Stephen Sizer: “Encouraging research and debate on all aspects of [9/11] is not anti-Semitic"

Reverend Sizer (he's the clean-shaven one)

The London Jewish News is a popular and deserving competitor to Anglo-Jewry's supposed newspaper of record, the Jewish Chronicle.

It carries a report regarding Stephen Sizer's despicable action in linking to a grossly antisemitic article that laid the blame for 9/11 on Israel and a number of named Jews (I posted about this here).

The report, out today, tells that, following overtures from Mr Jonathan Arkush, vice-president of the British Board of Deputies, Sizer has removed that link.

Posted on 20 January (as shown at right) the link to the article (see my above-mentioned post for that) remained on Facebook for over a week, attracting a total of 60 comments, many of them antisemitic, and at least two "shares".  Disturbingly, not one of Sizer's followers suggested to him in those comments that the post should be taken down. 

The London Jewish News quotes Mr Arkush, a London barrister, thus:

“Posting, and giving approval to, an article which in effect accuses Jews of responsibility for the 9/11 atrocity is unquestionably anti-Semitic, just as it is beyond absurd...."

It reports that while Mr Arkush has "welcomed" Sizer's removal of the link, Mr Arkush also notes that he is

“extremely concerned that a Church of England minister could possibly have considered it appropriate or becoming to his position to advertise such racist nonsense”

and that Mr Arkush observes

“The church should be taking action. He is one of their ministers. It should not be left to the Jewish community to have to protest and be forced to take action from outside.”

Sizer reportedly told the paper via email when contacted by them:

“I would welcome articles you can recommend refuting the allegations.” 

The paper goes on:

'Noting that many Americans feel 9/11 was “an inside job,” Sizer added: “It is essential the public become convinced of what happened before and after 9/11. Inevitably the truth will upset many people if it is shown by further investigation that the official explanations are shown to be deficient.” He added: “Encouraging research and debate on all aspects of [9/11] is not anti- Semitic… Suppressing discussion on such grounds will fuel suspicion, not remove it.”...' [My emphasis]

Read more here

 And there's a big article about this unsavoury post of Sizer's in the London Evening Standard that shows the diocese of Guildford is finally on the case!

Another big article in the UK Daily Telegraph

More fame (or infamy) 

Al Beeb carries the story

Cof E statement here  (it misdates the date Sizer posted the link as 29, rather than 20, January)

The Times of London, most of it behind a paywall, and similarly misdating the link:

From the Daily Telegraph inter alia:

 'The Bishop of Dorking, the Right Revd Ian Brackley, said the Diocese of Guildford, which includes Dr Sizer’s Virginia Water parish, is urgently investigating. 

“I want to reassure everyone that we are taking this complaint extremely seriously,” he said. 

“Immediate steps are being taken to investigate and we are in contact with Dr Sizer as well as the Board of Deputies.” 

A spokesman for the Church of England added: “These comments would rightly be seen as unacceptable whenever they were posted. 

“It is a matter of deep sorrow and shame that they have been posted in this week of all weeks. 

“The Diocese of Gui[d]lford, where the Rev Sizer is licensed, is taking immediate steps to investigate .... 

But Dr Sizer was unrepentant. He told The Telegraph: “I was encouraging debate, I was neither saying Israel did it or that they didn’t.”

He added: “I think they are trying to discredit me – they have tried several times to do that and they have seized on one little link to an article.

“With hindsight I wouldn’t have put it on [Facebook] if I had known it was going to happen.”...' [My emphasis]

 (Incidentally, I contacted the Jewish Chronicle not long after I first saw Sizer's post of 20 January and blogged about it.  They could have had a scoop. However, "the organ of Anglo-Jewry" was not interested in reporting about it, nor did their reporter ever, as far as I can tell, tweet it, as he told me he might.  Poor show, JC.  Very poor show.)

