The war against the Jews

Efraim Karsh

Israel Affairs

The sustained anti-Israel de-legitimization campaign is a corollary of the millenarian obsession with the Jews in the Christian and the Muslim worlds. Since Israel is the world's only Jewish state, and since Zionism is the Jewish people's national liberation movement, anti-Zionism-as opposed to criticism of specific Israeli policies or actions-means denial of the Jewish right to national self-determination. Such a discriminatory denial of this basic right to only one nation (and one of the few that can trace their corporate identity and territorial attachment to antiquity) while allowing it to all other groups and communities, however new and tenuous their claim to nationhood, is pure and unadulterated anti-Jewish racism, or anti-Semitism as it is commonly known.

"Where Are We Going?"

As is often the case before Shabbat, this post will be brief -- primarily a follow-up on the Sinai situation that I have been watching to the best of my ability.

 

From Egyptian security agents has come the information that Cairo is asking Israel to hold off on demands regarding deployment of troops and introduction of tanks into the Sinai:

A call to forge a Zionist narrative for our time

 Michael C. Kotzin

One hundred and ten years since Herzl’s “Altneuland” was published, nearly 65 years since the founding of the modern State of Israel fulfilled its key prophecy, and some two decades since the notion of post-Zionism became fashionable, Zionist ideas are getting a new look in locales ranging from think tanks to education centers to the halls of academia. With Zionist concepts regarded as having continuing valence despite the fact that Israel has long since been established, and with the word “Zionism” being assertively kept in play despite the hostile badmouthing it has received in some quarters, the meaning and relevance of Zionism today is being studied and advanced. While much of this work is theoretical, there is practical application to be promoted as well.

IDF HR Chief: Although Half of Israel’s Youth Don’t Enlist, the Army Remains the Foundation of our Social Resilience

Jewish Press Staff

Published: August 23rd, 2012

Head of IDF Human Resources Major General Orna Barbibay.
Photo Credit: Kobi Gideon
 
About half of recruitment-age Israeli youths do not enlist, said Head of IDF Human Resources, Major General Orna Barbibay on Wednesday. But despite this reluctance to serve, she argued that “the IDF is the only melting pot I know,” adding, “and even if the connection is partial, the Army still introduces different segments of the populations to each other, enabling them to perform the essential task of national security.”

However, she noted, the IDF’s role is primarily to ensure the security of Israeli citizens. “Of course, when we examine our national strength, we must realize that our social resilience is an inseparable part of it, and we understand that the army has a role in that as well,” she said.

Abbas and PA used term "alleged Temple" at least 97 times in 2011 and 2012 in its ongoing campaign to deny Jerusalem's Jewish history

Mahmoud Abbas:

"No peace, security, or stability"

without evacuation of Jews from Jerusalem - "our holy city"

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=7284

by Itamar Marcus

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has again denied Jerusalem's Jewish history and the existence of the Temple, referring to the "alleged Temple" in a statement this week.

The use of the term "alleged Temple" to deny Jewish history has been Palestinian Authority policy under Abbas for many years. Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the entire Palestinian Authority leadership and the structures under its control actively and repeatedly use the term "alleged Temple."

