Stop the Jewish National Fund Campaign

Stop the Jewish National Fund is an international campaign aimed at ending the role of the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet LeIsrael/JNF-KKL) in the on-going displacement of indigenous Palestinians from their land, the theft of their property, the funding of historic and present day colonies, and the destruction of the natural environment.

The JNF continues to serve as a global fundraiser for Israeli ethnic cleansing, occupation and apartheid. Despite its historic role in a State institution of Israel (the Israel Land Authority) and in institutionalized racism and apartheid, the JNF and its affiliate organizations enjoy charitable status in over 50 countries and many also enjoy consultative status with the United Nations. In addition to the ongoing struggles against the JNF-KKL in Palestine, the campaign is underway in Canada, France, Britain, South Africa and the United States.

The film Enduring Roots: Over a Century of Resistance to the Jewish National Fund directed by Alex Safron details the history and workings of the Jewish National Fund as well as historic and ongoing Palestinian resistance to the colonization of their land. Click here for more information or to arrange a screening.

Download Stop the Jewish National Fund E-Book: Volume 4:

JNFeBookVol4

Plant-a-Tree in Palestine: a joint project of the Middle East Children’s Alliance, Stop the Wall, the Palestinian Farmer’s Union, and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.

Visit Fallen Donors Renounce Our Role in the JNF to see powerful testimony from former donors about why they now commit to exposing and confronting the JNF.

Stop The JNF Days of Action 2016

Category: Stop the Jewish National Fund Campaign ,

The Stop the JNF Campaign is calling for activists for Palestinian rights to take action between March 30 (Land Day) and April 18 (Tax Day) to amplify efforts targeting the Jewish National Fund for its role in the ongoing displacement of Palestinians from their land. The JNF enjoys tax-exempt status as a charitable organization in… Read more »

Mohammed Assaf at the Barbican 10.04.2016

Mohammed Assaf Performs At The Barbican Centre London April 2016

محبوب العرب في لندن Mohammed AssafBarbican 10.04.16  Palestine’s biggest pop star sings material from his newest album alongside familiar favourites from his time on TV talent show, Arab Idol. Produced by the Barbican in association with Marsm His songs vary from ballads of faith and freedom – effortlessly sung with immense power, to syncopated, shuffling pop, heavily influenced by the Egyptian dance music scene and backed by swirling strings and percussion. His rags-to-riches story, reminiscent of a Hollywood block buster, has been made into a film, The Idol, released in 2015, but it’s his raw talent and sincerity which really makes his appeal international. BUY TICKETS

Zionist Reaction starts to devour Labour Party's Jewish Children

The clearly Zionist inspired antisemitism hysteria arising out of one antisemitic tweet and one antisemitic blog post has claimed its first Jewish victim.  Tony Greenstein has now been suspended by the Labour Party by way of a Kafkaesque letter:

Dear Mr Greenstein

Notice of administrative suspension from holding office or representing the Labour Party

Allegations that you may have been involved in a breach of Labour Party rules have been brought to the attention of national officers of the Party. These allegations relate to comments you are alleged to have made which will be investigated under 2.1.8 of the party's rules. It is important that these allegations are investigated and the NEC will be asked to authorise a full report to be drawn up with recommendations for disciplinary action if appropriate.

I write to give you formal notice that it has been determined that the powers given to the NEC under 6.1.1.A of the Party's rules should be invoked to suspend you from office or representation of the party*, pending the outcome of an internal Party investigation.

In view of the urgency to protect the Party's reputation in the present situation the General Secretary has determined to use powers delegated to him under Clause V111.5 of the constitutional rules of the party to impose this suspension forthwith, subject to the approval of the next meeting of the NEC. Because of the nature of the allegations received and concerns that your presence at branch meetings may be detrimental to the Party, while subject to this administrative suspension, you cannot attend any party meetings including your own branch meeting and Annual Conference and you cannot seek office within the Party or be considered for selection as a candidate to represent the Labour Party at an election at any level** .

The General Secretary has appointed Harry Gregson, Acting Regional Director, to arrange conduct of the Party's own investigation and you will be contacted by him in due course with details as to how he intends to proceed with enquiries.

