Spot the difference at The Guardian

The Guardian ran an article by Peter Beaumont on Friday with the headline, Why are French Jews returning to Israel in such numbers?  Someone emailed me about it wondering why The Guardian was promoting the idea that Jews settling in Palestine amounted to "returning".

I read the article and found that whilst Peter Beaumont referred to Jewish "immigration" he didn't once use the word "return" or "returning" so I tweeted this query to him:

.@petersbeaumont writes of Jews' "immigration" to Israel. @guardiannews headline says "returning" http://t.co/tmX2nDjQja … Who wrote latter?
— Jews Sans Frontieres (@jewssf) January 16, 2015

Unfortunately I didn't do a screengrab but here is a screengrab of The Guardian's tweet of the article:

And here's the embed though, on past performance it might not last:

Why are French Jews returning to Israel in such numbers? http://t.co/WAi6XE93lq
— The Guardian (@guardian) January 16, 2015

Anyway, now look at the headline of the article itself:

Why are French Jews heading to Israel in such numbers?

Now scroll down the article and look for where they say they amended it.  Don't spend too long on it because you won't find it.  I thought it was standard practice at The Guardian to announce their amendments.

Anyway, I wonder what led to their correcting the headline.  In fact I asked Peter Beaumont:

Spot the difference at @guardiannews between this http://t.co/eDyqWJ1VWL and this: https://t.co/qthomIVBC7 Thank @petersbeaumont or me?
— Jews Sans Frontieres (@jewssf) January 18, 2015

I'm guessing he won't answer but he does seem to be one of the good guys at the graun, in fact, he's well worth a follow on twitter.

World turns upside down as it falls to The Daily Mail to report French ban on March for Gaza

Look at this in The Daily Mail:

France's Socialist government provoked outrage today by becoming the first in the world to ban protests against Israeli action in Palestine.

In what is viewed as an outrageous attack on democracy, Socialist Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said mass demonstrations planned for the weekend should be halted.

Mr Cazeneuve said there was a ‘threat to public order’, while opponents said he was ‘criminalising’ popular support of the Palestinian people.

Thousands were set to march against the ongoing slaughter in Gaza, calling for an immediate end to hostilities in which civilians including many children have been killed.

Cor! did you see that?  The Daily Mail condemning the "slaughter in Gaza" where "many children have been killed"?

Anyway, let's read on:

There were false claims made last week that synagogues in Paris had been targeted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

In fact videos showed armed vigilantes from a group called the Jewish Defence League (LDJ) baiting demonstrators into fights.

I remember reading about synagogues being attacked and then something or other about the JDL attacking Palestine solidarity people.  I'm so used to zionists lying about such things I didn't take a whole lot of notice.  Again I'm amazed that The Daily Mail (home of Mad Melanie Phillips) is breaking the news on this.

But again let's read on:

There were no arrests among the LDJ, despite them fighting and smashing up property in full view of the police.

Six pro-Palestine protestors were arrested for a variety of public order offences, but none had been anywhere near Paris synagogues, which remained undamaged.

A judicial enquiry is set to be launched into the false allegations made about the synagogue attacks – ones which people claim were made up to demonise supporters of Palestine by associating them with anti-Semitism.

On Friday night lawyers for a number of groups hoping to campaign on behalf of Palestine on Saturday lodged an appeal against the ban in a Paris court.

I don't know where to begin with my thoughts on this but let's take it from the top.  France, a country that has seen more than a few violent demonstrations over many things from Algeria to the definition of lamb (or was it sheep meat?), has banned a demo for Palestine.  It has done so on the pretext that passed violence could happen again.  The violence of the previous demos was caused by the judeo-nazis of the Jewish Defence League but it was Palestine solidarity demonstrators that were arrested.

Well let's see how the judicial review turns out but I don't hold out much hope.

French Holocaust Rescuers Boycott Zionist Holocaust Memorial Event

This is from The Forward:

PARIS — A French organization that saved Jews during the Holocaust has declined to attend a commemoration because it was organized by pro-Israel Jews.

The Marseille branch of CIMADE, a French Protestant group established in 1939, declined to attend the region’s main memorial ceremony for Jewish Holocaust victims because of the pro-Israel attitude of CRIF, the umbrella group representing French Jewish communities, which organized the event together with the municipality.

The values that led CIMADE to save Jews make the group “equally committed to oppose the colonial, discriminatory and bellicose policy of Israel with regards to the Palestinians,” CIMADE regional deputies Françoise Rocheteau and Jean-Pierre Cavalie wrote in a letter to the local CRIF branch on Dec. 21. It also said CIMADE was determined to fight “apartheid.”

The letter, which was published online on Feb. 11 by a group which promotes a boycott of Israel, was a reply to an invitation extended by CRIF to CIMADE to attend the 70th commemoration on Jan. 20 of the deportation and subsequent murder of thousands of local Jews.

Marseille had a Jewish population of 39,000 in 1939, according to Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People. Only 10,000 remained after the Holocaust. CIMADE organized “vital relief and later resistance” in connection with the murders, according to Yad Vashem, and helped smuggle Jews to safety. Yad Vashem named Madeleine Barot, who headed CIMADE during the Holocaust, a Righteous among the Nations in 1988. She passed away seven years later.

“We understand our positions may appear unacceptable, making us unwelcome at your commemoration,” the CIMADE representatives wrote. “We cannot keep silent on our convictions but do not wish to cause a scandal.”

It's interesting that they're trying a softly softly approach.  I wonder if CRIF will appreciate that. 