http://thisongoingwar.blogspot.co.il/2012/08/21-aug-12-what-might-civilized-people.html 21-Aug-12: What might civilized people be thinking when sociopaths like Tamimi bask in adulation? The unrepentant, unjustly freed murderer Tamimi with the unrepentant, unjustly freed murderer Tamimi at their June 2012 wedding in Amman, Jordan After receiving some offline comments on the Tamimi speech we publicized yesterday, we have a few further thoughts to share. The urge to do this is triggered by a sense that something deeply disturbing is going on; it's being ignored or willfully not noticed by people who ought to be noticing. When a politician or public figure on our side of the fence makes an ignorant or dumb or smart or incisive statement, particularly when it's about the Arabs (you know the examples), his/her comments are greeted with near-instant analysis and frequently with condemnation from a global array of press and politicians. The Arab media focus obsessively on such things. Outside the Arab/Islamic world, we frequently see European, American, Australian and other critics drawing wide inferences about how those specific Israeli views are going to bring on the next Black Plague or an increase in pogroms in France. The claim, at minimum, is that irreparable harm is going to be caused to the souls and DNA of innocent Israeli children, to world peace and so on. To illustrate: when a posse of Israeli delinquents (it happens to be a very current issue here) beat up an Arab youth in a street fight, the New York Times says the event has led to "a stark national conversation about racism, violence, and how Israeli society could have come to this point" That's an actual quote: check it out. We think the Times' journalist's conclusion is overwrought nonsense, but that's not the point. Israel is not, never has been and should never be, immune to criticism, or even object to it, and mostly doesn't. Now think for a moment about how Ahlam Tamimi and her hundreds of published interviews and speeches are treated by global public opinion. Pay attention in particular to how Arabs view her, since they are her principal audience. No one - certainly not the woman herself - denies the fact that she planned and carried out a premeditated killing on a large and vicious scale, which was the whole point of doing it. The law convicted her on the basis that she's a murderer; she says (more or less) that she did it for the freedom and honour of her nation. The fact that she planned to kill and succeeded mightily has never been in dispute. She does not miss an opportunity to say that it was children, and specifically Jewish children, and even more specifically orthodox Jewish children like ours, who were the target. She regrets that she did not kill more - it's there in yesterday's video and in numerous other speeches and earlier videos recorded in her Jordanian freedom. She appears on television and in front of adoring crowds (ask us if you want to view the video files) and expresses the vilest kind of racist hatred of Jews, Israelis and Zionists. She has done this many times since she unjustly got her freedom in October and her message is hugely amplified by the social media. She is a star on YouTube, a hero on Facebook. She is globally broadcast via satellite television into every corner of the Arabic-speaking world. It's arguable that she has the largest footprint of any ordinary murderer (ignoring "celebrities" like Hitler, Mao, Stalin et al) in human history. If that seems like an overstatement then we urge you to concede that she is in the major leagues. The fact that most people don't know this is largely because most people don't speak Arabic. She smiles warmly when she says she killed those Jews, and her god wanted her to do it. She points to how she has subsequently been rewarded with freedom, fame, a wedding that received live television coverage. The adoring crowds applaud and ululate. The encouragement (and probably the will) to emulate her actions is clear. How many Arabic speakers are there in the world? A quick query on the web turns up these numbers: "280 million native speakers, and an extra 250 million non-native speakers" [source]. How many Arabic newspapers? Many. Here's our point: We have searched and have not yet found a blog, article, published speech or op-ed in her language, Arabic, which criticizes the woman or her views. So far, not one. If our readers can point us to exceptions, please do. This is deeply shocking. Tamimi's message resonates throughout the Arab and Islamic world. Her views don't even rise to the level of controversial. She's simply a hero, wall to wall. She and her vile deeds, opinions and intentions appear to represent some sort of global consensus in the Arab and Islamic world. There is no public debate, no expressions of outrage - not even concerning the passivity of the Kingdom of Jordan where she lives and from where a vibrant Tamimi-focused industry of online and broadcast videos sends its message of hatred and death out to the world. Does the absence of criticism throughout the Arab world mean they support the deliberate killing of the innocent people among their enemy? Does their silence mean they support the murder of children as Tamimi certainly does, and they want to see it happen again and again as she certainly does? What does this say about the discourse underway in the Arab world? What light does it throw on the global news media? What can we learn from here about the chances of ever making peace?

http://thisongoingwar.blogspot.co.il/2012/08/21-aug-12-what-might-civilized-people.html

The unrepentant, unjustly freed murderer Tamimi with the unrepentant, unjustly freed murderer Tamimi at their June 2012 wedding in Amman, Jordan

After receiving some offline comments on the Tamimi speech we publicized yesterday, we have a few further thoughts to share. The urge to do this is triggered by a sense that something deeply disturbing is going on; it's being ignored or willfully not noticed by people who ought to be noticing.

