"Greek media singled out Israel for criticism, omitting references to the other partner country in the exercise, the US. Eleftheros headlined its report "Israel questions our sovereignty over the Aegean" while Vradyni said: "Israelis ‘baptise’ Kastellorizo as ‘Turkish’".
The Israeli embassy in Athens has responded to criticism in the Greek media that Israel was taking Ankara’s part in the Greek-Turkish airspace dispute by saying that a reference in an online statement about a joint military exercise taking place in "Turkish" territory was an error.
Israel said that it had no role in the Greek-Turkish airspace dispute, according to the embassy statement, quoted by Greek daily Kathimerini. The controversy arose after an Israeli Defence Force (IDF) website statement referred to a joint military exercise by the United States, Israel and Turkey as to take place off the Dodecanese island of Kastellorizo in Turkish territory. The island is Greek territory. The incident happened amid a massive upsurge of Turkish air force aircraft entering airspace claimed by Greece.
The Israeli embassy said that it regarded Greece and Turkey both "as significant partners and allies... in the region."
Greece has claimed hundreds of incursions by Turkish aircraft into its airspace since the beginning of June 2009, with the Turkish air force jets in some cases flying low over Greek territory and, Athens alleges, endangering flight paths.
Earlier, after the initial IDF statement, Greek media singled out Israel for criticism, omitting references to the other partner country in the exercise, the US. Eleftheros headlined its report "Israel questions our sovereignty over the Aegean" while Vradyni said: "Israelis ‘baptise’ Kastellorizo as ‘Turkish’".
Read the whole piece here
Monday, 24 August 2009
Saturday, 22 August 2009
Benny Morris says Norwegian ex-PM Kåre Willoch is lying
"Historians who play fair are offended when history is distorted for polical gain. It is especially provocative for historians when the distortions alledgedly are based on one's own work. Kåre Willoch, former premier and outspoken defender of the Palestinian cause, is one such serial abuser. In a deceptive manner he refers to my work on the Arab-Israeli concflict in order to find support for his own allegations (calling me "an outstanding Israeli historian" to boot)." (Benny Morris)
Source: article in "Norway, Israel and the Jews" blog
There is unfortunately no "anti-Norwegian" smear campaign to blame. When Norway looks bad it’s because prominent Norwegians, in their endeavours to smear Israel, occasionally go wrong and smear themselves by accident. The most recent example is Anette Trettebergstuen’s attribution of a quote from this site ("In addition to being gay, Trettebergstuen is fiercely secular") to an unnamed "Israeli newspaper", an act of shortsighted Israel-bashing which the Labor parlamentarian is yet to be taken to task for.
Former premier Kåre Willoch however, remains the classic example of how prominent Norwegians manage to smear themselves in the process of making Israel look bad.
For years Mr. Willoch has misquoted and misinterpreted the Israeli historian Benny Morris, the world’s leading authority (truth be told, there are not that many of them) on the Palestinian refugee crisis of 1948. According to Willoch, Morris has himself verified how the Jewish expulsion of Arabs from Palestine was a planned and deliberate event which commenced already prior to 1948. For years Norway’s main pro-Israel organization MIFF has contested Willoch’s claims. In June of this year Benny Morris even visited Norway in order to attend a conference on the Middle East refugee problem, giving Willoch an excellent opportunity to sort things out, yet nothing came of it. Not a single Norwegian journalist attended the conference, and only one reported on it (in DagenMagazinet – a Christian daily).
At some point Morris must have said to himself that "enough is enough", whereupon he wrote an op-ed to Norway’s largest newspaper Verdens Gang. The op-ed ran on Tuesday, here’s an unauthorized NIJ translation of the introduction and conclusion (Read Morris’ book to fill in the gap):
"Willoch’s lies
Historians who play fair are offended when history is distorted for polical gain. It is especially provocative for historians when the distortions alledgedly are based on one's own work.
Kåre Willoch, former premier and outspoken defender of the Palestinian cause, is one such serial abuser. In a deceptive manner he refers to my work on the Arab-Israeli concflict in order to find support for his own allegations (calling me "an outstanding Israeli historian" to boot).
