EVENTS
RESOURCES
Resources to Help You Stand with Israel
The effort to educate our local community about Israel began well before Hamas launched its latest war on Israel by kidnapping and murdering three Israeli teenagers and launching scores of rockets into Israel’s population centers, prompting Israel to respond. But our effort took on a sense of added urgency as more lives were lost, intense anti-Semitism reared its ugly head, and unfair coverage of Israel filled the airwaves and social media.
It became clear that if you support Israel and had done nothing to express that support, it was time to do something. And if you had done something, it was time to do more. Our August 11, 2014 Israel Defense Fraternity (co-ed) event and the compilation of the following resource slist are outgrowths of that thinking.
In contrast to the challenges Israel and its supporters face, the good news is that Jews and others who have 20/20 moral clarity in their support of Israel have united in impressive displays of solidarity—from the thousands of Israeli civilians who brought food, clothes and other staples to soldiers along the Gaza border to the impromptu pro-Israel counter-rally that outmatched a provocative pro-Hamas protest brought to the doorsteps of Jewish businesses in New York’s Diamond District.
Those Israel supporters proved that there is great strength when we unite. Standing with Israel—the Jewish homeland—means being on the right side of this issue, the moral side. And you will not be alone when you hold your head high as you stand with Israel.
The following resource list, a work in progress that will grow over time, will help you continue to do just that.
VIEW A RECORDING OF OUR KICKOFF EVENING ADDRESSES HERE.
INDEX
-List of Anti-Israel Middle East Studies Professors
-On Boycotts & the Myth of Israel as an Apartheid State
-The Myth of Moral Equivalence
-The Myth that Opposing Israel is a ‘Liberal, Progressive’ Cause
-The Myth that Israel Targets Civilians
-The Myth of the Disproportionate Use of Force by Israel
-How Israel is Portrayed in the Media
-How to Engage the Uninformed about Israel
-Israel—A Vibrant, Enlightened Nation
-What’s the solution?—A Palestinian lens
-Test Your Knowledge about Jerusalem
-Organizations that Support Israel
ON BOYCOTTS & THE MYTH OF ISRAEL AS AN APARTHEID STATE
- ‘Divest. I Dare You’ – Princeton student throws down gauntlet over BDS vote
April 22, 2015, The College Fix, Opinion page
By Tal Fortgang - Princeton University
Over the past few days, students at Princeton University have been voting in a referendum on whether the school should divest from companies allegedly “complicit in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza Strip.”
As a sophomore at Princeton–one who entirely rejects the premises of the argument for divestment–I have a message for my peers: Divest. I Dare You.
Read more at:
http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/22151/
- Is Zionism Racism?
-
April 13, 2015, Tablet
By Anne Roiphe,
Israel is not a normal state. Here’s why. - Dennis Prager, Prager University: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdCAmbN4E7E
- Stand With Us/Views of Arab Muslims and Christians who live freely and have attained high positions in Israel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZLzaEHrg9Y
- Stand With Us/How to prepare yourself for anti-Israel campus activities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SRm0WfjGW0
- A Pro-Israel student speaks up for Zionism and Israel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bEW4DQAMg8
- A Proud Israeli Arab Muslim Zionist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fbDjpbBHb4
- Rapper Ari Lesser with a hip hop response to those who want to boycott Israel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se3PaCX7sjI&sns=em
- The Rock and Roll Boycott of Israel
By Adam Shay of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, May 11, 2014:
For the last ten years there has been an ongoing attempt to promote a cultural boycott of Israel. While this campaign has achieved very few actual victories, it has received widespread attention and media coverage disproportionate to its success.
