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1. Lieberman: ‘Dangerous’ Ceasefire Violates Coalition Agreement
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A ceasefire with Hamas is a “grave mistake” and violates the coalition agreement calling for toppling the Hamas government, Foreign Minister and Israel Our Home party leader Avigdor Lieberman said Monday morning.
He demanded that the government implement the clause regarding the toppling of Hamas, but backed off from saying he would force a coalition crisis. His party is the largest partner in the Likud-led coalition, and polls have shown that it would gain Knesset seats if elections were held today.
Despite yesterday's rocket on southern Ashkelon, a Hamas-Israeli ceasefire is developing, whether official or not, and appears to be similar to numerous other truces that have proven to be temporary and sometimes even non-existent.
Hamas fired more than a dozen rocket and mortar shells on Israeli civilians and soldiers Sunday, one of them exploding in the heart of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, whose fields are adjacent to the security fence separating Gaza from the western Negev. Miraculously, no one was injured in the blast.
Lieberman said that any ceasefire must be dependent on a halt to Hamas’s smuggling of weapons, the toppling of the de facto Hamas government in Gaza, and an end to the terrorist organization's war of attrition.
There is almost universal agreement among Israel political and military leaders that Hamas has been playing a game for years and continues to do so:
It occasionally escalates attacks, usually causing more fear than damage, sometimes wounding or killing civilians. The IDF then retaliates in kind, and the violence spirals upwards until Hamas decides “enough is enough.” The routine scenario is that Israel then agrees to a ceasefire, while Hamas smuggles in more weapons from Iran. Both sides know that another and more dangerous round is around the corner.
The extent of Hamas’ weapons stockpile was demonstrated the past several weeks with the firing of the “Kornet” laser-guided anti-tank missile, made in China and procured from Iran. Hizbullah used the weapon in the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Israel discovered its arrival in Gaza after Hamas terrorists used it to attack an IDF tank earlier this year, damaging the rear of the tank. The tank crew escaped injury.
Last week, terrorists aimed and fired the same kind of missile at a yellow school bus driving by Kibbutz Saad, critically wounding 16-year-old Daniel Viflic. Moments before the attack, dozens of children got off the bus at nearby Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A ceasefire with Hamas is a “grave mistake” and violates the coalition agreement calling for toppling the Hamas government, Foreign Minister and Israel Our Home party leader Avigdor Lieberman said Monday morning.
He demanded that the government implement the clause regarding the toppling of Hamas, but backed off from saying he would force a coalition crisis. His party is the largest partner in the Likud-led coalition, and polls have shown that it would gain Knesset seats if elections were held today.
Despite yesterday's rocket on southern Ashkelon, a Hamas-Israeli ceasefire is developing, whether official or not, and appears to be similar to numerous other truces that have proven to be temporary and sometimes even non-existent.
Hamas fired more than a dozen rocket and mortar shells on Israeli civilians and soldiers Sunday, one of them exploding in the heart of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, whose fields are adjacent to the security fence separating Gaza from the western Negev. Miraculously, no one was injured in the blast.
Lieberman said that any ceasefire must be dependent on a halt to Hamas’s smuggling of weapons, the toppling of the de facto Hamas government in Gaza, and an end to the terrorist organization's war of attrition.
There is almost universal agreement among Israel political and military leaders that Hamas has been playing a game for years and continues to do so:
It occasionally escalates attacks, usually causing more fear than damage, sometimes wounding or killing civilians. The IDF then retaliates in kind, and the violence spirals upwards until Hamas decides “enough is enough.” The routine scenario is that Israel then agrees to a ceasefire, while Hamas smuggles in more weapons from Iran. Both sides know that another and more dangerous round is around the corner.
The extent of Hamas’ weapons stockpile was demonstrated the past several weeks with the firing of the “Kornet” laser-guided anti-tank missile, made in China and procured from Iran. Hizbullah used the weapon in the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Israel discovered its arrival in Gaza after Hamas terrorists used it to attack an IDF tank earlier this year, damaging the rear of the tank. The tank crew escaped injury.
Last week, terrorists aimed and fired the same kind of missile at a yellow school bus driving by Kibbutz Saad, critically wounding 16-year-old Daniel Viflic. Moments before the attack, dozens of children got off the bus at nearby Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
Comment on this story
2. World Interested in Iron Dome, but Israel Isn't Selling
by Gil Ronen
Following Iron Dome's near-flawless performance in its first days of operational use, the United States will transfer $205 million to Israel for the construction of four more batteries, which should be operational by late 2012, IDF Radio reported Sunday. U.S. President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve the funding last year, and it appears that the U.S. and Israel were waiting to see how the systrem performs before carrying out the transfer.
