The French Railroad and the Holocaust

Michael Curtis

In all these legal encounters, the SNCF has used contradictory, but successful, arguments. In the French case, it argues that the court has no jurisdiction over it because it was a private company. In the U.S., it argues that courts have no jurisdiction over it because it was not a private company but an arm of the French government.

Even though in wartime France, under the Vichy regime headed by Marshal Pétain, people behaved in a manner thought necessary for survival, the issue of legal as well as moral judgment has arisen again in lawsuits involving the actions of the Societé Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF), the French railroad system, during World War II. For a long time there was denial and an eerie silence on the part of postwar French authorities in general, and the SNCF in particular, about their participation in the Holocaust. Only on November 4, 2010 did Guillaume Pepy, the present chair of the SNCF, issue a statement that "The Nazis and their French Vichy collaborators directed these terrible actions," and conveyed "profound sorrow and regret for the consequences" of the acts of SNCF. Those acts were the transport in French trains of 76,000 Jews in France to the death camps.

The Muslim Brotherhood in its own words

PMW translation of

Jihad is the Way by Mustafa Mashhur,

leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt,

from 1996 - 2002

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=7210

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

A very important book for understanding Muslim Brotherhood ideology has been translated by Palestinian Media Watch. Jihad is the Way by Mustafa Mashhur explains the beliefs and aspirations of the Muslim Brotherhood. Particularly significant today are how the Brotherhood sees violent Jihad and the necessity of patience and timing in bringing about a world under Islam.

PMW's op-ed "The Muslim Brotherhood's Patient Jihad" that appeared in yesterday's bulletin cited from Jihad is the Way.

Ahmadinejad: Annihilate Israel, 'Axis of Unity of World Powers'

Chana Ya'ar



Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has once again called for the annihilation of Israel, which he labeled “the axis of unity of the world hegemonic powers.”

Speaking in advance of International Qods Day, set this year for August 17, Ahmadinejad repeated his annual litany of hate for the Jewish State in a meeting with ambassadors and embassy personnel of Islamic nations in Tehran, according to the official state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), quoting from a statement posted on the website of his presidential office.

Ahmadinejad: Annihilate Israel, 'Axis of Unity of World Powers'

Chana Ya'ar



Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has once again called for the annihilation of Israel, which he labeled “the axis of unity of the world hegemonic powers.”

Speaking in advance of International Qods Day, set this year for August 17, Ahmadinejad repeated his annual litany of hate for the Jewish State in a meeting with ambassadors and embassy personnel of Islamic nations in Tehran, according to the official state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), quoting from a statement posted on the website of his presidential office.

Why Abbas Wants to Go Back to the UN in September

Khaled Abu Toameh
August 2, 2012 

Abbas's decision to return to the UN is not only a ploy to avoid internal problems at home, it is also a way of trying to extort the Americans and Europeans into channeling more funds into his coffers. Abbas's threat: Give me more money or I will misbehave and file another request with the UN.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is now saying that he will resume his efforts in September to achieve, unilaterally, UN recognition of a Palestinian state.
A similar attempt by Abbas in September last year failed after he failed to secure the backing of a majority of members of the UN Security Council.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Patient Jihad

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=7194

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

Mohamed Morsi's recent election as president of Egypt has proved a matter of concern. A candidate from the radical Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, many fear that Morsi's victory, along with the Brotherhood's parliamentary successes, will threaten Egyptian-Israeli peace. More generally, it is unclear whether the Brotherhood, now empowered in its native state, will prove a moderating or destabilizing force in the Arab world.

And so observers listened carefully to Morsi's inauguration speech, in which he seemed to be addressing these two concerns. Part of his speech, widely interpreted as a reference to future relations with Israel, emphasized "the state of Egypt's commitment to international treaties and agreements." More broadly, he declared that "we carry a message of peace to the world."

Romney's Israel Trip Made The Liberals Go Meshuggah

Yid With Lid

Meshuggah: From the Yiddish (Mamaloshen): chronically crazy, or obsessed. 

Even before Mitt Romney got on a plane in London and set a heading for Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel, it seems the liberals and their friends in the media have been going a bit meshuggah about Romney’s trip and the Jewish vote.

