Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Friday 30 September 2011

The Worldwide Cells That Are All Hezbollah Now

It's hard to contemplate unpleasant realities at the start of a new (Jewish) year, but, alas, it's not all sweetness and honey out there ...

An anti-Israel march in central London
I posted a few days ago about the aggressive "export-the-1979-Revolution" foreign policy that's being openly boasted of in ruling circles within Iran.

Thus a leading member of the country's elite, Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, declared:

"Today we must get ready for a global operation, and our forces should expand their operation throughout the world.
And a general purpose march through Antwerp
Our fighters are present in all five continents of the world and will fight against imperialism everywhere. We must not fear anyone, and an international jihad must take place to prepare for the Coming [of the Twelfth Imam] ....
 As [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] declared, we must destroy Israel and free Jerusalem.  We must take our fight into the heart of Europe, America, Africa, Asia ... and just as we helped with the Islamic movement in Lebanon and Gaza, soon there will be an Islamic Republic in Egypt."
Hot on the heels, as it were, of that chilling speech comes the revelation that with a view to creating the hegemony of Islam worldwide, Hezbollah has since 2006 been busily establishing jihadist cells under the direction of Mohammad Hussein Babai, a provincial commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, that among the countries already penetrated is the leader of the free world, and that some of the cells may be armed with "dirty bombs".

The Hezbollah flag in Oslo
To quote Babai:
"Today we are a witness to our power and authority in the world, and because of our Islamic Revolution [of 1979], now there is an Islamic Awakening that, with the leadership of the dear supreme leader, Ayatollah [Ali] Khamenei, will become stronger and more resilient."
Read more, by the pseudonymous Reza Kahlili, a former CIA operative in espionage, here.

In the light of such revelations, perhaps this lady's warnings don't sound so far-fetched after all, but take on an urgency that even the most politically correct liberal should heed ...

Wednesday 28 September 2011

The Bazaar Ahava Irony

Boycott Derangement Syndromers in the West rant and rave against the Ahava cosmetics company, whose outlet in London's Covent Garden closed recently following a long campaign of vilification and harassment, including criminal damage.

This snap, taken a fortnight ago by Hadar Sela in Acco (Acre), of the bazaar in the Arab part of the old city, suggests that the West's "pro-Palestinian" extremists are far more fanatical and hate-filled than many of the people who actually live in the Middle East.  (Many thanks to Hadar for this photo.)

A Video Medley



Boycott Derangement Syndromers In Australia Protest Dead Sea Cosmetics (videos)

Sadly, the Ahava Store in London's Covent Garden, for so long the target of vicious protests by haters of Israel, is now kaput - and will not be reopening elsewhere in London as widely anticipated, at least not in the immediate future: see the report here.

Although negative publicity regarding the BDS campaign in Australia has tended of late to concentrate on the outrageous mob picketing of the Max Brenner chocolate stores, it shouldn't be forgotten that there is also a spiteful campaign against retailers of Seacret Cosmetics, which like Ahava Cosmetics contain minerals from the Dead Sea.

Here, for example, is footage from earler this year of an anti-Israel campaigner harassing workers on the Seacret kiosk in Canberra - he ends up being dragged away:


Protests against Seacret frequently take place in Brisbane, and over the past few months regular ones have taken place in Adelaide, to the delight of one of the principal anti-Ahava stalwarts in London, who has left emcouraging messages on videos the Adelaide protesters have uploaded to YouTube.

"Great work .... BDS will defeat the Zionist project in the end ...." he exults on one for example.

Since this blog has covered the Green Left BDS fanatics protesting Max Brenner in recent weeks, here are a couple of the video offerings of the Seacret protests in Adelaide:


Tutu Pirouettes Away From BDS (video)

It seems that Archbishop Desmond Tutu has softened his stance on Israel in his supreme old age, if this video is anything to go by:

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Palestine: Racy Left-Liberal Double Standards

Here's our old friend, London-based Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of the pan-Arab newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi, and long one of left-liberal Al Beeb's very favourite studio pundits as well as a pin-up boy of the like-minded Guardian (he was recently claimed by Gaddafi's Libyan foes to have been on the colonel's payroll, incidentally), telling an Arabic network what Arafat said about Jews:


And here he is spilling the beans on what Arafat really thought of the Oslo Accords:


Eye-opening stuff, huh?

Here's Dr Atwan again, back in 2007, saying something very spiteful indeed about Israel.  Judging from the number of times he's appeared on Al Beeb since then, the outburst apparently served to make the Beeboids (as the much-to-be-recommended Biased BBC website terms them) revere him all the more (I believe they've kept rather shtum about that Gaddafi payroll allegation):


Here's a par-for-the-course statement from Hamas about Israel and its sympathisers as well as about Jews and Christians in particular:


Of course, Al Beeb, which never publicises the genocidal document that is the Hamas Charter, is always very careful not to reveal such tidbits that serve to blunt the Bowen arrows it shoots in Israel's direction.

I refer you to the pictorial examples of Palestinian antisemitism here, where the very pertinent observation is made:
'The Palestinian cause is increasingly supported by western "progressives" who also claim to be champions for tolerance, pluralism, and minority rights [yet] have been too willing to ignore the basic and unfortunate fact that racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism are widespread and accepted in Palestinian society.'
And as Benjamin Weinthal observes in a masterly commentary on the excrescence that is Durban 111, no less than 18 of the 27 European Union states - representatives, for the most part, of the Western liberal tradition - have betrayed Western value by attending that forum despite its deep taint of antisemitism.

