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)

Thursday 23 December 2010

His Master's Voice – From the NIF's Mouth to the "Organ of Anglo-Jewry"

Snow-bound in her igloo somewhere in the ice-covered rural landscape of the British Isles, this sun-loving Aussie gal wasn't able to pick up her hard copy of last week's Jewish Chronicle (17 December) until the lanes became passable. 

And what did I find? Why, the JC and the New Israel Fund tucked up in bed together.  Yes, cosily between the JC's sheets is a loose tabloid-sized four-page insert calling itself New Israel News ("NIF Publication", Winter 2010).  Under the banner headline "New debate welcomed by NIF", the insert's main frontpage article declares: 'The move by Mick Davis and leading figures in Anglo-Jewry, to engage in "honest and open debate" about the policies and actions of the Israeli government, has been welcomed by the Chair of the New Israel Fund (UK), Nicholas Saphir.' 

The article generously quotes Mr Saphir (pictured), and when we turn to page two we find – lo and behold! – an article by that gentleman entitled "Diaspora Jewry must speak up".  At the foot of the article is the note "Nicholas Saphir is Chair of the New Israel Fund" – he’s also, as a matter of fact, a trustee of the Kessler Foundation, which owns the Jewish Chronicle, as was noted in my recent post called "Screwing the Right".

Yes, folks, that’s the same New Israel Fund whose dodgier initiatives have been exposed by NGO Monitor, as I indicated in that same post.  And that’s the same Jewish Chronicle which has yet to feed its readers all the hard sober facts about the existential threats faced by Israel – for example, I have looked in vain yet again for anything about the possibly domino-effect recognition of a Palestinian State with its borders pre-Six Day War (those "Auschwitz borders" for Israel) by several South American nations (four at last count; the JC hasn't even reported one!).  I thought this news, which was ignored by thewebsite, would be in the hard copy.  It's been a futile search, and I don't think I need Specsavers.

Oh –  there is the now seemingly obligatory article denouncing the EDL, which according to the JC's headline has 'left the BNP a mere sideshow'. The report claims that the anti-fascist monitor Searchlight (whose representative is the source for the report and its analysis), "will launch a think tank to examine new forms of extremism such as the anti-Muslim politics of the EDL and totalitarian Islam".  Ah, so! We live in interesting times.

On page 26 the JC carries an article by Isi Leibler.  (Although he’s bestrode the Jewish world like a Colossus this past quarter-century and the “Organ of Anglo-Jewry” might be expected to be au fait with his name, they’ve in two places managed to misspell it as Liebler.)  His article declares – in response to criticism in the JC last week by the left-leaning journalist Jonathan Freedland – that he stands by his criticism of Mick Davis and reiterating why.   

As usual, he's a fount of sagacity.  The article, reposted to his blog, says:
'In these pages last week, Jonathan Freedland accused me of indulging in a “viciously personal” attack on, and misrepresenting the views of, Mick Davis.
Let me begin with a clarification. My source was the Jewish Chronicle itself, which summarised Davis’s remarks by stating: "One of British Jewry’s most senior leaders this week shattered a long-standing taboo by publicly criticising Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu over the peace process, voicing moral reservations about some of Israel’s policies and calling for criticism of Israel to be voiced freely throughout the community."
In an exchange of correspondence initiated by Mr Davis, who also claimed I misrepresented him, I responded that if the JC report was incorrect or if quotations attributed to him were false, he was duty bound to request a correction - something he failed to do for obvious reasons.
I am personally unacquainted with Mick Davis and hold no animus against him even when he depicts me as "that mad Australian who attacks everyone".
My criticism was not about freedom of expression or the right of Davis to criticise Israel. My concern is about the propriety of a person holding one of the most senior positions in a major Jewish community publicly questioning the morality and “courage” of the democratically elected leadership of Israel and, from the vantage-point of London, having the gall to challenge Israeli security policies which have life-and-death implications for Israelis.
It is in this context that Davis made the bizarre statement: "I think the government of Israel has to recognise that their actions directly impact on me as a Jew living in London, the UK. When they do good things, it is good for me, when they do bad things it’s bad for me. And the impact on me is as significant as it is on Jews living in Israel… I want them to recognise that."
I am also appalled that, instead of rallying Jews to support an embattled Jewish state, Davis called on them to join in the criticism of Israel. It is not surprising that Freedland, who admits he condemned Davis for speaking at a rally supporting Israel, now rushes to defend him.
Having occupied senior leadership positions in national and global Jewish organisations, I reaffirm the view that a person heading bodies like the UJIA and JLC [Jewish Leadership Council] is totally out of line in making such remarks. I would further submit that, in the United Kingdom, where demonisation and delegitimisation of Israel - not to mention antisemitism - have reached record levels, it is the height of irresponsibility for a communal leader to behave in this manner, knowing that such remarks represent fuel for our enemies.
No other Jewish community in the world would tolerate such outbursts from a leader. American Jews are more inclined towards liberalism than their Anglo-Jewish counterparts but one could not visualise any mainstream American Jewish leader expressing such views.
My vexation is not merely that Davis still fails to appreciate that he was out of line, but that most Anglo-leaders lack the backbone to condemn his behaviour or have become so adjusted to living in an environment hostile to Israel that they cannot even appreciate the lack of propriety when one of their leaders acts in such a manner.
It was shameful that Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom was obliged to intervene and say what should have been conveyed to Mick Davis by his peers.
I hope Mr Davis resumes his positive work on behalf of Israel but refrains from unleashing his personal criticism until such time as he retires from his leadership positions. Had he not held office when he made his remarks, I doubt whether anyone would have noticed.
Anglo-Zionist pioneers of the calibre of Chaim Weizmann would turn in their graves were they aware that those who consider themselves Jewish leaders could voice public condemnations of Israel, when the embattled Jewish state is a facing such enormous pressures from a biased and largely hostile world.'