In an op-ed in VG on May 25th 2008 and in a speech in Skien on March 6th 2007 Willoch claimed that the Palestinian Arabs were driven from their homes by the Israelis in 1948 through "dreadful massacres".
The massacres were intended to "force as many Palestinians as possible to leave areas which Jewish leaders wanted Israel to have" and were "systematically planned". In Skien Willoch said that "Morris’ theory is that the supreme Jewish leaders wanted it this way".
According to Willoch these massacres occurred prior to the invasion of the Arab armies into Palestine on May 15th – framing it as if the innocent Palestinians were attacked without reason, and that the Arabs invaded (righteously) in order to save them.
This concoction is a full and complete lie – reinforced through deliberate omissions.
…
What Willoch spreads in propaganda. Readers who are interested in finding out what really happened, ought to turn towards other sources."
It is a relief to see how Norway’s largest newspaper finally brought this affair to what we must hope is its conclusion. Way to go, VG !
- Benny Morris: "Kåre Willoch simplifies and misleads"
- Benny Morris, Ilan Pappe and the market for historical fact
Source: article in "Norway, Israel and the Jews" blogThere is unfortunately no "anti-Norwegian" smear campaign to blame. When Norway looks bad it’s because prominent Norwegians, in their endeavours to smear Israel, occasionally go wrong and smear themselves by accident. The most recent example is Anette Trettebergstuen’s attribution of a quote from this site ("In addition to being gay, Trettebergstuen is fiercely secular") to an unnamed "Israeli newspaper", an act of shortsighted Israel-bashing which the Labor parlamentarian is yet to be taken to task for.
Former premier Kåre Willoch however, remains the classic example of how prominent Norwegians manage to smear themselves in the process of making Israel look bad.
For years Mr. Willoch has misquoted and misinterpreted the Israeli historian Benny Morris, the world’s leading authority (truth be told, there are not that many of them) on the Palestinian refugee crisis of 1948. According to Willoch, Morris has himself verified how the Jewish expulsion of Arabs from Palestine was a planned and deliberate event which commenced already prior to 1948. For years Norway’s main pro-Israel organization MIFF has contested Willoch’s claims. In June of this year Benny Morris even visited Norway in order to attend a conference on the Middle East refugee problem, giving Willoch an excellent opportunity to sort things out, yet nothing came of it. Not a single Norwegian journalist attended the conference, and only one reported on it (in DagenMagazinet – a Christian daily).
At some point Morris must have said to himself that "enough is enough", whereupon he wrote an op-ed to Norway’s largest newspaper Verdens Gang. The op-ed ran on Tuesday, here’s an unauthorized NIJ translation of the introduction and conclusion (Read Morris’ book to fill in the gap):
"Willoch’s lies
Historians who play fair are offended when history is distorted for polical gain. It is especially provocative for historians when the distortions alledgedly are based on one's own work.
Kåre Willoch, former premier and outspoken defender of the Palestinian cause, is one such serial abuser. In a deceptive manner he refers to my work on the Arab-Israeli concflict in order to find support for his own allegations (calling me "an outstanding Israeli historian" to boot).
In an op-ed in VG on May 25th 2008 and in a speech in Skien on March 6th 2007 Willoch claimed that the Palestinian Arabs were driven from their homes by the Israelis in 1948 through "dreadful massacres".
The massacres were intended to "force as many Palestinians as possible to leave areas which Jewish leaders wanted Israel to have" and were "systematically planned". In Skien Willoch said that "Morris’ theory is that the supreme Jewish leaders wanted it this way".
According to Willoch these massacres occurred prior to the invasion of the Arab armies into Palestine on May 15th – framing it as if the innocent Palestinians were attacked without reason, and that the Arabs invaded (righteously) in order to save them.
This concoction is a full and complete lie – reinforced through deliberate omissions.
…
What Willoch spreads in propaganda. Readers who are interested in finding out what really happened, ought to turn towards other sources."