Read more at: http://jcpa.org/article/rock-and-roll-boycott-of-israel/
- Israeli Apartheid? To Arabs, It's a Model Democracy
By Evelyn Gordon of Commentary, May 12, 2014:
If Israel really practiced apartheid against Arabs, why do Arabs throughout the Middle East persistently cite Israeli democracy as the model they'd like their own countries to adopt? In 2011, when the Arab Spring revolutions were at their height, Ha'aretz correspondent Anshel Pfeffer reported hearing from demonstrators in both Tunis and Cairo that they wanted "a democracy like in Israel."
From 1996 to 2002, Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki asked what governments Palestinians admired. "Every year Israel has been the top performer, at times receiving more than 80% approval," the New York Times reported. What's truly astonishing is that the Arab media routinely reports the wildest anti-Israel fabrications as fact. Hence most Arabs believe Israeli treatment of both Palestinians and Israeli Arabs to be much worse than the reality - and even so, they admire Israeli democracy. (Commentary)
Read more at: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/05/09/israeli-apartheid-to-arabs-its-a-model-democracy/ - Jerusalem Is a Mixed City
By Nadav Shragai (Israel Hayom), May 23, 2014
For years, residents of Isawiya, an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem, have begged the municipality and the Israel Postal Service to build a post office in the neighborhood so that mail can be distributed. But on the night before the branch was to be inaugurated in a festive ceremony, unidentified assailants set the new branch on fire and spray-painted graffiti on the building denouncing any attempts at normalizing relations and cooperating with the municipality. The residents of the neighborhood refused to capitulate, nor were they deterred by the violence. They cleaned up from the fire, repaired the damage, and opened the postal branch quickly.
This episode offers a microcosm of present-day Jerusalem. On the one hand, there are violent clashes, a growing Hamas presence and a radicalization of public opinion. On the other hand, there's a surprising wholesale integration of Jerusalem Arabs into the daily life of the city, an aspect that is almost never reported by the press.
There is nearly wall-to-wall sentiment among the Arabs of Jerusalem in favor of remaining under Israeli control. The Arabs of Jerusalem earn four times the salary of their brethren living under the PA. They have more stable jobs as well as social benefits. They also derive benefits from the Israeli health care system, while never taking for granted the freedom that is afforded them to express themselves, to move freely around the city, and to worship as they choose.
Veteran journalist and east Jerusalem expert Danny Rubinstein notes "the Israeli-Arab orientation of the Arabs of east Jerusalem." "Psychologically, they are closer to Israeli Arabs than they are to the Arabs of the West Bank. They are unwilling to even conceive of a redivision of the city, and they want to find a political arrangement that would fulfill their nationalistic ambitions while at the same time maintaining the framework of a united city."
Many of the public bus drivers in Jerusalem are Arab, as are many of the taxi drivers and tourist bus drivers. In the Mahane Yehuda open-air market, a significant number of stands and shops are managed and operated by Arabs. Arabs and Jews coexist in the shopping malls and coffee shops. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 2,537 Jews live in neighborhoods with an Arab majority, like the City of David near Silwan or the Muslim Quarter in the Old City, while 3,378 Arabs have taken up residence in neighborhoods with a predominantly Jewish population - like French Hill or Armon Hanatziv.
Read more at: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=17701
1) There Is No Moral Equivalency between Israel and Hamas
By Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), July 15, 2014
The notion that there is a moral equivalency between the defensive and targeted actions that the rule-of-law-based Israel is compelled to take, and the proactive and indiscriminate actions that hate-based organizations like Hamas takes, is completely unfair, unfounded and infuriating to supporters of Israel - with good reason. In fact, there is no moral equivalence between the actions and reactions of Israel and Hamas and the Palestinian community to the violence that has occurred.
How did Hamas and too many diverse parts of the mainstream Palestinian community respond to the kidnap and murder of three young Israelis? They cheered. Compare that to the reaction of the Israeli people to the murder of the Palestinian teenager. Israelis were aghast. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately called the murderers “terrorists.”