It is hoped you will offer your full co-operation to the Party in resolving this matter.

Yours sincerely


John Stolliday
Head of Constitutional Unit

c.c. Brighton, Kemptown CLP Secretary
South East Regional Labour Party

* In relation to any alleged breach of the constitution, rules or standing orders of the party by an individual member or members of the party, the NEC may, pending the final outcome of any investigation and charges (if any), suspend that individual or individuals from office or representation of the party notwithstanding the fact that the individual concerned has been or may be eligible to be selected as a candidate in any election or by-election. (Disciplinary Rules, Clause 6.1.1.A)

** A 'suspension' of a member whether by the NEC in pursuance of 1 above or by the NCC in imposing a disciplinary penalty, unless otherwise defined by that decision, shall require the membership rights of the individual member concerned to be confined to participation in their own branch meetings, unless the reason for the suspension in part or in full is their conduct in party meetings or there are concerns that their presence at branch meetings may be detrimental to the Party, and activities as an ordinary member only and in ballots of all individual members where applicable. A suspended member shall not be eligible to seek any office in the party, nor shall s/he be eligible for nomination to any panel of prospective candidates nor to represent the party in any position at any level. The member concerned will not be eligible to attend any CLP meeting other than to fulfil the requirement to participate in ballots, (Disciplinary rules, Clause 6.1.3)

Zionists admit to redefining antisemitism to suit themselves

Look at this in the Jewish News, which claims to be Britain's biggest Jewish Newspaper:

The Board of Deputies has said anti-Israel sentiment should be classed as anti-Semitism and called for a new European Union definition of Jew hatred to reflect it.

So opposition to an essentially racist state should now be considered antisemitic.  And yet zionists always denied this with regard to the discredited and ditched EUMC Working Definition of Antisemitism.

But what's this further down the article:

The current Working Definition of Anti-Semitism was created by the EU’s Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) to guide law enforcement agencies, but has no legal basis.

 I've posted a comment pointing out their error:

The so-called EUMC Working Definition of Antisemitism was not created by the EUMC but foisted on it by the American Jewish Committee. It was hosted on the EUMC website without comment for some time before being removed as part of a "clear out of "non-official" documents. The BBC made this clear to me in an email back in 2013. Here's a fuller quote: 

the so-called “working definition of anti-semitism” referred to in the finding and cited by the complainant was published on the website of the EU Monitoring Committee for Racism and Xenophobia in 2005. This body was replaced by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (the FRA) in 2007. A press officer at the FRA has explained that this was a discussion paper and was never adopted by the EU as a working definition, although it has been on the FRA website until recently when it was removed during a clear out of “non-official” documents. The link to the FRA site provided by the complainant in his appeal no longer works.

Of course you should run a correction.

Let's see if they run a correction.  I'm guessing they won't because zionists seem to set great store on the idea that the bogus document came from the EU itself.  Zionist university professor, Robert Fine made the false claim in his own European Sociological Association journal and another zionist academic, Ben Gidley (Bob from Brockley blog) knowingly made the same false claim in a report to the ludicrous bunch of chancers known as the All-Party Parliamentary Committee (or was it sub-committee) on "Antisemitism".

Anyway, at least the zios are now admitting to wanting to change the definition of what was anti-Jewish racism to protect Israel and its official racist ideology of Zionism and their supporters.

UPDATE: I checked at 19:20 to see if Jewish News had corrected their error and unfortunately my comment has disappeared.  I've reposted it. I thought they weren't supposed to work on the sabbath but maybe they deleted the comment before sundown.

Another day another bogus conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism

This time it's Dr David Hirsh in the Jewish Chronicle.  Dr Hirsh always used to deny being a Zionist but I never did work out how he differs from one nor do I recall him ever setting out a definition of Zionism that excluded himself.  But here he is on the Jewish Chronicle website happily denouncing anti-Zionism or opposition to Israel as being antisemitic, not simply leading to antisemitism which used to be his schtick:

Hostility to Israel is partly caused by antisemitism and is also itself a cause of further antisemitism.