The IDF has released thermal imagery video of Iron Dome's strikes on its targets. Some of the video is in slow motion:
The head of MAPAT (the IDF's Authority for Research and Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructures), Ofir Shoham, told the military radio station that Iron Dome succeeded in intercepting all of the rockets that were fired at its area of coverage, "except for one apparent operational glitch, which the system's operators are studying."
Shoham said that there is growing interest in Iron Dome worldwide, but that MAPAT is not interested in selling it at this time.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet Sunday that "the system's success has resounded throughout the world, including in the European countries that I visited."
"However, an offensive operation was also required, and the IDF tallied up an impressive score in enemy lives and equipment lost. If the attacks on Israel's civilians and soldiers continue, the response will be much stronger."
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Following Iron Dome's near-flawless performance in its first days of operational use, the United States will transfer $205 million to Israel for the construction of four more batteries, which should be operational by late 2012, IDF Radio reported Sunday. U.S. President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve the funding last year, and it appears that the U.S. and Israel were waiting to see how the systrem performs before carrying out the transfer.
The IDF has released thermal imagery video of Iron Dome's strikes on its targets. Some of the video is in slow motion:
The head of MAPAT (the IDF's Authority for Research and Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructures), Ofir Shoham, told the military radio station that Iron Dome succeeded in intercepting all of the rockets that were fired at its area of coverage, "except for one apparent operational glitch, which the system's operators are studying."
Shoham said that there is growing interest in Iron Dome worldwide, but that MAPAT is not interested in selling it at this time.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet Sunday that "the system's success has resounded throughout the world, including in the European countries that I visited."
"However, an offensive operation was also required, and the IDF tallied up an impressive score in enemy lives and equipment lost. If the attacks on Israel's civilians and soldiers continue, the response will be much stronger."
Comment on this story
3. NY Debate on Homeland Security Becomes Heated
by Elad Benari
A hearing in Manhattan on the subject of homeland security exploded on Friday when an Arab-American activist testified that she was taught as a youngster to “hate Jews” and “hate America”. Her comments enraged a Brooklyn lawmaker, who in response grabbed a Koran and accused her of spreading “hate and poison.”
The meeting was attended by ex-Muslim Nonie Darwish, director of Former Muslims United and founder of Arabs for Israel.
Darwish was born in Cairo and spent her childhood in Egypt and Gaza before immigrating to America in 1978, when she was eight years old. Her father, a high-ranking Egyptian military officer, died while leading covert attacks on Israel when he was in Gaza. While he was considered a “shahid” (martyr), earning Darwish and her family an elevated position in Muslim society, Darwish developed a skeptical eye at an early age, questioning Muslim culture and later abandoning Islam.
Darwish authored the book Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law, in which she warns about the Islamic Sharia law and how it is manifested in Islamic countries.
She has said in the past that the hatred Muslims have for Jews is even worse than the hatred the Nazis had for them.
The New York Post quoted Darwish as saying during Friday’s meeting: “Check what's going on -- it's not a secret. You’re supposed to hate Jews, you’re supposed to hate America, you’re supposed to hate Western culture.”
In response, Democratic Senator Eric Adams held up a copy of the Koran and said: “This is offending this hearing by having her here. This is not our enemy...You’re bringing hate, hate and poison into a diverse country.”
The meeting chairman, Republican Greg Ball, instructed Adams to quiet down, which resulted in a shouting match between the two. Adams suggested that Ball condoned bigotry, and in response, Ball accused Adams of playing to the TV cameras.
“I'm glad no one is between those TV cameras and you,” Ball told Adams, “because that's the most dangerous place in New York City right now.”
Darwish was followed later by Frank J. Gaffney Jr., a former Defense Department official who has publicly criticized Islam. In his testimony Gaffney denounced Sharia law as a threat to the United States.
Also taking part in the hearing was Long Island Republican Representative Peter T. King, who initiated a Congressional hearing held last month on the question of homegrown Islamic terrorism.
The New York Times reported that King prefaced his comments by noting that “99 percent” of Muslims in the United States are “outstanding Americans” and not terrorists.
King added, however, that “the fact is: The enemy, or those being recruited by Al Qaeda, live within the Muslim community, and that’s the reality we have to face. This is not to put a broad brush over a community, but you go where the threat is coming from, and that’s the reality today.”
Click here for an op-ed by Nonie Darwish on the subject of Muslim women under Sharia law.
Comment on this story
by Elad Benari
A hearing in Manhattan on the subject of homeland security exploded on Friday when an Arab-American activist testified that she was taught as a youngster to “hate Jews” and “hate America”. Her comments enraged a Brooklyn lawmaker, who in response grabbed a Koran and accused her of spreading “hate and poison.”
The meeting was attended by ex-Muslim Nonie Darwish, director of Former Muslims United and founder of Arabs for Israel.