Last Thursday there was the incident with Jay Carney refusing to name the administrations stance on the capital of Israel. Friday Obama gave an additional $70 million dollars in military aid to the Jewish state. Sunday former speaker Nancy Pelosi botched an appeal to Jewish voters, talking about how wonderful Obama has been for Israel and the GOP was manipulating those poor Jews to think he’s been awful just so they can get lower taxes for the rich (sorry Nancy, the only one manipulating this Jew is my chiropractor).  On the Sunday morning talk circuit progressive spokesmen were bashing the Romney appearance.  And, after the GOP candidate exhibited some leadership in Jerusalem, the liberal media found a way to twist what Romney said at a Jerusalem fundraiser in an attempt to manufacture an international incident.

These were Romney's comments which the liberal media twisted:

I was thinking this morning as I prepared to come into this room of a discussion had across the country in the United States about my perceptions about differences between countries. And as you come here and you see the GDP per capita for instance in Israel which is about 21,000 dollars and you compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority which is more like 10,000 dollars per capita you notice a dramatic, stark difference in economic vitality. And that is also between other countries that are near or next to each other. Chile and Ecuador, Mexico and the United States. I noted that part of my interest when I used to be in the world of business is I would travel to different countries was to understand why there were such enormous disparities in the economic success of various countries.

I read a number of books on the topic. One, that is widely acclaimed, is by someone named Jared Diamond called ‘Guns, Germs and Steel,’ which basically says the physical characteristics of the land account for the differences in the success of the people that live there. There is iron ore on the land and so forth. And you look at Israel and you say you have a hard time suggesting that all of the natural resources on the land could account for all the accomplishment of the people here. And likewise other nations that are next door to each other have very similar, in some cases, geographic elements. But then there was a book written by a former Harvard professor named ‘The Wealth and Poverty of Nations.’ And in this book Dr. Landes describes differences that have existed—particularly among the great civilizations that grew and why they grew and why they became great and those that declined and why they declined. And after about 500 pages of this lifelong analysis—this had been his study for his entire life—and he’s in his early 70s at this point, he says this, he says, if you could learn anything from the economic history of the world it’s this: culture makes all the difference. Culture makes all the difference.

And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things. One, I recognize the hand of providence in selecting this place. I’m told in a Sunday school class I attended— I think my son Tagg was teaching the class. He’s not here. I look around to see. Of course he’s not here. He was in London. He taught a class in which he was describing the concern on the part of some of the Jews that left Egypt to come to the promised land, that in the promised land was down the River Nile, that would provide the essential water they had enjoyed in Egypt. They came here recognizing that they must be relied upon, themselves and the arm of God to provide rain from the sky. And this therefore represented a sign of faith and a show of faith to come here. That this is a people that has long recognized the purpose in this place and in their lives that is greater than themselves and their own particular interests, but a purpose of accomplishment and caring and building and serving. There’s also something very unusual about the people of this place. And Dan Senor— And Dan, I saw him this morning, I don’t know where he is, he’s probably out twisting someone’s arm—There’s Dan Senor, co-author of ‘Start-up Nation,’ described— If you haven’t read the book, you really should— Described why it is Israel is the leading nation for start-ups in the world. And why businesses one after the other tend to start up in this place. And he goes through some of the cultural elements that have led Israel to become a nation that has begun so many businesses and so many enterprises and that is becomes so successful.

The AP/NPR interpretation of what Romney said is what the liberal media reported. Those reports were; Romney said culturally Jews were better than Palestinians, and their economy was better because of God.  

Based on the AP/NPR reports the Palestinians labeled Romney racist. Assuming anybody really cares what the Palestinians think of the US election, do the words above seem racist?

The reason for the furor is to paint Mitt Romney as clumsy in foreign policy, to scare liberal Jews away from the GOP, and firm up the liberal Jewish vote for Obama.

Obama and his fellow progressives are flailing around trying to find something, anything to prevent a big chunk of the Jewish vote from going GOP or even staying home, and are worried it could be the difference in close swing states such as Florida, Nevada, or even Pennsylvania.  They are also hoping to bring Jewish donors sitting on the sidelines back into the fold..

Even the White House lost it a bit yesterday.  As a reaction to Romney’s declaration that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel, all of a sudden they remembered their policy on Israel’s capital.

The White House lied!  They announced their policy and that of recent presidents is that Jerusalem is not the capital of Israel, because final status will be negotiated at the end of a peace deal.

Actually the previous president, George Bush believed that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel but its final borders were to be negotiated.