"We Don't Proselytise, We Don't Fly Planes Into Buildings ...": British national treasure Maureen Lipman on rising antisemitism

Yorkshire-born Anglo-Jewish actress, writer, and humorist Maureen Lipman, an outspoken champion of Israel, was born the year following the end of the Second World War (although for reasons better known to itself the Daily Mail gives her age as 71).

On a north London pavement

 Like her contemporaries, the woman often described as a "British National Treasure"  grew up during a time when antisemitism appeared to have virtually expired, as people contemplated the unparallelled genocidal wickedness to which antisemitism led.

Today, of course, antisemitism has proved, both in Britain and other parts of Europe, that it was not at death's door but only slumbering after all, and none too deeply at that.

Maureen Lipman, in an interview with LBC Radio on Holocaust Memorial Day, has revealed that the rise in antisemitic incidents in Britain in recent months has not only left her "very depressed" but has alarmed her enough to consider moving to New York or Israel:

 “When the going gets tough, the Jews get packing.  It’s crossed my mind that it’s time to have a look around for another place to live....

My kids are very bored with me.  But it is only in the last few months that they have to begun to say: ‘Mum, you may have something’....

When the economy dries up, then they turn on the usual scapegoat: the usual suspect – the Jew.

There is one school of thought that says it’s because of Israeli policies in the West Bank – it isn’t. There’s been antisemitism for the past 4,000 years....

There are 245,000 Jews in the country. What’s to fear? We don’t proselytise, we don't fly planes into buildings, we generally keep on the right side of the law.... We give and give and give ...’

Stephen Spielberg, too, spoke out on Holocaust Memorial Day on burgeoning antisemitism.

Read more here (with videos)

Louisiana Governor Warns Against Immigration To America By Those Who Defy Western Values (video)

A not inappropriate follow-up to my previous post, here's Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, whose parents migrated from India and embraced the values of their new country, warning that immigrants who move to America with no intention of subscribing to its democratic values based on the Judeo-Christian ethos pose a threat to the nation in the same way as such immigration poses a threat to western Europe:

(Hat tip: Vlad tepes blog)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRWzUZ7VIwk#t)

Pat Condell: "It's Muslim Antisemitism, Progressive Jews, and Not The Far Right ..." (video)

Here's that frank-talking man again, on the major source of antisemitism in Europe, and urging others to be as on-the-bullseye as he is in identifying it, publicly:

Hat tip: reader Ian

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQjTLGgQV2w)

Obama Spokesman On Avoiding The Term "Radical Islam"

".... Today we bow our heads in memory of the victims in Paris. However, as representatives of an ancient and proud people, we stand tall against evil because we can overcome it. "The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread" – because truth and justice are on our side. And here is the truth: Our shared enemy is Radical Islam, not Islam and not just radicals – Radical Islam. This form of Islam has many names: ISIS, Hamas, Boko Haram, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, al-Shabab, Hezbollah; but they are all branches from the same poison tree.

Although the various factions of Radical Islam are given to local bloody conflicts, including amongst themselves, they all share the same aspiration: To impose a dark tyranny on the world, to return humanity one thousand years to the past. They trample anyone who does not share their path, first and foremost their Muslim brothers, but their greatest hatred is saved for Western culture, that same culture that respects freedom and equal rights – all the things they so despise.

For this reason it is not a coincidence that Radical Islam has sought to destroy Israel from the very day it declared its independence: Because Israel is the only Western democracy in the Middle East, because Israel is the only place that is truly safe for Christians, women, minorities, that respects all human rights.Well, here is another truth: Radical Islam does not hate the West because of Israel. It hates Israel because it is an organic part of the West. It rightly views Israel as an island of Western democracy and tolerance in an ocean of fanaticism and violence that it wishes to impose on the Middle East, Europe and the entire world.

Israel is not under attack because of this or that detail of its policies, but rather because of its very existence and nature. But we are not the only ones under attack. Look around you: The entire world is under attack, the entire world – the Twin Towers in New York, the subways in London and Madrid, tourists in Bali, students at schools in Russia and Pakistan, a hotel in Mumbai, the mall in Nairobi."