Darwish was born in Cairo and spent her childhood in Egypt and Gaza before immigrating to America in 1978, when she was eight years old. Her father, a high-ranking Egyptian military officer, died while leading covert attacks on Israel when he was in Gaza. While he was considered a “shahid” (martyr), earning Darwish and her family an elevated position in Muslim society, Darwish developed a skeptical eye at an early age, questioning Muslim culture and later abandoning Islam.
Darwish authored the book Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law, in which she warns about the Islamic Sharia law and how it is manifested in Islamic countries.
She has said in the past that the hatred Muslims have for Jews is even worse than the hatred the Nazis had for them.
The New York Post quoted Darwish as saying during Friday’s meeting: “Check what's going on -- it's not a secret. You’re supposed to hate Jews, you’re supposed to hate America, you’re supposed to hate Western culture.”
In response, Democratic Senator Eric Adams held up a copy of the Koran and said: “This is offending this hearing by having her here. This is not our enemy...You’re bringing hate, hate and poison into a diverse country.”
The meeting chairman, Republican Greg Ball, instructed Adams to quiet down, which resulted in a shouting match between the two. Adams suggested that Ball condoned bigotry, and in response, Ball accused Adams of playing to the TV cameras.
“I'm glad no one is between those TV cameras and you,” Ball told Adams, “because that's the most dangerous place in New York City right now.”
Darwish was followed later by Frank J. Gaffney Jr., a former Defense Department official who has publicly criticized Islam. In his testimony Gaffney denounced Sharia law as a threat to the United States.
Also taking part in the hearing was Long Island Republican Representative Peter T. King, who initiated a Congressional hearing held last month on the question of homegrown Islamic terrorism.
The New York Times reported that King prefaced his comments by noting that “99 percent” of Muslims in the United States are “outstanding Americans” and not terrorists.
King added, however, that “the fact is: The enemy, or those being recruited by Al Qaeda, live within the Muslim community, and that’s the reality we have to face. This is not to put a broad brush over a community, but you go where the threat is coming from, and that’s the reality today.”
Click here for an op-ed by Nonie Darwish on the subject of Muslim women under Sharia law.
Comment on this story
4. Eichmann Trial Uploaded to YouTube
by Maayana Miskin
The Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial project has marked the passage of 50 years since the trial of Adolf Eichmann by uploading footage of the entire trial Eichmann, one of the major planners of the Holocaust genocide, was put on trial in Israel in 1961, after having been captured by Israeli agents in Argentina.
He was found guilty, and was put to death in 1962.
The footage “gives a new generation the opportunity to view one of the most significant turning points in humanity's attempt to grapple with the Holocaust,” a Yad Vashem spokesman explained.
Yad Vashem has previously posted Holocaust victims' names online, followed by a collection of photographs from the Holocaust, and a YouTube channel explaining the Holocaust in Farsi. The organization ultimately hopes to put all of its Holocaust documents online.
The Eichmann trial was originally conducted in Yiddish, German, and Hebrew, but footage has been dubbed into English as well. The trial channel includes 200 hours of footage and a compilation of testimonies.
In a second project commemorating the trial, Yad Vashem has created a video titled A Living Record. The video provides insight into the trial from three participants: Gabriel Bach, who argued for the prosecution, investigative officer Mickey Gilad, and witness Yisrael Gutman.
Comment on this story
by Maayana Miskin
The Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial project has marked the passage of 50 years since the trial of Adolf Eichmann by uploading footage of the entire trial Eichmann, one of the major planners of the Holocaust genocide, was put on trial in Israel in 1961, after having been captured by Israeli agents in Argentina.
He was found guilty, and was put to death in 1962.
The footage “gives a new generation the opportunity to view one of the most significant turning points in humanity's attempt to grapple with the Holocaust,” a Yad Vashem spokesman explained.
Yad Vashem has previously posted Holocaust victims' names online, followed by a collection of photographs from the Holocaust, and a YouTube channel explaining the Holocaust in Farsi. The organization ultimately hopes to put all of its Holocaust documents online.
The Eichmann trial was originally conducted in Yiddish, German, and Hebrew, but footage has been dubbed into English as well. The trial channel includes 200 hours of footage and a compilation of testimonies.
In a second project commemorating the trial, Yad Vashem has created a video titled A Living Record. The video provides insight into the trial from three participants: Gabriel Bach, who argued for the prosecution, investigative officer Mickey Gilad, and witness Yisrael Gutman.
Comment on this story
5. "Jewish Al-Jazeera" News Network on the Horizon
by Fern Sidman, INN NY Correspondent
Russian born oligarch and Israeli billionaire Dr. Alexander Mashkevich has announced his intention to create a pro-Israel international news network, similar to Al Jazeera and the BBC. Speaking at the United Israel Appeal's annual conference of Jewish leaders in Washington last week, Dr. Mashkevich, who is president of the organization, said of the network, "It won't be a propaganda channel, but will simply tell the truth. The most important thing is to represent Israel on an international level, with real information."