Oh look, "partly".  So "Hostility to Israel is partly caused by antisemitism".  Only partly?  So what about the other parts of hostility to Israel?  Might they be caused by Israel's existence as a racist state based on colonial settlement, ethnic cleansing, segregationist laws and relentless violence towards non-Jewish natives and neighbours of Palestine?  Hirsh doesn't say, not in this article anyway.

Hirsh's latest masterpiece also appears on his own Engage website but not on the Israel lobby group BICOM's Fathom website.  Maybe he missed the deadline.

Robert Finally gets to the point

There's a book review on the Engage website, written by Zionist sociology lecturer, Robert Fine, about a book called The Definition of Anti-Semitism by a Kenneth Marcus.  Now I'm guessing that a book on antisemitism praised by Robert Fine must conflate antisemitism and anti-Zionism.  And look at this:

Marcus endorses the view that if in the past the most dangerous antisemites wanted to make the world Judenrein, free of Jews, perhaps today the most dangerous antisemites want to make the world Judenstaatrein, free of a Jewish state.

There you go.  It took him several paragraphs to get to the point he was bound to make but he gets there towards the end.

As it happens, Fine is wrong here.  Judenstaat doesn't actually mean Jewish State, it means Jews' State, ie, a state specially for the world's Jews as in The State of Israel.  I always suspect that when Zionists call Israel, a Jewish state they are making out it just happens to have a Jewish majority but the difference between Jewish State and Jews' State is significant.

Clearly a state that is for the world's Jews is discriminatory at best and may even have to tinker with the "demographics" like by ethnically cleansing some people (non-Jews) and giving privileged access to others (Jews). Opposition to such a state is anti-racist, not antisemitic, but for Fine and this Marcus chap, it is the most dangerous form of antisemitism. Why?  Well, I didn't get that far.  I just wanted to point out that here is a prominent academic having yet another go at conflating the perfectly legitimate demand for the abolition of Jewish supremacist statehood with racism against Jews.

I'm starting to get nervous about what horrors the racist war criminals of the illegitimate Zionist entity are planning to inflict on the Palestinians sometime soon.  It's usually at times like those that the Zios crank up the false allegations of antisemitism.  Or maybe it's just that intellectually dishonest chancers like Fine have devoted so much of their time and energy and staked so much of their professional reputations on this bogus conflation they don't know how to do anything else.

AntiSemitism is a poison that shouldn't be cheapened by misleading allegations

Remember this Oxford University Labour Club antisemitism allegations malarkey began with the resignation of a chap called Alex Chalmers who set out a rambling strawman argument on his Facebook page.  When I read it I saw a comment from a co-chair or former co-chair claiming that he had avoided acknowledging her because she was Jewish and she didn't share his (I think she said) unnuanced view of the Israel/Palestine situation.  Maybe I imagined it because it isn't there now.  My guess is he deleted it.  Another curious thing is that this Alex Chalmers wants his views known and yet his Twitter account is invisible to non-followers and he has to approve the followers rather than block those he doesn't want as many of us do from time to time. Clearly a guy with something to hide. [Alex Chambers has gone visible on Twitter. Not a pretty sight]

But no never mind. Here's an encouraging chunk of an article on the affair in the Oxford Uni students on line magazine, Cherwell:

And Aliya Yule, a member of OULC and organising member of Oxford Jewish Students for Justice in Palestine, said "We are saddened to see the very serious allegation of anti-Semitism being used as an argument against those standing up for Palestinian human rights: it is imperative to reiterate that being critical of Israeli apartheid is not in itself anti-Semitic. Oxford Jewish Students for Justice in Palestine is delighted that OULC voted to endorse Israeli Apartheid Week, and we are proud to be helping organise a week committed to anti-racist, anti-colonial politics.

"As Jewish students, we are committed to the ongoing battle against anti-Semitism, and we don't tolerate it from any quarter. The OULC meeting saw much healthy debate, and none of it was anti-Semitic. Passionate supporters of Israel like Alex Chalmers are of course entitled to their strongly held views, but so too are those of us profoundly concerned by Israel's human rights abuses. Anti-Semitism is a poison, and it shouldn't be cheapened by misleading allegations like this."

Well done Aliya! I never thought I'd find myself praising Aliya.