So said Bibi Netanyahu during his stirring speech at the Grand Synagogue, Paris, following the .Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher killing spree.

On "Meet The Press" on Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough explains why the phrase "Radical Islam", which of course Bibi uses several times there, is best avoided:

 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjP7DQPbFkQ)

Meanwhile, as reported here:

'The head of BBC Arabic has instructed editors not to use the word "terrorist" to describe the Islamist gunmen who murdered 12 people at the Paris offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine.

Tarik Kafala told the UK's Independent newspaper that the term "terrorist" is too "loaded," and said the decision was in-line with the BBC's overall policy on reporting such attacks.

"We try to avoid describing anyone as a terrorist or an act as being terrorist. What we try to do is to say that 'two men killed 12 people in an attack on the office of a satirical magazine'. That’s enough, we know what that means and what it is," said Kafala.

"Terrorism is such a loaded word," he added. "The UN has been struggling for more than a decade to define the word and they can’t. It is very difficult to. We know what political violence is, we know what murder, bombings and shootings are and we describe them. That’s much more revealing, we believe, than using a word like terrorist which people will see as value-laden." .... 

Although Kafala's statement came as a surprise to some, the refusal by the BBC to use the word "terrorist" has long been a point of contention, particularly in its coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict....

However, while consistently reticent about referring to individuals as "terrorists," some have noted that while some attacks - including those against Charlie Hebdo - are often referred to as "terror attacks" or "terrorist attacks", equally brutal attacks against Israeli targets are simply referred to using the the more "neutral" term "militant attacks."'

 See reactions to Kafala's directive here

Are You Sitting Down? Iran Issues Report On Human Rights Violations

Glory, glory, Hallelujah!!!

The Farsi News Agency reports today that Iran has published a report on human rights violations during 2013 and 2014.

Let's give credit where it's due: this is a most noble and long overdue gesture on the part of a country in which human rights violations are frequent and monstrous.

A country that  punishes homosexuals with the noose and is not averse to hanging women, stones women for adultery, persecutes apostates, dissidents, and members of religious minorities even to the death.

And so on.

A country that has now bitten the bullet and exposed such horrific and unconscionable occurrences.

See for yourself:

More here

David Singer: Yemen Crumbles, Iraq Stumbles, America Fumbles ...

Here's the latest article by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.


He writes:

There are some 60 States in the American-led coalition pledged to degrading and destroying Islamic State – but only 21 – regarded as “key members” were at the Conference in London on 22 January – which UK Foreign Minister Philip Hammond described in these terms:

“Today, 21 key members of the global coalition met in London to review and discuss our efforts to degrade and defeat ISIL not just through military force, but by addressing the underlying narrative of the organization, its financing, its flow of foreign fighters, and by reasserting our commitment to Iraq. In total, over 60 countries have signed up to the global coalition, showing the international will and commitment to combat this threat.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry was at pains to clarify why the other 39 States had not joined the talk-fest:

 “And all the coalition partners are continuing to make vital contributions .., and we mean all 60. Whether it’s sheltering refugees, training, advising Iraqi troops on the front lines, or speaking out against Daesh’s [Islamic State – Ed.] hateful, false ideology, we appreciate the contribution of every single member, each of whom has chosen one line of effort or another.

 But we also recognize the need to, as effectively as possible, be able to coordinate all of these contributions. And that’s what the small group that came here today set out to do. The small group will continue to meet on a regular basis and continue, obviously, to consult with the full 60 members of the coalition, who will meet again as a full membership.”

The non-participation of the world’s remaining 133 States in the American-led coalition did not escape Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi’s attention – as he wryly noted:

 “Daesh is a terrorist organization. It knows no race, no religion, no region. It spares nobody, so everybody must be facing Daesh.”