Monday 26 September 2011

Why Mr Abbas's Statehood Request Should Be Rejected By The United Nations


"Theatre of the Absurd."  Regarding the United Nations that phrase does suggest itself. Bibi Netanyahu used it in that wonderful speech he delivered last week in response to Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Statehood bid.  And Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer uses it in his latest article ( "Palestine – The UN Farce Promises Theatre Of The Absurd") via the antipodean J-Wire service:

Writes David Singer:

'The appearance of Mahmoud Abbas at the podium of the United Nations General Assembly on 23 September was reportedly met with “rapturous applause” by those present to witness this latest farce in the ongoing efforts to create a new Arab State between Israel and Jordan for the first time ever in recorded history.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon was presented with a letter signed by Mr Abbas as "President of the State of Palestine, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation".

Mr Abbas’s letter stated that he had  "the profound honor, on behalf of the Palestinian people to submit this application of the State of Palestine for admission to membership in the United Nations."

He continued:
 "This application for membership is being submitted on the Palestinian people’s natural, legal and historic rights and based on United Nations General Assembly resolution 181 (II) of 29     November 1947 as well as the Declaration of Independence of the State of Palestine of 15 November 1988 and the acknowledgement by the General Assembly of this declaration in resolution 43/177 of 15 December 1988.
 In this connection, the state of Palestine affirms its commitment to the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the vision of     two states living side by side in peace and security, as endorsed by the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly and the international community as a whole and based on international law and all relevant United Nations resolutions."

Those joining in the rapturous applause should now digest what Mr Abbas is asking for – and reflect on his standing to do so.

When they do – the application should be rejected by both the Security Council and the General Assembly for the following reasons:
  1. Mr Abbas falsely continues to use the title "President of Palestine"  although his term of office expired on 1 January 2010 pursuant to Article 36 of  the Basic Law 2003 (as amended).
  2. The application does not identify the territorial boundaries of Palestine and  thus would preclude any action by the UN against such a member – should the provisions of the UN Charter be breached by it n the future.
  3. No State can be admitted as a member of the UN  that fails to comply with the preconditions necessary for the declaration of Statehood pursuant to the Montevideo Convention 1933. The Declaration of Independence of the State of Palestine on 15 November 1988 is similarly deficient.
  4. Basing the application on UN General Assembly Resolution 181(11) of 29 November 1947 is meaningless since this Resolution was rejected in1947 and has become extant. General Assembly resolutions in any event are not binding in international law.
  5. As Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – Mr Abbas is committed to maintaining the territorial indivisibility of Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and  Jordan under Article 2 of the PLO Charter.  The current application contains no mention of his intention to revoke this provision in the Charter or to forgo any claims to any other parts of this territory from either Israel or Jordan.
  6. Claiming that the application is based on international law and all relevant UN resolutions is contradicted by the fact that the PLO considers all such law null and void under article 20 of the PLO Charter which states: "The Balfour Declaration, the Mandate for Palestine, and everything that has been based upon them, are deemed null and void." No commitment has been made by Chairman Abbas to revoke this provision of the PLO Charter as a condition of the UN approving his application for membership.
  7. The PLO is no longer the sole spokesman for the Palestinian Arabs and Mr Abbas is deceiving the UN in claiming to be speaking “on behalf of the Palestinian people”
An unconstitutional president claiming to be the sole spokesman for the Palestinian Arabs when he clearly is not – as his unresolved power struggle with Hamas shows – applying for membership of the United Nations for a country within undefined boundaries that is not controlled by the PLO whilst claiming to respect and observe international law when the opposite is demonstrably evident – is indeed the theater of the absurd into which the UN finds itself being propelled once again..

Israel’s Prime Minister – Benjamin Netanyahu – followed Mr Abbas to the podium and was quick to  point out how automatic majorities at the UN had been used to incite institutionalised hatred against Israel.
"After all, it was here in 1975 that the age-old yearning of my people to restore our national life in our ancient biblical homeland — it was then that this was braided — branded, rather —  shamefully, as racism. And it was here in 1980, right here, that the historic peace agreement between Israel and Egypt wasn’t praised; it was denounced! And it’s here year after year that Israel is unjustly singled out for condemnation. It’s singled out for condemnation more often than all the nations of the world combined. Twenty-one out of the 27 General Assembly resolutions condemn Israel — the one true democracy in the Middle East.
Well, this is an unfortunate part of the UN institution. It’s the — the theatre of the absurd. It  doesn’t only cast Israel as the villain; it often casts real villains in leading roles: Gadhafi’s Libya     chaired the UN Commission on Human Rights; Saddam’s Iraq headed the UN Committee on Disarmament.
You might say: That’s the past. Well, here’s what’s happening now — right now, today. Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon now presides over the UN Security Council. This means, in effect, that a terror organisation presides over the body entrusted with guaranteeing the world’s security.
You couldn’t make this thing up.
So here in the UN, automatic majorities can decide anything. They can decide that the sun sets in the west or rises in the west. I think the first has already been pre-ordained. But they can also   decide — they have decided that the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Judaism’s holiest place, is occupied Palestinian territory."
 The theatre of the absurd is definitely set to swing into action once again at the UN over the next few weeks. As it does so – the authority and standing of the UN is set to sink into further disrepute.'

Sunday 25 September 2011

As Iranians Are Told To Bring Jihad To "The Heart Of Europe," Something Rotten Stirs In The State Of Denmark

The hard-left is all about destruction of society as we know it, which I suppose drives the bizarre alliance that far leftists have forged over recent decades with another totalitarian force dedicated to destroying western civilisation, radical Islam.

An utterly bizarre alliance indeed, of course, since for one thing the far left is atheistic, condemning religion as atavistic and irrational ("the opium of the people") and despising its followers as benighted and superstitious, and for another thing the far-left is avowedly egalitarian, upholding the rights of women against "patriarchal tyranny".

