"That Is What I Teach My Son & What He Will Teach His Son" (video)

"Your enemy is Israel for all eternity," Egyptian television host Khaled al-Abraq (evidently contemptuous of the 1979 Peace Treaty) stresses to viewers on the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.

(Memri.org video)

So Stop With The JAP Nonsense Already

The "greedy Jew" stereotype comes in many guises

It's all there, in this now infamous London wedding video by an antisemitic cameraman and his assistant: the assumption that all Jews are rich, the assumption that all Jews are miserly, the assumption that Jews regard themselves as superior to others (that old "Chosen People" misunderstanding again, huh?), the sexist evaluation of women based on their looks (or lack of them) regardless of the attractiveness (or not) of the men who do the evaluating.

Now that he has been exposed in the antisemitic act, the video cameraman who was caught out, along with his Asian assistant, making derogatory comments about Jews in general and Jewish women in particular, has apologised for what he and his sidekick said, but quite understandably the bride who, along with her wedding party, Anthony Aurelius insulted, is not having a bar of it.

Reports the Jewish Chronicle:

'At one point on the unedited reel, after guests were dancing to Siman Tov UMazel Tov, Mr Aurelius was heard to say: “Mental, Israeli dancing, isn’t it? There’s a real feeling of like, they’re better than everybody else. Jewish.”

"I don’t think I blame Hitler for Holocaust"

His assistant said: “That’s why Holocaust.”

Mr Aurelius replied: “I don’t think I blame Hitler,” as he filmed the bride from only a few feet away.

Earlier, Mr Aurelius had accidentally left the camera running in the back seat of his car as he followed the wedding party from the Central Synagogue to the hotel, 8 Northumberland Avenue.

The lens captured buildings and streetlamps as they made their way through the capital.

But the microphone picked up the conversation between him and his assistant, who said it was his first Jewish ceremony.

Mr Aurelius told his assistant that Jews think “they’re better than everybody else because they’re from Israel.

“Not a lot of niceness about them is there? Very little warmth.” He went on: “They’ve never been respected anyway, these people, and they’ve never respected themselves.”

"Jewish women are beautiful, but cows"

His assistant said: “They are the meanest people in the world, I know very well.”

Mr Aurelius said he was distracted by female guests whilst filming the chuppah.

“Some of the Jewish women are very beautiful to look at, but I can tell you, they’d be right f***ing cows. Very f***ing snooty, they’d be a pain in the arse.

“Not a very attractive bride at all.”'

 But aren't some Jews themselves to blame for the kind of antisemitism which heaps age-old stereotypes of Jews, especially Jews and and money, onto the female of the species? 

I'm referring to the JAP ("Jewish American/Australian Princess") stereotype which began as a not-very-funny joke some thirty years or so ago and is now a commonplace in Jewish journalism, imbibed and spewed out again by male and, sadly, female, journalists who should know better: Jewish women are shallow, ostentatious, materialistic, selfish, and snobbish.  This wretched nonsense feeds the very prejudice that is otherwise deplored.  But it would appear that many Jews are happy with the stereotype, so long as only women are depicted that way.

Can we really be surprised that intermarriage rates in the United States in particular are now at an all-time high that threatens Jewish survival when Jewish men are encouraged by the JAP nonsense to perceive Jewish women in this insulting fashion?  There are of course many reasons for the soaring American intermarriage rate (one is that Jews go away to college, unlike the situation in Australia, where Jews, like other young people, attend university in their home city and live with their parents, thus preserving cultural influences and the bonds of friendships already made).   But is it any wonder that for many American Jewish men, conscious of the JAP image, a non-Jewish bride is seen as  preferable to a supposedly high-maintenance Jewish one?

The call for an end to this damaging antisemitic stereotype is nothing new; the New York Times reported in 1987:

'[A]t the American Jewish Committee's Conference on Current Stereotypes of Jewish Women last week, concerned Jews said it was time to stop laughing.While the jokes may seem innocuous, according to Susan Weidman Schneider and other speakers, they represent a resurgence of sexist and anti-Semitic invective masking what Ms. Schneider called a ''scrim of misogyny.''

''What had started as humor has escalated into attacks,'' said Ms. Schneider, editor of the Jewish feminist magazine Lilith.

''There is nothing funny about a putdown of Jewish women that has become a generic term for materialism, self-indulgence, loudness and so on,'' said Francine Klagsbrun, the author of ''Married People: Staying Together in an Age of Divorce'' (Bantam, 1985). ''We are eating away at our own community.''