Al-Abadi was therefore being more than a little cynical when he stated:

 “that Iraq is not alone, the Iraqi people are not alone, but the entire world stands with Iraq”

One can only ask: why then are these 133 reluctant States not members of the American-led coalition? Are they prepared to let the other 60 States do the heavy lifting for them whilst they just sit by and watch? Will they only be motivated to join the American-led coalition when Islamic State comes knocking at their door?

Pointedly, the Joint Press Availability with UK Foreign Secretary Hammond and Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi – issued by the US State Department following the London Conference – made no mention of any discussion having taken place at the Conference concerning Yemen’s dramatic cave-in this week – resulting in the resignation of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi after having being held captive following a concerted assault waged by Houthi rebels.

Yemen had been allowing the United States to wage counter-terror drone strike operations targeting Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula from Yemen’s sovereign territory.

Membership of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State was respectively claimed by the perpetrators of two horrific massacres in Paris last week at the offices of publisher Charlie Hebdo and a Kosher supermarket – resulting in the murder of seventeen people whilst putting France on a state of highest alert to counter any further possible terrorist attacks in their wake.

The events in Yemen represent a spectacular collapse of President Obama’s policy for similarly countering Islamic State in Iraq – by training supplying and using Iraqi forces to fight Islamic State on the ground whilst the coalition counters Islamic State from the air.

President Obama laid out this policy on 10 September 2014 – citing Yemen as an example of how that policy was working:

 “Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL.  And any time we take military action, there are risks involved –- especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions.  But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.  This counter-terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground.  This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years.  And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year:  to use force against anyone who threatens America’s core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order.”

Could Yemen’s fate herald the Iraqi Government’s possible collapse?

Al-Abadi ominously told the London Conference:

 “Another issue, which is being discussed today, is the fiscal problem for Iraq. You know oil prices have dropped to about 40 percent of their level last year. Iraqi economy and budget relies 85 percent on oil, and this has been disastrous for us…

… We don’t want to see a reverse of our military victory because of our budget and fiscal problems and we have been assured that every member of this coalition will stand with Iraq in its fight against Da’esh “

How long will it take Obama to understand that Islamic State can only be comprehensively defeated by military action undertaken on the ground by a properly equipped and authorised United Nations international force?

On A Dundee Bus, & In A Bradford Supermarket

The Scottish city of Dundee has the distinction of being Gorgeous George's birthplace and cradle, and it was under Gorgeous George's influence that, getting on for 40 years ago, its council chamber became the first in all of (post-)Christendom to fly the Palestinian flag.  And not long afterwards the city twinned with Nablus.

Innovative folk up there, it seems:

But to judge from certain of the comments, some people suspect an ulterior motive.

Anyway, remember Gorgeous George's bombastic declaration last August that the Yorkshire city of Bradford is and must be an Israel-free zone, sans Israeli goods, sans Israeli academics, sans Israeli tourists, sans Israeli everything?

Well, how pleasing to learn on the grapevine (hat tip: reader P) that Israeli peppers are doing a brisk trade in Bradford, as, it seems, elsewhere.

Yep, this is a pack of three – one red, one orange, and one green – at Morrison's:

And not surprisingly the usual suspects are getting all – well –  peppery over it.

Morrison's, they're moaning to each other, is (shock, horror) selling Israeli avocados as well!

Sainsburys, they're complaining between themselves, is stocking lots of Israeli goods, and so is bargain-price supermarket chain Lidl.

Waitrose, too, is not to be trusted.  A veteran Israel-hater from London declares:

"I am tired of turning over the boxes to find out where stuff is from, it should be clearly labelled, I am not popular in my local Waitrose .. but I will not stop"

 Notes another veteran Israel-hater, darkly:

"Our supermarkets like to con us into buying what they want to sell rather than what we want to buy. Managers know that if it is good for Israel it is good for their career prospects."

Grumbles another:

 "Those long red peppers nearly always come from Israel and I have plenty Muslim friends who buy them without a care."

(And why not, indeed?  For very nice indeed those peppers taste.  Too bad that, as a result of the Coop caving in to the BDSers some time ago, its customers can no longer enjoy them too.)

