A suggestion for Israel Apartheid Week
As this year’s “Israel Apartheid Week” (which, inexplicably, actually lasts a month) approaches, Kelly McParland of Canada’s National Post, with tongue firmly in cheek, comments on the Apartheid Week events that will be taking place in Toronto:
Rumour has it that there’s a special bonus prize this year for some lucky attendees: a weekend for two at the Damascus Paradise Hotel, followed by a visit to the always vibrant city of Hom, where, among the peaceful desert sands, the lucky winners will attend lectures on the violent nature of the illegitimate Israeli regime and its role in destabilizing the otherwise peaceful Middle East.
It’s a joke, of course. But showing the Apartheid Week supporters what a truly oppressive regime looks like might clarify the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship for some.
Comments (5) »Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 8:21 AM | Stand for Israel
Responding to an Israel-hater
A Soldier’s Mother responds to a hateful comment on her blog that asks, “How does it feel to live in a country [Israel] hated by millions of people all over the world … because of your country´s hatred, racism, war crimes and evil acts.”:
So how does it feel to accept who you are, where you live, and what your country must do to survive? How does it feel to finally be in control of your own destiny, to be free in your own land? To raise your children in the place where they belong? How does it feel to have sons and daughters who are proud of their country and choose to defend it…and more, have the option to choose life – for the first time in 2,000 years, and the power to make that option reality? Pretty darn good. Thanks for asking.
The entire response is worth your time. Read it all.
Comments (16) »Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 10:02 AM | Stand for Israel
Anti-Israel Jewish fringe group *hearts* Ron Paul
Ron Paul on the campaign trail with members of the Neturei Karta group
Anyone who’s been to a pro-Israel event in New York, Washington, or Jerusalem is familiar with the Neturei Karta – a fringe sect within Judaism that believes the State of Israel is illegitimate because it was not established by the Messiah. To be fair, there are a number of ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups that are anti-Zionist for that reason. None of them, however, take the extreme positions that Neturei Karta takes – protesting against the Jewish State (which is how most pro-Israel Jews know them), parroting the outrageous and slanderous claims of Israel’s most frenzied opponents, serving in the Palestinian cabinet of Yasser Arafat, visiting with (and embracing!) Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Now they apparently have a preferred candidate for President of the United States: Texas Congressman Ron Paul.
No, there has been no official endorsement. And, of course, a candidate has no control over who endorses them. But, go to minute 49 of this video of Paul’s January 8 town hall meeting in New Hampshire. After the event, Paul is greeted briefly by Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss of the anti-Israel fringe group, who thanks Paul and tells him that Judaism is a religion which “should never be transformed into a nationalism.” Paul warmly replies, “Good advice, good advice.”
This is the latest in a series of questionable associations as articulated in this video by conservative evangelical leader Gary Bauer. Food for thought for friends of Israel voting in upcoming Republican primaries.
Comments (70) »Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 at 11:45 AM | Stand for Israel
Don’t let Israel’s foes determine the debate
We have a poster on the SFI Facebook page – a Danish “psychodramatic therapist”, of all things – who fancies himself something of an expert on international law. He’s repeating the false trope that Israel’s policies in the West Bank and other areas amount to a violation of international law. Many Israel-haters regurgitate this position without knowing what they’re talking about. So we thought it might be a good idea to give you something to throw back at them.
First rule: NEVER allow Israel’s detractors to set the parameters of the discussion by claiming that Israel is engaged in an illegal “occupation.” Occupation is used as a political term by Israel’s detractors, but it has a very specific legal definition. Here are some sources from real experts that will help you demolish this narrative (it’s worth noting that the late Prof. Julius Stone, whose article appears below, was considered the world’s preeminent scholar on international law – if you only read one of these, make it that one):
Eugene V. Rostow: “Resolved: Are the Settlements Legal?” New Republic, October, 1991
Julius Stone: “Israel and Palestine – Assault on the Law of Nations”
Excerpts edited by Ian Lacey, 2003
David Phillips: “The Illegal-Settlement Myth,” December 2009
Alan Baker: “The Settlements Issue: Distorting the Geneva Convention and the Oslo Accords,” January, 2011:
Comments (6) »Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 at 2:45 PM | Rabbi Jonathan Greenberg
High school curriculum spreads lies about Israel
The Arab World Studies Notebook
A Boston-area newspaper, the Newton Tab, recently reported that local parent Tony Pagliuso was horrified when his daughter, a freshman at Newton South High School, brought home an article on women in the Middle East that claims “Several hundred [Palestinian women] have been imprisoned, tortured, and killed by Israeli occupation forces since the latest uprising, ‘Intifada,’ in the Israeli occupied territories.”
The article, which was distributed to Pagliuso’s daughter’s class by her world history teacher, makes it sound like Israel arbitrarily imprisons innocent Palestinian women. What it fails to mention is that Palestinian women have been responsible for carrying out some of the most horrific terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. For example, Dalal Mugrahbi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, carried out the 1978 coastal road massacre in which 38 civilians were murdered, including 13 children.
On top of this, the accusation that Israel tortures female prisoners is simply false. Palestinian female prisoners serving in Israeli jails enjoy full prisoner rights as stipulated by the Third Geneva Convention. In Israeli jails, Palestinian prisoners – male and female – are given decent living quarters, food, clothing, medical care, religious and physical activities, newspapers, phone calls, visits from friends and family, and a canteen where relatives and friends deposit money for their use inside the prison.
The article refuting these truths was taken from a controversial textbook called The Arab World Studies Notebook. In 2005, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) prompted many schools across the U.S. to ban the book from their high-school curriculum. In its critique, the AJC said that the book “is replete with factual errors, inaccuracies and misrepresentations about Middle East history.” The textbook goes so far as to suggest that “students repeat Arabic phrases that are confessions of belief and proposes that Muslim faith statements be transmitted to others,” concludes the AJC report. The textbook even makes the claim that Muslims discovered America prior to Columbus. Unbelievable!
This textbook is not about genuine learning — it’s a propaganda tool meant to shape…
Read More » Comments (4) »Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 at 12:11 PM | Amichai Farkas
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