When a politician or public figure on our side of the fence makes an ignorant or dumb or smart or incisive statement, particularly when it's about the Arabs (you know the examples), his/her comments are greeted with near-instant analysis and frequently with condemnation from a global array of press and politicians. The Arab media focus obsessively on such things. Outside the Arab/Islamic world, we frequently see European, American, Australian and other critics drawing wide inferences about how those specific Israeli views are going to bring on the next Black Plague or an increase in pogroms in France.

Leftist Orgs Take Taglit Youths on Pro-Arab Tours

Makor Rishon: NGOs take Taglit youths to Palestinian Authority villages, provide anti-"occupation" narrative.

By Gil Ronen

Birthright group arrives in Israel

Israel news photo: Birthright PR

 

Pro-Arab NGOs have been taking advantage of the Taglit-Birthright program that brings young Jewish people on tours of Israel – to take the tourists on their own tours and provide them with a pro-Arab perspective on Israel, according to the Makor Rishon newspaper.

Taglit-Birthright brings thousands of young Jews to Israel every year, for 10-day tours in which they learn about Israel, meet Israelis and strengthen their Jewish identity. Many of the participants choose to lengthen their stay in Israel and use the time to visit relatives, hike or just have fun before they take the free flight home.

Makor Rishon's Tzvika Klein reported that several leftist NGOs take advantage of this situation to connect with the Taglit youths and take them on tours serving their political perspective, before they fly back home with the ticket paid for by Taglit.

Israeli embassy in Dublin evacuated after suspect package found

A suspicious package has been found at the Israeli embassy in Ballsbridge, Dublin; the building has been evacuated.

http://www.thejournal.ie/suspicious-package-israeli-embassy-dublin-566588-Aug2012/

22 minutes ago

File photo of Carrisbrook House in Ballsbridge, which houses Israel's embassy to Ireland.

AN ARMY bomb disposal unit has been dispatched to the Israeli embassy in Dublin.
The dispatch comes after a suspect package was found this morning.

A military spokesman said an explosives ordnance team had been dispatched to the scene.
The embassy building, Carrisbrook House on Ballsbridge’s Northumberland Road, has been evacuated while the package is examined.
More as we get it.

Iran Steps Up Threats to Rub Out Israel

Yaakov Lappin

Jerusalem does not view these threats in isolation: it links them directly to the narrowing gap that separates Teheran from possession of nuclear weapons.

Iran has in recent days unleashed a flurry of genocidal threats signaling its intention to try and destroy the state of Israel.

The messages have come at the height of a domestic Israeli debate raging over the question of a potentially imminent strike on Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear weapons program.

While Tehran routinely sends out threats of wholesale destruction against the Jewish nation-state, the past few days have been unusual due to the scope, frequency, and audacity of the threats.

The Iranian leadership, headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is guided by a hardline Shi'ite political-religious ideology which places non-acceptance of Israel's very existence at the top of its foreign policy agenda.

U.S. Chief of Staff: ‘We Are Not Committed to Support an Israeli Attack on Iran’

Yori Yanover

Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey (L.) and Army Lt. Col Mark Webber walking.
Photo Credit: DOD photo by D. Myles Cullen

The U.S. and Israel don’t agree on the meaning of the same intelligence reports on Iran’s nuclear program, the U.S. top general argued at the beginning of a visit to Afghanistan and Iraq, AFP reports.

Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said on Sunday that Israel sees the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions as something that could endanger Israel’s very existence.

Dempsey said he and his Israeli counterpart Benny Gantz “compare intelligence, we discuss regional implications. And we’ve admitted to each other that our clocks are turning at different rates.”