Harassment & Intimidation Of Pro-Israel Students On American Campuses (video)

A very sobering view of a truly unconscionable outrageous situation:

Many readers will already have seen the video.  Hat tip: Leah Kupfer for bringing it to my attention.

A Prominent Arab Journalist On Arab Support For Israel Against Hezbollah & Iran (post includes video)

Dubai-based Mr Abdulrahman Al-Rashed, general manager of Al-Arabiya television, former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, and a leading Arabic weekly magazine, as well as a well-known columnist on two Arabic dailies, has written the following article in Asarq al-Awsat entitled "How Did We End Up Cheering For Israel?":

Many have welcomed with cheers the sudden Israeli strike on Sunday that killed six Hezbollah members and a general in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps who, for some reason, were secretly present in Syria’s Quneitra region.

The cheering for this act on social networking platforms is an expression of anger and indignation, and we’ve even sensed these feelings expressed by sympathizers with Islamist groups.

This represents a huge change of feelings about Hezbollah, due to its heinous actions in targeting its rivals in Lebanon and its involvement in the killing of thousands in Syria. Many of those who have shifted from admiring Hezbollah to hating the group did so in less than a decade.

These people used to support Hezbollah in Lebanon in the past and they used to adopt the Shi’ite group’s political and military agenda. Anger began to surface when Hezbollah’s militias occupied west Beirut during the events of May 7, 2008, three years after the party’s involvement in the assassination of Sunni leader Rafik Hariri.

Hezbollah, and also Iran, have lost the respect and status they’ve always enjoyed in the name of Islam, Lebanon and Palestine. Hezbollah’s biggest fall came after its clear sectarian bias in Syria emerged when its members joined the terrible war there, which has killed more than 250,000 people in what is surely the most shameful crime in the history of the region. Iranian involvement in Syria will also have further repercussions.

In my opinion there’s no doubt that if a confrontation occurs between Israel and Hezbollah, or between Israel and Iran, many Arabs will pray for the defeat of Hezbollah’s militias and the generals of its Iranian ally. This strange feeling, even if temporary, reflects the change in the region’s alliances and political stances.

The hatred held by many Arabs towards Iran and Hezbollah does not necessarily mean they have suddenly developed affection for Israel—that’s another story. Perhaps this would happen in the event of the brokering of a Palestinian–Israeli peace accord that garners more popular acceptance than before.

In case a regional struggle happens, like an Arab struggle with Iran, and Israel is an apparent party in the Arab camp, people will, I believe, turn a blind eye to a temporary alliance under the principle of “my enemy’s enemy is my friend.” Once again, this does not mean that Israel will be accepted by Arabs on the popular level—unless there is a peace deal with the Palestinians.

We are in a now in a phase where the map and alliances drawn of after 1948 are in transition, and the struggles and hostilities in the region may be shifted in a totally different direction. Iran and Hezbollah may be on the side of the Jewish state if a nuclear agreement is signed with the West that satisfies Israel, which is now considered an obstacle due to its strict stance against American concessions to the Iranians.

In case of a US insistence on reaching an agreement with Iran that angers Israel, the latter could realign itself towards Arab countries to achieve the necessary regional balance. Israel is currently participating, from a distance, alongside an alliance that’s publicly pressuring the administration of Barack Obama against offering any concessions in negotiations with Tehran; however, we can’t count on the formation of an Israeli–Gulf alliance because Israeli disputes with the Arabs of the Gulf regarding Palestine and Syria are not only serious and numerous, but will also be difficult to overcome.

For current developments regarding Israel, Hezbollah and Iran see here

Somewhat off-topic: I admit I haven't had time to look at all of this video regarding Palestinian terror and American campus hate against Israel.  But in view of yesterday's outrage in Tel Aviv I've decided to put it on:

"People Who Deny The Holocaust Are Those Who Want To Repeat It": A Pro-Israel Muslim on Muslim antisemitism

Here's the admirable London-based Mr Shimshon:

As always, keep safe, Orim!