Latest News from Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign Building effective solidarity with the Palestinian people

Scottish PSC E-news: 16 February 2016 EDINBURGH: Join us at the Scottish Parliament

Thursday 25th February, 11am Say No2BrandIsrael @ the Parliament We often hear that the the campaign to boycott Israel isn't working and will never succeed. The irony is that we hear it most often from those who oppose the boycott because of their support for Israel. During the fight against apartheid South Africa, the white regime's supporters relied upon their friends in London and Washington to fight the boycott movement. Today we see the same rallying calls being issued from Tel Aviv and once again being answered by their Tory supporters. On 25 February a  motion from Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw will be debated in the Scottish Parliament which attempts to whitewash the brutality of the Israeli government and opposes the peaceful Boycott Divestment and Sanction movement. Join us in solidarity with the resistance to the Israeli attacks on Palestinian culture from 11am to 2pm at the Scottish Parliament.  Read full details

GLASGOW: SPSC members in 'racism trial Thursday 25th February, 10am @ Glasgow Sheriff Court We insist these charges are a scandal and can be shown to be so. Every legal or police harrassment of SPSC members for BDS activities has so far ended in ignominious failure. Your presence in the courtroom during the trial will be a welcome gesture of solidarity and an opportunity to express opposition to the intensifying efforts in Britain to criminalise peaceful BDS campaigning in solidarity with the Palestinian people. (Please text/call 0795 800 2591 to let us know you're planning to attend.)  Read full details

UK Government to criminalise BDS Write to your MP Write to your MSPs David Cameron is sending one of his ministers to Israel to announce the criminalisation of BDS. Faced with growing support for the divestment of public pension funds from Israel and arms companies, Israel has once again turned to its friends in Westminster for help. Proof if proof were needed that BDS is working.  Read full details         Meetings & actions Monday 22 February, Electron Club, CCA, Glasgow 7pm Gaza: Devastation and Resistance A report from Scottish PSC member Phil Chetwynd after a recent visit to Gaza. Thursday 25 February, Sheriff Court, Glasgow  10am SPSC members in "racism" trial Thursday 25 February, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh 11am Say no2BrandIsrael at the Parliament Latest articles Anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia and dubious allegation of academic anti-Jewish racism at an Edinburgh university … Read full article Pro-Israel organisations and Crown on the defensive as Sheriff throws out charge against Palestine campaigner … Read full article

Your support is vital Over recent months Israel has stepped up its attacks on the solidarity movement across the world. Here in Scotland they have supported the setting up of a number of groups, a reflection of the impact we are having. But to carry on this work we need your support. Join Scottish PSC today and help us build effective solidarity with the Palestinian people. We are an entirely voluntary organisation and need your continued support. JOIN DONATE Contact    Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign 101 Rose Street South Lane, Edinburgh EH2 3JG 0131 208 1948 www.scottishpsc.org.uk campaign@scottishpsc.org.uk Facebook www.facebook.com/scottishpsc Twitter  @scottishpsc YouTube spsc tv channel

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network Spring Tour 2016 Schedule

Spring Tour Schedule Locations across the U.S. From February through May of 2016, we will be visiting schools and cities across the country to offer presentations as well as support local organizing efforts. This is a great opportunity for people interested in learning more about IJAN’s work, anti-Zionist organizing, and about joining IJAN or forming a new chapter in your location.  Below are dates already booked -- join us if we are in your area! To schedule a presentation or meeting with one of our organizers, please contact us at info@ijan.org You can also visit our website or check out ourtour announcement for more information on presentations and workshops. February 18th – UCLA – Business of Backlash February 19th – UC Irvine – Unlearning Zionism February 28th – Austin, TX – TBD March 5th & 6th – Atlanta, GA – Case of Jews Against Zionism/TBD April 6th – New York, NY – TBD April 19th – Cornell – Greenwashing the Business of Backlash April 20th – Cincinnati, OH – Business of Backlash April 22nd – CSU Long Beach – Israel's Worldwide Role in Repression

More dates and locations to be announced soon! Or get live updates at #IJANTour

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network Argentina :: Canada :: England :: Europe :: India :: Israel :: United States info@ijan.org :: ijan.org © International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network Our mailing address is: International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network P.O. Box 29724 Oakland, California 94604 US

Something rotten about allegations of antisemitism in the Oxford University Labour Club

I first caught wind of these allegations of antisemitism within the Oxford University Labour Club from Harry's Place.  I immediately suspected that the allegations were false not simply because they appeared on Harry's Place but because they have come in the wake of the OULC deciding to support Israel Apartheid Week on campus, something which, of itself, is clearly not antisemitic.