Hamas, which has won elections with the support of the population of Gaza, is a terrorist group that remains bent on the destruction of Israel and its citizens. Without provocation, the Hamas governing authority flings rockets over the border, all over Israel, without regard to civilian lives or public safety. When Israel reacts, it does so defensively. It targets military capabilities or terrorist leaders. What other society gives advanced warnings to those shelling it, by dropping leaflets and making cellphone calls to warn the inhabitants of impending defensive strikes, to minimize the loss of innocent lives? These proportional steps clearly make it harder to eliminate the terrorists and rockets.
To say that both sides are equally to blame simply lets Hamas and its leaders off the hook and encourages them to continue the violence. We can’t have a double standard which fails to grant Israel the same understanding as any other country that finds itself under attack. (New York Post)
Read more at:
http://nypost.com/2014/07/15/there-is-no-moral-equivalency-between-israel-and-hamas/
2) To the Students for Justice in Palestine, a Letter From an Angry Black Woman
By Chloe Valdary, July 28, 2014 — 'You do not have the right to invoke my people’s struggle for your shoddy purposes.'
Read more at:
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/180382/students-justice-palestine#undefined
3) Hypocrisy over Gaza, by Pat Condell
WATCH:
https://www.youtube.com/user/patcondell
THE MYTH THAT OPPOSING ISRAEL IS A ‘LIBERAL, PROGRESSIVE’ CAUSE
1) Hey, Liberals Who Oppose Israel: You’re All Right-Wingers Now
By Liel Leibovitz, July 31, 2014 — Don’t call yourselves progressives if you put up with religiously zealous, violent maniacs like Hamas.
Read more at:
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/180947/liberals-who-oppose-israel#undefined
THE MYTH THAT ISRAEL TARGETS CIVILIANS
1) Video: IDF Postpones Strikes on Hamas Targets after Identifying Civilians in the Area (IDF Spokesperson)
Watch this declassified footage of pilots as they postpone air strikes after identifying civilians in the area of the target.
Watch the video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE7ykidY7FA
2) To Argue the Palestinian Side in the Gaza War Is to Make the Case for Barbarism - (Wall Street Journal)
By Bret Stephens, July 28, 2014
U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Benjamin J. Rhodes told CNN that Israel needs to do more to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza. “The U.S. military does that in Afghanistan,” he said.
How inapt is this comparison? The list of Afghan civilians accidentally killed by U.S. or NATO strikes is not short.
The last time the U.S. fought a Gaza-style battle - in Fallujah in 2004 - 800 civilians perished and at least 9,000 homes were destroyed.
Read more at:
http://online.wsj.com/articles/bret-stephens-palestine-makes-you-dumb-1406590159
3) Israel Defense Forces uncovers a home booby trapped - completely rigged with explosives. Did we mention it’s next door to a UN school?
WATCH:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152264700977689
4) Mosab Hassan Yousef (Son of Hamas founder) tells the truth about Hamas.
WATCH:
http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/you-wont-believe-what-the-son-of-hamas-just-said-on-cnn
5) Israel Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer on CNN’s coverage. How Dermer addresses the subject of the unfair portrayal of Israel by the media is a model for hos to deal with this issue.
WATCH:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX2h-6yZTHk#t=23
6) Indian, French reporters show Gaza militants firing rockets from civilian areas. By JTA | Diplomacy and Defense, August 5, 2014
WATCH:
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.609125
BREAKING: IDF Captures Hamas Combat Manual Explaining Benefits of Human Shields
SWC: "End double standard against Israel - hold Hamas accountable for crimes against Palestinians and Israelis"
August 4, 2014
A Hamas manual on "Urban Warfare" found by the Israeli Defense Forces makes it unmistakably clear that Hamas desires civilian casualties amongst its own people and encourages its fighters to engage in battles in civilian populated areas in order to draw an Israeli response.
