from a humanitarian point of view," said Shuker, aged 78. "I was born from the dust of Najran. I was created from its soil. I am asking King Salman in every language of request, to give me the opportunity to visit my roots and gain closure."

Shuker is the former council head of Bnei Ayish and the head of the Public Council for the Rescue of the Jews of Yemen. He was born in Najran in southern Saudi Arabia.

"Why can't I visit Saudi Arabia? We didn't fight with them. We don't hate them. The opposite is true. We hate those who are fighting them - the Houthi rebels who are sent by Iran. We also suffer Iran's shipments. This is where I was born. It cannot be denied that Jews lived there." Saudi Jewry disappearing

While most of Saudi Jewry were exiled or killed during the time of Mohammed and afterwards, a small remnant remained in a number of cities and towns throughout what is now Saudi Arabia.

Najran, Shuker's childhood home, was once part of Yemen but was transferred to Saudi Arabia as part of the Taif Agreement, which ended the Saudi-Yemeni War in 1934. The Jewish community in Najran dated back to pre-Islamic times, but all its members left in 1949 as persecution against Jews increased.

"The Jews lived in Najran long before the Saudi rule. In fact, there is evidence that Jews lived there already 2,000 years ago. They were called Bani Isra'il," explained Shuker. "I was born in a small settlement called Bir Da'an. From a young age my father started teaching me Torah. I remember the city and the experiences mainly from my parents' stories."

According to Shuker, about 60 Jewish families lived in Najran and the surrounding villages.

Israeli AI product named Construction Software of the Year

Israeli construction technology startup Buildots, won the “Construction Software of the Year” award at the 2022 London Construction Awards at London Build, the UK’s leading construction and design show.

Buildots also was a finalist in the “Product Innovation of the Year” and “Technological Innovation of the Year” categories.

By collecting data with hardhat-mounted 360-degree cameras and processing the data with artificial intelligence (AI), Buildots enables construction teams to make informed decisions that can improve resource efficiency, reduce costly errors and save time.

The technology is currently in use across the UK, Europe, the United States, Middle East and Asia.

Based in Tel Aviv and London, Buildots previously was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Israeli Startups for 2021 and 2022, and recently completed a $60 million Series C funding round, reaching $106 million in total funding.

Israeli needle-free alternative to amnio can detect thousands of mutations

Israeli scientists are holding trials on a new method of screening for fetuses and say it could provide all the information received from an amniocentesis without the risks.

Prof. Noam Shomron of Tel Aviv University told The Times of Israel that his method involves taking a regular blood sample rather than the amniocentesis practice of using a needle to extract amniotic fluid, which carries a risk of miscarriage.

He said the new technique can be performed four weeks earlier than amniocentesis — at 10 weeks instead of the standard 14 — and provides as much information on the risks of numerous syndromes, diseases and disorders.

“We can screen for thousands of mutations, each of which could lead to genetic diseases,” he said, naming Gaucher’s and cystic fibrosis as two diseases.

It also works for less common mutations such as those that occur more among particular demographics, like Tay Sachs which is more prevalent among Ashkenazi Jews.

Record number of Jews reported to visit Temple Mount over High Holiday season

More than 6,000 Jews visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City since the start of the High Holidays — a new record for monthly visits, according to an advocacy group.

Yaraeh, which promotes Jewish visits to the flashpoint holy site, reported the figure on Friday, the 19th day of Tishrei, with the number expected to further grow over the last 11 days of the Jewish month.

During the same month last year, the group said a record 5,981 Jews ascended to the Temple Mount.

Veteran Temple Mount activist Israel Medad noted the increased size of the Jewish groups since he first started visiting. Previously “no more than seven Jews would ascend at one time,” but now groups of 100-150 people go up together, he said in a statement from Yaraeh.

Jewish visits to the Temple Mount have long been a source of tension with Palestinians, leading to minor scuffles with police over Rosh Hashanah last month, after Palestinian youths barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in anticipation of the Jewish visitors.

Police have geared up for potential tensions at the Temple Mount during the ongoing Sukkot holiday, following several nights of rioting in East Jerusalem and continued unrest in the West Bank.

However, no clashes were reported at the Jerusalem holy site on Friday, when large numbers of Muslim worshippers typically attend afternoon prayers.

Miami Boys Choir performing viral song "Yerushalayim" live in concert

The Miami Boys Choir held a concert in New Jersey earlier this week in which they sang their viral TikTok song, "Yerushalayim." The Lakewood Scoop posted a small two-minute clip of them singing the song.

TikTok user @elinewhouse uploaded a 30-second clip from the same concert, tagging the Miami Boys Choir and captioning it as, "Blessed to see @YerachmielBegunandMBC perform #yerushalayim." His video reached almost 3,000 views and has gotten the attention of the Miami Boys Choir.

The choir commented on his TikTok saying, "Blessed to have you and every other person in that building earlier today. Thank you for being there."

Miami Boys Choir performing #viral “Yerushalayim” song live in concert today in NJ #miamiboyschoir pic.twitter.com/XQubUcpWs8
— The Lakewood Scoop (@LakewoodScoop) October 12, 2022
The Miami Boys Choir went viral on TikTok last month by posting a video to their TikTok account from their 2008 concert, naming the soloists featured in it.