Now look at the quote in the Harry's Place post:

“Whether it be members of the Executive throwing around the term ‘Zio’ (a term for Jews usually confined to websites run by the Ku Klux Klan) with casual abandon, senior members of the club expressing their ‘solidarity’ with Hamas and explitictly [sic] defending their tactics of indiscriminately murdering civilians, or a former Co-Chair claiming that ‘most accusations of antisemitism are just the Zionists crying wolf’, a large proportion of both OULC and the student left in Oxford more generally have some kind of problem with Jews. The decision of the club to endorse a movement with a history of targetting [sic] and harassing Jewish students and inviting antisemitic speakers to campuses, despite the concerns of Jewish students, illustrates how uneven and insincere much of the active membership is”.

It all looks very strawman. Let's break it down a bit:

 members of the Executive throwing around the term ‘Zio’ (a term for Jews usually confined to websites run by the Ku Klux Klan) with casual abandon.

The term, "Zio" is simply short for Zionist and is not confined to sites run by the Klan.

 senior members of the club expressing their ‘solidarity’ with Hamas and explitictly [sic] defending their tactics of indiscriminately murdering civilians, 

Solidarity with armed resistance to Israel whatever form it takes is not, of itself, antisemitic.Of course if attacks are indiscriminate or target civilians then that is to be condemned but the failure or refusal to do so or even to support such attacks is not of itself antisemitic.

a former Co-Chair claiming that ‘most accusations of antisemitism are just the Zionists crying wolf’ 

Most allegations of antisemitism are false and many are themselves antisemitic.

a large proportion of both OULC and the student left in Oxford more generally have some kind of problem with Jews.

This isn't just vacuous, it's antisemitic as it conflates Jews, Zionists and Israel.  That of course is without noting the absence of any links, names or anything that could qualify as evidence.

Now, given the flimsy and inarticulately expressed nature of the charges I would hope for this to be a repeat of the Zionists' biggest public humiliation involving false allegations of antisemitism.  I'm referring to the Fraser v University and College Union case which had the great and the good of the Zionist movement in the UK denounced by the tribunal as a bunch of "exaggerators, manipulators and arrogant liars".  But whereas this latest batch of allegations hasn't gone forensic it has got more legs than the FUCU case did.  Harry's Place has run the *story* as have The Telegraph (twice*) and The Guardian. Ironically one of the Telegraph pieces was written by one of the people described as an arrogant liar by the FUCU tribunal, Jeremy Newmark.  Now that might be a good omen for the cause of truth.  The problem right now is that it is all evidence free mud slinging and the sellouts at the Labour Party have decided to take the Zio's seriously but let's just see what happens.

*Woops. three times

A *Real* Celebrity Endorsement for Jews Sans Frontieres

I want to keep this Tweet safe in case Roseanne Barr thinks better of it when she sobers up or gets over whatever it is that's upset her.

She used to follow Jews sans frontieres on Twitter but flipped out at me a few years ago over something I can't quite remember. I don't know if she unfollowed but she blocked JSF. Clearly blocking doesn't prevent a blocker from hassling a blockee and clearly she still likes to lurk and look.

She's a fickle one, I must say.  She followed JSF when she knew I was anti-Zionist because the account was described as an anti-Zionist account. I didn't follow her account much but I did notice her promoting Gilad Atzmon once upon a time and possibly after she blocked JSF.

Anyway, my guess is that she did see herself as anti-Zionist for a time but that she was happy to promote the conspiracist fringe of the movement and then crossed that thin barely existent line between antisemitism and Zionism.  Which brings me neatly to where this mini-twitter spat began with an aide to Bibi Netanyahu calling a Jewish American ambassador a "little Jew boy" thus highlighting that Zionism is as racist against Jews as antisemitism is.  Mind you she doesn't shed much light on why her name on Twitter is @therealroseanne.  Even Roseanne doesn't seem to know the real Roseanne.  Maybe she's just trying to convince herself.