Also serving as president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, Dr. Mashkevich told the gathering that the network would offer programs in English, French, Arabic and Spanish, focusing on news only. Some 200 Jewish community leaders and key philanthropists attended the UIA conference, which focused on attempts to deal with the adverse effects of the global de-legitimization campaign against Israel.
Referring to South African Judge Richard Goldstone, who has recanted his findings on purported Israeli war crimes during the 2008-2009 war in Gaza, Dr. Mashkevich said, "Every day that passes we lose the battle for Israel's image. I am sure that Goldstone is a decent person, who didn't want to damage Israel consciously and intentionally, but if everything he gets from the media every day is anti-Israel propaganda, I assume it's hard to make the right decisions."
Dr. Mashkevich, a native of Kyrgyzstan who became a billionaire through investments in Kazakhstan during the era of former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika, admitted that founding such a channel would not be simple, because of its high costs, but said that he plans to officially present it in Israel in a few months.
His fortune is estimated at some $3.7 billion and through his extensive network of contacts, Dr. Mashkevich plans to recruit other philanthropists and senior businesspeople for the mission. "The international de-legitimization has become a huge risk for Israel," he said, adding, "I already spoke about [this idea] several years ago with Israeli government officials and with influential people in the Jewish world, and everyone agrees that such a channel is necessary. It's unthinkable that Israel has no television network like the channels operated by countries such as the United States, Britain and Russia."
No specific target date has been yet set for the launching of the channel, but Dr. Mashkevich promised, "We'll purchase talents from all other channels. From BBC, CNN – everyone... In about three to four months we'll hold a presentation in Israel, as we are preparing a work program." He said the channel "does not require something out of nothing, as there are existing models we can work according to."
Hoenlein on Israel's PR
Also present at the conference was Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who offered his analysis of the incessant anti-Israel incitement of the international media. "It's time for us to stop complaining about how bad Israel's PR. It's not just Israel that's in danger – but all of us. The entire Jewish people are under attack, and this is about the future of all the Jewish people."
He added that, "Those who undermine Israel's right to self-defense, hurt the entire Jewish people's right to self-defense. We are not talking about a situation like in 1967, but like in 1947 – about the entire Jewish people's right to exist. If we unite, others will join us too. So we must launch a well-coordinated campaign. It's unthinkable that according to research we've conducted, the European governments are more committed to Israel than the public opinion in those countries. These are the enemies rising to destroy us – from the inside and the outside."
Mr. Hoenlein revealed that he has already held several meetings in a bid to strike a collaboration with media organizations and Israeli governmental bodies. Firm in his belief that a news network similar to Al Jazeera is vital, he said it would be very influential and that its impact will have far-reaching effects.
The impetus behind Dr. Maskevich's campaign to salvage Israel's international image is deeply rooted in the experiences he faced as a child growing up in Kyrgyzstan, which helped to shape his Jewish identity. "In Soviet Russia people would never let me forget I was a Jew, not for one day," he said, adding that his parents, who fled the Nazis, afforded him, "a proud Jewish education".
Vividly recalling his formative years, Dr. Mashkevich said, "I still remember as a child, how difficult it was for me to get to the synagogue, which was far away and crowded." Since then, he has built seven synagogues in different countries, naming each of them "Beit Rachel" after his mother, and has donated 17 Torah scrolls. He also personally participates in the bringing in of each new Torah scroll.
"I feel the persecution of Jews on my skin. We can't just be indifferent. Every year the situation gets worse, and we monitor it. People tend to think that the American Congress members know the truth about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it's not true. All their information comes from the media. Seventy percent of what the international media reports in terms of the conflict is of an anti-Israel nature. We check the 'anti-Semitism index' in 27 countries, and there is definitely a rise in anti-Semitism, which I believe is a direct result of what the media reports".
One of the first to comment on Dr. Mashkevich's announcement of the formation of a pro-Israel news channel is Dr. Phyllis Chesler, Emerita Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies at the City University of New York and op-ed contributor for Arutz Sheva. In her article of April 8th that appeared on the "NewsRealBlog" web site, Prof. Chesler said, "I hope [he] and his advisors understand that this new channel must be far better than Al-Jazeera, not only in terms of truth-telling but in other ways as well".
Adding that "Al-Jazeera broadcasts only in Arabic and English, and is only now preparing to broadcast in Turkish and Urdu," she said, "The 'Jewish Al-Jazeera' must appear in many more languages simultaneously: Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Kurdish, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Bengali, Pashto, the Indonesian and Malaysian languages, as well as in all the European, East European, and former Soviet languages. Why? Because all the Big Lies and blood libels about Israel and the Jews are being told 24/7 in every language on earth. I wrote about this in 2003, in my book The New Anti-Semitism."
