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Category: Israel

antisemitism Israel USA 

Elizabeth Warren and the destruction of the west’s moral compass

Melanie, , ,

The Democratic presidential hopeful, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, has suggested that she would consider cutting military aid to Israel to force it to halt construction of settlements in the disputed territories. “It is the official policy of the United States of America to support a two-state solution, and if Israel is moving in the opposite direction then everything is on the table,” she said. To ensure that no one failed to understand her threat, she repeated her final phrase. Her comment furnished more evidence that Warren resembles British Labour Party…

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Britain Israel USA 

From Congress to classrooms: reframing the Israel narrative

Melanie, , ,

Concern about resurgent antisemitism has been at fever-pitch among Diaspora Jews for years. In Britain, the veteran Jewish Labour MP Dame Louise Ellman resigned this week from the party to which she has belonged for more than half a century. A leaked Labour headquarters report on her Liverpool Riverside constituency party showed that in 2017, there was a “worrying amount of antisemitism” and a “toxic atmosphere” with members fearing for their physical safety. If the far-left party leader Jeremy Corbyn became prime minister, says Ellman, he would be a danger…

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Arabs Israel 

Israeli Arabs deserve better from their leaders

Melanie, ,

Israel’s electoral stalemate surprised few and dismayed many. One development, however, got a number of people very excited indeed. This was the decision of three of the four parties in the Arabs’ Joint List to endorse as prime minister Benny Gantz, the head of the Blue and White party — only the second time the Arab parties have endorsed a prime ministerial candidate. The Joint List has ruled out joining a coalition government. But as the third largest party, it could become the official opposition. All this, of course, gives…

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Arabs Israel 

In a deadlocked election, the real winners are Israeli Arabs

Melanie, , ,

If nothing else, one clear result of Israel’s frustrating general election gives the lie to the claim that Israeli Arabs were being intimidated from casting their vote. This arose from a failed attempt by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party to allow its operatives to film inside polling stations on the unproven charge of voter fraud in the Arab sector. In the middle of election day, a report attributed to Likud that it had installed “facial recognition” cameras outside Arab polling stations was condemned as an attempt to intimidate…

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Israel 

Puncturing the big lie of Palestinian identity

Melanie, , ,

Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, recently claimed that the Palestinians were the descendants of the Canaanites. “This land is for its people, its residents and the Canaanites who were here 5,000 years ago — and we are the Canaanites!” he declared, vowing that every Israeli stone and house “built on our land” would end up “in the garbage dump of history.” Any western Palestinian supporter might have been left somewhat perplexed. After all, it’s an article of faith among those hostile to Israel that the indigenous inhabitants…

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Israel USA 

Getting to the bottom of a tragic “disloyalty”

Melanie, , ,

There appears to be no limit to the sheer stupidity and reflexive malice with which people misrepresent what US President Donald Trump has just said. On Tuesday, he said: “I think Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.” Cue an instant storm of outrage by Jewish groups and commentators claiming that he had accused Jews of dual loyalty — one of the trademark libels of classical antisemitism. “This is yet another example of Donald Trump continuing…

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Global conflict Israel 

The incendiary balloon of international law

Melanie, , ,

For months now, Israel has been attacked by aerial incendiary weapons launched by Hamas during riots at the Gaza border fence. These weapons – balloons or kites attached to flammable material – are driven by the winds off the sea towards southern Israel. In just one week in June, they started nearly 100 fires in farmland and forests, in playgrounds and private yards. By last month, Hamas had burned more than 7,400 acres of Israeli land. At the same time, Israeli communities near the border are also routinely attacked with…

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Britain Israel Videos 

Walking into the guns: proposing that anti-Zionism is antisemitism

Melanie, , ,

In June, I took part in an Intelligence Squared debate in London in which I proposed the motion “Anti-Zionism is antisemitism” before a largely hostile audience. My seconder was the Israeli former member of Knesset Einat Wilf, and we were opposed by the expatriate Israeli anti-Zionist Ilan Pappé and the journalist Mehdi Hasan. You can watch the video of the event below. Underneath the video, you can read a written version of my opening remarks. Anti-Zionism is antisemitism: speech for the proposition I never visited Israel at all until the…

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Britain Global conflict Israel 

Is Boris Johnson “good for the Jews”?

Melanie, , ,

Britain now has its first celebrity prime minister. On Tuesday, Boris Johnson was elected leader of the Tory Party following Theresa May’s resignation over her failure to deliver Brexit. On Wednesday, Johnson “kissed hands” with the Queen and thus succeeded Mrs. May as Britain’s PM. As with all social or political developments of note, the Jewish world is predictably asking about this one: “Will it be good for the Jews?” Johnson has entertained and scandalized Britain for years through his many scrapes, his jokes, his politically incorrect gaffes, his chaotic…

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