It's long been predicted that Iran's Revolution of 1979, which exchanged the rule of the Shah for that of the mullahs, will prove far more reaching in its effects, geographically and culturally, than was the French Revolution of 1789, itself a seminal event in world history, at least as far as the Western Hemisphere was concerned.

The dedication of radical Islam to the destruction of  non-Muslim civilisation is clearly seen in a chilling video of the speech on 23 September in which an influential Iranian, Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, an ideologue close to the ruling administration, outlined his thoughts on the future direction of Iran's foreign policy, and exhorted war veterans to prepare to take the Islamic struggle everywhere, including "the heart of Europe".

Azghadi shows every sign of being as zealous as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, even down to the belief in the eventual coming of the Twelfth Imam, and the necessary prelude to that event, about which I've blogged here and here.

And the bizarre antics of Islamism's far-left allies is clearly seen in the recent decision of the leftist-dominated Copenhagen city council to permit the construction of a huge mega-mosque funded by an Iranian radical Shia organisation:
'Unlike most mosques in Europe, which cater to Sunni Muslims, the mosque in Copenhagen pertains to Shia Islam. The mosque is being financed by the Islamic Republic of Iran; critics say that theocrats in Tehran intend to use the mosque to establish a recruiting center for the militant Shia Muslim group, Hezbollah in Europe.
Critics of the Shia mosque have warned local politicians that the building will be owned by the Iranian regime for use as a propaganda center as well as a platform from which to recruit impressionable Muslim immigrant youths for service to Hezbollah. But the Copenhagen city council states that who pays for building the mosque is none of its concern.
The Copenhagen mosque is, in fact, being built by the Ahlul Beit Foundation, a radical Shia Muslim proselytizing and political lobbying group run by the Iranian government. Ahlul Beit already runs around 70 Islamic centers around the world, and has, as its primary goal, the promoting of the religious and political views of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Ahlul-Beit is opposed to all brands of Islam that compete with the form of Islam dictated by theocrats in Iran: the organization has called for the persecution of Sunni Muslims, Sufi Muslims, and Alawites as well as all secular and moderate Muslims. The organization is also vociferously opposed to the integration of Muslim immigrants into their host societies.
Ahlul Beit is especially focused on spreading Islamic Sharia law beyond the Middle East; its centers in Africa and Asia, for example, have been used to radicalize local Muslim communities. In a typical quid-pro-quo arrangement, the organization offers money to the poor who then convert to Shia Islam and are subjected to religious training by Iranian-backed Imams. The group has been banned in at least a dozen countries.
In Europe, Ahlul Beit mosques are usually presented to the general public as centers for cultural and sports activities, but in practice they are often used by Iranian intelligence to monitor Iranians living abroad as well as to harass Iranian dissidents.'

Read more here.  And tremble.

"Mort Aux Juifs!" (video)

The French Revolution of 1789 culminated in the emancipation of French Jewry by Napoleon (once he'd been assured that Jewish beliefs and practices did not conflict with modernity or the ideals of the Republic and that consequently Jews deserved the privilege of French citizenship).

What the French Revolution foreshadowed by the voluble Israel-hating gentleman in the keffiyeh who stars in this video would portend for French Jewry can only be surmised, but certainly some of his cohorts appear to know the answer.  "Mort aux juifs!" can be heard as they march...

"A Beacon Of Democracy In A Sea Of Discontent": Aussie Voices In Praise Of Israel (video)

The above phrase was senior state politician Bob Kucera's, at the pro-Israel rally in Perth last weekend.  This five-minute video contains snippets of him and other speakers at the rally making the case for Israel, and shows up the antisemitism of the BDSers.

 
(Hat tip: Shirl in Oz)

"Better A Bad Press Than A Good Eulogy", "Debunking the Palestine Lie" &"Bloody Truth" (videos)

Here's Binyamin Netanyahu, addressing what he so aptly calls the "theatre of the absurd" - the UN General Assembly - yesterday following Mahmoud Abbas's pitch for an affirmative vote on a Palestinian State.  Nobody expresses the case for Israel better than the attractive, charismatic, and eloquent Bibi.  In this speech he talks of Israel's ongoing contributions to the improvement of humanity, sets out why Israel - a country nine miles wide which is crossed by jet in three minutes - cannot sacrifice its security on the altar of appeasement to "the insatiable crocodile of militant Islam," reminding his audience that Israel went further than the "sweeping peace offer" so many urge it to make by surrendering land for peace, a move which far from calming "the Islamic storm" aggravated it.  Explaining that Israel will not tolerate another Gaza in the West Bank, he points out that the main obstacle to peace has always been the Palestinian Arabs' refusal to recognise Israel as the state of the Jewish People.  He reiterates that peace by negotiation must be the prelude to Palestinian Statehood,  that "the Palestinians should be neither the citizens of Israel nor the subjects," and invites Abbas immediately to start negotiating with him, right there in New York.  He notes, too, that when Ahmadinejad addressed the same forum "some of you left the hall - all should have" and declares that the forum should vote to demand the release of Gilad Shalit.

 
With sins-of-omission reports such as one on Al Beeb yesterday that left out all mention of Arab aggressors and thus gave the impression of gratuitous Israeli militarism ("In 1948 Israel fought for its independence, and won"), videos such as this next one are sorely needed.  This is an excellent exposure of Palestinian claims that  cuts simply through fabrications and fantasy, and which I'd love to make required viewing for the well-and-truly-duped members of my local all-female "Peace Choir" who've been standing in a local square serenading shoppers with songs demonising Israel (and only Israel), as is their custom:


Citing the fate of past agreements relating to the Arab-Israeli situation, Jerusalem musicianYedida Freilich voices caution:


(Hat tip for Freilich video: Lilith)

Saturday 24 September 2011

The Latma Choir Spoofs The UN

Pro-Israel Rally in Downing Street (videos)

Well, it makes a pleasant change. This rally, organised by the Zionist Federation and other pro-Israel bodies, took place on 21 September, in response to one by Londonistan's usual suspects.