In 1995 Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act endorsing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and requiring the US Embassy to move to Jerusalem. But Congress gave the executive branch an out, every six months the State Department/President can request and receive an automatic waiver.  A waiver that President Bill Clinton issued to congress every six months as required.

President Bush continued the policy every six months, but in Bush’s case, he inserted into the legal jargon a sentence stating, “My Administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem.” The phrase appeared in all 16 Bush waiver notifications. The Obama administration removed that phrase from their waiver requests.

What does this all add up to? 

One possibility is the the numbers released by Gallup last week about Obama’s margin with Jewish voters (68%-25%) must not agree with the Obama campaign’s internals. All of this mishugas (craziness) indicates the margin is a bit closer than Gallup believes. 

Another possibility is the campaigns panicked about losing Florida and are trying to use the Jewish vote to firm up the state.

Either way the progressive response to Mitt Romney’s trip to Israel is nothing short of frantic and reeks of desperation, or as we say in the mamaloshen (mother tongue) they are acting a bit meshuggah.

Why Republicans Must Take the Lead on Israel: A Postscript

Arlene Kushner  on Aug 1st, 2012 

On July 24, I posted a piece — “Why Republicans Must Take the Lead on Israel” — on FrontPage.

Its thesis, in brief: In January, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appointed the Levy Committee – headed by Edmund Levy, retired Supreme Court Justice, and including another retired judge and a lawyer who is an expert on international law – and charged them with considering the legal status of  “unauthorized settlements” in Judea and Samaria.

The findings of that committee, which labored long and hard in its research, have now been released.  It found that (emphasis added):

 

According to international law, Israelis have a legal right to settle all of Judea and Samaria, at the very least the lands that Israel controls under agreements with the Palestinian Authority [area C under the Oslo Accords].

• “[F]rom an international law perspective, the laws of ‘occupation’ do not apply to the unique historic and legal circumstances surrounding Israel’s decades-long presence in Judea and Samaria.”
• “Likewise, the Fourth Geneva Convention [relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War] on the transfer of populations does not apply, and wasn’t intended to apply to communities such as those established by Israel in Judea and Samaria.”

The committee made several recommendations, but neither its findings nor those recommendations are binding on the government of Israel.  Prime Minister Netanyahu has submitted the Report to his Ministerial Committee on Settlements, but at present there has been no policy established with regard to the Committee findings.

The Arab World on the Precipice

Dr. Mordechai Kedar

Photo Credit: Matanya Tausig/Flash90

Although I do not generally do so, I will open with an Arabic joke, because in the Arab world (and perhaps in other places as well) people often use humor to speak the truth about reality. I will begin by explaining: In Arabic, the term is “weapon of total destruction” instead of “weapon of mass destruction”.

According to the joke, in 2003, President George W. Bush, sent a delegation to search out weapons of mass destruction all over the Arab world, and gave its members authorization to search everywhere. The delegation roamed throughout the entire area for a whole year, and did not find any weapons of mass destruction. The delegation returned to Washington, came to the Oval Office in the White House, and said to Bush: “We checked every place in the whole Middle East, searched everything and we didn’t find any weapons of mass destruction”. The president asked them: “What did you find?” The members of the delegation answered him: “total destruction.”

The point of this ironic story is that the Arab world does not need “weapons of total destruction”, since even without them the area is in total ruins. The situation in Syria these days illustrates this situation, and in live broadcast. With presidents slaughtering their own citizens in the thousands, and their capitals serving as a front in the battle against them, and the state’s military branches fighting against its people, when human dignity – especially that of women and girls – is openly trampled upon and these countries’ economies are collapsing, the Arab world is in an advanced state of systemic collapse, “total destruction.”

Going for the Gold: IDF Soldiers in the London Olympic Games

idfspokespersonhttp://www.idfblog.com/

Six IDF soldiers took a special vacation this week in order to fly to the Olympic Games in London -- and not as mere spectators. They're competing in the games as part of the Israeli Olympic Delegation, in swimming, Judo and rhythmic gymnastics.

IDF soldier swimming. Picture: Roni Aviv

Corporal Yakov-Yan Toumarkin, Swimming:

• Position: 20 years old, serves in the Air Force
• Personal record: LEN European Aquatics Championships gold medal winner in 100m backstroke, FINA World Aquatics Championships silver medal winner in 100m and 200m backstroke.
• Olympic hope: "There is a huge excitement. I feel like I'm standing a few floors above the top of the world. On the day I qualified to participate in the 2012 Olympic games I felt very relieved, because at the end of the day, this was my goal.”
• Goal: "I aim for the semi-finals. I might still find myself in the finals if I accidentally get there, but anyway, there's always the next Olympic games.”