"Where is the U.N. Human Rights Council? Where is Amnesty International? Where is Human Rights Watch? Where is the international media and Middle East pundits. Where are all the lawfare experts? Here is 'Exhibit A' to indict Hamas for war crimes and crimes against humanity by placing the people of Gaza as human shields," said Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, dean and founder and associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
From the IDF Blog:
IDF forces in the Gaza Strip found a Hamas manual on “Urban Warfare,” which belonged to the Shuja’iya Brigade of Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades. The manual explains how the civilian population can be used against IDF forces and reveals that Hamas knows the IDF is committed to minimizing harm to civilians.
Throughout Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has continuously used the civilian population of Gaza as human shields. The discovery of a Hamas “urban warfare” manual by IDF forces reveals that Hamas’ callous use of the Gazan population was intentional and preplanned.
This Hamas urban warfare manual exposes two truths: (1) The terror group knows full well that the IDF will do what it can to limit civilian casualties. (2) The terror group exploits these efforts by using civilians as human shields against advancing IDF forces.
The Manual:
In a portion entitled “Limiting the Use of Weapons,” the manual explains that:
The soldiers and commanders (of the IDF) must limit their use of weapons and tactics that lead to the harm and unnecessary loss of people and [destruction of] civilian facilities. It is difficult for them to get the most use out of their firearms, especially of supporting fire [e.g. artillery].
Clearly Hamas knows the IDF will limit its use of weapons in order to avoid harming civilians, including refraining from using larger firepower to support for infantry.
The manual goes on to explain that the “presence of civilians are pockets of resistance” that cause three major problems for advancing troops:
(1) Problems with opening fire
(2) Problems in controlling the civilian population during operations and afterward
(3) Assurance of supplying medical care to civilians who need it
Lastly, the manual discusses the benefits for Hamas when civilian homes are destroyed:
The destruction of civilian homes: This increases the hatred of the citizens towards the attackers [the IDF] and increases their gathering [support] around the city defenders (resistance forces[i.e. Hamas]).
It is clear that Hamas actually desires the destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, knowing it will increase hatred for the IDF and support their fighters.
Why Shuja’iya is Important
It is also of no small importance that this manual belongs to the Shuja’iya Brigade. The IDF fought a major battle in the neighborhood of Shuja’iya, which had been turned into a terrorist stronghold. The discovery of this manual suggests that the destruction in Shuja’iya was always part of Hamas’ plan.
Please share this breaking news story with family and friends.
Support the Work of the Simon Wiesenthal Center
THE MYTH OF THE DISPROPORTIONATE USE OF FORCE BY ISRAEL
1) Are Israeli Actions in Gaza “Disproportionate?”
By Alex Safian
Myth: Because far more Gaza residents than Israelis have been killed, the Israeli actions are “disproportionate.”
Fact: In the Pacific Theatre in World War II, over 2.7 million Japanese were killed, including 580,000 civilians, as against 106,000 Americans. Does it follow that Japan was in the right and America was in the wrong? Just having more dead on your side does not make you right.
Proportionality in the Law of War has nothing to do with the relative number of casualties on the two sides. If a target has high military value, then it can be attacked even if there will be some civilian casualties in doing so. By this measure, Israel’s efforts to destroy missiles before they can be fired at Israeli civilians, even if that places Palestinian civilians at risk, seems to conform perfectly to the Laws of War. There is no requirement that Israel place the lives of its own citizens in danger to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians. (CAMERA)
Read more at: http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=2&x_article=2768
2) I’m Done Apologizing for Israel - (Huffington Post), July 21, 2014
By Rabbi Menachem Creditor
I am a progressive American rabbi who leans left pretty hard. So, when it comes to Israel, many of those with whom I engage in social reform expect me to react to Israel’s military actions in Gaza with scorn and criticism. To those who suggest that Prime Minister Netanyahu is over-reacting to the missiles, I offer this response:
Israel is risking Israeli lives in surgical strikes to destroy weapons-smuggling tunnels created with building materials Israel allowed into Gaza for infrastructure projects to benefit Palestinian society.