 Richard Millett has more.  Far more - including an encounter with an Islamic extremist.

And check out the resounding pro-Israel speech a British government minister made recently.  Now, if only we could clone him...

Friday 23 September 2011

John Bolton On The UN &The Statehood Vote

The UK's former ambassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock (who not so long ago depicted Hamas in an apologetic light) has been saying harsh things about Israel in the lead-up to the Palestinian statehood vote, but the USA's former ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, sees things rather differently:

Benny Morris In Discussion On The Palestinian Statehood Bid

This discussion took place a few days ago on "Russia Today":

Thursday 22 September 2011

Mark Regev On The Palestine Statehood Bid (video)

Here's Israel's redoubtable spokesman Mark Regev, interviewed in New York by Australia's SBS television:

More on Perth's Pro-Israel Rally

Chaired by Bob Kucera, former state minister for Multicultural Affairs, the Friends of Israel Western Australia was launched in Perth at the beginning of August, in the presence of over 1000 people, including an impressive number of dignatories from public life, including the former Wimbledon tennis champion Margaret Court and a cross-party representation of politicians.


Yuval Rotem, Israel's ambassador to Australia, received a standing ovation, and Danny Ayalon, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister, addressed the gathering by video:


Below, via J-Wire, is a report by Sarah Robinson of the successful pro-Israel rally under the organisation's auspices that occurred in Perth last weekend, which I've already mentioned with a couple of video clips:

'More than three hundred people have rallied in support of Israel outside the Commonwealth Bank Building in Perth’s Murray Street Mall. Local parliamentarians, including Shadow Minister Kate Doust [speaking in the inserted video], and Member for Mount Lawley Michael Sutherland, attended the event.


The demonstration was sparked by a Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) protest scheduled for the same day. The anti-Israel BDS campaign advocates the boycott of Israeli businesses, a movement which has recently drawn criticism from both major parties and across the Australian community.

The demonstration, planned by the Friends of Israel Western Australia, drew a cross section of supporters, with some waving Australian and Israeli flags, as well as banners displaying phrases such as "Israel. We stand with you".

Various speakers addressed the crowd, including Bob Kucera, an ex Labour MP and President of the Friends of Israel WA. Kucera cited democracy as a key issue in the debate.
"I support Israel because I believe fervently in democracy. What other country in the Middle East has accepted the right of all minority groups to live together and exist in harmony?"
Michael Sutherland also addressed the crowd which included hundreds of shoppers who stopped to observe the event. Sutherland urged people to "stand up and be counted", dubbing the BDS a "…lunatic campaign driven by the Greens and socialist alliance".

Young Labour President of WA Matt Dixon emphasised Kucera’s message, restating the importance of supporting a nation that "…loves life and not death".

Cheers of support continued as various people took to the stand, including a young man with cerebral palsy who praised Israel for its excellent treatment of people with disabilities.

Tom White, Young Liberal President in WA, and the Hon. Kate Doust, deputy Leader of the Opposition in the State Legislative Council also addressed the assembled crowd.

Meanwhile a group of thirty BDS supporters marched across Perth’s city, targeting The Body Shop, Veolia and Caterpillar – businesses that they claimed to have some connection to Israel.

A strong police presence kept a close watch over both demonstrations, with more than thirty police officers on patrol.

The pro-Israel rally garnered high levels of support from the public, reflecting increasing disapproval from the broader community towards boycotting Israeli products and anti-Israel sentiment.'

The Palestine Statehood Bid: Six Essential Truths For The United Nations

From the pen, or more accurately the keyboard, of Sydney-based lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer, comes this latest article entitled "Palestine – Telling The UN Some Home Truths," via, as usual, the antipodean J-Wire service.

Writes David Singer:

'Israel’s Prime Minister – Benjamin Netanyahu – has announced his intention to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week in connection with the proposed application by the PLO for recognition of a Palestinian Arab State along the 1949 armistice lines.

The terms of the proposed resolution remain a closely guarded secret. There still appears to be  disagreement between Palestinian Arab leaders as to its final terms.

However notwithstanding such uncertainty Mr Netanyahu announced at a press conference with visiting Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas, that he will at the United Nations "speak the truth to those who want to hear it".

There are at least six basic truths that need to be conveyed to the delegates of the 193 member states present who are charged with voting on any proposed resolution:
1. Mr Netanyahu needs to repeat the following statement he made to the UN General Assembly on 11 December 1984 :
"Clearly, in Eastern and Western Palestine, there are only two peoples, the Arabs and the Jews. Just as clearly, there are only two states in that area, Jordan and Israel. The Arab State of     Jordan, containing some three million Arabs, does not allow a single Jew to live there. It also contains 4/5 of the territory originally allocated by this body’s predecessor, the League of Nations, for the Jewish National Home. The other State, Israel, has a population of over four million, of which one sixth is Arab. It contains less than 1/5 of the territory originally allocated to the Jews under the Mandate…. It cannot be said, therefore, that the Arabs of Palestine are lacking a state of their own. The demand for a second Palestinian Arab State in Western Palestine, and a 22nd Arab State in the world, is merely the latest attempt to push Israel back into the hopelessly vulnerable armistice lines of 1949."
This still remains the strategy behind the current PLO application to the UN.