PA Ministry of Education periodical: Israel is "like an octopus... flames shooting out between its fangs"

"They cut off my limbs,
threw me among the ruins"

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=7186

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

A Palestinian Authority Ministry of Education monthly periodical chose to include an essay written by a PA teacher describing Israel's creation as an attack by "an enemy like an octopus... with burning flames shooting out from between its fangs" who "cut off my limbs [and] threw me among the ruins."

Palestinian Media Watch has reported on the ongoing PA demonization of Jews and Israelis, as well as the repeated denial of Israel's right to exist.

Romney faces Palestinian criticism for Jerusalem remarks as he heads to Poland

Richard Landes

View Photo Gallery — Romney continues overseas tour: After stopping in London to visit with British leaders and attend the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympics, the GOP presidential candidate continued his week-long overseas trip by going to Israel and Poland.

JERUSALEM — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney angered Palestinian leaders on Monday when he suggested here that the Israeli economy had outpaced the economy of the Palestinian territories in part because of advantages of “culture.”Palestinians said that Romney had ignored the long-running Israeli restrictions on crossings from the Gaza Strip and West Bank, which they say are an enormous drag on trade.

Romney’s campaign said afterward that the remark had been misinterpreted. “This was not in any way an attempt to slight the Palestinians,” Stuart Stevens, Romney’s chief strategist, told reporters in a later stop in Gdansk, Poland. “And everyone knows that.”

Romney had said at a breakfast fundraiser that he had pondered the reasons for Israel’s huge economic advantage over the neighboring territories.“As you come here and you see the [Gross Domestic Product] per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,” Romney said, according to a pool report.

Genuine Hope This Time‏

July 30, 2012

 

Yesterday was Tisha B'Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar.  (Actually, Shabbat was Tisha B'Av, but we are not permitted to mourn on Shabbat.)  It is the day that marks the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem and other calamities in Jewish history as well.   We fast, refrain from the wearing of leather as a sign of mourning, chant Eicha (the Book of Lamentations) and kinot (dirges referring to the Temple and other Jewish suffering).

 

Most often mention of Tisha B'Av brings to mind thoughts of the destruction of the Second Temple, 2,000 years ago, by the Romans.

Invaders from Outer Space

Sultan Knish

New York City has been invaded, its buildings blown up and its citizens slaughtered hundreds of times. The invaders come every summer, descending from the sky and under the earth. Sometimes they aliens or gods or monsters. They are, however, never Muslims.

Every summer, for 10 dollars you can see a fantasy version of September 11 reenacted with invading enemies who deserve no mercy and receive none. They come in swarms, buildings fall, people run for cover and then they are beaten back and banished. And then, as summer fades, we pause for that obligatory week in which attention must be paid to commemorating the attacks of September 11 while seeing no connection between the discharges of tension through fictional victories used as an escape mechanism from a war that we dare not fight.

The Dark Knight, the previous Batman film, contained an elaborate analogy to the War on Terror, a shadow version of the real war fought out by men in costumes proving that it was possible to release a big-budget movie supportive of the War on Terror so long as it was dressed up in the right costume.

Since then, and before, New York City has been attacked by meteors, ice ages, mythical skeletons, more costumed criminals, the year 2012, and every possible imaginary scenario that can be dreamed up. It just hasn't been attacked by Muslims because that's something that doesn't happen in movies. Only in real life.

How Europe Funds Israel’s Destruction

Giulio Meotti 

 

While the U.S. is home to many Christian supporters of Israel, the Christian groups more closely linked to global public opinion, bureaucracy, media and legal forums are all violently anti-Israel and anti-Jewish. This month, for example, the Church of England voted to support the boycott movement against Israel.

A special report by the Israeli watchdog NGO Monitor, revealed the huge flux of money that is being provided by European governments for the Church-based efforts to destroy Israel. This development is paving the way for a new Jewish bloodbath through the vehicle of excluding Israel’s Jews from the family of nations.

The Dutch government, for example, grants millions of euros to organizations such as Kerk in Aktie and the Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation, which support a “general boycott” of Israeli products as per the policy of the Protestant Church of the Netherlands. The Interchurch Organization also received money from the European Union (€5.3 million).