19 comments:

  1. Great post, Daphne!
    Frankly, none of this surprises me. The words "Jewish leaders/leadership" are hilarious in my opinion, because these dhimmi scumbags are not leaders of anything, let alone of Jews, a people with a strength unsurpassed by any other.
    These self-appointed evil cretin "leaders" have no strength and certainly no power. They are in fact laughable.

    Searchlight is a disgrace. They claim they WILL launch a think tank on "totalitarian Islam" and the EDL, heh?

    Well, they are welcome to investigate us to their heart's content, although they would be wasting their time. Our motto is NO SURRENDER TO ISLAM, so there is no much point in investigating, as the answers are already there.
    But I somehow doubt very much they would have the balls to dab into Islamic issues. They have no guts, no cojones at all. They cannot even call the enemy by its name and instead call it "totalitarian Islam". LOL!!!

    Try the simple version: ISLAM. Here, this is OUR ENEMY. Deal with it. Fight against it.

    At the same time, we from the Jewish Division WILL be investigating these individuals on a PERSONAL basis, although we have already started and have quite a few pages of dirt on these sick individuals who are appeasing Muslims and wannabe terrorists instead of actually dealing with the problem they are causing us all. And I don't mean only Jews. Islam is against everyone and everything. They are simply incapable of a peaceful coexistence. FACT.

    CST, Board of Deputies, JC, NIF, and others are nothing but dhimmified Islamic puppets.
    Bring them on!

    I for one would love to have a filmed debate with these Islamic appeasers and traitors of the Jews and Israeli people, face to face, so that I can expose their lies and see their ugly faces drop.

    But it ain't going to happen, is it? They are far too afraid to even debate the EDL. They know knowledge is power, and we have it.

    Keep strong Daphne!!
    We must fight for our survival and we will take no prisoners. These kapos will be the first we will be coming for.

    They don't know my fighting skills yet ;)

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  2. What I object to about the so-called "leaders" like Mick Davis of the JLC is that they are unelected by the community - they feel they are entitled to sound off by virtue of being plutocrats. As I keep saying, in these perilous times, when Israel is facing a ruthlessly and ferociously orchestrated existential threat from both far left and far right as well as from other forces, it ill behoves these gentlemen of the Galut publicly to break ranks with Israel. If they think they know better than the elected government of Israel, let them make aliya and cast their votes the ballot box. In Israel, being a democracy, they will be able to sound off to their hearts' content.

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  3. This kind of thing does intra-communal relations more harm than good:
    http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/blog/id.6581/blog_detail.asp

    Red Cross Bans Christmas to Avoid Offending Muslims

    Christmas has been banned by the Red Cross from its 430 fund-raising shops. Staff have been ordered to take down decorations and to remove any other signs of the Christian festival because they could offend Moslems.

    The charity's politically-correct move triggered an avalanche of criticism and mockery last night - from Christians and Moslems.