The Palestinian Arabs could have had their State in more than 90% of the territory situated within the 1949 armistice lines had they accepted either of the offers made by Israel in 2001 or 2008. They want 100% to deny Israel the security it needs – as was  recognized by the UN in Resolution 242

This message needs to be repeated – especially for the 34 member States who were not members of the UN when Mr Netanyahu made this speech.
2.  The view often expressed in the UN that Jewish settlements in the West Bank are illegal in international law ignores the fact that close settlement by Jews on West Bank land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes was to be encouraged and is legally sanctioned by the Treaty of Sevres, article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the UN Charter.
Denying this vested legal right by unilaterally passing a resolution that seeks to negate the exercise of that right breaches article 80 of the UN Charter and is a denial of natural justice.
3.   Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 are the only legally enforceable resolutions of the United Nations binding on all parties to the Jewish- Arab conflict.
These resolutions call for secure and recognized boundaries to be determined by the parties to the conflict.

This can only be done in negotiations and not imposed unilaterally by any decision of either the General Assembly or the Security Council unless both Resolutions are repealed or amended.

To do otherwise will bring the United Nations into disrepute, cause it to lose its authority and render its future rulings and decisions without force or effect.
4.  The 1947 UN Partition Plan called for the establishment of a Jewish State and an Arab State in the balance of the area of the British Mandate still controlled by Great Britain in 1947 – after 77% of the Mandated territory had been granted independence by Great Britain in 1946 as an exclusively Arab state and was renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan.
The Arab rejection of the UN partition proposal and the failure by the Arabs to create such a State between 1947-1967 must require the General Assembly to stipulate that recognition of any Arab state in 2011 is conditional upon recognition of Israel as the Jewish state in the balance of the land contained in the 1947 Partition Plan.
5.  The PLO Charter – article 2  – declares that Palestine within the boundaries it had during the British Mandate is one indivisible territorial unit.
Until this clause is unequivocally and irrevocably deleted  from the Charter – the UN should not consider any application for recognition made by the PLO.
6.  The Montevideo Convention 1933 prevents any consideration of the current application – since the proposed state does not fulfill the requirements of the Convention setting out the conditions for a State to possess before it can make a declaration of statehood and then seek to be recognized.
The UN should be seeking to enforce international law not subvert it.

The UN has learned from bitter experience in 1947 what can happen when the General Assembly proposes a solution to the Jewish-Arab conflict which one party accepts and  the other party rejects.

Hopefully history will not be repeated in 2011. This will depend to a great degree on the final wording of any resolution. If it is not acceptable to both parties then violence and bloodshed is sure to follow.

The UN really needs to decide whether international law or the law of the jungle is to prevail.

Mr Netanyahu said in his press conference that the General Assembly is not "the place where Israel generally gets a reasonable hearing," but it was nonetheless important to present Israel’s position.

The real question is – will anyone be listening or have they already made up their minds?'

Wednesday 21 September 2011

"Gaza, Gaza Stop The Slaughter" : Aussie Israel Demoniser's Freudian Slip (video)

Here's a video by Friends of Palestine in Western Australia showing their Israel-demonising BDS rally in Perth on 17 September, which was eclipsed by the pro-Israel one that took place in the city directly afterwards (though of course this bunch would never admit it).

"Israel, Israel stop the slaughter," chant the anti-Israel brigade, "Gaza must have food and water" - but suddenly the rally's co-convenor (a Socialist Alliance activist), leading the chanting, makes a Freudian slip.

If you don't want to look at the entire video, you'll be delighted to know that this delicious moment occurs towards the beginning.

Never was a truer phrase spoken in error.

Tuesday 20 September 2011

"A Mort Les Juifs!": En La Belle France BDS Betrays Its Antisemitic Nature

On Sunday, a mob of activists from an outfit called Euro-Palestine, some wearing BDS tee-shirts, surrounded the El Al desk at Roissy airport near Paris, preventing the registration of Israel-bound passengers and their luggage, and disrupting air traffic scheduling.

As the gendarmerie stood passively by, this intimidatory bunch of thugs left no doubt as to their antisemitic credentials by shouting (in French) "Death to the Jews! " " Death to Israel! "

Observes a Franco-Jewish spokesperson:
"These activists have shown the futility of distinguishing their antiisraélisme from antisemitism. Their hatred of Jews, whatever their nationality - they shouted it with impunity....
It is surprising and distressing that police remained inactive in the face of these disturbances of public order and did not react on hearing the death threats against Jews. Ignorance of the distinction between a crime and freedom of expression? Lack of training? Tolerance or understanding? These agents, would they have been slow to intervene if the violence occurred, for example before the Air France desk?"
Read more here and here

Here's footage of the mob invading the airport:




 And here's more (LDJ = Ligue de Défense Juive):


As for EuroPalestine, here's a video they made earlier, in the seaport of La Rochelle.  It shows that in France as elsewhere the BDS movement includes girls in skimpy tanktops, bossy Israel-demonising women of a certain age, and that notorious set of four mendacious maps:

Don't Be Misled By The Media - Israel Does Want Peace (video)

Here's a jaunty video from that estimable organisation Honest Reporting (hat tip: Ian G):

"I Cherish & Love Everything Israel Represents in the Middle East": Friends In The South ... and Friends In The North

On 17 September in Perth, the most isolated city in the Southern Hemisphere, on the Swan River in Western Australia, some 300 Israel-supporters of diverse backgrounds gathered to express their solidarity with Israel and their opposition to the iniquitous BDS campaign.

Here are video clips of a couple of speakers at the event, showing first the president of Australian Young Labor, and then the president of the Young Liberals, who to cheers declares:
"Im not an Israeli and I'm not a Jew, but I cherish and love everything Israel represents in the Middle East."


 Read more here.

