'Occupy' protests sending sharp anti-Jew message

WND [WorldNetDaily] - By Bob Unruh - October 21, 2011

The dark scourge of anti-Semitism has reared up at many "Occupy" protests across the country, and the subject could well become a campaign 2012 issue as Republicans have been quick to point out to voters that many Democrats, including the president, are aligning themselves with the protests.

The protesters generally are expressing a viewpoint that rich people need to pay much more in taxes and they, the protesters, need more from government; big banks need the heavy hand of Washington to help spread their wealth and make things "fair" and they have a "message" or want to "make a point" for the wealthy.

 But there's also a current of targeting Jews.

Protesters have proclaimed that "Zionist Jews" still "need to be run out of the country," and they condemn "Nazi Bankers Wall Street."  And Barack Obama's perspective?

"I think that it [the movement] expresses the frustrations that the American people feel," he said.

And the ranking Democrat in the U.S. House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said "I support the message."

Statements such as those opened the door for Republicans to launch their criticism of the Democrats' endorsement of the encompassing message of the "Occupy" protests - going on across the country now - that includes anti-Semitism. ...

Edited :: See Original Report Here

http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=358449


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'Self-Hating Jew' Soros: The main stumbling block is Israel

Ed. Note: George Soros exemplifies the spirit of anti-Christ. He is a self-hating Jew and billionaire with a “god complex” with nothing better to do but use his money to fund foundations that and organizations that are the resources behind much chaos, anarchy and uprising around the world. He was a large contributor to Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential election and the mainstream media (MSM) for the most part are enthralled with him. This Op-Ed is only for the obvious purpose of understanding the evil he promotes.

Why Obama has to get Egypt right
THE WASHINGTON POST [Wash Post Group/Graham] > Opinion - By George Soros - February 3, 2011
Revolutions usually start with enthusiasm and end in tears. In the case of the Middle East, the tears could be avoided if President Obama stands firmly by the values that got him elected. Although American power and influence in the world have declined, our allies and their armies look to us for direction. These armies are strong enough to maintain law and order as long as they stay out of politics; thus the revolutions can remain peaceful. That is what the United States should insist on while encouraging corrupt and repressive rulers who are no longer tolerated by their people to step aside and allow new leaders to be elected in free and fair elections.

That is the course that the revolution in Tunisia is taking. Tunisia has a relatively well-developed middle class, women there enjoy greater rights and opportunities than in most Muslim countries, and the failed regime was secular in character. The prospects for democratic change are favorable.

Egypt is more complex and, ultimately, more influential, which is why it is so important to get it right. The protesters are very diverse, including highly educated and common people, young and old, well-to-do and desperately poor. While the slogans and crowds in Tahrir Square are not advancing a theocratic agenda at all, the best-organized political opposition that managed to survive in that country's repressive environment is the Muslim Brotherhood. In free elections, the Brotherhood is bound to emerge as a major political force, though it is far from assured of a majority. ...

The main stumbling block is Israel. In reality, Israel has as much to gain from the spread of democracy in the Middle East as the United States has. But Israel is unlikely to recognize its own best interests because the change is too sudden and carries too many risks. And some U.S. supporters of Israel are more rigid and ideological than Israelis themselves. Fortunately, Obama is not beholden to the religious right, which has carried on a veritable vendetta against him. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is no longer monolithic or the sole representative of the Jewish community. The main danger is that the Obama administration will not adjust its policies quickly enough to the suddenly changed reality.

I am, as a general rule, wary of revolutions. But in the case of Egypt, I see a good chance of success. As a committed advocate of democracy and open society, I cannot help but share in the enthusiasm that is sweeping across the Middle East. I hope President Obama will expeditiously support the people of Egypt. My foundations are prepared to contribute what they can. In practice, that means establishing resource centers for supporting the rule of law, constitutional reform, fighting corruption and strengthening democratic institutions in those countries that request help in establishing them, while staying out of those countries where such efforts are not welcome.

The writer is chairman of the Soros Fund Management and the Open Society Foundations, which support democracy and human rights in more than 70 countries.

Unedited :: Link to Original Posting
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/02/AR2011020205041.html

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Turning Churches Against Israel

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE - By Mark D. Tooley - October 19, 2010

“With God on Our Side,” the new anti-Israel movie produced by an evangelical pastor and aimed at evangelical audiences, is touring America this month, with anti-Israel British Anglican priest Stephen Sizer in tow [See Moriel's Archive page of articles on Stephen Sizer]. On October 27, it was originally going to be screened in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, doubtless hoping to appeal to young evangelical Congressional staffers, whose numbers and influence likely will increase in the new Congress. Now, for whatever reason, it instead will screen at a Lutheran church on Capitol Hill.