It is a relief to see how Norway’s largest newspaper finally brought this affair to what we must hope is its conclusion. Way to go, VG !
- Benny Morris: "Kåre Willoch simplifies and misleads"
- Benny Morris, Ilan Pappe and the market for historical fact
Friday, 21 August 2009
Sweden: Aftonbladet's accusations are anti-Semitic according to Council of Europe and OSCE classification
"Now a leading evening newspaper in Sweden, Aftonbladet, is openly fabricating medieval myths of Jewish blood libel by running articles accusing Israeli soldiers of stealing and selling the organs of Palestinians. According to the Council of Europe and the OSCE such allegations classify as traditional anti-Semitic rhetoric’s and were widely spread in the Middle Ages and during the pogroms in the 19th and 20th century."ECI (European Coalition for Israel) expresses concern over rising anti-Semitism in Sweden and election victories of racist parties in the European Parliament
Brussels 21 August, 2009 - A growing number of anti-Semitic incidents and a general hostility towards the state of Israel in parts of Swedish media have caused the European Coalition for Israel to send an official letter to the Foreign Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt, currently the holder of the EU-presidency, to call for an EU-emergency summit in Stockholm to combat rising anti-Semitism and racism in Europe.
This would not be the first time that the government of Sweden would take the lead in combating anti-Semitism in Europe. In January 2000 the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust was organized by the Swedish government to raise awareness about the Holocaust and to prevent it from happening again by educating new generations about the deadly virus of anti-Semitism.
Recent reports from Sweden seem to indicate that the need for education is now more urgent than ever. In March 2009 a Davis Cup match in tennis between Israel and Sweden had to played before an empty stadium due to a decision by the mayor of the host city of Malmö to give in to anti-Semitic threats of violence instead of ensuring public safety at the sports event. Later remarks by the mayor have confirmed that his decision was not primarily made out of security concerns but were mainly politically motivated. The tennis match, nevertheless, drew together violent anti-Israeli demonstrations but a peaceful solidarity rally for Israel was stopped by the police, also for "security reasons".
Now a leading evening newspaper in Sweden, Aftonbladet, is openly fabricating medieval myths of Jewish blood libel by running articles accusing Israeli soldiers of stealing and selling the organs of Palestinians. According to the Council of Europe and the OSCE such allegations classify as traditional anti-Semitic rhetoric’s and were widely spread in the Middle Ages and during the pogroms in the 19th and 20th century.
According to NGO Monitor, an Israeli organization following the activities of NGO's in Israel, the article in Aftonbladet is not an isolated aberration but rather the result of a long campaign of anti-Israeli demonization based on manufactured "evidence" repeated by "Palestinian eyewitnesses".
Earlier this summer it was revealed that the Swedish government was one of several EU countries which were financially supporting a report by an anti-Israeli group called "Breaking the Silence", which accused the Israeli army of war crimes during the Operation Cast Lead.
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) has a long history of supporting anti-Israeli groups while at the same time being the single largest contributor to the Palestinian authorities. Many of the NGO’s which receive Swedish government funding routinely accuses Israel of "genocide", "ethnic cleansing" and "apartheid" and some compare Israeli military officials to Nazis. These false accusations also fall in to the category of anti-Semitism as defined by OSCE and the Council of Europe.
This rise of anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism in Sweden comes at the same time as the government of Sweden has taken over the rotating presidency of the EU and is in the centre of international media attention. But anti-Israeli incidents are not isolated to the events mentioned in Sweden but are also spreading in other parts of Europe though the case of Sweden is of a particular concern.
The recent victories in the European Parliament elections of openly racist and anti-Semitic parties is another reason why the European Coalition for Israel now calls upon the Swedish EU-presidency to organize an emergency EU-summit in Stockholm with the aim of combating this current tide of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia in Europe.