Israel has agreed to two humanitarian cease-fires. In the first hours of those ceasefires, Hamas rained down over 70 missiles onto Israel civilians. Israel is doing its best, sacrificing its own children to preserve the lives of Palestinians
I am done trying to apologetically explain Jewish morality. I am done apologizing for my own Jewish existence. Having watched in this last week anti-Semitic “die-ins” in Boston, violent assaults against Jews in Los Angeles and Antwerp, and an almost pogrom at a synagogue in Paris, I’m done mincing my own words.
We will do what we must to protect our people. We have that right. We are not less deserving of life and quiet than anyone else. No more apologies.
Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-menachem-creditor/im-done-apologizing-for-i_b_5606650.html
3) With Israel, the World Is Blaming the Victims (Washington Post)
By Richard Cohen, July 28, 2014
Some accuse Israel of a hideous lack of proportionality without pausing to say what the proper proportion of death and destruction should be. Would Hamas have ceased firing rockets into Israel if Israel had bombed less? Would Hamas have blown up its own tunnels if Israel had ceased its attack? After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, did the U.S. go into Afghanistan to kill exactly 2,977 al-Qaeda and Taliban, an eye for every eye extinguished on that infamous day?
Israel is a small nation of only about 8 million people, more than a fifth of them Arabs. Proportionality is a luxury beyond its reach. (Washington Post)
Read more at:
4) Musician Peter Himmelman’s song “Maximum Restraint,” a phrase often used in international circles to keep Israel from defending itself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpxywkSeu0g
HOW ISRAEL IS PORTRAYED IN THE MEDIA
1) Media Death Count Encourages Hamas to Use Human Shields (Jerusalem Post)
By Alan Dershowitz
The media loves to count the dead bodies on each side of a conflict. It’s much easier to count than to explain. That’s why Hamas employs what has come to be known as “the dead baby strategy.”
And Hamas will continue to employ a strategy that causes many Palestinian civilians to die as long as the media keeps up its thoughtless body count.
Read more at:
2) Hamas Threatens Journalists in Gaza (Times of Israel), July 28, 2014
Several Western journalists working in Gaza have been harassed and threatened by Hamas.
An Israeli official said that in Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, “We know that downstairs there is a Hamas command and control center and that Hamas leaders are hiding there.”
A correspondent for the local Ouest France daily newspaper told Liberation he “was received in a small section of the hospital used as an office by a group of young combatants. Surprisingly, they were all well-dressed, in civilian clothing, with a gun under the shirt, and some had walkie-talkies.”
The article was later removed from Liberation’s website at the request of the reporter.
Read more at:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-threatening-journalists-in-gaza-who-expose-abuse-of-civilians/
3) New York Times Slams Its Own Pulitzer-Prize Winning Photographer In Gaza
By Tablet Staff Notes, August 1, 2014 — Says Legendary Photojournalist Tyler Hicks is Bad at His Job
Read more at:
HOW TO ENGAGE THE UNINFORMED ABOUT ISRAEL
- The Necessity of the Fighting Jew on Campus
April 17, 2015, Times of Israel
By Elliott Hamilton, a senior at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, studying economics and politics. He is the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) Fellow of the Claremont Colleges.
How do Jews declare their freedom?
We spend each year celebrating holidays that honor the Jewish people’s defiance against oppression and our quest for liberty in a handful of holidays. These include Passover, Purim and Chanukah.
While these three holidays only represent a microcosm of how prideful the Jewish people are of the stories of justice, freedom and liberty, greater stories must be told in the same manner that we honor the sacrifices of Mordechai, Judah and Moshe.
In fact, Jews can celebrate the latest miracles of the past one hundred years.
Read more at: - http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-necessity-of-the-fighting-jew-on-campus/
- A young man from Atlanta handles himself with poise and reason as he defends Israel.