The Evangelical Left is anxious to neutralize evangelicals as America’s typically most pro-Israel demographic, especially by focusing on the plight of Palestinian Christians, who are portrayed as victims exclusively of Israeli oppression. “With God on Our Side,” predictably, portrays pro-Israel Christians as mindless zealots indifferent to Palestinian suffering and exploiting Israeli Jews as merely tools for precipitating the Second Coming. Hapless quotes from Christian Zionists are contrasted with thoughtful articulations from Palestinian Christians and other pro-Palestinian advocates.

Anglican priest Stephen Sizer, prominently featured in the film, bewails Christian Zionism on his website: “Aspects of this belief system lead some Christians in the West to give uncritical support to Israeli government policies, even those that privilege Jews at the expense of Palestinians, leading to great suffering among Muslim and Christian Palestinians alike and threatening Israel’s security as a whole.”

Rev. Sizer essentially advocates a Helen Thomas sort of theology. His blog even acclaimed Thomas for exclaiming that Jews need to “get out of Palestine” and go back to Poland or wherever. “Bring it on,” Sizer enthused in response to Thomas’s promise to keep speaking out. He has further explained:

“With God on our Side” is a direct challenge to the foolish idea that Christian Zionism has any biblical or moral foundation. It is an oxymoron, as absurd as to suggest that biblical Christianity and apartheid are in any way compatible. The Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa tried and failed and eventually repented. Would that Christian Zionists did the same.”

Sizer is incredulous that Christians would “justify on theological grounds the theft of land, the demolition of homes, the destruction of property, the creation of ghettos and the denial of fundamental human rights, in order to create what is increasingly becoming a racist state.” He insists in his blog that Christian support for Israel challenges “our understanding of the gospel, the centrality of the cross, the role of the church, and the nature of our missionary mandate, not least, to the beloved Jewish people.” And he deplores Christian Zionism as a “heresy conclusively refuted by the New Testament.” Sizer and “With God on our Side” are unwilling to accept that many evangelicals and other Christians have substantive reasons for supporting Israel other than a grimacing expectation of the End Times. Israel’s democracy, pro-Western stance, and resistance to Islamist terror are just a few reasons that many Americans, Christian or not, affirm Israel against its many enemies. But Sizer and his film are largely uninterested in the transgressions, and inferior human rights records, of Israel’s primary foes. Nor are they usually willing to critique radical Islam.

“With God on our Side,” with Sizer and producer Porter Speakman of Colorado as the chief promoters, is gaining an audience among some evangelicals. They screened their film at prestigious evangelical Wheaton College earlier this year. (The film features a Wheaton professor.) And “Christianity Today,” a flagship evangelical magazine, favorably reviewed the film this Summer. “A Christian pastor, Speakman asks such Zionists to reevaluate their absolute support of Israel,” the review observed. “He presents historical context, theological perspective, and on-the-ground impressions.” Agreeing with the film that “Palestinians’ claims to the land cannot be easily dismissed,” the reviewer uncritically accepted the film’s premise that “ordinary Palestinians, including fellow Christians, are being hurt by Israel’s policies,” without examining other more potent threats to Palestinian Christians. Admitting that “some” might see the film as “slanted,” the reviewer defended the film for ostensibly “telling a story” that its “intended audience has not heard.”

That audience is supposedly naïve and mindless evangelicals who have been insulated from any criticism of Israel until exposed to “With God on our Side.” It’s not clear what caves or compounds those pious fools live in. But this film, no less propagandistic and vapid than it alleges its Christian Zionist targets to be, offers a simplistic counter narrative that portrays Israel as the moral equivalent of apartheid South Africa. The tiny percentage of Palestinians who are Christian are useful props for this film and its advocates who, like much of the Evangelical Left, are not typically interested in persecuted Christians unless Israel is the villain.

Anti-Israel activists often especially fault U.S. evangelicals for America’s pro-Israel tilt. But polls usually show that pro-Israel sentiment in America includes not just evangelicals but also Mainline Protestants, Catholics and Jews. End times scenarios do not motivate the pro-Israel beliefs of most Americans or even most evangelicals. But “With God on our Side” constructed a cheap straw man based on stereotypes, maybe because it could not proffer more substantive arguments.

Mark Tooley is President of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (www.theird.org) and author of "Taking Back the United Methodist Church."