"A new Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust will be needed to find new and effective European strategies of combating the demons of anti-Semitism and racism", writes ECI director Tomas Sandell in the letter to the Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and concludes that "there can be no better way to mark the tenth anniversary of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust than to renew the pledge to fight anti-Semitism and to commit to educating the new generations about the tragedies of the past. The Holocaust did not happen over night but started with demonization and false accusations of the Jews. Now it is time to stop the tide in Europe while there is still time".
- Swedish government funds NGOs and anti-Semitism
- European Coalition for Israel director calls for broad coalition against anti-Semitism
- "Do not let Israel become the Sudetenland of today", Hanna Orgonikova (ECI)
- European Coalition for Israel warns against surge of anti-Semitism in Europe
- Behind the Humanitarian Mask: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia's anti-Israeli activities
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia totally obsessed with Israel
- Conservative Swedish FM Carl Bildt likens Netanyahu to Hamas
- Sweden: when incitement against Jews is allowed
- Swedish government funds fuel Mideast radical NGOs
- "Are we using European tax money to promote peace or hatred?", asks ECI director
Dutch prosecutors found that a Holocaust-denying cartoon was punishable
"The Holocaust cartoon "is punishable because it offends Jews on the basis of their race and/or religion."
Background: Muslim European group posts anti-Semitic cartoons
Background: Muslim European group posts anti-Semitic cartoons
The Dutch prosecution service had received complaints "about two cartoons published on the website of the Arab-European League (AEL) [founded by Dyab Abou Jahjah, a Lebanese born Belgian Muslim leader] lobby group, one of which allegedly shows Jews denying that the Holocaust happened".
"The Holocaust cartoon "is punishable because it offends Jews on the basis of their race and/or religion."
"The AEL has agreed to remove the cartoon from its Dutch website, said the statement. "If it complies, charges will be provisionally dropped.""
Source: EJP
______________
"Hitler goes Dutroux", AEL blog
From the Arab-European League: Anne Frank in bed with a paedophile Hitler (in a reference to Marc Dutroux, a Belgian serial killer and criminal, convicted of having kidnapped, tortured and sexually abused six girls during 1995 and 1996, ranging in age from 8 to 19, four of whom he murdered).
______________
From: Exploiting Anne Frank, by Alvin H. Rosenfeld
"Yet contemporary political iconography has matched it with another image of Anne that is equally obscene: A drawing featured in a 2006 Holocaust cartoon contest sponsored by the Iranian newspaper Hamshahri shows a wasted-looking young girl sinking desolately under the bed sheets, while propped up next to her, a bare-chested, swastika-laden Hitler crows, "Write this one in your diary, Anne!" Above the head of the Führer's victim, a wordless bubble registers the grief of the devastated girl.
The fact that this graphic is vile has not kept it from being widely distributed by, among others, the Arab European League, a Belgian-Dutch Islamic political organization headed by the popular leader Dyab Abou Jahjah. In the wake of the Danish cartoon controversy, Jahjah was offering payback, declaring, "Europe too has its sacred cows."
Indeed it does, but Europe's murdered Jews are not among them. Anne Frank, dead before she had turned 16, was no saint but rather one more addition to the mounds of anonymous corpses at Bergen-Belsen. One need not sacralize her memory in order to pay it a decent respect. Until recently, most people have found it proper to do so, but in an age of resurgent anti-Semitism, respect for even the Jewish dead has become a dwindling commodity."
More on Dyab Abou Jahjah :
- More Hezbollox in London
- Zionists behind Abou Jahjah being barred from re-entering UK
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Swedish government funds NGOs and anti-Semitism
"Many of these NGOs routinely accuse Israel of "genocide," "ethnic cleansing," and "apartheid," and some compare Israeli military and political officials to Nazis. This propaganda warfare is waged through the façade of "research" reports which routinely quote Palestinian "testimonies," taken and repeated without question. The path from this demonization to the blood libels of Aftonbladet is short and direct."
Swedish PM Office: "On 1 July 2009, Sweden took over the Presidency of the EU. This means that for six months, Sweden is leading the EU's work and is responsible for moving important EU issues forward." How ironic that Sweden is at the helm of the EU and acts with unique arrogance : "When NGO Monitor sent the draft report to the Swedish embassy in Tel Aviv and government officials in Stockholm, they refused to comment or to engage in a discussion of the implications of these reprehensible activities."