WATCH: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152162673745216&set=vb.613525215&type=2&theater
1) The Middle East Problem, Dennis Prager
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EDW88CBo-8
2) The hypocracy of the current conflict – an overview by
https://www.youtube.com/user/patcondell
3) The 10 biggest myths about Israel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdtGOY8
4) The Truth told by Dr. Tawfik Hamid, a former Islamist radical
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2trFcUqTH8
5) More from Dr. Tawfik Hamid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao94x-KemJA
6) An Indisputable Historical Fact: Decisions by Palestinian Leadership Led to "Nakba" - Shlomo Avineri (Ha'aretz), May 7, 2014
Some facts of history really ought not to be left to historians, and any attempt to ignore them is morally flawed. It is a fact that on December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the U.S. and not vice versa.
It is also true that what is called the Nakba ("disaster") is the result of a political decision by the Palestinian leadership and the Arab states to reject the UN partition resolution, to try to prevent its implementation by force and to attack the Jewish community in the Land of Israel before and after the state's establishment.
Usually, Arab discourse simply never mentions the partition resolution, just as it never mentions the violent opposition to its implementation. I suggest going to the newspaper archives and reading the headlines following the UN partition resolution.
They are full of reports of Arab violence and the beginnings of armed Arab resistance to the establishment of the State of Israel, first by the Arab militias inside the country and later via the coordinated invasion by Arab armies when the British Mandate ended on May 15, 1948. Arab discourse prefers simply to wipe those historical facts from memory.
The Nakba was the tragic result of an Arab political decision to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state in the portion of the Land of Israel that had been under the British Mandate, just as the expulsion of 12 million ethnic Germans from Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary after 1945 was the tragic result of German aggression in 1939.
In both cases, masses of innocent civilians paid the price of their leaders' aggression. But if anyone today tried to describe the expulsion of millions of Germans from Eastern Europe as a "disaster" that had nothing to do with the Third Reich's aggression, he would rightly be called a neo-Nazi.
The writer, professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, served as director-general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Read more at:
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.589422v
ISRAEL—A VIBRANT, ENLIGHTENED NATION
- Arab-Israeli journalist lights torch at Independence Day ceremony, appeals for tolerance, peace, hope
April 22, 2015, Times of Israel
By Jonathan Beck
Lucy Aharish, an Israeli-Arab news anchor and actress, was among the 14 torch lighters in the official ceremony kicking off Israel’s celebrations of 67 years of independence on Wednesday night. Almost breaking down at the ceremony, she was the only one of the honorees to give part of her brief address in Arabic.
Read more at:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/this-is-our-country-there-is-no-other-says-teary-eyed-aharish-in-arabic/ - A video about Israel and its technological prowess:
http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/are-you-serious-bill-gates-said-that-about-israel - Israeli Sensors Monitoring Beijing's Water Safety
By Matthew Kalman (Israel Technology Daily), May 15, 2014
Beijing Water is installing 100 high-precision water quality analyzers for the city's water distribution network developed by the Israeli company Blue I Water Technologies.
Read more at: http://israeltechnologydaily.wordpress.com/2014/05/15/monitoring-beijings-water/ - Palestinian Farmers Learn Agricultural Storage Techniques in Israel
By Sharon Udasin (Jerusalem Post), May 15, 2014
About a dozen Gazan and West Bank farmers came to Israel this week for a five-day course in post-harvest techniques.
The farmers learned about achieving European quality standards for their exports, and visited various packing houses in Israel, as well as an agriculture research and development center.
Read more at:
http://www.jpost.com/Enviro-Tech/Gazan-West-Bank-farmers-learn-post-harvest-storage-techniques-in-Beit-Dagan-352463 - Israeli Company Partners with Alcoa to Extend Range of Electric Cars by 1,600 Km. (CBC News-Canada), June 4, 2014
Israel-based Phinergy and Alcoa Canada demonstrated an electric car this week in Montreal with a battery that extends the range of the vehicle by 1,600 km.