Comment on this story
by Fern Sidman, INN NY Correspondent
Russian born oligarch and Israeli billionaire Dr. Alexander Mashkevich has announced his intention to create a pro-Israel international news network, similar to Al Jazeera and the BBC. Speaking at the United Israel Appeal's annual conference of Jewish leaders in Washington last week, Dr. Mashkevich, who is president of the organization, said of the network, "It won't be a propaganda channel, but will simply tell the truth. The most important thing is to represent Israel on an international level, with real information."
Also serving as president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, Dr. Mashkevich told the gathering that the network would offer programs in English, French, Arabic and Spanish, focusing on news only. Some 200 Jewish community leaders and key philanthropists attended the UIA conference, which focused on attempts to deal with the adverse effects of the global de-legitimization campaign against Israel.
Referring to South African Judge Richard Goldstone, who has recanted his findings on purported Israeli war crimes during the 2008-2009 war in Gaza, Dr. Mashkevich said, "Every day that passes we lose the battle for Israel's image. I am sure that Goldstone is a decent person, who didn't want to damage Israel consciously and intentionally, but if everything he gets from the media every day is anti-Israel propaganda, I assume it's hard to make the right decisions."
Dr. Mashkevich, a native of Kyrgyzstan who became a billionaire through investments in Kazakhstan during the era of former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika, admitted that founding such a channel would not be simple, because of its high costs, but said that he plans to officially present it in Israel in a few months.
His fortune is estimated at some $3.7 billion and through his extensive network of contacts, Dr. Mashkevich plans to recruit other philanthropists and senior businesspeople for the mission. "The international de-legitimization has become a huge risk for Israel," he said, adding, "I already spoke about [this idea] several years ago with Israeli government officials and with influential people in the Jewish world, and everyone agrees that such a channel is necessary. It's unthinkable that Israel has no television network like the channels operated by countries such as the United States, Britain and Russia."
No specific target date has been yet set for the launching of the channel, but Dr. Mashkevich promised, "We'll purchase talents from all other channels. From BBC, CNN – everyone... In about three to four months we'll hold a presentation in Israel, as we are preparing a work program." He said the channel "does not require something out of nothing, as there are existing models we can work according to."
Hoenlein on Israel's PR
Also present at the conference was Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who offered his analysis of the incessant anti-Israel incitement of the international media. "It's time for us to stop complaining about how bad Israel's PR. It's not just Israel that's in danger – but all of us. The entire Jewish people are under attack, and this is about the future of all the Jewish people."
He added that, "Those who undermine Israel's right to self-defense, hurt the entire Jewish people's right to self-defense. We are not talking about a situation like in 1967, but like in 1947 – about the entire Jewish people's right to exist. If we unite, others will join us too. So we must launch a well-coordinated campaign. It's unthinkable that according to research we've conducted, the European governments are more committed to Israel than the public opinion in those countries. These are the enemies rising to destroy us – from the inside and the outside."
Mr. Hoenlein revealed that he has already held several meetings in a bid to strike a collaboration with media organizations and Israeli governmental bodies. Firm in his belief that a news network similar to Al Jazeera is vital, he said it would be very influential and that its impact will have far-reaching effects.
The impetus behind Dr. Maskevich's campaign to salvage Israel's international image is deeply rooted in the experiences he faced as a child growing up in Kyrgyzstan, which helped to shape his Jewish identity. "In Soviet Russia people would never let me forget I was a Jew, not for one day," he said, adding that his parents, who fled the Nazis, afforded him, "a proud Jewish education".
Vividly recalling his formative years, Dr. Mashkevich said, "I still remember as a child, how difficult it was for me to get to the synagogue, which was far away and crowded." Since then, he has built seven synagogues in different countries, naming each of them "Beit Rachel" after his mother, and has donated 17 Torah scrolls. He also personally participates in the bringing in of each new Torah scroll.
"I feel the persecution of Jews on my skin. We can't just be indifferent. Every year the situation gets worse, and we monitor it. People tend to think that the American Congress members know the truth about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it's not true. All their information comes from the media. Seventy percent of what the international media reports in terms of the conflict is of an anti-Israel nature. We check the 'anti-Semitism index' in 27 countries, and there is definitely a rise in anti-Semitism, which I believe is a direct result of what the media reports".
One of the first to comment on Dr. Mashkevich's announcement of the formation of a pro-Israel news channel is Dr. Phyllis Chesler, Emerita Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies at the City University of New York and op-ed contributor for Arutz Sheva. In her article of April 8th that appeared on the "NewsRealBlog" web site, Prof. Chesler said, "I hope [he] and his advisors understand that this new channel must be far better than Al-Jazeera, not only in terms of truth-telling but in other ways as well".