Stephen Sizer re Article Blaming Jews & Israel For 9/11: "Is This Antisemitic?... It Raises So Many Questions"

On Facebook, the anti-Israel Anglican vicar of Virginia Water continues to sail close to the wind, as far as antisemitism is concerned.

We have already seen how the vicar is not above posting links to conspiracy theories regarding Israel and the attack on the Twin Towers (as noted here, for instance,  and as discussed here) and now comes this post, which links to a truly vile article that would do Goebbels proud and must have every Jew-hater who reads it reacting orgasmically:

Unabashed,  some of the vicar's anti-Israel Facebook friends have already lost little time in reacting positively:

(Update: there are so far 53 comments; the Board of Deputies and the Bishop of Guildford, and perhaps the Archbishop of Canterbury himself, need to see what Sizer has unleashed by that despicable post of his.)

"Is this antisemitic?" indeed.

Does Sizer really have to ask?

Does this man of the cloth not recognise raw Jew-hatred when he sees it?

And if not, why not?

(UPDATE: That above-mentioned post linking to that despicable article, which attracted 60 comments in all from Sizer's followers, none of them suggesting that he take the post down, and with at least two shares, has vanished from Facebook, as of 28-29 January.  Sizer himself is at present in East Africa.)

Apart from that excursion into the dunghill, the vicar continues to post obsessively, as always, about Israel, and in the process sometimes has a little dig at da Joos, but the above link surely marks a particularly low point in the long-running Sizer saga.  With it, he has surely reneged on his undertaking to the Board made in 2013.

Note the Freudian slip!:

Incidentally, Sizer, who's no stranger to Iran's satellite propaganda channel Press TV, now has a new broadcasting outlet.  It's the London-based Iraqi Al Etejah English language TV station.  Its Facebook page gives the station's flavour but I don't know who funds the channel (I wish I did).

Wikipedia says:

"...It is supported by the Hezbollah Brigades. It has both an Arabic and an English version named "Aletejah TV English" which is being broadcast on multiple European satellites such as Hot Bird."

The linked article to the Hezbollah brigades says, inter alia, with footnotes provided:

"Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) or Hezbollah Battalions is a Shi'a Iraqi Insurgent group which has been active since 4 months before the beginning of the Iraq War (although their first attack was on October 2003), not to be confused with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. It is said to be an offshoot of the "Special Groups", which are the Iranian backed elements of the Mahdi Army. Katai'b Hezbollah is a separate and independent organization and not part of the Mahdi Army and its Special Groups. According to the American forces it receives funding, training, logistics, and material from Iran's Quds Force, claims which are denied by Iran. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an adviser to Iran's Quds Force is known to be a senior adviser to Kata'ib Hezbollah. The US state department has also claimed Hezbollah provided weapons and training for the group.  The group is known for uploading its videos of attacks on American forces on the internet...."

In Summer 2008 US and Iraqi Forces launched a crackdown against Kata'ib Hezbollah (and the Special Groups). At least 30 of its members were captured during those months. Many of the group's leaders were captured and us officials claim that "as result much of the leadership fled to Iran".

On 2 July 2009 the group was added to the "U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations". The group is held responsible for numerous IED bombings, mortar, rocket and RPG attacks as well as sniper operations, targeting US and Iraqi Forces and the Green Zone, including a November 2008 rocket attack that killed two U.N. workers....

On 21 July 2010 Iran is supporting three Shiite groups in Iraq that have been attempting to attack US bases, General Ray Odierno said. Kata'ib Hezbollah is one of these groups and the other groups are Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (League of the Righteous), and the Promised Day Brigades...."

In Sydney, A Vision Of An Islamic Army

Well might Bibi Netanyahu tweet:

Well did the great communicator make that point in the magnificent speech he made, to rapturous applause, at the Grand Synagogue in Paris.

This past weekend, in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba, a speech of a rather different complexion took place at a "public event" held by the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.  Here's part of its flyer advertising the event:

It seems, from his account of the "public event", that reporter Bryan Seymour, who attended on behalf of Channel Seven, was left under no illusion that the organisers welcomed his presence.