The conference in New York was held to address the prevalence of the Jewish-American princess, or JAP, stereotype on college campuses, television commercials and greeting cards, and to consider how it affects society's perspective on Jewish women and their image of themselves.

''Imagine for a moment that you are an 18-year-old female Jewish student at a college football game,'' said Ms. Schneider. ''And when you get up to get a soda you hear someone yell, 'JAP! JAP! JAP!' Then the cry is picked up by everybody sitting in the stadium.'' ....

 ....Sherry M. Merfish, a lawyer who is co-chairwoman of the women's issues committee of the American Jewish Committee's chapter in Houston, said greeting cards provide ''a graphic illustration of the pervasiveness of the Jewish-American princess stereotype, as well as how it has been popularized for public consumption.''

Ms. Merfish displayed a greeting card in which five Olympic Games rings are represented by five diamond rings, and a girl wearing a Star of David jumps over a hurdle in high heels toward a clearance sale, while filing her nails. The text of the card is about ''cross-country kvetching,'' a ''chutzpah-thon'' and defines kvetching as ''an irritating whine made by a spoiled 3-year-old, or a Jewish-American princess at any age.''....

 Although such characterizations may be intended in fun, said Ms. Schneider, the consequences must be taken seriously. ''Jewish women's self-esteem is being critically damaged by the stereotypes,'' she said. To escape these labels, Ms. Schneider said, young women especially often try to distance themselves from their Jewish identity.

In addition, Ms. Klagsbrun said, the jokes interfere with romantic relationships between Jewish women and Jewish men, and inhibit coalition-building between Jewish and non-Jewish women. ''Why do we women label other women JAPS?'' asked Ms. Klagsbrun. ''It reflects our insecurities and self-doubts. We are setting ourselves apart from the others and that is a form of self-hatred.''

The term, Ms. Merfish said, connotes idleness and dependency, and is not only derogatory but old-fashioned, undermining women's recent ambition and achievements. ''It flies in the face of Jewish women who have contributed so much,'' she said.  [Emphasis added]'

 Admittedly, there are shallow, ostentatious, materialistic, selfish and snobbish Jewish women.

But there are also shallow, ostentatious, materialistic, selfish and snobbish Jewish men.

A young friend of mine, a gung-ho supporter of Israel, encountered the type at local United Jewish Appeal functions he attended as a student, when he was cold-shouldered by much of the gathering because his parents were not among the wealthy machers in the community.  Now a small businessman, well-integrated into his retail community in a largely Jewish neighbourhood, he encountered that attitude again, after he was approached by a friend who's a UIA representative to sponsor an event.  He was delighted to add his name (and his financial contribution, of course) to the list of sponsors, only to be told by his embarrassed and apologetic friend a few days later that his sponsorship was not wanted by the UIA as (according to the higher-ups in that body) he's not well-known enough (whatever that means!).  Imagine that!  Is it any wonder that the small businessman concerned, perplexed and offended, has vowed that if he ever becomes a big businessman he will pointedly line the coffers of any organisation but the UIA?

Well, Yippee & I'll Be Darned! J Street Knocked Back At Berkeley

California dreamin'

Many who read this will have read the following in The Times of Israel, by a young former IDF soldier flabbergasted at what he's experienced as a StandWithUs shaliach in North America:

'.... I was shocked ... by the anti-Israel bigotry and hostility I encountered, especially in the greater Seattle area, Oregon, and Berkeley. I had been very liberal, a member of the leftist Zionist party, Meretz, but the anti-Semitism and hatred for Israel that I have seen in the U.S. has changed my outlook personally and politically.

This year, from January through May, I went to college campuses, high schools, and churches to tell people about the history of modern Israel, about my experience growing up in the Jewish state, and about my family. I also always spoke about my military service as an officer in an IDF COGAT unit that attends to the needs of Palestinian civilians who are not involved in the conflict and promotes Palestinian civil society. Each time I would speak and take questions for an hour or more. I have shared my personal story with over 16,000 people at many, many college campuses and high schools, including UC Berkeley, Stanford, the University of Washington, Seattle University and many others. Many of those to whom I spoke were supportive, friendly, and open to hearing about my Israel. But, sadly, far too many were not.

When I served as a soldier in the West Bank, I got used to having ugly things said to me, but nothing prepared me for the misinformation, demonization of Israel, and the gut-wrenching, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic hostility expressed by many students, professors, church members, and even some high school students right here in the Pacific Northwest.

I was further shocked by how unaware the organized Jewish community is and how little they are actually doing to counter this rising anti-Semitism, which motivated me to write this article.