Adding that "Al-Jazeera broadcasts only in Arabic and English, and is only now preparing to broadcast in Turkish and Urdu," she said, "The 'Jewish Al-Jazeera' must appear in many more languages simultaneously: Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Kurdish, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Bengali, Pashto, the Indonesian and Malaysian languages, as well as in all the European, East European, and former Soviet languages. Why? Because all the Big Lies and blood libels about Israel and the Jews are being told 24/7 in every language on earth. I wrote about this in 2003, in my book The New Anti-Semitism."
Comment on this story
6. Grocery Chain Told to Rehire 'Violent' Arab Workers
by Maayana Miskin
A grocery store that fired 21 Arab workers at once must hire them all again, Justice Ravit Tzaddik of the Tel Aviv District Labor Court ruled Sunday. The store was accused of racial discrimination in the firings.
'Workers were Violent, Made Threats'
Store managers at the Kimat Chinam branch in Modiin said the Arab workers in question created an atmosphere of violence and intimidation, threatened customers and fellow workers with physical violence, and were involved in sexual harassment in the workplace.
Some of the workers even bragged that they were involved in the murder of five members of the Fogel family in Itamar, and did so in the presence of Jewish workers and customers, management said.
They denied that the firings were motivated by the workers' ethnic background. Six Arab workers remain at the store in question, and almost 25% of workers at the Kimat Chinam network are Arab, they said, “So we cannot be considered a company that discriminates between its workers.”
Workers: Anti-Arab Discrimination
However, the workers told a different story. Workers said they were discriminated against by the manager, and had been fired with no warning, without a chance to tell their side of the story. All Arab workers at the Modiin branch were fired, they claimed, including some who had worked at the store prior to the appointment of the most recent manager, who had not had any complaints about them.
Notices of termination of employment were sent via one of the workers, who was given the letters on Friday and told to pass them on to his friends, the workers said. The letters told the workers they were fired and prohibited them to return to their former workplace.
Suit Filed by Former Director of NIF Group
The suit against the firings was brought by Attorney Ina David Sultanovich, on behalf of the Ministry of Trade and Labor's Equal Opportunities Commissioner. The Commissioner, Tziona Kenig-Yair, was formerly Director of the Women's Lobby, which is funded by the controversial New Israel Fund.
The NIF is a left-wing umbrella group that distributes funds – suspected to be primarily from foreign donors – to Arab and far-left Jewish organizations in Israel.
In representing the workers, Sultanovich responded to the claim that they had bragged about the murders in Itamar by saying that only a single worker, at most, had claimed to be involved in the slayings, and that managers had failed to provide first-hand testimony regarding the incident.
Some criticized Kenig-Yair's behavior in the case as hypocritical. The Women's Lobby usually trumpets cases of sexual harassment brought against Jewish leaders, and often calls for those accused of harassment to be fired. However, in this case, Kenig-Yair supported Arab men accused of harassment, and the Women's Lobby and political left have remained silent.
Court Rules: Workers Deserve a Hearing
In her finding in favor of the workers, Judge Tzaddik noted that the store had not brought proof that attempts had been made to deal with the workers' behavior or hold hearings in the matter. That fact alone made management's behavior problematic, even without the charges of racism, she said.
Minister of Trade and Labor Shalom Simchon praised the ruling. The ruling sends a clear message to employers that the government will not tolerate racism, he said.
“We see absorbing Arab employees in the workplace as being of utmost importance,” he said. “We will continue to work to prevent discrimination against them.”
Comment on this story
by Maayana Miskin
A grocery store that fired 21 Arab workers at once must hire them all again, Justice Ravit Tzaddik of the Tel Aviv District Labor Court ruled Sunday. The store was accused of racial discrimination in the firings.
'Workers were Violent, Made Threats'
Store managers at the Kimat Chinam branch in Modiin said the Arab workers in question created an atmosphere of violence and intimidation, threatened customers and fellow workers with physical violence, and were involved in sexual harassment in the workplace.
Some of the workers even bragged that they were involved in the murder of five members of the Fogel family in Itamar, and did so in the presence of Jewish workers and customers, management said.
They denied that the firings were motivated by the workers' ethnic background. Six Arab workers remain at the store in question, and almost 25% of workers at the Kimat Chinam network are Arab, they said, “So we cannot be considered a company that discriminates between its workers.”
Workers: Anti-Arab Discrimination
However, the workers told a different story. Workers said they were discriminated against by the manager, and had been fired with no warning, without a chance to tell their side of the story. All Arab workers at the Modiin branch were fired, they claimed, including some who had worked at the store prior to the appointment of the most recent manager, who had not had any complaints about them.
Notices of termination of employment were sent via one of the workers, who was given the letters on Friday and told to pass them on to his friends, the workers said. The letters told the workers they were fired and prohibited them to return to their former workplace.