Islam is ‘a religion of war,’ says son of Hamas founder on a visit to his ‘beloved Israel’

Mosab Hassan Yousef rejected his Islamist upbringing to help Israel fight terror. If he had the chance, he says, he’d tell his father: ‘Leave Hamas. You have created a monster’

By Elhanan Miller 

 

Mosab Hassan Yousef in Jerusalem, June 19 (photo credit: Elhanan Miller/Times of Israel)

Mosab Hassan Yousef has a knack for controversy. The son of Hamas founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, he has already broken every taboo in the Palestinian book. He has worked for Israeli intelligence and converted to Christianity. Now he is developing a new film which is sure to be no less sensational: a biography of the life of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.
Yousef, 33, broke ranks with Hamas in 1997 and began working for the Israeli internal intelligence service Shin Bet. Ten years later, after helping Israel thwart dozens of terror attacks and arrest many members of his former movement, Yousef left for the United States where he sought political asylum and later converted to Christianity.

Getting away with anti-Semitism

Op-ed: Anti-Israel atmosphere in Sweden allows author to misquote leading Zionists without being held accountable

Lisa Abramowicz

This is the story of how Ingmar Karlsson, a former top diplomat and a prominent member of Swedish society, has managed to get away with anti-Semitic forgeries - in a new book on Zionism - and his undemocratic attempts to silence critics. The story needs to be considered against the backdrop of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish prejudice in the country.

Readers may have heard of Malmö Mayor Ilmar Reepalu’s anti-Semitic statements and failure to control anti-Semitic sentiment within parts of town’s Muslim population. But extremist Muslims have little influence on society. Those involved directly or indirectly in this story, namely Karlsson’s publishers, the Foreign Ministry, the media, academia and leaders of public opinion do have a lot of influence. 

Florida Democratic Leader Quits After Anti-Israeli Rants

A South Florida DNC representative resigned from her post after her anti-Israel e-mails sparked outrage.

By Rachel Hirshfeld

White House

A South Florida Democratic National Committee (DNC) representative resigned from her post after her anti-Israel e-mails sparked outrage, BizPac Review reported.
In the e-mails, Evelyn Garcia, a Palm Beach County representative to the DNC and ally of its chair, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, accused Israel of running “mass concentration camps” and committing “crimes against humanity.”

She was also caught advocating for an end to the U.S.-Israel alliance and accusing Israel of perpetrating war crimes.

Garcia, who also serves as a Democratic Executive Committee member and is running to become a member of the Florida State House, quit her post at the DNC following the uproar creating in response to her e-mails.

Though she gave up her DNC position, Garcia said that she still plans to continue her campaign for the House District 88 seat.

Refusing orders is a dangerous sign

 http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/refusing-orders-is-a-dangerous-sign.premium-1.459120

A number of bad things have happened recently to the public debate over the Iranian issue: Not only are some participants unaware of the facts - nor do they have any way of knowing them - recently various important people have been calling on the military leadership not to obey the elected political leadership's decision if it decides to attack. In addition, pilots have been called on to refuse to carry out such an attack.

I am one of those who have doubts about the necessity and wisdom of a military operation against Iran at this stage, but the things that several writers and journalists have said on this issue are infuriating, and they are a dangerous sign. They have no place in a democratic state, even if one can understand the agony and sincerity of opponents of an Israeli action.

Abbas says "Next year in Jerusalem"

 Elder of Ziyon

Mahmoud Abbas laid a wreath in honor of mass murderer Yasir Arafat today, on the occasion of the first day of Eid al Fitr.

He said that next year he hopes to lead a Palestinian Arab state along the so-called "1967 borders" with its capital in Jerusalem. 

And the pro-PA media outlet Palestine Press Agency headlined the story as him saying "Next year in Jerusalem." 

He also led Eid prayers at a nearby mosque, along with a large number of prominent PA officials and diplomats. 

Abbas also sent a representative to lay another wreath at a memorial for "martyrs" (i.e., terrorists) in Jericho.

Abbas received best wishes for the holiday from Shimon Peres, Binyamin Netanyahu - and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.