And forget, for a moment, the hostility for Jews and Israel that's so prevalent elsewhere in Scandinavia, at any rate in Norway and in the Swedish city of Malmo.  There was a rally in Helsinski last week by about 1000 Christian supporters of Israel, who voiced their opposition to a divided Jerusalem and called upon their government not to vote for the Palestinian statehood bid at the UN. 

Read more, with a translation, on Tundra Tabloids, but here's brief video footage of the event.



Monday 19 September 2011

Of Racism & Rejectionism: Durban & The UN Vote

To date, the following countries have announced their withdrawal from the planned anti-Israel hatefest known as the Durban 111 Conference Against Racism, to be held in New York this month: Israel (naturally!), Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States.

In his latest article, this one entitled "Palestine – Will Acceptance Ever Replace Rejection?", which comes as usual via the antipodean J-Wire service, Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer explains what's at stake and why it's incumbent upon countries to take a principled stand.

Writes David Singer:

'The expulsion of Israel’s ambassador from Turkey and the forced withdrawal of Israel’s entire diplomatic corps from Egypt have become the catalysts to ensure further virulent assaults on the Jewish people at the Durban 111 Conference on Racism to be held in New York next week and the UN meeting shortly thereafter to possibly consider a resolution calling for the recognition of a Palestinian Arab State.

Both of these meetings will set the stage for further violent confrontations between Israel and its neighbours unless steps are taken to end the Jewish people being singled out, vilified and dehumanised in an orgy of Jew-hatred  to virtually the exclusion of any other human rights abuses taking place around the world at the very time these meetings are taking place.

In the circumstances attendees at both these meetings would do well to reflect that the world would be a very different place in 2011 – not only in the Middle East but world-wide – had the Arab League encouraged the Palestinian Arabs to accept any of the following opportunities to create a second Palestinian Arab State in former Palestine (in addition to Jordan) :
  •  When recommended by the UN General Assembly on November 29, 1947 pursuant to Resolution 181
  • At any time between 1948-1967 after all Jews living in Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem had been driven from their homes by six invading Arab armies in the 1948 War
  • When offered by Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2001 during negotiations at Camp David chaired by President Clinton
  • When offered by Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in negotiations during 2008
The  major common stumbling block that has seen these opportunities fly out the window has been – and still remains – the refusal of the Arabs to accept any Jewish sovereign presence in the Jewish people’s ancient biblical and modern day legally sanctioned homeland as designated by the League of Nations and the United Nations.

Continuing Arab hatred and resentment of the Jewish people daring to have the political and intestinal fortitude to lobby for and come home to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in their historic homeland after 2000 years of dispersion and persecution has become too bitter a pill for the Arabs to swallow.

Arab denial of any right to a Jewish homeland in former Palestine is writ large in the Hamas and PLO Charters.

Article 11 of the Hamas Charter declares:

"Palestine is an Islamic Waqf  The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine has been an Islamic Waqf throughout the generations and until the Day of Resurrection, no one can renounce it or part of it, or abandon it or part of it. No Arab country nor the aggregate of all Arab countries, and no Arab King or President nor all of them in the aggregate, have that right, nor has that right any organization or the aggregate of all organizations, be they Palestinian or Arab, because Palestine is an Islamic Waqf throughout all generations and to the Day of Resurrection."
Do those who call for the lifting of the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza share these views – which obviously were endorsed by Gazan Arabs themselves when voting Hamas into power?

Article 15 urges the slaughter of Jews by jihad:
"When our enemies usurp some Islamic lands, Jihad becomes a duty binding on all Muslims. In order to face the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews, we have no escape from raising the  banner of Jihad. This would require the propagation of Islamic consciousness among the masses on all local, Arab and Islamic levels. We must spread the spirit of Jihad among the     [Islamic] Umma, clash with the enemies and join the ranks of the Jihad fighters."
Will this racist hatred rate a mention at Durban 111? Will those attending who have been seen embracing Hamas leaders and officials dare to utter a word of condemnation?

The PLO is scarcely better in its Jew-hating Charter.

Articles 1,2 and 3 make it clear that Jews have no national rights in former Palestine- which belongs to the Arabs and no one else.

Article 1:
Palestine is the homeland of the Arab Palestinian people; it is an indivisible part of the Arab homeland, and the Palestinian people are an integral part of the Arab nation.

Article 2:
Palestine, with the boundaries it had during the British Mandate, is an indivisible territorial unit.

Article 3:
The Palestinian Arab people possess the legal right to their homeland and have the right to determine their destiny after achieving the liberation of their country in accordance with their wishes and entirely of their own accord and will.

Whilst the Arabs constitute a nation, the same recognition is not extended to the Jews – as the PLO explicitly declares in Article 20:
"Judaism, being a religion, is not an independent nationality. Nor do Jews constitute a single nation with an identity of its own; they are citizens of the states to which they belong."
Will any member State at the UN demand the removal of this hate-filled and racist language from the PLO Charter as a condition of recognizing any Palestinian Arab State?

Featured speaker at Durban 111 will be Iranian President Ahmadinajad – who told Israel on August 26:
"Do not think that your existence will be recognized with the recognition of the Palestinian state.  You have no place in our region and among our nations, and you will not be able to continue your ignominious life on even a small part of the Palestinian territories."
Will Ahmadinajad’s appearance at the podium be marked by the same vociferous heckling that the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra received at the London Proms ... or will the delegates sit in silence as this Jew-hater extraordinaire continues his vile incitement against the Jews?

The refusal of the Arabs – and many of their allies such as Ahmadinajad – to accept the right of the Jewish people to independence in their ancient and biblical homeland will ensure  the continuation of the 130 years old Jewish-Arab conflict.