Suit Filed by Former Director of NIF Group
The suit against the firings was brought by Attorney Ina David Sultanovich, on behalf of the Ministry of Trade and Labor's Equal Opportunities Commissioner. The Commissioner, Tziona Kenig-Yair, was formerly Director of the Women's Lobby, which is funded by the controversial New Israel Fund.
The NIF is a left-wing umbrella group that distributes funds – suspected to be primarily from foreign donors – to Arab and far-left Jewish organizations in Israel.
In representing the workers, Sultanovich responded to the claim that they had bragged about the murders in Itamar by saying that only a single worker, at most, had claimed to be involved in the slayings, and that managers had failed to provide first-hand testimony regarding the incident.
Some criticized Kenig-Yair's behavior in the case as hypocritical. The Women's Lobby usually trumpets cases of sexual harassment brought against Jewish leaders, and often calls for those accused of harassment to be fired. However, in this case, Kenig-Yair supported Arab men accused of harassment, and the Women's Lobby and political left have remained silent.
Court Rules: Workers Deserve a Hearing
In her finding in favor of the workers, Judge Tzaddik noted that the store had not brought proof that attempts had been made to deal with the workers' behavior or hold hearings in the matter. That fact alone made management's behavior problematic, even without the charges of racism, she said.
Minister of Trade and Labor Shalom Simchon praised the ruling. The ruling sends a clear message to employers that the government will not tolerate racism, he said.
“We see absorbing Arab employees in the workplace as being of utmost importance,” he said. “We will continue to work to prevent discrimination against them.”
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7. Yesha Strengthens Ties with European Nationalists
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A delegation sponsored by officials in Samaria is strengthening ties with European nationalists who share a common link – the battle against Muslim radicals.
A parliamentary delegation from Europe visited Samaria and the Gush Katif Museum in Jerusalem last Chanukah. The officials support Jewish sovereignty in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Jerusalem as a condition for the success of the struggle against the increasing dominance of Islam extremists.
The visit was reciprocated last week by Prof. Hillel Weiss of Land of Israel Faithful, David Ha’Ivri of the Shomron Liaison Office, and Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe, Chairman of The Land of Israel Is Ours.
The Flemish Interest party, headed by Philip Dewinter, arrange for their visit. The Belgium party represents 10 percent of the country’s voters and 34 percent of those living in Antwerp.
The Israeli delegation spoke in Germany and Belgium, where they said the establishment of a Palestinian Authority country would require the expulsion of more than 250,000 Jews in Judea and Samaria.
Not everyone in Europe was happy with the visit. One local newspaper in Germany wrote that it is a "lie" that Judea and Samaria exists and that in reality it is the “West Bank” of Palestine. In Cologne, where Jews have lived since the 4th century and where the entire community was slaughtered in the First Crusade, the city’s mayor called the visitors “unwelcome guests.”
Prof. Weiss showed his hosts a “lamentation,” written in the year of the slaughter by Rabbi Yoel of Cologne, whose family and community were murdered.
He also spoke to the Flemish parliament and the head of the country’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, pointing out the Jewish ownership of land in Judea and Samaria for centuries. His speech can be read here.
Prof. Weiss also reminded the Europeans that the San Remo Conference in 1922 included Judea and Samaria as part of the Land of Israel that belong to Jews. He said allowing Muslims to take control of the area would encourage their increasing dominance of Europe.
Ha’Ivri, aided by visual aids, spoke on the history of Judea and Samaria and the achievements of Jewish residents there.
Rabbi Wolpe told his hosts that Arabs attacked his family over several generations, and that his grandfather, an elder of Hevron, was murdered in 1897 and other family members were killed in the 1929 Arab massacre of Jews in the city.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A delegation sponsored by officials in Samaria is strengthening ties with European nationalists who share a common link – the battle against Muslim radicals.
A parliamentary delegation from Europe visited Samaria and the Gush Katif Museum in Jerusalem last Chanukah. The officials support Jewish sovereignty in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Jerusalem as a condition for the success of the struggle against the increasing dominance of Islam extremists.
The visit was reciprocated last week by Prof. Hillel Weiss of Land of Israel Faithful, David Ha’Ivri of the Shomron Liaison Office, and Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe, Chairman of The Land of Israel Is Ours.
The Flemish Interest party, headed by Philip Dewinter, arrange for their visit. The Belgium party represents 10 percent of the country’s voters and 34 percent of those living in Antwerp.
The Israeli delegation spoke in Germany and Belgium, where they said the establishment of a Palestinian Authority country would require the expulsion of more than 250,000 Jews in Judea and Samaria.
Not everyone in Europe was happy with the visit. One local newspaper in Germany wrote that it is a "lie" that Judea and Samaria exists and that in reality it is the “West Bank” of Palestine. In Cologne, where Jews have lived since the 4th century and where the entire community was slaughtered in the First Crusade, the city’s mayor called the visitors “unwelcome guests.”