"Around 200 men and another 50 women and children, behind a curtain at the back [my emphasis, for this was a secular event], attended,"  he tells us inter alia.

Main speaker Bilal Merhi, known for inflammatory rhetoric, declared that

'Australia's democratic government has to go in favour of an Islamic Caliphate ruled by Sharia Law.

"....[You] have no state, no authority, you have no representation ...! But be brave when we have authority! Come forward when we have a representation with an army! Ready to defend the honour of Allah and his Messenger.... And that's what we have to understand,” ....

His message was met by cries of “Takbir... Allahu Akbar!” ....'

In most of the Middle East, Hizb ut-Tahrir is a proscribed organisation, but not in Australia or the dear old Motherland.  Its major conferences (like the one at right) in Australia attract delegates and speakers from abroad.

As the Sydney Morning Herald explained at the time of one of its conferences

(in 2011):

 'The group is proscribed in Germany for anti-Semitism, and Russia declared it a criminal organisation in 1999.

There have been unsuccessful calls to ban the group in Britain and Australia.

Wassim Kabbara, 33, said he had come to the conference as a ''litmus test for me … to see what these guys are doing versus what the West is trying to do''. He agreed with themes at the conference that ''Islam and democracy do not come together''.

The keynote speaker, Dr Mohammad Jeelani, said the West had decided to ''plant a cancer in the Muslim world'', and that cancer was the state of Israel.

The group openly rejects democratic government and tells Muslims in Australia to boycott elections.'

Still, it seems from the rest of Bryan Seymour's report that, albeit in fits and starts like the dozy dormouse at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, the Aussie authorities might be waking up.

Read and see more of Channel Seven's report (including a video report) here.

Hat tip to Jean Vercors (to whom I owe the "Je Suis Israel" in my sidebar) for this not inapt cartoon:

"You French People, If You Are In Gaza, We Will Slaughter You" (videos)

Please don't miss the previous post, by David Singer, on the fallout from the Charlie Hebdo tragedy. Following on from that post, here are Palestinian Islamists with some chilling messages (hat tip: Vlad Tepes blog):

More (hat tip Vlad Tepes) from Gaza, this outside the French Cultural Centre there:

(This article concerns an IS cell practising beheading skills by decapitating live animals in preparation for an attack on Israeli Druze: Vlad Tepes links to it but I chose not to look.)

Meanwhile:

As an added bonus here's Bradford "Respect Party" MP Gorgeous George, with many a denunciation of Israel as usual, declaring at an anti-Charlie Hebdo rally in his constituency that "The proper job of a satirist... is to hold the rich and powerful to account", inveighing against widespread "Islamophobia", and vowing to agitate in Parliament for the outlawing of insults to "The Prophets":

"Charlie Hebdomania": David Singer on the flaws & shortcomings of President Hollande's unity march (plus video)

Here's a video showing leftists and Muslims in Paris demonstrating against "Islamophobia" (and, ils disent, antisemitism) in the wake of the recent atrocities in Paris.  The Palestinian flag is much in evidence, as are denunciations of Israel:

And here, entitled "CharlieHebdomania Plunges World Into Whirlpool Of Islamic Violence", is the latest post by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.

He writes:

The sale of seven million copies of the magazine Charlie Hebdo featuring a front page cartoon depicting an image purporting to be that of Muhammad has brought forth its first bloody response from the Islamic world – Niger – where reportedly three people have been killed and six churches attacked and looted.

Graffiti on the French cultural centre in Gaza (Elder of Ziyon blog has more)

Riots and protests in Algeria, Somalia, Pakistan and Jordan [see also my previous post - D.A.] have added fuel to the rapidly growing feeling of resentment and hostility that Charlie Hebdo has inflamed.