Taking a stand at Durban 111 and the UN to demand Arab acceptance of Jewish rights to statehood – as the General Assembly made clear 64 years ago – must be the message that rings out loud and clear.
Unless this happens things are going to get far worse before they get better.'

Max Brenner Finds A New Fan ... (brief video)

A visitor from the USA falls for Max's charms in Queensland.  Good on yah, lady!  Keep spreading the word!

Slaughter Of The Innocents

A certain organisation in the UK that's composed of Jews constantly critical of Israel states as part of its platform:

"Human rights are universal and indivisible and should be upheld without exception" - but then goes on to say:
"There is no justification for ... Islamophobia, in any circumstance".
For reasons connected with the treatment of women alone  - "honour" killings being just one - I find the latter statement curious.

And it's always struck me as odd, not to say despicable, the way certain leftwing organisations bash, bash and bash Israel, yet turn a blind eye to appalling barbarity in the Islamic world.

Some might attribute these double standards to antisemitism.

Some might call the reluctance to confront the excesses of Islamism denial, and even more might suggest that some sort of death wish to the West and its way of life and values is involved.

This video contains gruesome scenes, but I'm glad to see that, while much of the world shrugs, including certain clerics who seem to make a fetish out of trying to delegitimise Israel, some Christians are fighting for the world attention that the terrible persecution of their members so critically deserves.


 Hat tip: Vlad Tepes blog

Sunday 18 September 2011

More Of The Rot Down Under: A Video Nasty from BDSers, & the Israel-haters who don't know the Jordan from the Murrumbidgee

Several days ago, an Australian state parliamentarian, David Clarke, ably articulated the core of the case against the abominable Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, and to their credit the vast majority of the New South Wales upper chamber agreed with him:

"The boycott, divestment and sanctions [BDS] campaign directed world-wide against the state of Israel is a campaign that is misleading and deceitful. It is a campaign that is devious and destructive. It is a campaign that engenders hate mongering and promotes division. This whole world-wide boycott, divestment and sanctions operation should be repudiated and rejected by all people of decency and goodwill ...
 Those who fuel this campaign say that it targets some of Israel’s policies but the truth of the matter is that it does not target Israel’s policies; it targets Israel’s legitimacy. The truth is that it targets Israel’s right to exist. The truth is that the campaign’s end result would see the state of Israel cease to exist as the state envisaged by the United Nations when it voted to recognise its legitimacy back in 1947....
 The BDS campaign has at the core of its platform that there should be a right of return to Israel, not just of all Palestinians who claim to have lived in Israel at the time of its independence in 1948 and who left for whatever reason; it demands that all of the descendants of those who departed for whatever reason should also have the right of return—every child, every grandchild, every great grandchild should likewise have the automatic right of return. This would mean not just scores of thousands or even several hundred thousand; it would mean millions, even many millions. The United Nations in 1947 envisaged two states in Palestine, one Jewish and one Arab. The result of the BDS campaign would see Israel, as a predominantly Jewish state, face the destruction of its Jewish character. That is not what the United Nations envisaged over six decades ago and it is not what Australia, as a member of the United Nations six decades ago, envisaged either. And it is not something that we should, by our silence, conspire to allow to occur.
 The platform of the BDS campaign demands that Israel commit national suicide.... There are forces in this world that seek the destruction of Israel by whatever means they can. The terrorists of Hezbollah and Hamas seek to achieve it by firing their rockets on the civilians of Israel. The late but unlamented Osama bin Laden devoted the last 20 years of his life to the same goal and the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has declared the same goal as a policy of state. The platform of the BDS campaign would result in the same goal as well.... "
But as well as witnessing this noble stand for decency and justice, New South Wales witnessed during the past week the ignoble ravings of the pro-BDS mob in Newtown, as seen on this blog in recent days.

And that totalitarian leftist lot in New South Wales really are incorrigible.

In their visceral hatred for Israel, for a Jewish-owned chocolate shop, and seemingly for the free and democratic West itself, with its Judeo-Christian heritage and its respect for the rights of women, they use "Zionist" almost as an expletive, and revile their opponents as "fascists," "Islamophobes" and gay-bashers, while conveniently forgetting the oppression, the barbarity, the debased status of women, and the grisly fate that awaits homosexuals in Islamic regimes such as Ahmadinejad's Iran.

Have a look at this shameful mish-mash:


Meanwhile, check out the "Israel is a Terrorist State" mob in Perth, Western Australia - but before you do. here's brief footage of the squalid little event.

Incidentally, such is the grasp of geo-politics that these enemies of democratic Israel have that (I have this on excellent authority) when some of these ratbags were asked which river was being referred to in their Israel-eradicating chant "From the River to the Sea..." none of them knew!


Here, courtesy of an obliging photographer (thanks, cobber!) are some good guys, at a much bigger Perth rally on the same day under the auspices of Friends of Israel Western Australia - I hope to post a report in due course!

Elder of Ziyon posters did yeoman service in Perth
A small section of the pro-Israel crowd

Mark Regev On Israel's Relations With Egypt (video)

Saturday 17 September 2011

Antisemites and Useful Idiots Against Israel: BDSers in Newtown, NSW shriek their rage

Despicable Israel-demonising speeches on 10 September, including contributions from an old Jewish guy and a screech-voiced Jewish girl.

This video just has to be watched to appreciate the truly ugly hate-contorted face of the BDS movement in Australia.