    Christine Banks, a volunteer at a Red Cross shop in New Romney, Kent, said: 'We put up a nativity scene in the window and were told to take it out. It seems we can't have anything that means Christmas. We're allowed to have some tinsel but that's it. 'When we send cards they have to say season's greetings or best wishes. They must not be linked directly to Christmas.

    'When we asked we were told it is because we must not upset Moslems.' Mrs Banks added: ' We have been instructed that we can't say anything about Christmas and we certainly can't have a Christmas tree...


    --

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  4. I am appalled by the disgraceful "political correctness" that has been plaguing our countries these days. What's wrong with people? Have then forsaken their honour and their standards? And for what? For a bunch of terrorists?

    Well, we cannot fix the world but what we can do is fix ourselves. The EDL will NEVER get into the mistake of abiding by political correctness because it offends us. Political correctness is an infringement of our liberties and human rights and we shall never accept it.

    Regarding your comment that these leaders are self appointed, I totally agree with you, hence my point: "These self-appointed evil cretin "leaders"..."

    They just step in and have the chutzpah to call themselves leaders, but who are they speaking for? Certainly NOT for JEWS!
    As Juniper said, we are indeed investigating these filthy kapos (not a merely think-tank) and will expose ALL their sick dealings.

    They want war? Then a war they shall have, and one that they will doubtlessly and surely lose badly.
    The whole Jewish community will know what they really have been up to and will see how they have been lied to and betrayed.

    Bring it on!
    NFSE

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  5. The Red Cross should change their name to the RED CRESCENT.
    We should not donate one more penny to these people anymore. I don't and I won't, unless they return to be the good old CHRISTIAN organization that they were before.

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  6. To be fair, minority groups haven't asked the Red Cross to behave in this high-handed fashion - and by issuing such directives the Red Cross risks causing resentment against minority groups when it was not those groups who demanded such silliness in the first place.
    It would never cross my mind to be offended by the symbols of Christmas, and I'm sure most members of minority faiths feel the same way.

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  7. The Red Cross thing is not true, look on the Red Cross website

    Jonathan Hoffman

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  8. Please note there is a RED CROSS and a RED CRECENT but any attempt for our MAGEN DOVID has not and will not be authorised by these anti-semites.

    As far as machers are concerned it comes with the cross ( ha ha ) we Jews have to bear.

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  9. Really, Jonathan? Glad sanity prevails.
    But this blog of yours is a further cause for concern, this time re the Board of Deputies:
    http://thejc.com/news/uk-news/42926/board-urged-invite-pa-envoy-talk

    Steve, exactly! The Red Cross does have a chequered history as far as Israel is concerned.

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  10. Frankly one should NOT trust what some organizations say on their websites. This is not the first time I hear this about the Red Cross to be fair. But let's not think that it's only the Red Cross that has been under this disgraceful appliance of political correctness. I have been receiving "Happy HOLIDAYS" wishes in my supposedly Christmas cards at work. Even card companies are doing it.

    I must have received 2 cards saying Happy Christmas, in contrast to the remaining 15 saying Happy holidays or "festivities". To me this is immoral and I am not even Christian. If I was I would be hitting the roof.

    On another note, I am SHOCKED to my core after reading the link you pasted above, Daphne. The one from the JC.
    So now the "Jewish leaders" want to bring a Palestinian terrorist over here for "talks"?
    Hmm, I wonder what they will be talking about, perhaps the Dhimmi kapos will be BEGGING the Palestinian to stop attacking the Israelis, and offer them another "deal" of "Land for peace"...

    Do you now see what I mean? How sickening can these kapos get? How much lower will they descend? The way to hell is indeed paved with "good intentions", but somehow I doubt the Devil would be pleased with such scum. I have read the Bible, and I can guarantee you that even Satan has more dignity than any of these vermin who call themselves Jews, claim to speak for Jews but are nothing but a bunch of filthy traitors.

    The more I read the JC (when I can be bothered to read it, that is), the angrier I become. The JC is just another piece of trash, funded by Islamo-fascist appeasers and there isn't ONE SINGLE PERSON in that site, writer or not, who has the courage to speak for Jews and to identify the enemy. Not one!!!

    Mick Davis, the low life is now asking for more debates on Israeli policies? What does he know of Israeli policies? Why doesn't the vermin address the Sudanese policies? Or perhaps the Pakistani ones? Oh, how about the Saudi, the Yemenite, or even the Iranian policies? Turkey perhaps??

    No, this KAPO (read KAPO as if I put it in a 72 font) is only interested in demonizing Israel and making life for Israelis even more difficult than already is. And WHO goes against what he says? NOBODY!! There is not a single Jew telling the sicko to STFU!!

    From the article:

    [Mr Hassassian - who last year accused Israel of having killed 1,400 Palestinians "in cold blood" in its 2009 Gaza operation - has appeared on a mainstream British-Jewish platform before: he spoke at London's
    North-Western Reform Synagogue two years ago.]

    See? Now, WHO was responsible for bringing this "HASSASSIN" here to speak at a JEWISH SYNAGOGUE??

    Keep these coming Daphne. It seems the EDL will have a lovely and very busy new year fighting dirty filhty KAPOS like these. And let them know, we shall be in the synagogues and in their conferences too. We are many, and we have MANY JEWS with us now. I actually can't wait to see their faces when the next Orthodox kippah wearing Jew stands up in the middle of one of these disgraceful conferences and say: E-E-EDL!!
    ;)

    Their time is up. They know we are coming.

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  11. Roberta, remember that as far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out re the EDL ...
    I don't want the far left concluding I'm a member and smearing me as a result; it will blunt my credibility here, if I have any.

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  12. Daphne, I have been following and supporting the EDL since DAY ONE

    They can be nothing, and do nothing but good

    They have been wrongfully accused of anything and everything

    http://theenglishdefenceleagueextra.blogspot.com/2010/12/tommy-robinson-talks-about-police.html


    Now they have arrested the English Defence League spokesman Guramit Singh for no reason

    http://theenglishdefenceleagueextra.blogspot.com/2010/12/arrest-of-guramit-singh.html

    Keep up the good work Roberta !!

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  13. Daphne, the plonkers on the rag never mentioned the recognition but R. Shepherd referred to briefly in his bit.
    It's not good enough, the reporters should have bigged it up. The paper's losing readers, are you surprised.

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  14. Daphne,

    Don't worry. If the far left is stupid enough to accuse you of being an EDL "member", perhaps they would also be efficient to prove your membership all the way from Australia ;)

    To me, the Jury has gone home. There can be no further doubt on the EDL's intentions. We have proven over and over again what we believe in and what we are fighting against. Frankly it's the far left, the moderate left and the rest of the left that has loads of explaining to do.

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  15. Nathan, I see the reference in Robin Shepherd's guest article - blink, and it's easily missed. Readers would have been very much surprised if that was their first inkling of the issue. It really is disgraceful of the JC to have omitted mentioning it, and I really am surprised at this neglect, for although some reporters seem to be below par, there are certainly exceptions to that rule. And of course, as I said before, they still have some notable columnists.
    Great things were expected of Mr Pollard when he became editor - I truly believe he is the hapless prisoner of the NIFty Brigade (geddit?!)
    As for the paper losing readers, it think that's the fate of all newspapers in this computer age, though I would not be surprised if the JC is making a rod for its own back by its poor performance and alliance with the NIF. Many people in London are clearly choosing its rival there. And many others are only buying the JC for the social columns and pages or out of habit.

    Roberta, there is an interesting and food-for-thought comment from an "Anonymous" at the tail end of the comments on my "Screwing the Right" post. You may not have noticed it.

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  16. Daphne,

    Thanks. Just replied there. :)

    Roberta

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  17. Daphne

    I never realised that Saphir was a trustee of the Kessler Foundation, which owns the Jewish Chronicle, but that certainly explains a lot.

    Today's JC suggests that Saphir's influence is rapidly increasing. I have just blogged about it:

    http://edgar1981.blogspot.com/2010/12/jc-sinks-lower-and-lower.html

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  18. In a piece called Christian Aid’s lies Stephen Pollard wrote:
    "My colleague Jenni Frazer exposes a truly outrageous libel by Christian Aid. Christian Aid truly are one of the most appalling NGOs in existence, an organisation which fosters hate and bases its obsessive anti-Israel propaganda on falsehoods."
    In Frazer’s article – The orphans’ picnic By Jenni Frazer May 26, 2010 – she quotes:
    “Miranda patrolled a school to prevent Palestinian children being attacked by Israeli settlers. Their presence ensured that the children would be safe. The head mistress had told her some of the children had been sexually abused on their way home."

    I hope they keep a close watch on the NIF ...

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