Niger's President , Mahamadou Issoufou, was one of six African heads of state who attended the unity march in Paris last Sunday in the aftermath of the horrific massacres in the offices of Charlie Hebdo and a Kosher supermarket - that saw 17 people murdered in cold blood by terrorists identifying themselves with Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.

Niger, Algeria, Somalia, Pakistan and Jordan are all members of the 57 States comprising the Organisation of Islamic Co-Operation. President Issoufou – reacting to the outbreak of the violence in Niger  – angrily declared:

"Those who loot these places of worship, who desecrate them and kill their Christian compatriots... have understood nothing of Islam"

“Understanding nothing of Islam” could however be equally applied to those seven million readers (with possibly still more to come) who eagerly snapped up the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo – a publication that normally sells 60000 copies – supposedly in support of the right of “freedom of expression” – as proclaimed by French President Francois Hollande:

“…France has principles and values, in particular freedom of expression."

Hollande had apparently abandoned the moral high ground he initially took on January 7 – following the attack on Charlie Hebdo – when he gave this response:

“France is in shock – the shock of an attack, because it’s a terrorist attack, there’s no doubt about that – against a newspaper that had already been threatened on several occasions and had consequently been under protection. At such times, we must stand together as one, show that we are a united country and that we can react properly, with firmness, but always with concern for national unity. “

Shooting civilians in cold blood in their offices and in a supermarket needed to be condemned and swiftly ended. No State can possibly permit such conduct within its borders nor can any such conduct be justified on any grounds whatsoever – no matter who or what is the target.

But was cocking your nose an appropriate response to the sensitivities and feelings of 1.4 billion Moslems around the world – 4.7 million of whom were estimated in 2010 by the Pew Report to live in France and comprise 7.5 per cent of France’s population – by publishing another depiction of Muhammad contrary to what many Moslems believe to be the precepts of Islam?

Hollande seems to be whistling even further into the wind when he proclaims:

"There are tensions abroad where people don't understand our attachment to the freedom of speech. We've seen the protests, and I would say that in France all beliefs are respected."  

How can Hollande claim that France respects all beliefs when his own prime minister is photographed holding a copy of the front page of the latest Charlie Hebdo magazine leaving the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysée Palace in Paris?

There surely is a big difference in supporting the freedom of expression whilst at the same time disagreeing strenuously with the views those people are expressing.

Would the better response have been to leave those seven million copies on the newsstand shelves unsold and its contents condemned for fuelling racial hatred?

http://news.sky.com/story/1409561/rabbi-predicts-jewish-exodus-from-france

Jewish citizens of France certainly don’t believe Hollande and have been voting with their feet in increasing numbers – following more than 20 antisemitic incidents – some fatal – committed against French Jews in the last twelve months. 7000 Jews left France and emigrated to Israel during that period. Those Jews still remaining will view the following words of French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on 21 November 2014 last year with utter cynicism and disbelief after last week’s horror at the kosher supermarket:

“Every time you feel the violence exercised against you, when you are afraid for your children, when you are worried about this rising violence, remind yourselves that the republic protects you and [you have] an interior minister who loves you and who is your friend”

Hollande’s unity march – led by more than 40 international leaders locking arms in solidarity – should have concentrated solely on calling for the eradication of those responsible for the terrorist attacks – Islamic State and Al-Qaeda – rather than marching ahead of a sea of “Je suis Charlie” banners hoisted defiantly aloft behind them.

Collective international military action is undoubtedly needed to degrade and destroy these enemies of humankind engaging in unimaginable acts of violence all around the world and threatening its peace and security – including groups such Boko Haram, Jabhat Al-Nusra, Taliban, Hamas and Hezbollah.

The message should be clear and unyielding – no state will tolerate under any circumstances the deliberate targeting of its civilians for any reasons whatsoever.

Hollande’s march should have been just the first stage of a world unity march by all world leaders to the United Nations in New York – demanding the passing of a Resolution by the UN Security Council to take military action against Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

Until 193 world states identify and eradicate their common enemies, CharlieHebdomania will remain an incurable illness with frightening consequences.