__________________
Gerald Steinberg is not surprised - neither am we.
Source: article in the JPost
The article in Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet accusing Israeli soldiers of stealing and selling the organs of Palestinians is not a surprise or isolated aberration, but rather the result of a long campaign of anti-Israeli demonization, based on manufactured "evidence" repeated by Palestinian "eyewitnesses".
Applying the strategy adopted at the NGO forum of the 2001 UN Durban conference, the well-financed network of radical non-governmental organizations (NGOs) plays a major role in this demonization, and the Swedish government is a major source of funding. Expressions of modern anti-Semitism and blood libels are the logical results of this activity.
An NGO Monitor research report on Swedish government funding, published on June 29 2009, documented this pattern in detail, and warned of the incitement and anti-Semitic language being used routinely by these organizations. This systematic study examined over 20 major NGOs funded through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Diakonia [which is Christian], the multi-national NGO Development Center (NDC), and the Swedish Mission Council (SMR). Many of these NGOs routinely accuse Israel of "genocide," "ethnic cleansing," and "apartheid," and some compare Israeli military and political officials to Nazis. This propaganda warfare is waged through the façade of "research" reports which routinely quote Palestinian "testimonies," taken and repeated without question. The path from this demonization to the blood libels of Aftonbladet is short and direct.
The Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), run by Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, and receiving funds from the SMR framework, is a prominent example. Barghouthi referred to the Gaza conflict as a "horrendous massacre," and used terms like "ghetto," and "apartheid" on a radio program. PMRS refers to the security barrier as the "apartheid wall," and claimed that Israel employs a "racist ideology" and inflicts "collective punishment" on the Palestinians.
Similar language is found in the publications and statements of the radical Israel-based Alternative Information Center (AIC), which received 300,000 Krona ($42,000) in 2008, Palestinian-based Al Haq (SEK 3 million, as part of Diakonia's IHL program), and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (SEK 900,000). The central role of PHR-I officials in the campaigns accusing Israeli doctors of torture and other forms of heinous immorality, resulted in a decision by the Israel Medical Association to sever relations.
SIDA money also goes to the Women's Affairs Technical Committee (WATC), Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), and Jerusalem Center for Women (JWC), which demonize Israel with the rhetoric of "apartheid," "ethnic cleansing," and "massacres." This language is repeated in NGO reports and and press statements, which are then reprinted in the media and amplified in the United Nations Human Rights Council.
NGOs supported by Sweden are also among the leaders in the effort to rewrite the history of the conflict in order to portray Israel as an "evil empire" and the world's worst violator of human rights. The Palme Center, run by the Social Democratic Party and leading trade unions, accuses Israel of "provok[ing] the al-Aqsa rising and the 'Second Intifada,'" and "disproportionate violence against civilians, unlawful executions and torture." The fighting in Gaza is also blamed solely on "the provocative Israeli occupation," rather than on the over 8,000 rockets launched by Hamas, or other forms of terror. The history of Arab rejectionism, the wars designed to "wipe Israel off the map", and the decades of massive Palestinian terror, are erased as part of this demonization.
Similarly, a Sabeel project [which is Christian], "The Nakba Memory, Reality and Beyond," used SIDA funding (SEK 540,000) "to commemorate the Nakba of 1948". Sabeel is a leader of the church divestment campaign, and its director, Naim Ateek, employs anti-Semitic themes and imagery in sermons promoting "Palestinian Liberation Theology."
Diakonia's "International Humanitarian Law" project and other Swedish government funding are behind the abuse of legal frameworks to demonize Israel. The "lawfare" movement uses courts in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand to accuse Israelis of war crimes and similar charges. While all of the cases heard to date have been dismissed, the main purpose of this effort is to reinforce the incitement and hatred directed against Israelis through the rhetoric of morality and human rights. Using Swedish funding, lawfare cases are promoted by Al Haq and the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), which, like other such groups, accuses Israelis of "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity."
