| ''Combating International Islamophobia Act'' can easily be misused to condemn Israel defending itself from terrornoreply@blogger.com (Unknown), 17 De | | The US House of Representatives approved a bill Tuesday that seeks to combat Islamophobia around the world - but not within the United States. The bill is supposed to create an Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia in the State Department, which only deals with foreign affairs.
The text of the bill is problematic.
Firstly, it doesn't define Islamophobia. Given that we have seen any criticism of any Muslim being used as examples of "Islamophobia," a definition is critical. Its absence means that the envoy who heads this department has wide latitude in deciding what is and isn't Islamophobic.
The bill does give some examples of a subset of things that it does consider Islamophobic:
Acts of physical violence against, or harassment of, members of the Muslim community, and acts of violence against, or vandalism of, Muslim community institutions, including schools, mosques, and cemeteries. The first part is too vague. It need to say that an act of violence or harassment is Islamophobic only if the act was clearly directed against Muslims as Muslims. A random shooting or looting a store that happens to be Muslim-owned is not necessarily Islamophobic; there needs to be evidence that the attack was meant to target Muslims. (The second part is not bad -one can assume that an attack against a mosque or a Muslim cemetery is indeed aimed at the Muslim community.)
Instances of...Read More |
From Ian: Charging Israel with apartheid turns int'l law on its head - NGO Monitor Attempts to tar Israel as an apartheid state under international law, twist legal tools for political ends, a new NGO Monitor report argues. Authored by British Barrister Joshua Kern and NGO Monitor Legal Advisor Anne Herzberg, the report delves deep into legal sources to identify what "apartheid" means as a crime in concrete legal terms as opposed to its colloquial and political uses. The report comes following non-governmental organizations (NGOs) increasing campaign to apply the "apartheid" label to Israel not only in political discourse but lobbying the International Criminal Court (ICC) to charge Israelis with this crime and bolstering related campaigns at the UN. "Apartheid is a grave accusation, but claims of apartheid have been made imprecisely and casually by many NGOs… the definition of apartheid is untested in international law as no court has yet examined the crime, and there is comparatively little legal writing available," says the report. NGO Monitor views the report as an opportunity to address "this legal vacuum and provides a full analysis grounded in international law of the elements of apartheid as a crime against humanity." According to the report, "the elements of the crime have been broadened by Human Rights Watch [HRW] and others in a manner...Read More |
It's funny that they accuse us of "whataboutism".... * * * * * *
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Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory. Check out their Facebook page. West Hempstead, December 19 - Saturation of the environment with "seasonal" songs has driven one homeowner in this Long Island hamlet, along with his wife and children, to pack up and move to Israel. Adam Shulman, 30, told PreOccupied Territory today that the family's Aliyah, literally "ascent" in Hebrew, will take place next week, following what the father of three characterized as "year after year of the same musical assault on the ears and mind every time you walk into a store or turn on the radio, and it gets worse as time goes on." Shulman spoke to journalists as movers loaded the family's furniture and other possessions into a truck for shipment to Haifa, and thence by truck to the community of Efrata, south of Jerusalem, where they hope to find an environment blessedly devoid of lyrical references to silent nights, coming faithful, red-nosed reindeer, and bearded folk figures coming to town after making lists and checking them twice. "Three years ago, Tehilla and I resolved to escape this jingle-hellscape," he recalled, nodding to his wife of eight years. "We always knew we wanted to live in Israel, and had a vague plan to get there, but that was when we started to make concrete arrangements, because neither of us could stomach the prospect of...Read More |
From Ian: Israeli Military Leaders: Biden Nuclear Deal Poses 'Significant Threat to Israel's Security' A group of nearly 3,000 Israeli military leaders, soldiers, commanders, and intelligence officials are warning the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress that a new nuclear deal with Iran poses "a significant threat to Israel's security." These leaders, who organized under the umbrella group Israel's Defense and Security Forum (IDSF), raise concerns that the United States will sign a deal that gives Iran the cash assets needed to fund terrorism and put it on a glide path to a nuclear weapon that will be used to destroy the Jewish state, according to a letter sent last week to Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) and senior Biden administration officials. The 2015 nuclear accord "is fatally flawed and represents a significant threat to Israel's security," the Israeli leaders write, according to a copy of the letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. "Returning to this expired and flawed agreement would be a grave mistake." Iran's only goal, they say, is to create a "nuclear umbrella under which Tehran can dominate the region." The letter, sent on Dec. 9, comes as the Biden administration continues its diplomatic effort to secure a revamped nuclear deal with Iran, which would lift sanctions...Read More |
The South Africa contestant for Miss Universe, who was under huge pressure by Israel haters to withdraw from the pageant, also gained lots of support from her fellow South Africans on social media.