All praise to the non-Jewish Aussies who stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community in condemning the call to boycott Jewish businesses, and to the New South Wales Legislative Council for its denunciation yesterday, with two dissentients, of BDS:
'Only one voice [sic; in fact, David Shoebridge of the Greens was another] in the NSW Legislative Council was heard following the debate on a motion condemning BDS…the same voice that declared to the Council  during debate "as an Australian Jew…"
Dr John Kaye’s voice was the only one against the motion when voices were called for at the end of the debate. Two other members who had opposed the motion which saw the Greens split in dealing with the  condemnation of the BDS campaign focusing on the the Israeli Strauss Group’s Max Brenner Chocolate shops, remained silent.'
 This is the motion passed by the legislators:
That this House:

        • (a) notes with concern the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign against
        • legitimate businesses operating in Australia which provide jobs to hundreds of Australians,
        • (b) calls on all members to condemn the targeting of Max Brenner Chocolate Cafes by anti-Israel
        • protestors,
        • (c) notes that some of the rhetoric used by proponents of the BDS campaign has descended into
        • anti-Semitism, and
        • (d) condemns anti-Semitism in all its forms.

Read the entire proceedings by clicking here 

Friday 16 September 2011

Al Beeb's Man In Cairo Mistaken For A Jew

Sometimes - just sometimes - a chink of light penetrates the curtain of denial that the BBC habitually drapes over any suggestion that all is not springlike about the Arab uprisings.

Sometimes - just sometimes - an Al Beeb reporter (though not usually "Middle East editor" Jeremy Bowen) does not stay true to type, but types the truth, by which I mean the situation as it is, and not how Al Beeb (which loves to conceal all sorts of awkward little facts, especially about Islamic extremism, that sit ill with the narrative if feeds the masses) would like the world to be.

Thus the BBC's Thomas Dinham, reporting from Cairo, tells us frankly of increasing antisemitism there, and adds:

'While walking in the street someone pushed me from behind with such force that I nearly fell over.
Turning around, I found myself surrounded by five men, one of whom tried to punch me in the face. I stopped the attack by pointing out how shameful it was for a Muslim to assault a guest in his country, especially during Ramadan.
Relieved that a seemingly random assault was over, I was appalled by the apology offered by one of my assailants. "Sorry," he said contritely, offering his hand, "we thought you were a Jew."
Shaking his head in disbelief on hearing the news, an Egyptian friend sympathised: "That's stupid, you are obviously not a Jew."
The chilling implication I was left with was that, had I been Jewish, the assault would have apparently been justified.'
Well done, Mr Dinham!
Read it all:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14911786
Hat tip: Rita

More "Trembling Israelites"? UK's Jewish Students Go Softly, Softly Into The Fray

At a time when Israel needs firm and resolute advocates more than ever before, the UK's Union of Jewish Students (UJS) has, it seems, been taken over by Yachad/J Street types.
It appears to many in the Anglo-Jewish community that while the UJS exists for the commendable purposes of enabling Jewish students to eat kosher, daven, and have fun, its heart is not really in getting involved in Israel advocacy in a committed, strenuous way.

Critics point to what they see as a lamentable track record of the UJS  going lily-livered and caving in to pressure ("Islamist-cowed" is how it has been described by one victim http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/douglasmurray/100034452/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people-a-lesson-from-islamist-cowed-jewish-students/), citing as cases in point the UJS's withdrawal of its invitations to well-known public intellectual Douglas Murray, a  strong friend of Israel and critic of Islamofascism, to speak at Gateshead and to Benny Morris to speak at Cambridge, and its attempt to prevent prominent pro-Israel activist Jonathan Hoffman from demonstrating in support of Israeli deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon in a public street outside LSE.

Now comes news that will strike many people as utterly depressing.
'Jewish students arriving at universities in the next fortnight will be asked to pledge their support to "two states for two peoples", hand out Israeli and Palestinian flags, and support "freedom, justice and equality" for all.'
That's how the Jewish Chronicle describes a "radical, progressive" campaign, encouraging students to speak up for the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians, to be launched by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS), a campaign that will carefully cherry-pick which issues to fight, not react in "knee-jerk" fashion to criticism of Israel, and which reportedly has the tacit backing of communal organisations.  The report continues:
'There is a belief within UJS that standard advocacy efforts "do not cut it any more" because "students are not stupid". Students will be encouraged to back the "liberation" of Israelis from Palestinian terror, and Palestinians through the formation of a new state. 

Campaigns director Dan Sheldon said UJS had decided on the new direction because "hasbara is not working". He said: 
"We have done our research. Old campaigns regarding Israel have not worked, so we are trying a bold approach.
Not everyone will agree with our bold campaigns this year, but we're hoping to start a conversation, to get our community properly engaging with and discussing Israel. Already, we've sat with everyone from Yachad to StandWithUs to start that dialogue."'
The report notes that
"Efforts to overturn the National Union of Students' anti-Israel policies adopted earlier this year will continue, as will opposition to campus extremism and invitations to hate speakers."
 http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/54741/union-jewish-students-shows-commitment-peace

Some might well consider this ostensibly well-meaning new approach defeatist or naive.  Indeed, the contention that hasbara is ineffective because "students are not stupid" would appear to blame the victim, conceding that Israel deserves much of the hostility it incurs. Since demonisation and delegitimisation of Israel needs no excuse these days, especially on British campuses, it seems a singularly ill-advised choice of words. 

Let's hope the new policy - which the UJS admits may alienate some of its members and which has reportedly infuriated the Israeli Embassy in London -  does not, unwittingly, play into the enemy's hands.

Jonathan Hoffman, for one, is certainly less than impressed.  He says:
"Hamas is committed to the genocide of all Jews and the PA refuses to recognise the State of Israel. The vast majority of Israeli Jews and indeed of UK Jews will find the image of UJS pressing Palestinian flags on Jewish students utterly repulsive. Fortunately there are now alternatives on campus to UJS - namely Stand With Us and British Israel Coalition. I would urge Jewish students and indeed their parents to vote with their feet."