The range for electric cars now on the market is 135 km. for the Nissan Leaf and 480 km. for the Tesla Model S.
Aviv Tzidon, CEO of Phinergy, said the new battery technology can store enough energy to take a car 3,000 km. with 100 kg. of aluminum-air batteries, as compared with the Tesla Model S battery which weighs 500 kg.
Read more at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/electric-car-with-massive-range-in-demo-by-phinergy-alcoa-1.2664653 - Hebrew University Students Place 2nd in International Legal Competition - Yonah Jeremy Bob (Jerusalem Post), June 9, 2014
49 teams from 35 countries took part in a competitive International Criminal Court contest at The Hague.
A team of four Hebrew University students finished second.
All of the top three finishers, India, Israel and China, are countries that have not joined the ICC.
Read more at:
http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Hebrew-University-students-place-2nd-in-international-legal-competition-355725 - Israel Will Help Build Nyandarua County Assembly Chambers in Kenya
By Wanjohi Gakio (The Star-Kenya),
The government of Israel has pledged to support the Nyandarua County Assembly put up ultramodern chambers.
Israel's ambassador to Kenya Gil Haskel said Nyandarua has potential for development and Israel will share skills and experience in agro technology, water management and dairy farming.
Read more at:
http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-170680/israel-will-help-build-nyandarua-chambers - SCiO: A Pocket Molecular Sensor (Kickstarter), June 15, 2014
An Israeli-invented device called SCiO is a scanner that can determine the composition of physical objects, including food and medicines.
Produced by Consumer Physics, SCiO is a tiny spectrometer that fits in the palm of your hand and allows you to get instant relevant information about the chemical make-up of just about anything around you, sent directly to your smartphone.
Read more at:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/903107259/scio-your-sixth-sense-a-pocket-molecular-sensor-fo?ref=popular
WHAT’S THE SOLUTION—A PALESTINIAN LENS
1) The Palestinians don’t want a two-state solution. Who can negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians? Do the Palestinians support Hamas or are they simply victims of circumstances? (The Washington Institute for Near East Policy). Study by David Pollock, June 25, 2014.
Read more at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/washingtoninstitute/with/14179757425/
2) Gaza Public Rejects Hamas, Wants Ceasefire (The Washington Institute for Near East Policy). Study by David Pollock, July 15, 2014
Read more at:
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/gaza-public-rejects-hamas-wants-ceasefire
3) The politics aren’t as simple as Moslem-Jew
Read and view more at:
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/how-to-think-about-the-new-middle-east
1) Five Hamas Media Myths the Press Needs to End Now (American Jewish Committee, July 2014)
Dershowitz, Alan. The Case Against Israel’s Enemies: Exposing Jimmy Carter and Others Who Stand in the Way of Peace. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
Dershowitz, Alan. The Case for Israel. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2003.
Gold, Dore. The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, The West, and The Future of the Holy City. Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 2007.
Goren-Amitai, Nimra and Yaffa Zilbershats. Return of Palestinian Refugees to the State of Israel. Jerusalem: The Metzilah Center for Zionist, Jewish, Liberal and Humanist Thought, 2011.
Meotti, Giulio. A New Shoah: The Untold Story of Israel’s Victims of Terrorism. New York and London: Encounter, 2009.
Senor, Dan and Saul Singer. Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle. New York: Twelve, 2009.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT JERUSALEM
Test Yourself: How Much Do You Know about Jerusalem? (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs), May 23, 2014
May 28 is celebrated in Israel as "Jerusalem Day," marking the 47th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War.
Test your knowledge of Jerusalem's current events and history with a short, interactive quiz.
The Jerusalem Day Quiz:
http://jcpa.org/article/the-jerusalem-quiz/
ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT ISRAEL
Advocates for Israel: A volunteer group that organizes and equips other volunteers with the tools needed to expose propaganda that is eroding support for Israel among well-meaning people.Visithttp://www.advocatesforisrael.org/.