She wrote on Instagram, "The most beautiful turn of events is when the obstacles that were meant to tear you down, end up strengthening you in ways you never could've imagined" I decided to choose faith over fear and follow what felt right and good to my soul and I am filled with so much appreciation and gratitude for all the love and comfort I received in support of my pursuing something extremely important to me. In the run-up to the contest, NGO Citizens For Integrity (CFI) wrote an open letter to sports, arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa, calling on him to apologize for his treatment of the young woman, and reiterated it after her third place finish. Columnist for Eyewitness News, Kenneth Mokgatlhe, also called for an apology from the government: Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane, is an embodiment of resilience and bravery. She was able to secure a second-runner-up place at the Miss Universe competition in Eilat, Israel this week. This, despite an attempt...Read More |
By RealJerusalemStreets
Elder wrote his opinion after watching Miss Universe's final competition broadcast from Eilat with its positive imagery projected to world audiences.
However, while the international beauty contestants were arriving in Israel, another world championship competition was taking place in Jerusalem. The 10th Flag Football World Championship games took place in Jerusalem, Israel, from December 6 to 8th. Due to a change in the weather, the finals were held at Teddy Stadium, instead of the entire games at the Kraft Family Sports Complex. A record of 39 teams from 23 countries competed. The USA men and women won the first place trophies again as expected, but Mexico gave them serious competition coming in second in both men's and women's flag football. The opening night event was held at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel for an estimated 900 participants, players, coaches, and managers. The program held on the last night of Hanukah started with the lighting of the large Hanukah menorah by Rabbi Aharon Katz, head of the Derech Etz Chaim. For many of the players from Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Korea, Team Neutral, Thailand, and the United States it was not only the first time in Israel and...Read More |
Former Jewish Voice for Peace director Rebecca Vilkomerson tweeted: Think about the phrase "visionary heart-opening anti-Zionist book." Try to imagine the phrase "visionary heart-opening anti-"anything else. Anti-communist? Anti-white supremacist? Anti-terrorist? Anti-gay? Anti-Chinese? Anti-global warming? Anti-abortion? Anti-Muslim? There are lots of people and groups against a lot of things, and hate is an appropriate response to many outrages. But how many people who hate anything try to elevate that hate into art and poetry? I can only think of two examples. Nazi Germany turned Jew-hatred into poetry. Here is a poem "If All People Were Jews:" If all people were Jews,
What would become of the world?
No corn would grow,
No plow would move through the fields, No forester would tend the woods,
No miner would start his shift.
Jews don't even like
To sail the seas.
The steamboat would never have been invented,
Nor would the train.
No dirigible would rise
Shining into the sky.
We wouldn't have gunpowder,
Nor electric lights.
For the Jew can barter,
But he cannot invent. ... What can the Jew give,
He who has nothing,
Yet presumes to
Call himself "elect"?
Only the devil knows,
For the devil loves pride and arrogance.
Thank God there are still
People other than Jews on earth! And now the "anti-Zionist" community, with books...Read More |
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