Prof. Weiss showed his hosts a “lamentation,” written in the year of the slaughter by Rabbi Yoel of Cologne, whose family and community were murdered.
He also spoke to the Flemish parliament and the head of the country’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, pointing out the Jewish ownership of land in Judea and Samaria for centuries. His speech can be read here.
Prof. Weiss also reminded the Europeans that the San Remo Conference in 1922 included Judea and Samaria as part of the Land of Israel that belong to Jews. He said allowing Muslims to take control of the area would encourage their increasing dominance of Europe.
Ha’Ivri, aided by visual aids, spoke on the history of Judea and Samaria and the achievements of Jewish residents there.
Rabbi Wolpe told his hosts that Arabs attacked his family over several generations, and that his grandfather, an elder of Hevron, was murdered in 1897 and other family members were killed in the 1929 Arab massacre of Jews in the city.
Comment on this story
8. US Black Students Demand Arabs Stop Calling Israel Apartheid
by Maayana Miskin
The African-American student organization Vanguard Leadership Group is standing with Israel when it comes to use of the term “apartheid.” The term is “false and deeply offensive” when applied to Israel, the group said in advertisements published on Thursday.
The Vanguard Leadership Group spoke out in response to “apartheid” claims from the group Students for Justice in Palestine. Under an ad titled, “Words matter,” the group said, “We request that you immediately stop referring to Israel as an apartheid society and to acknowledge that the Arab minority in Israel enjoys full citizenship with voting rights and representation in the government.”
“It is highly objectionable to those who know the truth about the Israelis' record on human rights and how it so clearly contrasts with South Africa's,” the group said.
Students for Justice in Palestine “has chosen to manipulate rather than inform with this illegitimate analogy,” Vanguard Leadership said. “Decency, justice, and the hope of peace and reconciliation in the Middle East compel us to demand an immediate cessation to the deliberate mischaracterizations of Israel.”
Ceasing use of the term “apartheid” when discussing Israel would be a “first step toward raising the level of discourse,” the letter concluded.
Anti-Israel groups have long accused Israel of being an “apartheid state,” borrowing the term from South Africa, where for many decades a small white minority ruled the black majority by force. Racial discrimination was enforced by law, and black residents were denied citizenship, given inferior public services, barred from using white theaters, pools, churches, and other facilities, and judged under different laws.
In Israel, Arabs and other non-Jewish minorities are full citizens, with the same rights and obligations as any other Israeli. One exception is the fact that Arab citizens are not required to serve in the IDF, although they are allowed to do so, and a handful choose to enlist.
Palestinian Authority Arabs are not granted rights as citizens because they do not wish to become citizens, but rather, hope to create a new Arab state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Similarly, Israelis have no rights under PA law, and in fact, are forbidden to own land or even to enter PA-controlled areas.
Comment on this story
by Maayana Miskin
The African-American student organization Vanguard Leadership Group is standing with Israel when it comes to use of the term “apartheid.” The term is “false and deeply offensive” when applied to Israel, the group said in advertisements published on Thursday.
The Vanguard Leadership Group spoke out in response to “apartheid” claims from the group Students for Justice in Palestine. Under an ad titled, “Words matter,” the group said, “We request that you immediately stop referring to Israel as an apartheid society and to acknowledge that the Arab minority in Israel enjoys full citizenship with voting rights and representation in the government.”
“It is highly objectionable to those who know the truth about the Israelis' record on human rights and how it so clearly contrasts with South Africa's,” the group said.
Students for Justice in Palestine “has chosen to manipulate rather than inform with this illegitimate analogy,” Vanguard Leadership said. “Decency, justice, and the hope of peace and reconciliation in the Middle East compel us to demand an immediate cessation to the deliberate mischaracterizations of Israel.”
Ceasing use of the term “apartheid” when discussing Israel would be a “first step toward raising the level of discourse,” the letter concluded.
Anti-Israel groups have long accused Israel of being an “apartheid state,” borrowing the term from South Africa, where for many decades a small white minority ruled the black majority by force. Racial discrimination was enforced by law, and black residents were denied citizenship, given inferior public services, barred from using white theaters, pools, churches, and other facilities, and judged under different laws.
In Israel, Arabs and other non-Jewish minorities are full citizens, with the same rights and obligations as any other Israeli. One exception is the fact that Arab citizens are not required to serve in the IDF, although they are allowed to do so, and a handful choose to enlist.
Palestinian Authority Arabs are not granted rights as citizens because they do not wish to become citizens, but rather, hope to create a new Arab state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Similarly, Israelis have no rights under PA law, and in fact, are forbidden to own land or even to enter PA-controlled areas.
Comment on this story
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