Unedited :: Link to Original Posting
http://frontpagemag.com/2010/10/19/turning-churches-against-israel/


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Defending Israel Under Siege: Special Edition eResponse World Report | Simon Wiesenthal Center

Zechariah 12:2-3 "Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. "It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. This is a special collection of reports provided by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Please click the link below: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER - June 3, 2010 Defending Israel Under Siege: Special Edition eResponse World Report Simon Wiesenthal Center FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Why Barack Obama Manufactured This Crisis With Israel

RED STATE [Eagle Publishing] - Posted by Jeff Dunetz - March 24, 2010 Last night Barack Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. It was very obvious that there was no easing of tensions between the two allies. Neither leader said as much, but the news blackout about the meeting is unusual. Such high-level meetings are generally followed by pubic handshakes, and often by joint statements. Obama met with Netanyahu for about an hour and a half, took a break as the session moved to the Roosevelt Room and continued with White House aides. After the break, Netanyahu and the US president returned to the Oval Office for another 35 minutes. Then Netanuahu was lead out the same way he was lead in, very quietly. The frosty Obama/Netanyahu personal relations is a result of a crisis which was manufactured by Barack Obama as a way to isolate the Jewish State and serve it up on a silver platter to his allies in the Muslim world. Yes I know the President keeps talking about the “shared interests” and “friendship” but this President is an expert in saying one thing and doing another. The official story, the one you hear in the press, is the U.S. wants a freeze on new housing units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank as a way to bring Palestinians back to the bargaining table for renewed peace talks. The truth is that these housing developments started decades before Bibi took over as PM in 2009 and negotiations were taking place all during that period. Obama is pressuring Israel despite the fact that last year Mahmoud Abbas declared in the Washington Post that he would never recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and that he would not lift a finger to peacemaking. Abbas basically said that Bibi would capitulate or he would wait until a Bibi/Obama split brings down the Netanyahu government. Obama is putting the entire burden on Israel and the “settlements”. No reciprocal demand is made of the Palestinians. In his demands Obama has refused to recognize existing agreements between the two countries saying that Israel would be permitted to expand existing communities. In fact the Obama administration refused to admit they ever existed. That lie was refuted by was disputed by former Asst. Secretary of State Elliot Abrams who negotiated that agreement with Israel: On settlements we also agreed on principles that would permit some continuing growth. Mr. Sharon stated these clearly in a major policy speech in December 2003: “Israel will meet all its obligations with regard to construction in the settlements. There will be no construction beyond the existing construction line, no expropriation of land for construction, no special economic incentives and no construction of new settlements.” Ariel Sharon did not invent those four principles. They emerged from discussions with American officials and were discussed by Messrs. Sharon and Bush at their Aqaba meeting in June 2003. ” Stories in the press also made it clear that there were indeed “agreed principles.” On Aug. 21, 2004 the New York Times reported that “the Bush administration . . . now supports construction of new apartments in areas already built up in some settlements, as long as the expansion does not extend outward.” None of this should be surprising, during the campaign, many of us were jumping up and down screaming about Barack Obama’s anti-Israel history. Unfortunately Jewish thought leaders such as Ed Koch, Marty Peretz, and Alan Dershowitz all told us that our claims were nonsense. Now that he as been elected the evidence is all there, Barack Obama is doing his best to delegitimize Israel. Look at what has happened during his first 15 months as President: His first week in office when he sat down with Al-Arabiya Arab TV, Ignored Palestinian Terror and indicated that the Israeli government had no desire for peace. His Naming of Samantha Power to a key NSA position. Ms Power has suggested that America invade Israel to enforce a peace plan. America folding it hands and not answering Anti-Israel motions at the Durban II planning meetings. Hilary Clinton’s February demand to open boarder crossings to terrorists. $1.6 to Gaza, for reconstruction, money that will fall in the hands of Hamas. The SHMOTUS Joe Biden has said that Israel should “get used to” a nuclear Iran. Ignoring previous agreements with Israel, to call for the end of natural growth of settlements. Using a Speech to the Muslim world in Cairo as an excuse to throw Israel under the Bus. Using a trip to Buchenwald to side with Arab Propaganda that Israel’s primary legitimacy comes from the Holocaust. His UN Team apologized for not attending Anti-Israel Durban II Conference. Sent Key adviser to the anti-Israel, Anti-Semitic ISNA Conference. Has worked tolegitimize anti-Israel organization J-street to push his pro-terrorism agenda. Has gotten Democrats such as Steve Israel, to abandon Israel and help push his J-Street agenda. The President has made only tepid objections to the Goldstone report. Nominated to head the TSA a man who claims that al Qaeda only fights the US because we are friends of Israel. Unleashed Media Matters to attack Israel and Praise the Goldstone report. Selected a woman with an anti-Israel background to be his Anti-Semitism Czar. The Appointment of Anti-Israel Chuck Hagel to his administration. And of course there is the appeasement of Iran, and the current manufactured crisis. Edited :: See Original Report Here http://www.redstate.com/jeffdunetz/2010/03/24/why-barack-obama-manufactured-this-crisis-with-israel/ FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Media Bias Special Report: Making Sense of the Jerusalem Crisis