Depardieu off piste again?

Or should that be piste off?  Whatever.  According to this Guardian article Gérard Depardieu has been granted Russian citizenship by Russia's first citizen, Vladimir Putin:

Gérard Depardieu, the French actor who has been sparring with his native country over taxes, has been granted Russian citizenship.

A brief announcement on the Kremlin website said the president, Vladimir Putin, signed the citizenship grant on Thursday.

Depardieu is angered by François Hollande's attempt to raise taxes on the mega-rich to 75%. Russia has a flat income tax of 13%.

A representative for Depardieu declined to say whether he had accepted the offer and refused all comment.

Depardieu has made more than 150 films, among them the 1991 comedy Green Card about a man who enters into a marriage of convenience in order to get US residency.

Depardieu said in an open letter published in mid-December that he would turn over his passport and French social security card.

His subsequent decision to move to tax-friendly Belgium was slammed by Hollande's government.

"I'm a true European, a citizen of the world," Depardieu wrote in the letter.

The tax on millionaires was struck down by France's highest court last month but the government has promised to resubmit the law in a slightly different form soon.

Depardieu is well known in Russia, where he appears in an ad for Sovietsky Bank's credit card and is prominently featured on the bank's home page.

France's civil code says a person must have another nationality in order to give up French citizenship because it is forbidden to be stateless. Thursday's decision by the Kremlin appears to fulfil that requirement.

So Depardieu's not the only one who's piste off.  But what's in it for Putin or Russia?

France's "justice" persecutes BDS

On 29th October, representatives of CAPJPO Europpalestine, a French BDS group, are to appear in a French court in Paris, to answer charges that publishing the above video of a BDS action that took place in July 2009 at a Carrefour supermarket in Avry, constituted an "offense of incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence against a group of people on account of their belonging to the Israeli nation."

The plaintiff, the "National Bureau of vigilance against antisemitism (because, naturally, according to antisemites and fake "vigilantes against antisemitism" alike, to speak against Israel is to attack Jews for being Jewish), is looking for opportunities to promote repression of Palestine solidarity activism, and the French state is more than happy to oblige. Europalestine was chosen out either randomly or out of convenience. As a matter of fact, the action was sponsored by a long list of organizations, including a Jewish group (IJAN) and a national political party (the New Anti-Capitalist Party), both of which it would probably be counter-productive for the Zionists to attack in court.

CAPJPO is asking everybody to host this video in solidarity with their struggle against this spurious accusation of racism, which targets political expression, uses laws against racism to defend war crimes, and is a scandal given the magnitude of the real racism that is spearheaded by the state of Israel and defended by this judicial action.

So please host this video.*

The cited activists also ask everybody to write to

Monsieur le Procureur de la République
près du Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris
Palais de Justice 14, quai des Orfèvres,
75001 Paris, France,

and ask to be included among those charged for racial incitement. We should be proud of being "accused" of associations with such BDS actions against Israeli apartheid. To be accused of racism by such racist rascals is a badge of honor.

Likewise, please take action to protest this type of attempt to persecute activists and to declare solidarity with Palestinians "racist."

This latest judicial persecution is not a single incident but a campaign: This month will come to appeal the conviction of Sakina Arnaud for racial incitement for having damaged an Israeli product packaging. Next month, three activists from Perpignian, Yamina Tadjeur, Jeanne Rousseau et Bernard Cholet From "Collective 66 for Peace and Justice in Palestine" are going to be tried for BDS. Later in October come to trial the cases of Green Party activist Alima Boumedien-Thiery and New Anti-Capitalist Party activist, Omar Salouti. There are probably many more in the pipeline.

Please let the Paris court know that this is not a "French" matter. It is a universal human rights matter, and we've taken notice!

__________________________________

*(BTW, all of you fascist trolls who "stood in solidarity" with Harry's Sewage, this is your opportunity to show that you really care about freedom of expression, not just free smearing of antizionist activists. And no, I don't really expect that you would do it. I'm only pointing it out for the benefit of those confused leftists who don't understand who they are really dealing with.)

Paris: Action against the inauguration of the Ethnic Cleansing Promenade

The Mayor of Paris, in the presence of nuclear proliferator extraoridnaire Shimon Peres, inaugurated a naming of a Parisian promenade after Ben Gurion.

Some Parisians didn't like having to stroll the banks of the Seine on the new "ethnic cleansing" promenade.

The Ben Gurion promenade is not just an affront to Palestinians and a show of support for Israel a year after the Gaza slaughter. It is also a white French affirmation of France's own colonial history. It is primarily an establishment "up yours" to the immigrants from Algeria and Africa, Rwanda, the French Caribbeans and Haiti. It is a statement of white pride. That is how it ought to be understood universally. Many French Jews are proud of this promenade and think it is a great victory of theirs. It could be their victory, but only in the wake of a colossal betrayal. The new Ben Gurion Esplanade is a white messianic text that dares not speak its name. It is yet confined to riddles; but it is slouching fast to Paris to be born. In the video you can hear the mayor say that he "fully assumes, nay claims, the legitimacy of Ben Gurion's struggle". One shouldn't doubt that he is ready to claim that struggle, namely, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and its transformation into a European colonial settler state, as all of France's political class is. "Ben Gurion" is the figure of speech, Palestine is its literal referent, Jacques Massu is its allegorical meaning and the Marechal Pétain is its timeless eschaton.

From now on, never visit Paris without a stroll on the Esplanade Marechal Pétain.