Wo Sind Die Barrikaden? A very good question asked by Leon Rosselson et al

Where Are the Barricades CD by Leon Rosselson

NOW AVAILABLE

THE FINAL RECORDING.  14 songs, mostly from recent years,  ranging from the humorous to the poignant and from the lyrical to the satirical. Stories for our times, musically varied and not a word out of place. 

Track List:  1. FULL MARKS FOR CHARLIE  2. WHERE ARE THE BARRICADES?  3. LOOTERS 4. BENEFITS  5. SIXTY QUID A WEEK  6. I'M GOING WHERE THE SUITS WILL SHINE MY SHOES 7. LET'S GIVE THANKS  9. REJOICE  8.  MARITAL DIARIES  10. FAIR'S FAIR  11. ACTIVE AGEING  12. PARIS IN THE RAIN 13. THE BALLAD OF RIVKA & MOHAMMED  14. FOUR DEGREES CELSIUS  15.  AT DAWN
With Roy Bailey, Robb Johnson, John Kirkpatrick, Liz Mansfield, Janet Russell and Fiz Shapur.

Price: £12

Postage to the UK included in the price.  

Buy from my website (www.leonrosselson.co.uk) or send a cheque made out to Fuse Records to 28 Park Chase, Wembley, Middlesex HA9 8EH. 

Gideon Levy on Israel's summary executions

From Ha'aretz premium via google cache:

Yes, Israel Is Executing Palestinians Without Trial

In 2016, one doesn’t have to be Adolf Eichmann to be executed in Israel – it’s enough to be a teenage Palestinian girl with scissors.

Gideon Levy Jan 17, 2016 5:18 AM


An illustrative image of a soldier securing a Jerusalem bus. Olivier Fitoussi

We should call it like it is: Israel executes people without trial nearly every day. Any other description is a lie. If there was once discussion here about the death penalty for terrorists, now they are executed even without trial (and without discussion). If once there was debate over the rules of engagement, today it’s clear: we shoot to kill – any suspicious Palestinian.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan outlined the situation clearly when he said, “Every terrorist should know he will not survive the attack he is about to commit” – and almost every politician joined him in nauseating unison, from Yair Lapid on up. Never have so many licenses to kill been handed out here, nor has the finger been so itchy on the trigger.

In 2016, one doesn’t have to be Adolf Eichmann to be executed here – it’s enough to be a teenage Palestinian girl with scissors. The firing squads are active every day. Soldiers, police and civilians shoot those who stabbed Israelis, or tried to stab them or were suspected of doing so, and at those who run down Israelis in their cars or appear to have done so.

In most cases, there was no need to shoot – and certainly not to kill. In a good many of the cases, the shooters’ lives were not in danger. They shot people to death who were holding a knife or even scissors, or people who just put their hands in their pockets or lost control of their car.

They shot them to death indiscriminately – women, men, teenage girls, teenage boys. They shot them when they were standing, and even after they were no longer a threat. They shot to kill, to punish, to release their anger, and to take revenge. There is such contempt here that these incidents are barely covered in the media.
Last Saturday, soldiers at the Beka’ot checkpoint (called Hamra by the Palestinians) in the Jordan Valley killed businessman Said Abu al-Wafa, 35, a father of four, with 11 bullets. At the same time, they also killed Ali Abu Maryam, a 21-year-old farm laborer and student, with three bullets. The Israel Defense Forces did not explain the killing of the two men, except to say there was a suspicion that someone had drawn a knife. There are security cameras at the site, but the IDF has not released video footage of the incident.

Last month, other IDF soldiers killed Nashat Asfur, a father of three who worked at an Israeli chicken slaughterhouse. They shot him in his village, Sinjil, from 150 meters away, while he was walking home from a wedding. Earlier this month, Mahdia Hammad – a 40-year-old mother of four – was driving home through her village, Silwad. Border Police officers sprayed her car with dozens of bullets after they suspected she intended to run them over.