A look at the key context and realities behind a US-Israeli dispute over Jerusalem. HONEST REPORTING - Media Critqiues Communique - March 18, 2010 The past week has witnessed a flurry of media reports as Jerusalem finds itself in the eye of a diplomatic and political storm. A poorly timed announcement on the part of the Israeli Interior Ministry during US Vice President Joe Biden's visit has escalated into a diplomatic spat between the Israeli and US governments. Taking advantage of the already existing tensions in Jerusalem, the Palestinians have actively encouraged rioting to keep the flames burning. Events that would normally be ignored by the world media, such as the rededication of the Old City's Hurva Synagogue, have become flashpoints while other stories such as the dedication of a West Bank town square in memory of a Palestinian terrorist have been barely covered. Not to mention the debate that is now taking place in the US and international media, asking questions of the special relationship between Israel and the US - with some enemies of Israel actively calling into question the very relationship itself. With so many interwoven threads forming this major story, many media outlets have, either deliberately or simply due to ignorance, left out key context, thus contributing to the confusion and misinformation. Here, HonestReporting attempts to clear up some of that confusion, recentering where the media should have been focused. ... Edited :: See Original Report Here http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Special_Report_Making_Sense_of__the_Jerusalem_Crisis.asp Also: Jerusalem on the Media Frontline HONEST REPORTING - Media Critqiues Communique - March 9, 2010 The Economist misrepresents a municipal plan to improve the lives of Jerusalem's Arab residents. Perhaps no other issue generates such emotion and conflict as the status of Jerusalem. We do not intend to prejudge the outcome of any discussions that may or may not eventually take place between the various interested parties that have a stake in the holy city. However, many media outlets have done precisely that - drawing upon a one-sided and selective narrative that seeks to delegitimize Jewish rights in Jerusalem. Only recently, HonestReporting critiqued a biased BBC Panorama documentary focusing on tensions in the area of eastern Jerusalem adjacent to the Old City. Indeed, with a settlement freeze on the West Bank excluding the eastern part of Jerualem, the media's new frontline has moved to Israel's capital city. The media have, in many cases, played into the hands of those on the Palestinian side who need little excuse to stoke existing tensions or create new ones. A prime example is The Economist, which simply parrots the Palestinian narrative and downplays the Jewish character of Jerusalem. ... Edited :: See Original Report Here http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Jerusalem_on_the_Media_Frontline.asp

What New Settlement? Some media mistakenly imply that Israel is building new settlements. HONEST REPORTING - Media Critqiues Communique - March 9, 2010 Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced the exemption from the West Bank settlement freeze of 112 housing units in Beitar Illit for safety and infrastructure reasons. One can agree or disagree with this decision. What is patently clear, however, is that these housing units are located within the third-largest Jewish city in the West Bank, with a population of 36,000. These 112 housing units do not represent the construction of a new settlement. So why then did the BBC produce the following caption on its headline news story? US Vice-President Joe Biden leads the latest Mid-East peace drive, after Israel enrages Palestinians by approving new settlements. Unedited :: Link to Original Posting http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/What_New_Settlement.asp

Double Standards? Nato's Afghan Errors Why are Afghan civilian casualties "accidents" but Palestinian civilian casualties are "war crimes"? HONEST REPORTING - Media Critqiues Communique - February 28, 2010 Nato and Afghan government forces have recently launched the largest military operation against the Taliban since the beginning of the conflict in Afghanistan in 2001. Like the IDF during Operation Cast Lead, US and British troops face an enemy that cares little for the well being of its people. Like the IDF, US and British forces operate under a military doctrine that aims to prevent civilian casualties. Like the IDF, US and British forces have found that in a conflict situation, mistakes inevitably occur and civilians are the tragic victims. ... Double Standards? We sympathize with the forces currently taking on the Taliban and recognize the difficult dilemmas and decisions that have to made in the course of a military operation. However, we have to ask why, when the IDF also makes every effort to avoid civilian casualties, is Israel accused of "war crimes" and pilloried in the media when Palestinian civilians are accidentally killed, while the very same media shows a remarkable understanding when similar mistakes occur in Afghanistan. Can we expect international condemnation in the media or from so-called human rights NGOs when civilian deaths occur in Afghanistan and calls for an immediate end to the military operation? Will there be a Goldstone-style commission of inquiry with the potential for legal action against the US, UK or individual commanders and soldiers? Unlikely. ... Edited :: See Original Report Here http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Double_Standards_Natos_Afghan_Errors.asp

Jewish Groups Geared to Fight 'Apartheid Week' ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Maayana Miskin - February 26, 2010 Jewish and human rights groups are gearing up to counter "Israel Apartheid Week" events next week. "Apartheid Week" is an annual event organized on college campuses in the United States, Canada and elsewhere by extreme anti-Israel groups. The week-long event includes lectures and exhibits aimed at convincing students that Israel is a racist, colonial state. Participants are asked to sign a document opposing Zionism while supporting the creation of a state for Palestinian Authority Arabs. One of the groups fighting Apartheid Week is Bnei Brith Canada, which called this week to ban "Apartheid Week" events completely. The group praised MPP Peter Shurman for proposing a resolution to condemn Israel Apartheid Week. The resolution was passed by the Ontario legislature. ... The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) has also put materials online to assist those interested in countering anti-Israel rhetoric. The site, http://www.israeliapartheidweek.com/, includes information on the radical nature of Apartheid Week, the double standard implicit in criticizing Jewish self-determination and not that of other national groups, and genuine oppression elsewhere in the Middle East. Edited :: See Original Report Here http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136219 Israel Apartheid Week Comes to Town The insidious analogy returns to college campuses as part of the campaign to delegitimize Israel. HONEST REPORTING - Media Critqiues Communique - March 4, 2010 The false analogy between apartheid South Africa and Israel - particularly since the UN's racist 2001 Durban Conference - has played a key role in the campaign to delegitimize Israel and threaten its existence. The strategy of boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) is based on convincing the public that Israel is no more legitimate than the apartheid regime in South Africa, and can be removed with enough public pressure. Now, this insidious delegitimization campaign has returned to university campuses around the world, including the US, UK and Canada, as part of Israel Apartheid Week. ... Edited :: See Original Report Here http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Israel_Apartheid_Week_Comes_to_Town.asp

The True Colors of Israel Apartheid Week CIF WATCH - March 11, 2010 Video of the anti-Israel IAW protesters in New York City March 9, 2010 http://cifwatch.com/2010/03/11/the-true-colors-of-israel-apartheid-week/

BBC Cited for 2 Blatant Anti-Israel Reports ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Hillel Fendel - January 27, 2010 Internationally renowned pianist Evgeny Kissin, CAMERA, and various media analysts have joined the fray of complaints against BBC for its "bias against Israel." The two issues reported on unfairly by BBC relate to Israel's alleged organ-harvesting of Palestinian Authority residents and its treatment of Arabs in Jerusalem. Last month, in what was essentially a rehash of a 15-year-old story, British media reported on an admission by an Israeli pathologist that there had been incidents of "harvesting" of organs from Israeli soldiers and Arabs. The BBC's headline screamed that Israel was harvesting Palestinian organs, without mentioning that Arabs were not the focus of the misguided policy, illegal in Israel. BBC's response ... was even more misleading than the original article, London's Jewish Chronicle reports. ... "This report was not created by the BBC, but was a translation of a news story which appeared on Israeli television... I am also assured by the World Service that the Israeli government has not denied the story since it broke." The reason Israel did not deny the story is because it was true; until it was stopped, there had, in fact, been illegal organ harvesting, irrespective of ethnic origins. But, as an Israeli Embassy spokesman said, the problem with the BBC report was that it was a "despicable attempt" to claim that Israelis have been involved "in the specific harvesting of Palestinian organs." Israel protested the BBC's emphasis on "simply one component" and called it "an attempt to manipulate the hearts of the readership." Mideast media analyst Tom Gross noted that some countries, such as China, "do remove live organs for transplant. There is scarcely a word about this in the British media. The Iranian-backed Lebanese terror militia Hezbollah has been accused of harvesting the organs of Lebanese Christians, with hardly any investigation of this charge by the so-called human rights groups of America and Europe." Gross also noted that BBC, unlike other media, "used a sensationalist and shocking photo, which was not even from Israel, to give the false impression that the Israeli government had been involved in wrongdoing." ... Edited :: See Original Report Here http://www.israelnationalnews.com/SendMail.aspx?print=print&type=0&item=135725 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

The people behind Jimmy Carter's letter on Israel

THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION [Cox Enterprises] - By Jim Galloway - January 30, 2010 Last month, while much of the world was distracted by the holidays, former President Jimmy Carter issued what he called "an open letter to the Jewish community." In four paragraphs, Carter expressed his hopes for the state of Israel. He ended the letter with a fifth paragraph that the world quickly came to call an apology. "We must not permit criticisms for improvement to stigmatize Israel," the former president said. "I offer an Al Het for any words or deeds of mine that may have done so." The statement might be better termed a confession. Al Het refers to the Yom Kippur prayer recited by a supplicant who begs God to forgive a sin. In the weeks since, the abrupt nature of the Carter statement has led many to speculate about its purpose and the former president's motives. What very few know is that this first step toward reconciliation was the private initiative of several influential members of Atlanta's Jewish community, whose ties to Carter date three decades and more. Conversations behind the confession/apology lasted a full year. The former president's grandson Jason Carter, a Decatur attorney, served as go-between. This was a case of Jewish outreach to the former president, not vice versa. Which puts Jimmy Carter's statement in a different light, and no doubt makes it more significant, not less. The episode is also an example of the connections that make Atlanta work. You're probably familiar with much of the background. In November 2006, Carter published his 21st book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid." (The former president insists there is no punctuation in the title.) Many Jews - along with others - viewed the book as one-sided and thinly researched, but were perhaps most outraged by use of the word "apartheid" and all its implications. Fourteen members of a 200-member Carter Center advisory board, most of them Jewish, resigned in protest. The former president, who said he was trying to provoke a discussion of Arab-Israeli relations, declared himself shocked by the reaction and hurt by accusations that his work bordered on anti-Semitic. The rift between the Jewish community and the man who engineered the Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt bothered Emmet Bondurant, a well-known Atlanta attorney who sits on the regional board of the Anti-Defamation League. He is not Jewish. Bondurant's career stretches back four decades - in the 1960s, he was the lead litigator in the U.S. Supreme Court case that brought the concept of "one man, one vote" to Georgia. More recently, he has led the legal opposition to the state's requirement that voters supply photo ID before casting a ballot. Serving with Bondurant on the ADL board was Miles Alexander, co-chairman of the Kilpatrick Stockton law firm - and perhaps the most influential behind-the-scenes figure in Atlanta politics that you've never heard of. The low-profile Alexander, who is Jewish, has backed the winner in every mayoral race since Sam Massell. His wife, Elaine Alexander, was co-chairman of the campaigns for both Kasim Reed and Shirley Franklin. Bondurant persuaded Alexander to join him on the Carter Center advisory board in June 2008. It did not go over well with many of Alexander's friends. In December of that year, as a member of the advisory board, Bondurant said he and Alexander began talking about the need to reconcile the former president with the Jewish community. "Some way needed to be found to heal this wound and bring back people who were once together, and should be together again," Bondurant said. Attending the same meeting was another member of Bondurant's law firm, who had been helping Bondurant in the voter ID case: 33-year-old Jason Carter. "Miles and Emmet came to me to see if my grandfather would be open to a discussion of this type of outreach to the Jewish community," the grandson confirmed. The grandfather agreed, and so began a careful exchange of letters and e-mail. (The timing here is critical. Some have speculated that President Carter, in issuing his statement, was trying to clear an obstacle for his grandson, who is now engaged in a state Senate campaign. But Jason Carter began his role as go-between months before the seat became available.) At this point, Bondurant drops out of the picture. Alvin Sugarman, the retired senior rabbi of The Temple in Atlanta, was recruited into the effort. Others involved included former Congressman Elliott Levitas. President Carter would later single out Sugarman, Alexander and his former White House aide, Stuart Eizenstat, who began his career here. One confidence-builder may have occurred last February. The ADL gave Jason Carter its young-attorney-of-the-year award for his pro bono work on voter ID litigation. Bill Nigut, the ADL's Southeast regional director, said the award came at the recommendation of a panel of independent attorneys. But there's the possibility that the award also served as proof to former President Carter that the Jewish community would not hold the grandson to account for the actions of the grandfather. "I have no proof," Nigut added. A September deadline of Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, was missed. But a single face-to-face meeting occurred in early December. In attendance were Alexander, Sugarman, Jason Carter and the former president. A few tears were shed. The Al Het followed days later. Unedited :: Link to Original Posting http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/01/30/the-people-behind-jimmy-carters-letter-on-israel/ FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. 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Is Judgment falling on the anti-Christian, anti-Israeli Press?

Ed Note: A collection of article regarding the industry wide downturn in circulation and ad revenue for Newspapers. There has been a decline occurring for some time due to an aging subscriber base as well as technological changes such as the Internet having had an effect on the industry. However, these concerns are considered within projected circulation numbers and even in some cases certain news organizations such as The New York Times have gained circulation due to growing online subscriptions. But this recent downtrend has caught nearly everyone off guard forcing newsgroups to re-evaluate projected circulation numbers (from which ad revenue is based) and has led to sudden layoffs, staff reductions and even talks of certain publications shutting down their presses for good. Certainly the terrible economy is playing a part in all of this, but I can’t help but wonder if a press that has been so anti-Israel in the face of any rational reasoning and anti-Christian as well is now facing some well deserved judgment from the One whom avenges His people. LA Times to cut 250 jobs, including 150 news jobs ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Ryan Nakashima - July 2, 2008 LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Times plans to cut 250 positions, including 150 jobs in the print and online news departments, amid a continuing industrywide slump in ad sales, the paper's editor said Wednesday. The decline in advertising, fueled by a weak real estate market, has boosted the copy-to-ads ratio above the industry target of 50-50, giving readers more stories than they can digest, while the paper competes for attention with the Internet and TV, editor Russ Stanton said. - - - The move followed an announcement last week that the paper's parent, Tribune Co., is exploring the sale of its headquarters in Chicago and the building in downtown Los Angeles that houses the Times. A half-dozen major newspapers announced layoffs last week totaling about 900 jobs. Also Wednesday, Journal Sentinel Inc. said it would cut about 10 percent of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's 1,300 full-time employees, and Media General Inc. said it would lay off 21 newsroom employees at The Tampa Tribune by early fall as part of a one-fifth cut in its news staff. - - - - http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080702/la_times_cuts.html?.v=1 Tampa Tribune plans to cut one-fifth of newsroom ASSOCIATED PRESS - July 2, 2008 TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Tribune plans to lay off 11 newsroom employees this week and another 10 by early fall as part of a one-fifth cut in the news staff. Along with the 29 people who took voluntary buyouts and tendered resignations, the job losses announced Tuesday will leave the Tribune with a news staff of about 200, the paper said Wednesday. The cuts, part of a corporate reduction announced in May, are the latest sign of how the newspaper industry is being hurt by a weakened economy and the emergence of the Internet as an alternative medium for advertising. - - - - http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D91LSILO1&show_article=1 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

US ambassador: Jews will just have to leave Jerusalem

ISRAEL TODAY MAGAZINE [Sheldon Adelson/Las Vegas Sands Corp] - By Staff Writer - March 18, 2008 US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones suggested during a tour of overcrowded Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem on Monday that many Jews will just have to move out of the capital rather than expand into parts of the city claimed by the Palestinians. Jones told said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that Washington is growing increasingly displeased with Jewish housing projects on the eastern side of Jerusalem, which are certain to hinder efforts to conclude a peace deal along the lines of US President George W. Bush's vision for the region. The American envoy said he is well aware of the lack of Jewish housing in Jerusalem, but in a remark betraying a lack of understanding regarding Jewish historical and spiritual connection to the city Jones concluded that "sometimes people do have to move to a different location. They cannot always stay close to their families." He insisted that more important than the Jews' restoration to their biblical capital and heartland is Israel's implementation of commitments made as part of the US-driven Road Map peace process, even if unreciprocated by the Palestinians. Jones ended the interview by all but justifying the Palestinian Authority's ongoing failure to meet its primary obligations to curb anti-Israel violence and incitement by stating that "it is not easy for either side to move ahead when they see the provocative behavior of the other side." http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=15485 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

All Aboard the Bandwagon: How Christian anti-Zionism affects Jewish mission

CWI HERALD (Christian Witness to Israel)- December 07 - February 08 This article is an edited version of a paper presented at the LCJE International Conference, 2007. The full text can be found at www.lcje.net/papers/2007/intl/Moore.doc

According to the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, Jonathan Sacks, a “tsunami” of anti-Semitism is sweeping Europe. A poll conducted in early 2007 revealed that 59% of all Europeans regard Israel as the primary threat to world peace. Another poll revealed that almost one in five Italians believe the state of Israel should cease to exist. It would appear that Rabbi Sacks’ tidal wave of Jew-hatred is linked to anti-Israel sentiment. The Feminist writer Phyllis Chesler observes in her book The New Anti-Semitism that “There’s something unbalanced, erotic, and disturbed about the level of anger that anti-Zionists bring to bear on the subject of the Jews and the Jewish state … Jews and Zionists are blamed for 9/11 in Chinese as well as in Arabic. Nobel Prize winners, European and American academics, anti-globalization activists, and Jews on the Left have all condemned Israel for daring to defend itself, while remaining menacingly silent about the suicide bombings of Israeli civilians.” Christians who hate the Jews? In an article that appeared in The Spectator, Melanie Phillips labelled anti-Zionist churchmen “Christians who hate the Jews”. Ms Phillips is not alone in thinking that exclusive condemnation of Israel is an expression of anti-Semitism. The writer and broadcaster Howard Jacobson observed in an article in The Independent newspaper on the fortieth anniversary of the Six Day War, as Britain’s University and College Union was urging a boycott of Israeli academics: “If anti-Semitism is repugnant to humanity, then it is no less repugnant to single out one country for your hatred, to hate it beyond reason and against evidence, to deny it any understanding and – most odious of all – to seek to silence its voices.” In responding to the defensive mantra: “Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism”, Jacobson wrote: “It is a false syllogism which goes Criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic; I am a critic of Israel; therefore I am not an anti-Semite.” As more and more prominent churchmen single out Israel for condemnation, how can Jewish people be expected to listen to the story of Jesus? If the Church joins with those who would make the Jewish state responsible not only for the loss of Jewish lives at the hands of Palestinian terrorists but also for the deaths of non-Jewish civilians in the United States, Europe and Iraq, are the Jews not entitled to think that Christians hate them? What if ... I am occasionally approached by pro-Palestinian Christians who, when they know I work with a Jewish mission, want me to know how bad the Israelis are. My standard response is to say that if the Jewish people are so wicked, that is all the more reason to share the gospel with them. That usually takes the wind out of their sails but the sad reality is that when Christians believe the Jewish people are intrinsically evil and that Israel presents the greatest threat to world peace, they are unlikely to support Jewish mission. What, I wonder, would Israel’s evangelical denouncers do if the nation was forced by international pressure to pull down its security fence without conditions, to withdraw to pre-1967 boundaries without any concessions being required from the Palestinians, to allow a right of return for all Palestinian refugees to areas now populated by Jewish Israelis, to compensate those returnees at the expense of Israeli taxpayers and to then respond “proportionately” to the deluge of Palestinian terror that would inevitably follow? What would evangelicals who accuse the Jewish state of ethnic cleansing do if another holocaust were perpetrated on the Jews, this time on their own soil? There would be wringing of hands, no doubt, after the Jews had resumed their proper role on the world stage as victims rather than as a people able to defend themselves. But how could the Church ever hold up its head, look Jewish people in the eyes and tell them of the love of Jesus? The Church in Germany is still reeling from the Holocaust and many German Christians still feel unable to reach out to German Jews with the gospel. If the Church in the West fails to speak up for Israel as it failed to speak up for the Jews of Germany in the 1930s, how can it ever expect the Jewish people to listen to the story of Jesus? A few good men As the people of God, the Lord requires that we “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God”. It is the duty of Christians to love all human beings, including Israelis and Palestinians. We must criticise when criticism is due but if the Church is perceived to be “against” any people, culture, community or group, it will be severely hindered in its witness to those people, cultures, communities and groups. We are familiar with Edmund Burke’s maxim: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”. The Holocaust occurred because too few good people spoke up for the Jews when they were made the scapegoat for Germany’s economic ills. If Christians in this generation fail to speak up for the Jewish state when its government and citizens are routinely demonised and when the international community makes light of the Iranian president’s threat to wipe Israel off the map, we may end up as witnesses to an even greater holocaust in which our Messianic colleagues and friends perish. If we do not speak up for Israel and the Jewish people, how can we expect them to listen to us when we try to share Messiah with them? If we do nothing when the rest of the Church is turning against Israel, we may well help to increase Jewish enmity towards the Messiah. Instead of saving Jewish people we will be helping to consign them to a conflagration beyond the most deranged fantasies of Adolph Hitler or Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. Mike Moore (General Secretary, CWI) http://www.cwi.org.uk/Heralds/Heraldnew/Bandwagon.htm

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