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Jewish Journal

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April 9, 2019

Israeli Apartheid Week at Occidental College Rattles Student

Leave a Comment / Online /

A freshman at Occidental College has shared his story of how Israeli Apartheid Week, which is happening this week at the Los Angeles college, has affected him.

According to the Occidental student, who is 19-years-old, from Los Angeles and declined to be named out of fear it would lead to a difficult situation on campus, a student group called Jewish Student Union erected a wall on campus that falsely describes Israeli atrocities.

“They erected a wall panel showing how Israelis are killing refugees and the like; they are circulating articles saying how Zionism is connected to white supremacy and the like. I was hoping for a political dialogue here but I felt it was a personal affront against Zionism and Jews,” the student said in an April 9 phone interview.

According to the website of Occidental College, Israeli Apartheid Week at the college is focused on “Alternatives to Zionism and Jewish Political Identity.” The main groups involved are Jewish Student Union, which calls itself on Facebook a group “for self-identified progressive Jews at Oxy,” and Students for Justice in Palestine.

Events for Israeli Apartheid Week at Occidental began April 8 and continue until April 12.

The student was not sure how many other students are troubled by the displays.

Occidental has a Hillel but the organization does not get involved with these types of incidents on the campus, the student said.

According to the website of the Occidental College Hillel—aka Oxy Hillel—approximately 7-10% of students at the school are Jewish and anti-Israel attitudes are rare.

“There is not significant anti-Israel sentiment at Oxy,” the Oxy Hillel website says. “However, you should keep in mind that most Oxy students and professors tend to be more liberal and favor a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

The apartheid wall in the heart of the campus this week features a panel that has a concrete road and a dirt road, with the former for Jews and the latter for non-Jews. The panel says, “Israeli restrictions make it difficult or impossible for Palestinian Muslims and Christians to worship freely.” It also says Jews use “80% of water source” and non-Jews are “allowed 17% of water source.” It adds, ”Imagine segregation where the color of your license plate dictates which road you can drive on.”

Supporters of Israeli Apartheid Week have also been distributing a letter-to-the-editor published in the school’s newspaper that highlights “the ingrained racist and white supremacist ideology central to Zionism.”

The student chose to go to Occidental, a school with just over 2,000 undergraduates, over a larger college to feel a sense of belonging, but Israeli Apartheid Week has made school more lonely than ever, the student said.

“When I walked by that wall, I was so rattled and riled up it was hard for me to study for the rest of the night. I wanted to do something about it but I couldn’t think straight. The only thing that could calm me down is I wrote a 500-word essay on my computer and called it a night,” the student said. “I am a kind of a level-headed person. I don’t get too into these things that much, but when seen in-person it is completely different.”

On April 8, L.A. Rabbi Yonah Bookstein shared images of some of the material on display at Occidental on Twitter. Based on the images, organizers behind Israeli Apartheid Week at Occidental are distributing and displaying material that is comparing Zionism to white supremacy, highlighting segregation in Israel between Jews and non-Jews and saying Israel restricts the worship of non-Jewish people.

https://twitter.com/RabbiYonah/status/1115330099413274624

https://twitter.com/RabbiYonah/status/1115329489695694848

https://twitter.com/RabbiYonah/status/1115328435985866753

Israeli Apartheid Week at Occidental College Rattles Student Read More »

Israel’s Election Night Handbook: A Fifth Netanyahu Victory

Leave a Comment / Israel, Israel Election 2019, News, Online, Rosner's Domain /

The following comments will be updated throughout the night. So please, come back to get a clearer picture of the results (Latest Update: 07:00AM Israel Time, 9:00PM LA Time).

 

Exit Polls / Results

The larger bloc is the right-religious bloc. Some parties are still hanging close to the electoral threshold. This was a long night, but the more we see, the clearer the picture.

 

 

Netanyahu’s coalition: 67

 

Big Winner

Netanyahu. A rightwing coalition can be relatively easily assembled. Gantz cannot form a coalition. When he made his victory speech, the crowd shouted: “he is a magician”. Well – he is.

 

Other Winners

All Small Survivors: If the exit polls get it right, the following parties were saved from drowning bellow the Electoral Threshold: Kulanu, Israel Beiteinu, Shas, Meretz. It was not easy for them.

 

The Next Coalition

One bloc has clear advantage as it aims to form a coalition. The following graph is based on 94% of the vote.

 

 

Losers

Benny Gantz is not really a loser, In a short period of time he managed to form a new party and lead it to an impressive achievement. He could not alter Israel’s basic political tendencies. He could not convince the voters that he is could be a PM better than Netanyahu.

The Arab Voter decided to stay home. The outcome, as one can expect, is less Arab representation in the Knesset. From a highpoint 13 seats in the outgoing Knesset to less than 10 seats in the incoming Knesset. The leaders of the Arab parties ought to reconsider their decision to split into two lists rather than one unified list. The voters ought to think if such political apathy serves their interests.

The Labor Party managed to get 6 seats.

Naftali Bennet barely made it (or did not make it) into the next Knesset. His decision to abandon the Jewish Home and form a new party, The New Right, and his ambition to become the right’s new leader, suffered a huge blow tonight. His partner, Minister Ayelet Shaked, agreed to follow his lead. She was hesitant to begin with, and would probably recalculate her own path forward, possibly alone.

Moshe Feiglin, the leader of libertarian Zehut, was an activist, he was a member of Likud, he’s been around for a long time, always on the margins. He expected to get 6 seats, but does not get much in real world.

 

For more coverage on the 2019 Israeli election, click here. 

Israel’s Election Night Handbook: A Fifth Netanyahu Victory Read More »

Teens Arrested for Burning Swastikas Into San Dimas Lawn, Street

Leave a Comment / Online, San Gabriel Valley /

Three teenage boys were arrested on April 9 for burning swastikas into a lawn and street in San Dimas.

One of the boys is a 13-year-old from Covina, another is a 13-year-old from Hemet and the third is a 14-year-old from Long Beach. None of them have been publicly identified since they are minors.

On April 4, two swastikas were found burned into a family lawn in San Dimas; the family is not Jewish. A couple more swastikas were found later in the day burned into unincorporated street between San Dimas and Covina. On April 7, another swastika was found burned into a San Dimas street.

According to CBS Los Angeles, later on April 7 three small brush fires occurred that are believed to have been the result of the three teens using aerosol cans and cigarette lighters.

KTLA reports that investigators believe the three teens didn’t single out anyone, although the motive is still unknown.

Teens Arrested for Burning Swastikas Into San Dimas Lawn, Street Read More »

Sara Gilbert Announces She is Leaving ‘The Talk’

Leave a Comment / Entertainment /

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3uz1L9GrLU

Sara Gilbert has announced her departure from the CBS daytime chat show “The Talk,” which she created, co-hosted and produced for nine seasons. Gilbert made the announcement on the air April 9.

“This is something I have been struggling with for a while and going back and forth. But I’ve decided it’s time for me to leave the show,” Gilbert said. “I obviously love it here and this was extremely difficult.  Last season I did ‘The Conners’ and, as you know, also producing … and I loved it and felt totally empowered. But my life was slightly out of balance, and I was not spending as much time with my three kids as I would like.”

Gilbert plans to leave at the end of the current season but said she “will come back, I will guest co-host — you’re not going to get rid of me, I’ll be around.”

She will continue to appear and executive produce “The Conners,” which was renewed for another season by ABC.

Sara Gilbert Announces She is Leaving ‘The Talk’ Read More »

ADL, Other Jewish Groups Applaud Airbnb for Changing Its Policy

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The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other Jewish groups applauded Airbnb for announcing on April 9 that it would be rescinding its policy of de-listing Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria.

As first reported by Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Airbnb’s reversal came as part of a settlement with Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center, which represented several American Jews who owned housing properties in Judea and Samaria. The plaintiffs had argued that Airbnb’s policy was in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Airbnb confirmed on their website that they would be ending the policy, stating: “We understand the complexity of the issue that was addressed in our previous policy announcement, and we will continue to allow listings throughout all of the West Bank.” They will instead be donating profits from such listing toward “non-profit organizations dedicated to humanitarian aid that serve people in different parts of the world.”

Airbnb also said they have “always opposed the BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement.”

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement, “We appreciate that Airbnb and [CEO] Brian Chesky listened to us and the wider community, and course-corrected on how they implement their listing policy. We also welcome their clear rejection of BDS and embrace of the Israeli market.”

Greenblatt had sent a letter to Airbnb in November stating that the ADL was “dismayed” by Airbnb’s policy since it “further emboldened” the BDS movement. According to the ADL, Greenblatt recently met with Airbnb prior to the April 9 announcement.

Similarly, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean and director of Global Social Action Agenda at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement, “The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which denounced Airbnb’s initial decision to drop Jewish homeowners living on the West Bank as anti-Semitic, is pleased that the company has rescinded its ill-conceived political move. Airbnb can now return to its mandate of bringing people of all backgrounds together around the world, whatever their nationality, race, or religion.”

StandWithUs tweeted, “StandWithUs is proud to have fought back against @Airbnb‘s discrimination with over 8,000 emails sent opposing their anti-Israeli policy. Now, that policy has been reversed.”

Roz Rothstein, CEO and co-founder of StandWithUs, similarly tweeted that Airbnb’s reversal is “wonderful news.”

Siamak Kordestani, assistant director of the American Jewish Committee’s Los Angeles region, told the Journal via email, “We welcome Airbnb’s cancellation of its announced ban on Jewish listings in the West Bank and its explicit rejection of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement which targets Israel. Discriminatory boycotts are not a way to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”

World Jewish Congress tweeted, “Cooperation is the solution, not boycotting.”

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, president Shurat HaDin and one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, said in a statement, “The policy Airbnb announced last November was abject discrimination against Jewish users of the website. The rescinding of Airbnb’s discriminatory policy is, thus, a powerful defeat for the anti-Israel boycott movement.”

“BDS is an anti-Semitic campaign which purports to care about human rights but whose real goal is to completely replace the Jewish State with a Palestinian one,” Darshan-Leitner said. “Other international companies need to learn the lessons from Airbnb’s mistake and understand that boycotting Israel and discriminating against Jews are unlawful acts which will ultimately result in dire legal consequences, public condemnations and embarrassment. No outside party can decide for Israel what its legitimate borders will be or where Jews will be permitted to live. We commend Airbnb for recognizing that it had landed on the wrong side of this issue and changing the policy.”

ADL, Other Jewish Groups Applaud Airbnb for Changing Its Policy Read More »

Rep. Omar Featured on Newsweek Cover: ‘Changing the Conversation on Israel’

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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is being featured on the cover of Newsweek’s April 19 issue, with the story talking about how she is “changing the conversation about Israel.”

The Newsweek story, which was published online on April 9, states that Omar was frequently targeted by Republicans in speeches during the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs) conference in March for “using language easily regarded as anti-Semitic.” The article refers to AIPAC has having a “formidable political operation” that has promulgated “a decidedly unequal view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

The article goes on to describe Omar “as the most voluble—and visible—of Israel’s critics.”

“She appears to embrace the role of a political provocateur, particularly when it comes to foreign policy,” the article states. “Omar articulates a view that is rarely heard from a sitting member of Congress, one that has been forged from her first-hand experiences of war and exile.”

Among those coming to Omar’s defense in the piece are Nihad Awad, the executive director of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), stating that Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) are “not trying to fit into the historical Washington mindset, which has been unjustly pro-Israel for decades. And they represent a whole new generation of progressive activists nationwide.”

Some Democrats are concerned about Omar, as the Newsweek article notes that the Democratic Majority for Israel was recently formed by veteran Democrats to support pro-Israel Democrats in response to concerns “that the influence of Omar and other progressives will erode support for Israel within the Democratic Party.”

The Newsweek article touts “Omar and her progressive supporters” as “the first credible challenge to” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies and the “occupation of the West Bank.”

“Their successful effort to produce a resolution that condemns all forms of bigotry, instead of only Omar and anti-Semitism, was no small accomplishment, given the strength of Israel’s supporters among Democrats,” the article states, referencing the March resolution condemning various forms of bigotry.

Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper said in a statement to the Journal, “Anyway they spin it, Ilhan Omar is an anti-Semite. Quotes from CAIR themselves are part of the problem.  The truth cannot be whitewashed. Democrats are not required to be at AIPAC, but must denounce anti-Semitism within their ranks.”

Rep. Omar Featured on Newsweek Cover: ‘Changing the Conversation on Israel’ Read More »

New ADL Report Highlights ‘White Genocide’ Rhetoric on Social Media

Leave a Comment / Online, United States /

A new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released on April 9 zeroes on the “white genocide” rhetoric on social media promulgated by recent white nationalist shooters.

The ADL report notes that Robert Bowers, who was indicted for murdering 11 Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in October, frequently posted “white genocide” conspiracy theories on the far-right social media platform Gab. Bowers’ post that “HIAS [Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society] likes to bring invaders in that kill our people” before the shooting “utilizes three white supremacist rallying cries: Jews are responsible for immigration; immigration is destroying the white race; and public perception is less important than taking necessary actions to protect the white race,” according to the report notes.

“The urgency of the call to genocide against Jews is unmistakable in Gab,” the report states. “In close proximity to references to #whitegenocide, Gab users include unfiltered enthusiasm for the murder of Jews, evident in references such as ‘hitlerwasright,’ ‘tgsnt’ (a reference to the pro-Hitler documentary ‘The Greatest Story Never Told’), as well as other cryptic terms like ‘gtkrwn,’ which stands for ‘gas the kikes, race war now.’ In other words, our algorithms show that, on Gab, #whitegenocide is often paired with explicit, genocidal sentiment towards Jews.”

Brenton Tarrant, the alleged shooter in the New Zealand mosque terror attacks in March, promulgated similar rhetoric on a platform called 8-chan, which is an imageboard forum. Before the terror attacks, Tarrant wrote that it was “time to make a real life effort post” and “attack the invaders.”

“The fact that Tarrant, like Bowers, references white genocide as the motive behind his criminal act raises a troubling theory: that ‘white genocide’ acts like a virus on these platforms,” the report states. “It instructs recognizable and organized features of apocalyptic, terrorist ideology, including explicit calls to act on that information. By disguising the debate as one of ‘optics,’ the community obfuscates its genocidal intent as if it is a mere popular, political sentiment, but this practice pits one radical sub-community seeking near-term violence against another that seeks to hide its true intent until the race war fully erupts organically.”

The report concluded by stating that “Gab and 8chan fan the flames of bigotry and hatred and organize violent fantasies in online communities even as they fuel them in the real world.”

Eileen Hershenov, senior vice president for policy at the Anti-Defamation League, provided congressional testimony on the matter on April 9.

New ADL Report Highlights ‘White Genocide’ Rhetoric on Social Media Read More »

Airbnb Will Cancel Its Ban on West Bank Settlement Listings

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(JTA) — In a reversal of a 2018 policy announcement, Airbnb will not remove West Bank settlement listings from its website.

The policy change came in a court settlement Monday between the vacation rental company and a dozen American Jewish plaintiffs who had sued the company, organized by Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center, a pro-Israel law organization. A copy of the settlement obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency says that Airbnb will now allow rentals in both Palestinian areas and Israeli settlements of the West Bank.

“Airbnb takes no position on the Host-Plaintiffs’ claims, or others’ claims, to legal title to the properties on which the accommodations are located,” the court settlement reads. “All listings for accommodations located in the Affected Region [the West Bank] will at all times be permitted on its platform, subject to applicable laws, rules, and regulations.”

Airbnb announced in November that it would remove some 200 rental listings in West Bank settlements because it contended that the settlements “are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.” The movement to boycott Israel saw the decision as a victory.

But Airbnb never actually removed the listings. And about a week after the decision, Shurat Hadin organized the suit on behalf of a dozen American Jewish families, most of whom own properties in West Bank settlements. The suit was filed under the Fair Housing Act, which was meant to prevent discrimination against minorities in the United States. Because Airbnb is based in the United States, it must adhere to the act in all its listings worldwide.

The plaintiffs claimed that Airbnb was discriminating against them for being Jewish, given that it still allowed listings by Palestinian Muslims and Christians in the West Bank.

“As a provider of a service to the public, Airbnb is not permitted to refuse to provide services to selected religious group to engineer who it thinks should be allowed to live where,” Robert Tolchin, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said in a statement. “We are gratified that the legal process has worked and that as a result of the case we filed Airbnb came to recognize the mistake it had made and changed their policy.”

According to the court settlement, Airbnb does not support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

“Airbnb recognizes that its decision to apply its Policy to Subject Listings in the Affected Region has been met with strong objections by some members of the Airbnb community as well as other individuals and groups supportive of Israel,” the document reads. “Some have even sought to associate Airbnb with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (“BDS”) movement. Airbnb is clear that it does not intend, and has never intended, to align itself with the BDS movement or to otherwise position the company as adverse to any segment of its community.”

Airbnb Will Cancel Its Ban on West Bank Settlement Listings Read More »

An Anti-Zionist Orthodox Group is Paying People in Israel Not to Vote

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NEW YORK (JTA) — A Hasidic group in the United States is cutting personal checks to religious Israelis who commit to not voting in Tuesday’s election.

The campaign led by a group of Satmar Hasidim, an anti-Zionist movement with followers in New York and Israel, is aiming to essentially crowdfund a total of $12 million. Satmar sees the modern State of Israel as fundamentally illegitimate and boycotts any recognition of it — including participation in the elections.

Satmar opposes the state because it is against the establishment of a sovereign Jewish country in the Land of Israel before the coming of the Messiah.

Yoel Fried, one of the campaign organizers, said that every day legislators sits in Knesset, Israel’s parliament, they are breaking 100 Jewish laws.

“Everyone who votes has a part in forming the government of the State of Israel, that doesn’t believe in God, that doesn’t believe in the Torah,” Fried said. “We feel that we’re holding them back from breaking the commandments.”

In a speech last week, Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, one of the two grand rabbis of the Satmar movement, accused Israeli haredi Orthodox politicians of murder for partnering with Israel’s government, which has encouraged drafting haredi men into Israel’s army.

“They took part in the murder of Jewish souls and were built up by evildoers,” Teitelbaum said, according to B’hadrei Haredim, an Israeli haredi news site. “That’s how they want to build themselves.”

(Two haredi parties are represented currently in the Knesset: the Ashkenazi United Torah Judaism and the Sephardi Shas. They currently hold a total of 13 seats in the 120-seat body and sit in the governing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud.)

Teitelbaum’s fierce rhetoric doesn’t make him an outlier: An advertisement for the campaign, posted by the Twitter account @NewsIn Satmar, called the Israeli government “uprooters of Torah and haters of religion” who pose a “terrible danger projected onto future generations.”

In the campaign total of $12 million, approximately $4 million will go to haredi individuals who abstain from voting on Tuesday. To get the money, the individuals had to drop off their ID cards with representatives of the campaign earlier this week: It’s impossible to vote in Israel without presenting an ID card.

Fried estimates that 35,000 people will receive money, an average of more than $100 per person, though he says the amount of each check will differ based on the size of the individual’s family.

“Anyone that doesn’t want to go to the election, we are like paying them off,” he said. “Someone who has only one child will get less. Someone who has 10 children will get more. It’s based on the need.”

The remaining $8 million will go to haredi Orthodox schools and other educational institutions in Israel that refuse funding from the government. Fried says that beyond ideological opposition to the state itself, haredi schools are wary of accepting government funding because they feel it will make them beholden to the government’s educational requirements, like a core curriculum.

“If you take money from the government, what happens down the road is that they start to dictate your curriculum, specific things you should learn in the schools,” he said. “And since you’re taking their money, you’re bound by their laws.”

Fried said a similar initiative in 2015 raised some $3 million.

To raise the money, a group called Taharas HaKodesh, a biblical term for ritual purification, will hold a rally on Thursday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the tennis arena in Queens. The event will celebrate the campaign and the schools that refuse state funding. Fried expects 50,000 people to attend, with ticket prices ranging from $360 to $5,000.

“In general, Satmar wants to get more power,” said Rabbi Moshe Klein, a spokesman for the event. “And the way they want to do it is by funding … yeshivas and institutions who won’t go vote and who won’t take any money from the government and who will publicly announce that they have nothing [to do] with the Zionist state government.”

An Anti-Zionist Orthodox Group is Paying People in Israel Not to Vote Read More »