This new form of bigotry against Israel has been called the “new anti-Semitism,” with “Israel” replacing “Jew” in traditional anti-Semitic imagery and canards, singling out and discriminating against the Jewish state, and denying the Jewish people alone the right to self-determination. The new anti-Semitism is packaged in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS), which claims to champion Palestinian rights though its real goal is to erode American support for Israel, discredit Jews who support Israel, and pave the way for eliminating the Jewish state. One of BDS’ central demands is the “complete right of return” for all the descendants of the original Palestinian refugees, subtle language that means the end of Israel as the Jewish homeland because it would turn Israel into a Palestinian-Arab majority state.

It is surprising that an extremist group like BDS is ever taken seriously, but BDS advocates have found receptive audiences in some circles. Their campaigns are well organized and in many cases, well financed. They have lobbied universities, corporations, food co-ops, churches, performing artists, labor unions, and other organizations to boycott Israel and companies that do business with Israel. But even if these groups don’t agree to treat Israel as a pariah state, the BDS activists manage to spread their anti-Israel misinformation, lies and prejudice simply by forcing a debate based on their false claims about Israel....

My experiences in America have changed me. I never expected to encounter such hatred and lies. I never believed that such anti-Semitism still existed, especially in the U.S. I never knew that the battlefield was not just Gaza, the West Bank, and hostile Middle Eastern countries wanting to destroy Israel and kill our citizens and soldiers. It is also here in America, where a battle must be waged against prejudice and lies.

I implore American Jews: do more....' (Read the entire article here)

You'll note his mention of the University of California at Berkeley.  That campus, a by-word for student radicalism in the 1960s and afterwards, where this inveterate critic of Israel teaches, where this initiative occurred, and which back in April passed a BDS motion (albeit, according to this report, in a diluted form) would seem to be a campus at which J Street ("the enemy within," as argued here) would thrive.

But it's evident that the campus Jewish Student Union is deeply distrustful of J Street [see NGO's synopsis regarding J Street here], which last year invited Yehuda Shaul, founder of Breaking the Silence [BtS], to campus; he'll be speaking there next month. [See NGO Monitor's synopsis regarding BtS here]

A couple of days ago the Jewish Student Union voted (by eight votes to two, with two abstentions) to deny membership to J Street, which having been turned down in 2011, on grounds that included its invitation to campus of a co-founder of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement [see NGO Monitor's synopsis of that body here], was making a renewed bid for inclusion.

Cheers!

Yesterday's Daily Californian reports:

'.... The bylaws of the Jewish Student Union, an umbrella organization for Jewish student groups on campus, stipulate that a member organization must not host speakers who demonize Israel, said Jewish Student Union President Daphna Torbati.

That requirement was a point of contention surrounding J Street U, which advocates a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Much of the disagreement focused on J Street U’s relationship with Breaking the Silence, an Israeli military veterans’ organization that criticizes Israel’s military operations in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, said Elon Rov, a co-chair of J Street U.

“We are not afraid, as American Jews, to address those [difficult issues],” said Shayna Howitt, J Street U’s national communications co-chair. “We are not afraid … to host people who we might disagree with. We’re not afraid to stand up and question how we can best support Israel, because we’re committed to the safety of Israel.”

Breaking the Silence, however, has garnered serious criticism from other Jewish groups that belong to the Jewish Student Union. Torbati said she was concerned the group unfairly disparages Israeli soldiers.

Jewish Student Union members Avi Hecht and David Eliahu said Jewish students with connections to Israel would be alienated if J Street U were allowed to host Breaking the Silence under the Jewish Student Union umbrella.

“For a lot of members … the (Jewish Student Union is) the only place where they can express their love for Israel because of such an anti-Israel campus climate,” Torbati said. “A lot of people have said that they want the (Jewish Student Union) to stay a place they feel comfortable saying they love Israel.”

Hecht added that Breaking the Silence does not offer a fair picture of Israel’s military operations.

“Regardless of J Street’s intents, the effect of bringing a public event like BtS is detrimental to the image of Israel on our campus,” Eliahu said...."

Read more here

On The Perils Of Looking The Gift Horse Of Christian Zionism In The Mouth

In this month's issue of Mosaic Magazine, Robert W. Nicholson writes:

'At a time when the state of Israel lies under existential threat from jihadist Islam, and under ideological and diplomatic assault in foreign ministries, international organizations, churches, universities, editorial offices, and other circles of advanced Western opinion—and when even some Jews in the Diaspora seem to be growing disenchanted with the Zionist cause—millions of evangelical Christians unabashedly continue their outspoken, wholehearted, stalwart defense of both the Jewish state and the Jewish people.