BuyIsraelGoods: A consumer guide for Israeli brands and the American retailers, both brick-and-mortar and online, that sell them. The site is sponsored by the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce and Stand With Us.Visithttp://www.buyisraelgoods.org/.
CAMERA: The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America monitors the media to promote accurate and balanced coverage of Israel and the Middle East.Visithttp://www.camera.org/.
Daily Alert: Synopses of the previous day’s world news and commentary about Israel, the Middle East and other headlines, with links to the full articles. The service is from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Visit http://www.dailyalert.org/.
Honest Reporting: Another excellent watchdog group that calls the Western media to task when its coverage distorts the truth and applies standards to Israel not applied to other countries. Visithttp://honestreporting.com/.
Israel21c: An online news magazine that looks beyond the Middle East conflict to report on how Israelis of many ethnic and religious backgrounds have contributed to the advancement of healthcare, the environment, technology, culture, and global democratic values worldwide. Visithttp://www.israel21c.org/.
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs: A broad range of news about Israel, directly from the source. Visit www.mfa.gov.il/.
The Israel Project: With its multilingual experts And former reporters, TIP disseminates facts about Israel and the Middle East to the press, public officials and the public to show Israel’s positives. Visithttp://www.theisraelproject.org/.
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East: A community of scholars that promotes fact-based and civil discourse on Middle East issues. SPME combats ethnic, national and religious hatreds, including anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism, and promotes academic freedom, intellectual integrity, and honest debate. Visithttp://spme.org/.
Simon Wiesenthal Center: The global Jewish human rights group confronts anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, stands with Israel, defends the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust. Visit http://www.wiesenthal.com.
Stand With Us: Helps educate local college campuses and communities about Israel to dispel common prejudices about the Arab-Israeli conflict and to encourage discussions and policies that can help promote true Middle East peace. Visit http://www.standwithus.com/.
-Occupied Territories
1) Australia Drops "Occupied" from References to Israeli Settlements (Australian Associated Press-Guardian-UK),
The Australian government has ruled out using the term "occupied" when describing Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, suggesting a shift in its foreign policy.
Attorney general George Brandis, speaking on behalf of the minister for foreign affairs, Julie Bishop, said, "The description of East Jerusalem as 'occupied' East Jerusalem is a term freighted with pejorative implications which is neither appropriate nor useful."
"It should not and will not be the practice of the Australian government to describe areas of negotiation in such judgmental language."
Read more at:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/05/australia-drops-occupied-israeli-settlements
2) Pejorative Words Will Not Give Peace a Chance
By Colin Rubenstein (Brisbane Times-Australia), June 10, 2014
Australia's Attorney-General George Brandis has been attacked for announcing that the Australian government will not refer to east Jerusalem as "occupied." Yet the use of the pejorative term "occupied" prejudges the issues in dispute and amounts to taking the Palestinian side. By contrast, adopting more neutral terminology - such as calling the area "disputed" - is a more constructive approach because it acknowledges that the issues need to be negotiated.
East Jerusalem includes the old city of Jerusalem, with its ancient Jewish quarter and the holiest site in Judaism, the Western Wall. Israel captured it in its defensive 1967 Six-Day War, from Jordan, which had occupied it since 1948. Prior to that, there had been a substantial Jewish population there for thousands of years, but Jordanians had ethnically cleansed it of its entire Jewish population, destroyed all of the dozens of synagogues, and closed the holy places to all Jewish worshippers. Since Israel recaptured the area, people of all religions have had access to and control over their holy sites.
Legally, it is far from settled that any party has a stronger claim to the area than Israel. The term "occupation" is generally used in international law to denote the presence of one country in sovereign territory that belongs to another. But the West Bank and east Jerusalem are not sovereign "Palestinian territory" since no sovereign Palestinian state has ever existed there.
Read more at: