Head of European Humanist Association calls Shimon Peres a 'war criminal', a liar and a hypocrite

Belgian Israel-basher Pierre Galand, a much respected (and this is surreal, also highly regarded by Belgian francophone Jewish leaders) and highly influencial socialist politician and 'humanist', has called for the boycott of Shimon Peres and accused him of being a "war criminal" who behind the façade of a "man of peace" is the representative of a "criminal State".  On a previous occasion Mr Galand said that Israel was a rogue State.  He also suggested that Yithzak Rabin was a war criminal.  

On the occasion of Peres' visit to Belgium, one of the anti-Israel associations he chairs (one of them is BDS) released a statement:  "His dovish image serves to obscure the real face of this Israeli politician.  Since 2007 as President of the State of Israel, he has used his positive image to help tone down the international negative reactions to the policies of the Israeli governments who lean more and more to the right".

Pierre Galand also summoned "criminal" Shimon Peres to the last session of the Belgian kangaroo court he created (Russell Tribunal on Palestine) to be held next week in Brussels and to free Marwan Barghouti, hinting at Israel-apartheid. More on Mr Peres visit to Belgium: Belgian Jewish leaders invite head of anti-Israel university to debate with Shimon Peres.

In French: Un ancien sénateur belge traite Shimon Peres de "criminel de guerre"

'The Jews crucified Our Lord': Irish antisemitism and the complicity of the Catholic bishops

"Palestinians living in Gaza are being treated worse then [sic] animals in a zoo. Ireland must do everything we can to end Israel’s collective punishment of civilians, which is a flagrant breach of international law." (Justin Kilcullen, director of Trócaire - he is also head of CONCORD, the Brussels-based powerful European confederation of 1,600 NGOs across 21 countries for relief and development. The European Union generously provides funds to Trócaire and CONCORD.)
_____________________________________________

Ruth Dudley Edwards * @ Daily Telegraph:

Pro-Palestinian fanatics blame 'the Jews'
for Jesus' death

Sarah Honig, a recent Israeli visitor to Cahersiveen, a charming little town in County Kerry, wrote yesterday in the Jerusalem Post of being asked in its main street for a donation by three teenage boys carrying large signs saying "Free Palestine". When asked from whom Palestine was to be freed, they replied "The Jews". "Are you sure", she asked, "that this money wouldn’t fund terrorists and murderers?" She was thrown by the response: "What do you have against Palestinians? What have they done to you? They are only against Jews. Jews are evil." One of them helpfully added that the Jews "crucified Our Lord". Honig then met the teacher, who explained he had brought them out during school hours as part of a class project "to further a humanitarian goal" by inculcating a commitment to charitable work. He "nodded in agreement without a word of objection" when she told him of the children’s remarks about Jews.

Those of us who publicly address the one-sidedness of the Irish take on the Middle East are used to ill-informed and/or bigoted politicians and activists (particularly but not exclusively republican or of the Left), but the Catholic Church has been having a pernicious effect too, particularly through its official overseas development agency, Trocaire, an Irish word meaning compassion.
More HERE (In French HERE)

More on Trocaire HERE, HERE and HERE.

Norway: union rep wants to boycott the Histadrut, calls it an apartheid organization

"This is an organization only for Israeli Jews. In our world this is apartheid." Apartheid?  Arabs and other ethnic groups have had full right to membership from 1960 and Histadrut has currently over 200,000 Arab members.

Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews

The leader of Fellesforbundet (The Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions), Lars Frøysa wants to boycott the Israeli Histadrut, on the grounds that it is an apartheid organization, according to an article in Vårt Land

This is an organization only for Israeli Jews. In our world this is apartheid. We think that the labour movement has an obligation to protect all workers, says Lars Frøysa. He is leader of the local chapter at Celsa Armeringsstål in Mo i Rana, who has submitted the motion.

He further claims that in spite of the Union’s rejection of the proposal, he is convinced that they will prosper at the ballot, since members are free individuals.

Our old friend Hilde Henriksen Waage, the historian and researcher who on occasion slips into activist mode on Israel related matters, has been consulted (apparently nobody was available at the Histadrut for comments, but that may reflect a certain insensitivity and ignorance on Jewish matters, since probably they were closed for Yom Kippur observation in addition to the weekly days of rest for workers, in Israel on Friday and Saturday):

From its inception in the 1920ies, Histadrut was am important instrument for the Zionist movement in the construciton of the Israeli State. They were mainnly concerned with building their own economy separate from the Palestinian. Their goal was to ensure that Jews got the jobs as well as maintaining high salaries.
– How did LO (The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions) view them?
– Histadrut was an important reason why the Labour party and the LO embraced the Jewish project. They saw the society they wanted to create in Israel as their socialistic paradice. It was almost like a religious conversion, says Henriksen Waage, who underlines that she is not updated on the development in later years for this organization.

If our rabid Unionist, Lars Frøysa, had cared to check the facts and not only let himself be guided by his hatred of Jews in general, Israeli Jews in particular, he might have discovered that Arabs and other ethnic groups have had full right to membership from 1960 and has currently over 200,000 Arab members.

Also inconvenient is the fact that the Histadrut cooperates fully and advocates on behalf of Palestinian workers and activists. But he may not have wanted to notice that, since that would have forced the realization that Israel is not an apartheid state, also when it comes to union matters.

But that neither the VL journalist nor Henriksen Waage should be unable to find relevant information on Histadrut, in terms of historical background and current policies is disappointing, or maybe they could not be bothred to find the info?

The The Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions has indicated that it wont accept this proposal, but nevertheless has singled Israel out for special treatment on more than 4 separate items. As far as I can tell, there are none for Arab dictators, even now that it is in vogue to want to get rid of them (as long as major Norwegian interests are not jeopardized). Again.


Well some sanity has prevailed. Union rejects motion to boycott Israel

Europeans exporting hatred of Israel to South Africa

"The tribunal coordinator, former Belgian senator Pierre Galand, said the tribunal would compare Israel to apartheid South Africa, putting questions to the Jewish state about crimes against humanity."

Ben Levitas, another vice chairman of the South African Zionist Federation, told JTA that the Jewish community has expressed great concern about the tribunal.

“This is not a court that reflects public opinion," Levitas said. "They have been very selective in their choice of witnesses.”

The anti-Israel kangaroo court is the idea of a radical anti-Zionist Belgian Pierre Galand who says that Israel is a "rogue state" (for more on his anti-Israel militancy click HERE).   Among the "tribunal" patrons there is another Belgian, François Houtart, a priest, former professor at the Catholic University of Louvain and Israel hater, who was accused of having molested a young boy from his family: "In 2009, Houtart signed the Appeal for the removal of Hamas from the EU terror list and he became instrumental in the Russell Tribunal against the state of Israel. In 2010, a cousin of Houtart (female) filed an anonymous complaint to the Adriaenssens commission that her brother was sexually abused by Houtart, while he stayed at their house. The priest admits having inappropriately touched his cousin twice around 1970." The cousin decided to come forward when she heard that his supporter were working to nominate him for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.  See also: Francois Houtart, Belgian Activist Priest, Admits Sexual Abuse.  This fact doesn't seem to embarrass the "tribunal" crowd.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (JTA) -- Ten years after the notorious U.N. anti-racism conference in Durban, South Africa, that devolved into an Israel-bashing frenzy, anti-Zionist forces are mobilizing again to hold another anti-Israel conference in South Africa. This time, Israel will be on trial.

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine -- a standing organization that held two tribunals against Israel last year in Barcelona and London -- has been called for Nov . 5-6 in Cape Town “to probe whether the treatment of Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories meets the criteria of the United Nations convention against the crime of apartheid.”

The South African Zionist Federation has called the event, which is to involve prominent South Africans and already is making national headlines here, “an irrelevant talk shop.”

“Despite its name, the Russell Tribunal is not an impartial, accountable judicial body,” a vice chairman of the South African Zionist Federation, Ben Swartz, told JTA. “Rather it is a loose association of lobbyists pushing a narrow, one-sided political agenda, in this case the delegitimization of the State of Israel.”

He called it “a pointless political smear campaign by a self-appointed group of anti-Israel activists.”

But because of the attention it is receiving in South Africa, the tribunal is likely to be a damaging public relations exercise against Israel. The event has won several key endorsements in the country, including from South Africa’s leading federation of trade unions, the ruling African National Congress party, the South African Communist Party, and Zackie Achmat, the AIDS activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

While the tribunal said it invited Israel, Dov Segev-Steinberg, the Israeli ambassador to South Africa, denied the claim.

Spain: more anti-Israel indoctrination in schools

Also: Amnesty International Promotes Anti-Semitism Among Children

Source: Spain, Israel and the Jews

Two Galician associations known as Cosal and Buserana will adhere to the Rumbo a Gaza (literally, Road to Gaza) campaign, officially intended to send another flotilla to the Gaza Strip. They'll also try to gain public support through "informative" activities in schools. Chicha Martínez, member of both of the associations, explained in Cee's municipal plenary room that an agreement was reached in order to perform their activities in schools of Corcubión, Cee and Muxía municipalities, and that the number of schools to visit will grow during the next days.

Martínez's conference in Cee's municipal plenary room was completed with a documentary about the Gaza flotilla stopped by the Tzahal the night between Sunday, May 30, and Monday, May 31, 2010.

First of all, sending another flotilla to the Gaza Strip would be opposed to U.N.R.W.A.'s official policy. Martin Nesirsky, a U.N. spokesperson, explained last July that even the U.N.R.W.A. considers that routes for supplies to enter by land through Israel's border are well established, and that those routes are the way to send the humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

Secondly, it should be noted that the last Gaza flotilla seemed to be an act of provocation rather than a humanitarian campaign, if we attend to the evidence that demostrate the pre-planned violence by the activists and I.H.H.'s ties with international terrorism.

Finally, we must ask ourselves about the supposed democratic and legal legitimacy of the arrangement between the aforementioned Galician associations and Corcubión's, Cee's and Muxía's municipal authorities. This is not about teaching schoolchildren lessons on universal human values, democracy or ethics. What Cosal and Buserana associations are trying to do is to gain support by indoctrinating kids into an specific political ideology.

This is not a pipe, this is not a Jew, this is a bank client

Background: Pro-divestment rally attended by NIF, EU grantees turns to antisemitism (NGO Monitor)

"The event featured an antisemitic episode, when one rally leader drank fake blood out of a wine glass – an apparent reference to the libel of Jews drinking Christian blood as wine – to highlight Israel’s alleged brutality.  The target of the rally was Dexia, a bank with an Israeli subsidiary. The use of the ugly blood libel motif – codified as antisemitic by Europe’s rights monitoring agency – raises important questions about the relationship between the BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) Movement and antisemitism."

This is not a pipe. This is not a Jew. This is not a Star of David.  This is not the flag of the State of Israel. This is not an anti-Semite. This is a nasty Dexia Bank shareholder.

INTAL is a Belgian NGO.  One of its main activities is the demonization of Israel and the importation of the Israel-Arab conflit to the streets of Brussels.  In May last year INTAL "coordinated" a demonstration against French-Belgian Dexia Bank for doing business in the West Bank "colonies" (this is how settlements are called in Belgium).  Jews/Israelis were shown as bloodthirsty cannibalistic clowns who enjoy their glass of Palestinian blood. 
As most NGOs, INTAL receives taxpayers' money.  Charles Michel, the Minister in charge of allocating the funds was informed and has recently undertakent to look into the matter.  This is the totally surrealistic and convincing explanation INTAL has offered (translated from the Dutch) :

 "According to the clowns' own version, they symbolised Dexia shareholders - therefore [!] in no way [!] did they represent either Israel [!] or Jews [!] - who wanted to thank Jean-Luc Dehaene in a playful manner for the lucrative investments make by Dexia in the [Israeli] colonies".

Israel-hater and Nobel Peace Prize candidate Belgian priest admits child abuse 40 years ago

We wrote this post in October : François Houtart, Hamas supporter Belgian priest, the next Nobel Peace Prize laureate ? and this one in 2009 François Houtart, a Belgian anti-Zionist priest, awarded UNESCO prize for tolerance and non-violence.  One of his recent initiatives aiming at delegitimising Israel is his support for the Israel-bashing Russell Tribunal created by another Belgian Pierre Galand.

It has now come to light that the "Pope of anti-globalisation" was a child molester.  His cousin was so shocked when she heard that he was being nominated for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize and the way he was being celebrated as a great man in Belgium that she decided to speak out.  This is a translation of part of her account of the facts, which, unsurprisingly, differs from Houtart's own account minimising the horror of what happened :

"[...] the man committed the crime of rape on my brother 40 years ago. My father died this year and was the same age as A and was his friend. He venerated him as a great man until that night when he stayed over at my parents' home and broke twice into my brother's room to rape him. Before this happened a third time, my brother told my parents who kept him their own room. But the next morning over breakfast, they treated A as if nothing had happened so that he could give his lecture in Liège. My brother had been "left" with a neighbor. A few days later, my father went to find A in Leuven to speak with him about what he had done to his son and asked him to apologize. But he did not and went one further, he told my father that  "Nothing could be more normal!" After this my father banished him forever as a friend. My brother was never recognized as a victim of child abuse! It is hard to imagine that A has not committed other rapes on other children ...".

Source: Daily Mail

A Belgian Catholic priest and would-be Nobel Peace Prize holder has admitted that he sexually abused an eight-year-old boy 40 years ago.  The case only came forward when his cousin, the sister of his victim, came forward in reaction to a campaign to nominate Francois Houtart for the accolade.  She told the Belgian church authority that looks into child abuse, the Adriaenssens commission, that the abuse on her brother happened in 1970 while he stayed at their house.

Houtart, 85, was a prominent third world activist and chairman of a development agency that he founded in 1976, Center Tricontinental, until he resigned from the board in November in light of the allegations.
He is currently in Ecuador and was not responding to phone calls or emails but told Belgian newspaper, Le Soir, that he twice touched ‘the intimate parts’ of a boy he described as his cousin and said the incident was ‘inconsiderate and irresponsible’.

Brussels : IDF child killer Christmas demonstration

"NGOs are exploiting Christmas for radical attacks against Israel, through politicized carols, cards, and messages." (NGO Monitor)

An anti-Israel march (yet another one) will take place in Brussels on 26 December.  The demonstration poster carries a drawing by Brazilian caricaturist Carlos Latuff (who won 2nd prize in the 2006 Iranian International Holocaust Cartoon Competition). The drawing shows - birth of Jesus and Christmas reference - a pram being hit by an Israeli missile. The coordinator is Nordine Saïdi, a Belgian politician, who is a Dieudonné supporter.  He has been called admiringly and approvingly by Baudouin Loos of Le Soir as an "educator and militant for the autodetermination of the peoples" (understandanbly that means focusing on the Palestinian people).  A number of revolutionary (read anti-Israel) NGOs subsidised by taxpayers' money will also take part in the demonstration. 

We have been told that a demonstration was held yesterday at the Free University of Brussels (a hotbed of anti-Israel militancy).  Demonstrators wore T-shirts with the printed image of a pram being hit by a missile . The same ?

May 2010 in Brussels  :
Brussels: demonstration against Israeli blood drinkers - blood libel revisited

On Nordine Saidi, see Brussels: Jihad by vuvuzela !

Durban III: Anne Bayefsky criticizes Belgium lead role on behalf of the 27 European Union countries

“Is Germany going to stand side-by-side with a Holocaust denier [Ahmadinejad] having genocidal ambitions and claim this is the right forum by which to combat racism and xenophobia?”

"Responding to Bart Ouvry’s [a spokesman for Belgium’s Foreign Ministry] statements, Bayefsky told the Post that some EU states had opted not to participate in Durban II before Ahmadinejad speech.  Those states, Bayefsky said, “did not leave only as a consequence of Ahmadinejad. They pulled out in advance because they recognized that the Durban Declaration and its followup processes harm the cause of combating racism...” [...] Bayefsky said Belgium was pushing the Durban Declaration against Israel and the commemoration event. If Belgium sought to fight racism, “there would be no need to make any mention of the Durban Declaration. They could adopt a statement against racism and refer to the convention on the elimination of all forms racial discrimination,” she said."

US doesn't support UN plan to hold Durban III next year
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL AND JORDANA HORN, TJP

10th anniversary event mooted for Sept. in NY at UN headquarters; ADL, pro-Israel NGOs appalled by idea of celebrating ‘notorious’ 2001 meeting.

A commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Durban I antiracism event is slated to take place in September 2011 at UN headquarters in New York, a source familiar with the plans told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

But Patrick Ventrell, a spokesman for the US Mission to the UN, told the Post on Thursday, “The US does not support the decision to hold the 10th anniversary of the Durban I Conference in New York City in September 2011. We do not believe it would be an appropriate time and venue.”

According to the UN insider, “Negotiators Tuesday spent time arguing about the date. Western states tried to object to September 21 on the basis that there were plans for other events already that day and GA [General Assembly] resolutions are never specific about dates so the issue should be left to future negotiations.”

Next year’s conference is intended to honor the initial Durban I event in South Africa and the follow-up Durban II review conference in Geneva last year. [The US, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland walked away from Durban II because the event was tainted by anti-Semitism and disparate treatment toward Israel.]

Officially known as the World Conference against Racism 2001, Durban I was marred by anti-Semitism and attacks on Israel’s right to exist. Last year’s Durban II showcased Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s tirades against Israel as well as his denial of the Holocaust.

According to Natalie Kohli, senior adviser for the UN’s Human Rights Council Review, opposition to the commemoration is expected from the US, Israel, Canada, Australia and others.

Belgium is taking a lead role in negotiating on behalf of the 27 European Union countries regarding Durban III.

The Post learned that South Africa is pushing for a September 21, 2011, date, when most heads of state would be in New York for the annual session of the US General Assembly.

When asked whether Germany planned to participate in the Durban commemoration event, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman told the Post via e-mail on Tuesday, “The discussions on the annual UN anti-racism resolution and the questions raised in this connection regarding a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Durban conference are currently still taking place in New York. Therefore, the outcome of the discussions cannot be anticipated at this time.”

The spokesman added, “The federal government is working actively within the UN against the misuse of the justified issue of the international fight against racism. This is also its position during the current negotiations.”

After considerable public pressure and media editorials urging Germany to boycott Durban II in 2009, then-foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier pulled the plug on Germany’s involvement in the Geneva Durban II event at the eleventh hour.

Anne Bayefsky, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and an expert on international human rights law, told the Post on Wednesday that the German Foreign Ministry’s statement was “shockingly misleading.”

“Last year, Germany voted against the resolution which decided specifically to hold a ‘Durban III,’ which nevertheless passed handily,” Bayefsky said. “Last year’s resolution also decided the event would be held in September 2011 in New York City, and would be scheduled during the opening days of the General Assembly so that heads of state and of government could be pressured into coming.

“The bottom line is, Germany has followed the decision to hold Durban III and the process of fleshing out the event details closely,” she said. “It is fully aware of precisely what can be anticipated from the current negotiations, since it knows full well that those meetings are fiddling at the edges and have no bearing whatsoever on the decision to have the event, which has already been made. Germany voted with their feet at Durban II, and voted against the resolution on Durban III last year.

“So why is Germany feigning ignorance days before they have to cast a vote on the details of the same meeting to which they objected the year before? Germany knows that Iranian President Ahmadinejad opened Durban II and that he will certainly come to Durban III along with his usual participation at the opening of the General Assembly.

Henri Dunant, ’first Christian Zionist’, honored at international commemoration event in Geneva

"Already in 1866, 30 years before the first Zionist Congress, Dunant [founder of the International Red Cross] had proposed a repopulation of Palestine by Jews. As a personal friend of Theodore Herzl he was one of only a few non-Jews to attend the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897. He was once referred to by Herzl as a ’Christian Zionist’, this being the first time the term was ever used. [...] "The values of Henry Dunant were the values of most Christian social reformers for the last 300 years, from William Wilberforce, 100 years before Dunant, to Martin Luther King 100 years after him. These great men of faith and social justice had a deep understanding of the struggles of the Jewish people and supported their right to self-determination," Sandell explained. The event clearly illustrated the fact that while the modern state of Israel currently faces a vicious NGO campaign of delegitimization and dehumanization the social pioneers who founded their movements were mostly warm friends of Israel."

Source: European Coalition for Israel

Geneva, 1 November, 2010 - The remarkable life of International Red Cross founder and first recipient of the Nobel Peace Price, HenryDunant was honored on Saturday at a private ceremony in Geneva in the presence of descendants of the Dunant family and the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Betty E. King. Saturday marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Henry Dunant.

Though most people remember Henry Dunant primarily as the founder of the International Red Cross very few know the man behind the vision.

"Henri Dunant was a man of faith who already at the age of twenty had committed his life to be more effective in Christian charity, heat up lukewarm believers and to convert those who had not met God," European Coalition for Israel Director Tomas Sandell said at the event quoting the Henry Dunant Society.

"This is a side of his life that documentaries seldom talk about but which helps explain his life and vision. Henry Dunant was a Christian activist (he helped found the World Alliance of YMCA in 1855), and a fervent believer in the restoration of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland of Palestine. Already in 1866, 30 years before the first Zionist Congress, Dunant had proposed a repopulation of Palestine by Jews. As a personal friend of Theodore Herzl he was one of only a few non-Jews to attend the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897. He was once referred to by Herzl as a ’Christian Zionist’, this being the first time the term was ever used.

"Henry Dunant understood already in 1866 what it took others another 80 years to grasp, namely that the Jewish people were entitled to live in their own ancient homeland of Palestine, side by side and in peace with their Arab neighbours. Just imagine how many lives could have been spared if also this life vision would have come to pass during his lifetime," Sandell concluded in his speech.

Israel lynching tribunal coming to the United States in 2011 (Russell Tribunal on Palestine, Belgium)

Created in Brussels, the capital of Europe, by Pierre Galand (NGO Special Report (2004): "Pierre Galand (Belgium) Using Political NGOs to Promote Demonization & Anti-Semitism in the UN & EU"), the "kangoroo court" was launched in Belgium (where it was created and launched in Belgium and held its first session in Barcelona, will be in London in November, in South Africa mid 2011 and in the United States end 2011.  Yet another European (Belgian to be precise) contribution to Peace.

Source: Harry's Place (Amnesty, Law Society Hosts Russell Tribunal on Palestine, Alan A, October 30th 2010)

On Monday 8 November, the Amnesty Human Rights Action Centre will host a meeting on the Russell Tribunal on Palestine. That meeting will feature Ewa Jasiewicz who is billed as a “Member of UK Committee”

Ewa Jasiewicz was the spokeswoman who justified the desecration of the Warsaw Ghetto earlier this year:

The Tribunal will then hold its full session at the Law Society on 20-22 November. It will feature such luminaries as John Dugard, Ronald Kasrils, Mike Mansfield, and the conspiracy theorist and kook, Cynthia McKinney.
"I had a mother to call me because her son had a very gruesome task. Her son’s charge by the Department of Defense was to process 5,000 bodies that had received a single bullet wound to the head. And these were mostly males and her son was afraid to talk because he had signed a silence agreement. So he only complained to his mother. But the data about these individuals was entered into a Pentagon computer and then, reportedly, the bodies were dumped in the swamp in Louisiana. This is as a result of the tragedy of hurricane Katrina. Now I have verification from insiders who wish to remain anonymous at the Red Cross that this is true."
________
Jonathan Hoffman : Please protest (especially if you are a lawyer) to the Law Society about them letting their rooms for this Kangaroo Court:
http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/contactus.law#contactform

- Irish Nobel laureate to 'examine' Israel war crimes in London soon
Raising funds in Belgium for the London session:
- Anti-Israel "Russell tribunal" coming to London from ... Belgium
- Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation Betrays Bertrand Russell

Cartoon above: Israel embassy in Spain

'Theological intifada' against Israel run by Arab Palestinian Christian Naim Ateek

"The greatest problem with the Jews is yet not resolved, because most Jews do not want to go to Israel. There are still far more Jews outside of Israel than within Israel. Most of them did not want to go there, but the Zionists made them. Europe did not want them, so they sent them away, and at whose expense? The Palestinians. There are still Jews in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, they do not go to Israel. Some Jews immigrate to Germany, because it looks better to them than Israel. Then there is something wrong. Israel uses propaganda to entice Jews to move there, but most of the ones who would go, have gone there by now."

Note - for European consumption, the site of Friends of Sabeel-France only talks of love, justice, peace and prayer.  What a divine European hypocrisy.

Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews (Supercessionist Palestinian theology develops market in Norway)

Is there a market for supercessionist Palestinian theology in Norway? Perhaps not, but there are elements in the Norwegian church who are trying hard to create one.

CAMERA (Naim Ateek Lets It All Hang Out in ... Norway!) has picked up on how Palestinian supercessionist Naim Ateek is being courted by Norwegian supporters. Unauthorized translation from the article “Runs theological intifada against Israel” from Norge IDAG on the theology of Naim Ateek:

Runs theological intifada against Israel
The Palestinian-arabic theologist Naim Ateek visited Norway last week in order to turn Christians against Israel by convincing them that the promises of land made in the Bible have been revoked, and that the Jews no longer are God’s chosen people. He believes the state of Israel ought never to have been established, and that is has become an apartheid state which ought to be boycotted.

Naim Ateek leads the Palestinian-arabic teheological grassroots organisation Sabeel, which has as its goal to further a just peace in the Middle East. He has developed a distinctive ”Palestinian liberation theology” which he actively uses in order to further pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel views to the christian west. In Israel some speak of Sabeel’s activities as a ”theological intifada”, and in a meeting with Norge I DAG Naim Ateek says he accepts this definition of his activity.

Irish Nobel laureate to 'examine' Israel war crimes in London soon

More European anti-Israel initiatives.

- Irish Nobel laureate and boat activist denied Israel entry

More to come.  Mairead Maguire is one of the "personalities" who has confirmed her participation as jury member to "examine" international corporate complicity in Israel’s violations of international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and war crimes. (See: Anti-Israel "Russell tribunal" coming to London from ... Belgium)

"The second international session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine will take place in London, on 20, 21 and 22 November 2010. It will examine International corporate complicity in Israel’s Violations of International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law, and War Crimes.

After establishing the responsibilities and obligations of corporations under international law, this session will assess the conduct of a series of companies regarding different aspects of Israel’s violations of the rights of the Palestinian People. The Tribunal will also seek to uncover the system that allows corporations to act in such unlawful ways, and to show in what ways States and international organisations could be held accountable for this.

During this session, the jury will be examining cases on:
■Corporations providing tangible services and infrastructure that support illegal Israeli settlements and the occupation of Palestinian territory in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
■Foreign banks and other financial institutions providing financial services to illegal settlements and Israeli banks etc. trading abroad who provide financial services to illegal settlements.
■Foreign companies that manufacture products inside the settlements and industrial zones in the West Bank and Israeli companies that export agricultural and other products from the settlements and industrial zones in the West Bank,
■Foreign companies involved in the export of arms and the infrastructure of war, occupation, colonisation and repression in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israeli companies that export arms and repressive hardware/knowledge abroad

Belgian NGO incites children to shoot at Israeli soldiers at the Ghent Fair

At the famous and very popular Ghent Festivities, which took place in July, a Flemish NGO had an anti-Israel stand where the big attraction was aimed at children. Young children were invited to shoot at figurines representing Israeli soldiers placed on boats floating in a small aquarium. The weapon for shooting/killing Israelis was a coin and the money thus raised will serve to fund a new hate flotilla. This incitement campaign aimed at children in view of tens of thousands of people didn't seem to meet with the disapproval of the fair organisers, the city authorities, the police or the public.  One can imagine what would have happened if kids had been asked to aim at Muslim soldiers ! We understand that the same NGOs is now looking for a larger fish tank to be exhibited at a fair to be held shortly at another Flemish city ... It has became a tradition to demonize Israel at  Ghent festivals.

Unsurprisingly, no NGO was there to draw attention to the plight of the Roma in Europe ...  In July the great and the good were not yet interested in their fate.

The double standards and selective silence of the Red Cross

Yet another European NGO engaging in Israel and Jew bashing.

Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews

The Norwegian Red Cross has never managed to visit Hamas’ hostage Gilad Shalit, who is rotting in a underground cell somewhere in Gaza. The closest the Red Cross has come was in March, when their general secretary Bernt G. Apeland called for Norwegian Jews to be investigated for war-crimes. Some of them, the Red Cross suspected, might have served in the IDF. [Red Cross suggests Norwegian Jews be tried for war-crimes]

Only the month before NTB reported that Norwegians had signed up to fight for the Somali outfit Al-Shabaab. Yet this information did not prompt the Red Cross into calling for investigations. This is a typical example of the double standard which is imposed upon Israel – when Norwegian Jews are suspected of having served in the IDF during the Gaza operation, the Red Cross calls for the Jews to be investigated for war-crimes. Yet when it is verified that Norwegian Muslims are partaking in Jihad for Al-Shabaab, the Red Cross has no comment. In March 2010 this site wrote Bernt G. Apeland of the Red Cross and pointed this double standard out for him. We received no reply. [Letter to Bernt G.Apeland of the Norwegian Red Cross]
Now NRK is again telling us of how Scandinavians are being recruited to fight for Al-Shabaab. Perhaps it is time to send Mr. Apeland another e-mail.

Contrast with this treatment by the Red Cross of Hamas operatives:
Israelis to protest Hamas outside of Red Cross Jerusalem compound : A protest movement called "The Wheels of Justice," composed of residents of Jerusalem, will stage a vigil outside of the East Jerusalem headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday to protest the presence of three wanted Hamas leaders in the building. The protest will be continued on a weekly basis, said movement leader David Ish Shalom, until Israeli security forces move to arrest the three men. The fugitives in question, Ahmad Atoun, Khaled Abu Arafa, and Muhhamad Totach, are all representatives of Hamas’ Change and Reform list in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), and have camped out in the Sheikh Jarrah building since the June 30 arrest of Hamas MP and former Al Qassam Brigades leader Muhhamad Abu Tir.
Read the whole piece HERE

Appeal to probe Amnesty’s Israel biases

Amnesty’s “biased agenda ignores systemic human rights violations by the regimes in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Gaza, and many other countries, and violates the core principle of universality in human rights.”

Yet another European NGO engaged on an anti-Israel campaign.

Dershowitz, NGO Monitor: Probe Amnesty’s Israel biases, By Benjamin Weinthal, JPost

International human rights’ groups denounces ‘scum state’ comments, but defends work. 

A group of prominent political, academic and Middle East commentators from the international board of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor called on Monday for an “independent evaluation of biases in Amnesty’s activities and publications, particularly related to Israel.”

The head of Amnesty International’s Finnish branch, Frank Johansson [photo], sparked outrage last week when he termed Israel a “scum state” on his blog, a statement he has since removed following The Jerusalem Post’s disclosure of his anti-Israel remarks.

When asked about the NGO Monitor statement seeking an independent inquiry, Susanna Flood, a spokeswoman for Amnesty in London, wrote on Tuesday by e-mail to the Post, “Amnesty International had no need to seek an ‘independent evaluation’ to determine that Frank Johansson’s comments, made in his personal capacity, were inappropriate.”  The NGO Monitor statement was signed by Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz; Ruth Wisse, that university’s Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature; Yehuda Avner, a former ambassador to the UK and Australia; Fiamma Nirenstein, vice president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies’s Committee on Foreign Affairs; Elliott Abrams, a former US deputy national security adviser for global democracy strategy; UCLA’s Prof. Judea Pearl, president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation; Mideast expert and commentator Tom Gross; and Douglas Murray, director of the London-based Centre for Social Cohesion think tank.

Self-defense? Jacques Attali on the Goldstone report

"This report is also very revealing of the changing attitude of some international institutions with respect to Israel, who now want to deny Israel the right to self- defense: according to the International committee of the Red Cross, in charge of the laws of war, this right, recognized however by article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, could not be applied against terrorists who it would be necessary to arrest and to judge as common law criminals, and not fight as enemies."

Source: "Conversation avec Jacques Attali" blog

The report of a commission chaired by a respected South African judge, Richard Goldstone, arrived at the conclusion that "by launching, in some cases, attacks against civilians without military objectives" (during the Israeli military operation in Gaza in December-January) the Israeli armed forces have committed "acts comparable to war crimes and maybe by certain aspects to crimes against humanity." Terrible accusation, and if the report acknowledges that the Israeli army made " significant efforts to warn the civilians before attacks", it blames them for having been ineffective and it urges Israel to conduct an independent and honest national investigation within 6 months, failing to do so will have the Israeli officers sent back by the Security Council to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The report rightly points out that there was in this battle, scandalous blurs on the part of the Palestinians and the Israelis (who opened fire at civilians and on their own soldiers and used phosphorous shells), but it is also full of errors, revealing a fundamental question for democracies.

Written at the request of a UN Human Rights Committee, where dictatorships dominate, it repeatedly refers to Israel as "the enemy" and it does not recall that the Hebrew state has withdrawn unilaterally; it does not say that Tsahal, before answering, had received 12,000 rockets fired from Gaza; it does not mention the testimonial of the inhabitants of Sderot, constantly bombarded, though questioned by the committee, but quotes at length the testimonials of Gazans all heard during televised broadcasts, that is to say in an atmosphere of terror, which leads them to deny that Hamas forced civilians to serve as human shields, which is what the leaders of this movement boasted about.

Moreover, the report dares to say, without fear of ridicule, that in Israel, the only democracy in the region, exists "a repression of dissent", demonstrating an incredible ignorance of the reality of a country where a Minister of defense and a Prime Minister have been forced to resign by a march of more than one tenth of the population of the country (can we imagine a march of more than six million French people?). And Israel will surely confirm it by appointing a Committee of independent inquiry which will sanction, once more, those who have made errors, or maybe even crimes in the conduct of these operations.

But this report is also very revealing of the changing attitude of some international institutions with respect to Israel, who now want to deny Israel the right to self- defense: according to the International committee of the Red Cross, in charge of the laws of war, this right, recognized however by article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, could not be applied against terrorists who it would be necessary to arrest and to judge as common law criminals, and not fight as enemies.

The other democracies should be wary: If they let Israel be treated that way, they will be the next victims of this jurisprudence, because it will be required also from them what cannot obviously be demanded from their opponents.

Amnesty International: 15 statements supporting Goldstone mission and report

More of the same anti-Israel bias from European NGO Amnesty International

Amnesty International’s Goldstone Campaign, with a review of statements from other NGOs, NGO Monitor

* Amnesty International has issued 15 statements in support of the Goldstone Mission and its report since April 2009.

* All four members of the commission and one of its staff researchers have conflicts of interest involving Amnesty. The close ties with the organization led to numerous citations to Amnesty publications.
* At a May 2009 NGO townhall meeting with Goldstone, Amnesty presented a detailed outline for the investigation. Their recommendations correspond to the framework of the public hearings and the final report.

* Diakonia, Oxfam, Trocaire, Amnesty-Europe, FIDH and Palestinian NGOs - Adalah, PCHR, Al Haq, etc. - have used the Goldstone report to bolster their calls for “war crimes” cases. This lawfare includes international (ICC) and universal jurisdiction forums.

* B’Tselem condemned the Israeli government for not cooperating with the Goldstone mission and “provided assistance to the investigative staff….”

* But even B’Tselem criticized Goldstone for falsely “framing of Israel’s military operation as part of ‘an overall policy aimed at punishing the Gaza population for its resilience.’”

Note: This report is a follow-up to NGO Monitor’s publication: Human Rights Watch: Selling Goldstone’s Indictment, October 15, 2009

Full report HERE

François Houtart, a Belgian anti-Zionist priest, awarded UNESCO prize for tolerance and non-violence

François Houtart, a Belgian priest and professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, has been awarded (shared) the 2009 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence. The announcement reads (excerpts):

"François Houtart (Belgium) for his life-long commitment to world peace, intercultural dialogue, human rights and the promotion of tolerance, and in recognition of his outstanding efforts to advance the cause of social justice in the world.

Mr Houtart is an ardent promoter of North-South cooperation and the founder of the Tri-Continental Centre (CETRI), a non-governmental organization renowned for its work on development issues and in the International Council of the World Social Forum. Known throughout his life as a defender of human rights, he has contributed significantly to the advancement of the inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue. As a noted sociologist of religions and theology, he has authored numerous publications and given lectures in over 100 universities around the world. An honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of Vietnam and Cuba and a member of the Commission on Struggle against Racism of the Ecumenical Council of the Churches, he has served as President of the Committee for Human Rights in Burundi (1986-1992); founder and director of the international review "Social Compass" (1960-1990); and President of the International League for People’s Rights (2003-2008)."

What the announcement leaves out is that François Houtart is a staunch anti-Israeli/US militant :

* he signed an appeal launched by Nadine Rosa-Rosso to all candidates for the 736 seats in the European parliament to remove Hamas from the EU terror list (International List Of Hamas Supporters Published, Harry's Place);

* he is a member of the Russell Tribunal for Palestine, concocted by another Belgian, Pierre Galand (Brussels: Launching of the "Russell Tribunal" on Palestine) the third such mock tribunal cooked up in Belgium ...;

* he is the chairman of the BRussells Tribunal - Peple vs Total War, that is co-chaired by Jean Bricmont, professor at the Catholic University of Louvain. Pierre Klein, professor at the Free University of Brussels is the secretary; and

* he is a member of the "People's Court" in which "individuals of concience" tried Israel for "crimes committed by the Israeli army in Lebanon during the summer 2006 [which] are a violent affront to the universal human conscience"(Israel on trial in Brussels: Iranian and Syrian Ambassadors give standing ovation to judges and Lebanon war mock tribunal condemns Israel and U.S.).

[1] On the Centre Tricontinental (CETRI), one can find : 17 articles on Palestine, 0 article on Burundi (in spite of the fact that, according to the statement, the UNESCO prize was awarded for the priest's commitment to the advancement of human rights in Burundi), 3 articles on the Congo, 0 article on Soudan, 9 articles on Sri Lanka etc. It's strange the little attention Burundi, the Congo et Rwanda receive because they were Belgian colonies, and there is a mutually strong link between citizens of these countries and Belgium.

We had a look at the sources of the articles posted on the CETRI blog and we were not disappointed: Electronic Intifada, Le Monde Diplomatique, Counterpunch (surprise surprise Counterpunch ), Palestine Monitor, etc.


- Jean Bricmont and The De-Zionization of the American Mind - The anti-US ravings of an arrogant man

- Special Report: "Pierre Galand (Belgium) Using Political NGOs to Promote Demonization & Anti-Semitism in the UN & EU"

Made in Europe: How government funded NGOs shaped the Goldstone report

Source: NGO Monitor

The Goldstone report is primarily based on statements, publications, and submissions from highly politicized and biased non-governmental organizations (NGOs), many of which are funded by European governments. This broad reliance on secondary sources lacking credibility contrasts with the claims to have conducted a "fact finding mission", and to have subjected claims to critical examination. Beyond adopting the flawed methodologies and false claims, the funding provided for these NGOs links European governments to the Goldstone report, and its contribution to anti-Israel demonization.

The 575-page preliminary report, issued 15 September 2009, contained over 500 direct references to and quotes from NGOs, as well as over 120 references and quotes from United Nations agencies, such as UNOCHA, which generally rely on NGOs as sources. (See below and NGO Monitor’s reports Goldstone Report: 575 pages of NGO "cut and paste" and House of Cards: NGOs and the Goldstone Report for examples and more details.)

The highly biased allegations, and the visibility they receive, are enabled by the same European government funding for NGOs that propels other aspects of the Durban Strategy. This intense effort is based on the exploitation of the rhetoric of international law and human rights to promote demonization of Israel. Similarly, European-funded political NGOs – such as PCHR, Al Mezan, Al Haq, and Adalah – are at the forefront of the "lawfare"campaigns that abuse the universal jurisdiction provisions in the legal codes of a number of Western countries using allegations of "war crimes." As with the attempt to secure an arrest warrant against Ehud Barak in the UK (led by Al Mezan and Al Haq), the goals are negative publicity for and delegitimization of Israel, not "justice."

The following NGOs are used as sources in the Goldstone report. (Funding information is followed by an excerpt from the report and testimonies based on each NGO; these examples are not exhaustive). As seen in many of the excerpts, the NGO allegations were often unconnected to the conflict in Gaza or to the inquiry’s mandate, but were included in NGO submissions and the report’s text as part of a wider effort to condemn Israel and remove the context of terrorism.
Read the full report HERE