By all rights, this rather stunning fact—the fact of a vibrant Christian Zionism—should encourage a welcoming response from beleaguered Jewish supporters of Israel. Instead, it has caused palpable discomfort, especially among Jewish liberals. Wary of ulterior religious motives, and viewing evangelicals as overly conservative in their general outlook on the world, such Jews either accept the proffered support with a notable lack of enthusiasm or actively caution their fellow Jews against accepting it at all. To many, the prospect of an alignment with evangelicals, even one based on purely tactical considerations, seems positively distasteful. Very few have attempted to penetrate the evangelical world or to understand it in any substantive way.

This is a pity, for many reasons. It is also a serious strategic error. For the reality is that today’s Christian Zionism cannot be taken for granted. For one thing, not all evangelicals do support Israel. For another, more alarming thing, a growing minority inside the evangelical world views the Jewish state as at best tolerable and at worst positively immoral, a country that, instead of being supported on biblical grounds, should be opposed on those same grounds.

Jewish supporters of Israel who view evangelicals monolithically may judge this latter development to be a matter of little significance. I would argue otherwise. A debate is beginning to take hold within the evangelical world, and the Jewish future will be greatly affected by how it unfolds.'

Read the entire article here

Jewish & Arab Populations In Eretz Israel (video)

This snappy video describes what it calls "ten ignored facts" about the question at hand:

France's Jerusalem Consulate Big-Notes A Terrorist

In 1961 the then French President General de Gaulle received the then Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion warmly in Paris.  According to the Jewish Telegraphical Agency (JTA), the two men

'were reported by official sources to have reached “complete understanding on all subjects” during 70 minutes of conversations today.

It was understood that the two leaders had reviewed Franco-Israel relations as well as France’s attitude to Middle East problems which may come up at the next General Assembly, opening in September, at which the problem of the Arab refugees will be reviewed again....

The French President said Israel is France’s “friend and ally” and assured Israel of “our solidarity. ” He made this statement in a toast to Israel during the luncheon at Elysee Palace.... Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister, and Shimon Peres, Deputy Defense Minister, were among those invited to the event.

“In the world in which we live, it is useful that men of goodwill should meet to find common ground,” Gen. de Gaulle declared. “This is what has happened to us once again. This is true in all respects and particularly in those matters which concern Israel, whose worth and grandeur we all know. We also know of Israel’s difficulties and preoccupations, ” the French leader added. “We want to assure you of our solidarity and friendship. We greet Israel, our friend and ally.” ....'

Reported the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) on 30 November 1967:

'President Charles de Gaulle’s attack on Israel and his animadversions against the Jewish people in the course of his press conference last Monday continued today to generate a furor here.

Grand Rabbi of France Jacob Kaplan charged today that President de Gaulle has given “the highest possible sanction” to a possible wave of anti-Semitic discrimination by the bitter attack he leveled against Israel and the Jewish people in the course of his press conference last Monday. Rabbi Kaplan made his charge following two days of consultation among the leaders of France’s major Jewish organizations.

In order to shore up his denunciation of Israel as an aggressor, the General attributed to the Jewish people a secular inclination to domination, Dr. Kaplan said. “Does Gen. de Gaulle not run the risk of taking a dangerous lead and of giving the highest possible sanction to a campaign of discrimination? In the face of Israel’s trials in her fight for survival and security, French Judaism declares its solidarity with (Israel) and supports (Israel’s) efforts in favor of a fair and lasting peace.”

Gen. de Gaulle had said in his press conference that the Jews were “at all times an elite people, sure of itself and dominating.” He used the French word “dominateur” which, according to the leading French-English dictionary is defined as “domineering, overbearing.” (The official translation of the statement, distributed in New York by the French Embassy press service, also used the word “dominating.”

Many prominent Frenchmen, including members of Gen. de Gaulle’s party, took issue with him today and demonstrated their sympathy for Israel and for the Jewish community.

Former Prime Minister Guy Mollet, who served under Gen. de Gaulle as a Cabinet minister, called a press conference today in the name of his Democratic and Socialist Federation to denounce de Gaulle’s policies in the Middle East and his attack on Israel. M. Mollet charged that de Gaulle “smelled the oil of the Middle East” and that interested him, “but not the future of peace in the area nor the fate of a martyr-nation.”....'

In contrast to 1956, when Mollet's government had cooperated with Israel's (and Britain's) in the Suez Affair, France's relations with Israel were decidedly sour, and those of us who remember the 1960s and 1970s will recall the essentially Arabist stance of the Quai d'Orsay.

Alas. It would seem that the then-pervasive Arabist stance lives on in sections of France's Corps Diplomatique.


In an article in French here entitled "Le Consulat de France à Jérusalem met à l’honneur une Moujahidin palestinienne" Jean Vercors, who by now is no stranger to regular readers of my blog, relates a disturbing example.  Thanks to Jean, there is also an English version of his article, which I reproduce below without further comment: 

French Consulate in Jerusalem celebrates culture ... of Palestinian terror.

 Jean Vercors

 Here's what you can read on the website of the French consulate in Jerusalem :

July 2013, "On the occasion of the recent publication of Leila Khaled’s book, an icon of Palestinian liberation, the author Sarah Irving and researcher Diana Butto, we will draw a portrait of this extraordinary woman ."  [Juillet 2013, "A l’occasion de la récente parution du livre Leila Khaled, une icône de la libération palestinienne, l’auteur Sarah Irving et la chercheuse Diana Butto, nous dessineront le portrait de cette femme hors du commun."

Patrick Girard, Director of the IFJ : French Institute of Jerusalem Chateaubriand gives us the opportunity to show us the journey of this heroic resistant named Leila Khaled.

But who is that Palestinian Arab woman?

Leila Khaled (Arabic: ليلى خالد‎, Arabic pronunciation: [ˈlajla ˈxaːled]; born April 9, 1944) is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and a convicted airline hijacker who was later released in a prisoner exchange for civilian hostages kidnapped by her fellow PFLP members.

She is currently a member of the Palestinian National Council. She has been called the "poster girl of Palestinian militancy."

Khaled came to public attention for her role in a 1969 hijacking and one of four simultaneous hijackings the following year as part of the Black September timeline.

For the Palestinian Arabs, the BDS movement, the Communists and the Greens, she is considered a heroine (precisely because she killed Israeli civilians)

Leila Khaled became known in 1969 by becoming the first woman to hijack a plane and the following year by diverting another.

At age 15 , she joined the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM ) by Georges Habash founder and former Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) classified terrorist by many countries.

Leila Khaled is one of the most notorious terrorists of the early Palestinian Arab terrorism.

On August 29, 1969, Khaled was part of a team that hijacked TWA Flight 840 on its way from Rome to Athens, diverting the Boeing 707 to Damascus.

This was, however, denied by Khaled and others. After this hijacking, and after a now famous picture of her  holding an AK-47 rifle and wearing a kaffiyeh was widely published, she underwent six plastic surgeries on her nose and chin to conceal her identity and allow her to take part in a future hijacking, and because she did not want to wear the face of an icon.

On September 6, 1970, Khaled attempted the hijack of El Al Flight 219 from Amsterdam to New York City as part of the Dawson's Field hijackings, a series of almost simultaneous hijackings carried out by the PFLP.

In December 2012, during a visit in Gaza she attended a glamorous red carpet event sponsored by Hamas.

In January 2013 , she told a Turkish newspaper "We support the Syrian army"

And now the French consulate in Jerusalem considering Leila Khaled  a woman noted for courage and daring action, is promoting this infamous terrorist (now novelist ) holding an AK-47 rifle and wearing a kaffiyeh  via the French Institute of Jerusalem, Cheateaubriand.

          Incroyable mais vrai !
         
         Jean Vercors

BTW : France is the country with the largest number of cultural centers in the West Bank and Gaza. (Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, Gaza, the French alliance of Bethlehem, the cultural association of trade Hebron France)

(Sources: http://www.consulfrance-jerusalem.org/Juillet-a-l-Institut-Francais-de
Centre Culturel Français Chateaubriand, Directeur & Attaché Culturel : M Patrick Girard. Téléphone : 02 628 24 51 / Télécopie : 02 628 43 24. Courriel : ccfjeru@consulfrance-jerusalem.org
http://www.palpress.co.uk/arabic/?Action=Details&ID=68628
http://www.ccfjerusalem-chateaubriand.org/IMG/pdf/ContactsCCFs2009.pdf)

Sheer Genius! Ari Lesser's Boycott Song Goes Viral

Sometimes I find that I am unable to upload videos on here: the last time I tried to upload such a recalcitrant video by an untested method my layout went pear-shaped!

Much to my frustration I've been unable, inexplicably, to upload Ari Lesser's wonderful lyrics aimed at the BDS fanatics and their movement's hypocrisy, and in the meantime the video's deservedly gone viral.

Still,  I'm glad to be able to upload it now, using the version (with French subtitles) that Jean Vercors has put on his channel.

Merci beaucoup, Jean.