The soldiers didn’t even suspect cosmetology student Samah Abdallah, 18, of anything. Soldiers shot her father’s car “by mistake,” killing her; they had suspected a 16-year-old pedestrian, Alaa al-Hashash, of trying to stab them. They executed him as well, of course.

They also killed Ashrakat Qattanani, 16, who was holding a knife and running after an Israeli woman. First a settler ran her over with his car, and when she was lying injured on the ground, soldiers and settlers shot her at least four times. Execution – what else?

And when soldiers shot Lafi Awad, 20, in his back while he was fleeing after throwing stones, was that not an execution?

These are only a few of the cases I have documented over the past few weeks in Haaretz. The website of the human rights group B’Tselem has a list of 12 more cases of executions.

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, one of the few ministers with a conscience left in the world, demanded that these killings be investigated. There is no demand more moral and just than this. It should have come from our own justice minister.

Israel responded with its usual howls. The prime minister said this was “outrageous, immoral and unjust.” And Benjamin Netanyahu understands those terms: That is exactly how to describe Israel’s campaign of criminal executions under his leadership.


Gideon Levy
Haaretz Correspondent
 

On the death of David Bowie and Bob Dylan

Last night, for the first time, I saw Bob Dylan in an advert on either television or YoutTube, I don't remember which.  I searched and found it just now on YouTube.  It's an advert for some IBM product.  Here it is:

Poor fella. He must be broke. 

So anyway, this morning a friend of mine woke me with a text message to say "Bowie dead". Now I don't know if Bowie ever did tv or YouTube or any other kind of adverts but I certainly don't remember any. I gave up on Bowie in the mid-seventies when I found his image changes kind of crassly commercial. Dylan on the other hand seemed kind of deep for a time. It wasn't til the late seventies/early eighties I lost patience with him and then I think it was over politics or religion or maybe both.

In all the coverage I have seen today about David Bowie's career he did seem to come across as a man of considerable artistic integrity, except for one low point that he himself alluded to in an interview and that was his disco period. I wonder if Dylan has the same self-awareness.

UPDATE: I've changed the Bob Dylan/IBM video from the short version to the extended version. I had to download the extended and then upload it because it couldn't be embedded. Maybe it'll get snaffled soon enough in which case follow the links.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Tony Greenstein has an interesting take on the passing of David Bowie with a bit of context explaining why he was/is such a hit with the media:

It is noticeable how, in his death, Bowie has been hailed as the ultimate rebel by the BBC and the corporate media.  It suggests that his rebellion was one of style not substance.

 The post is subtitled, Ziggy's flirtation with fascism.

Are we all about to be Charlie Hebdo again?

I ask because I just saw an article from (I think) yesterday's Observer. I only think it was because it's on The Guardian website and dated yesterday.  The Guardian doesn't seem to do that "article history" thing any more and I don't buy the print editions so I can't be sure if the article was in print or not.  Anyway, the article was by some chap who writes for Charlie Hebdo who is really angry because he claims that the English speaking critics of Charlie Hebdo don't know French.  I don't know who specifically he is referring to or how he knows they don't know French but that's what he claims to be so cross about.

The headline of the article is The scurrilous lies written about Charlie Hebdo.  The subtitle says:

A year after the Charlie Hebdo killings, francophone writer Robert McLiam Wilson deplores the reports in English by the ignorant for the ignorant

Yup, the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo killings is on 7th January and so Robert McLiam Wilson is getting uptight about Charlie Hebdo's critics.

The thing is he was also similarly, indeed equally, uptight nine months ago in April last year when he wrote pretty much the same article for New Statesman.  That one was titled, If you don’t speak French, how can you judge if Charlie Hebdo is racist?

Now I can well understand this guy's feelings of hurt and anger over the atrocity at the Charlie Hebdo offices. What I don't get is how he can loose off about the knowledge of French (or lack of) of people he doesn't seem to know or name. I also don't get why the Observer or the Guardian was so quick to publish an article so similar to one he wrote only nine months ago.

Should Saudi Arabia behead, er, be head of key UN Human Rights Council panel?

Sorry, that headline was a paraphrase of a joke in Private Eye magazine.  I've just seen these cartoons in The Independent so I thought I'd reproduce them here.

Here's the first:

It's from this tweet from someone calling themselves the Power of One or @france7776.

Here's the second from Carlos Latuff:



The third is from Nat Shupe:



And the fourth is from Dr Kailash Chand:



Tony Greenstein has a post on the BBC's coverage of the Saudi executions on his blog.

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network: Building Power in 2016

IJAN is committed to grassroots organizing and grassroots fundraising. Your contributions, whether $5, $50, or $500 can really make a difference. Dear IJAN Supporter, Thanks to everyone for supporting our work in 2015. We are looking forward to another year of building power in 2016 and organizing in the United States, Canada, Spain, France and Argentina. We have some important projects planned for the year that we hope to get your support in making happen. In 2016, we plan to release an Anti-Zionist Primer with entries that define and describe key terms from an anti-Zionist perspective. We hope it will provide a tool for internal and external education. The primer will include entries on settler colonialism, genocide, Zionism, anti-semitism, joint struggle and more. Below is an excerpt from the anti-Zionism entry:             “Radical anti-Zionists oppose the colonial and racist nature of the state                and its role in maintaining Western control in the region, and work                toward a redistribution of power and resources in Palestine, in the                region, and globally. It emerges from anti-colonial, anti-racist, working                class, and anti-capitalist principles and movements.” If you can contribute $25, we can print 25 Anti-Zionist Primers In the spring, we are doing a tour through schools and cities across the U.S. with our report, The Business of Backlash: The Attack on the Palestinian Movement and Other Movements for Social Justice. We will be offering presentations, workshops and strategy sessions on this report as well as on topics such as pinkwashing (Israel’s claim to being a safe haven for Palestinian queers while they are actually subjected to the consequences of Israeli colonization and militarization) and greenwashing (using environmentalism to cover up ecological destruction and ethnic cleansing in Palestine).Please contact us if you are interested in scheduling a speaker to come to your town, school, or organization.   Your contribution of $50 or more will help toward travel expenses to host an IJAN presentation at campuses and cities across the United States and Canada. We will also continue our strategic defense locally and internationally, specifically around Zionist institutions using false claims of anti-semitism to propagate Islamophobic messaging. Finally, on March 30, 2016 – Palestinian Land Day, as part of the US Campaign to Stop the Jewish National Fund (JNF) we are filing a complaint to the IRS to investigate the charity status of the JNF. The filing will be supported by Tax Day actions and a taxpayer’s petition across the United States.   We appreciate your continued support. Please consider donating to IJAN in your end of year donations. May 2016 bring us victories in the face of challenges and humanity in the face of brutality, The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network P.S. Help us out by sending this email along to two or three of your friends who might support our work. We do not receive institutional support, we depend on our communities' support.
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network Argentina :: Canada :: England :: Europe :: India :: Israel :: United States ijan@ijsn.net :: ijan.org © International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

When Benn didn't meet Benjamin

The greatest pro-war orator of all time, Hilary Benn, appears to have been snubbed by Bibi during a visit to occcupied Palestine.  Here's the Jewish Chronicle's report:

Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn made a low-profile visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories this week.

Accompanied by a political adviser, he landed at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv on Monday morning for the start of the three-day tour.

Mr Benn - who avoided press interviews during the trip - started by travelling to east Jerusalem with the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. On Tuesday, he laid a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum.

Mr Benn had a series of private meetings with senior Knesset members and Palestinian Authority representatives.

He met PA president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and discussed settlements and a two-state solution.

So he met everyone who's anyone under the entity's rule with one fairly important exception:

It is thought many of his meetings were set up while on the road in Israel, with a late request to see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unable to be scheduled.

It's not known if he put in a similar "I was in the neighbourhood so I thought I'd pop by" request to Hamas but I'm guessing he didn't. In fact, taking his penchant for both Israel and for the UK's wars in the middle east, Mr Benn appears to be touting himself as a chip off the Blairite rather than the Bennite block. Maybe they'll make Benn a peace envoy one day but I am surprised Bibi couldn't or wouldn't make time for him.