When NGO Monitor sent the draft report to the Swedish embassy in Tel Aviv and government officials in Stockholm, they refused to comment or to engage in a discussion of the implications of these reprehensible activities. Perhaps now, after the Aftonbladet report has highlighted the results of this demonization, they will reconsider and stop this destructive misuse of public funds.
Gerald M. Steinberg heads NGO Monitor and is a professor of political science at Bar Ilan University
A screen capture showing the article in Aftonbladet, with a picture of a dead Palestinian next to a picture of a New Jersey rabbi.
- Behind the Humanitarian Mask: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia's anti-Israeli activities
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia totally obsessed with Israel
- Conservative Swedish FM Carl Bildt likens Netanyahu to Hamas
- Sweden: when incitement against Jews is allowed
- Swedish government funds fuel Mideast radical NGOs
- Nina Witoszek: Europe has learned little from history
- Al Haq: Europe funding anti-Israeli NGO
- European funding for the narrative war, Gerald Steinberg
- Swedish journalist looks for Swedish extremist Jews
- "Are we using European tax money to promote peace or hatred?", asks ECI director
Swedish PM Office: "On 1 July 2009, Sweden took over the Presidency of the EU. This means that for six months, Sweden is leading the EU's work and is responsible for moving important EU issues forward." How ironic that Sweden is at the helm of the EU and acts with unique arrogance : "When NGO Monitor sent the draft report to the Swedish embassy in Tel Aviv and government officials in Stockholm, they refused to comment or to engage in a discussion of the implications of these reprehensible activities."
__________________
Gerald Steinberg is not surprised - neither am we.
Source: article in the JPost
The article in Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet accusing Israeli soldiers of stealing and selling the organs of Palestinians is not a surprise or isolated aberration, but rather the result of a long campaign of anti-Israeli demonization, based on manufactured "evidence" repeated by Palestinian "eyewitnesses".
Applying the strategy adopted at the NGO forum of the 2001 UN Durban conference, the well-financed network of radical non-governmental organizations (NGOs) plays a major role in this demonization, and the Swedish government is a major source of funding. Expressions of modern anti-Semitism and blood libels are the logical results of this activity.
An NGO Monitor research report on Swedish government funding, published on June 29 2009, documented this pattern in detail, and warned of the incitement and anti-Semitic language being used routinely by these organizations. This systematic study examined over 20 major NGOs funded through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Diakonia [which is Christian], the multi-national NGO Development Center (NDC), and the Swedish Mission Council (SMR). Many of these NGOs routinely accuse Israel of "genocide," "ethnic cleansing," and "apartheid," and some compare Israeli military and political officials to Nazis. This propaganda warfare is waged through the façade of "research" reports which routinely quote Palestinian "testimonies," taken and repeated without question. The path from this demonization to the blood libels of Aftonbladet is short and direct.
The Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), run by Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, and receiving funds from the SMR framework, is a prominent example. Barghouthi referred to the Gaza conflict as a "horrendous massacre," and used terms like "ghetto," and "apartheid" on a radio program. PMRS refers to the security barrier as the "apartheid wall," and claimed that Israel employs a "racist ideology" and inflicts "collective punishment" on the Palestinians.
Similar language is found in the publications and statements of the radical Israel-based Alternative Information Center (AIC), which received 300,000 Krona ($42,000) in 2008, Palestinian-based Al Haq (SEK 3 million, as part of Diakonia's IHL program), and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (SEK 900,000). The central role of PHR-I officials in the campaigns accusing Israeli doctors of torture and other forms of heinous immorality, resulted in a decision by the Israel Medical Association to sever relations.
SIDA money also goes to the Women's Affairs Technical Committee (WATC), Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), and Jerusalem Center for Women (JWC), which demonize Israel with the rhetoric of "apartheid," "ethnic cleansing," and "massacres." This language is repeated in NGO reports and and press statements, which are then reprinted in the media and amplified in the United Nations Human Rights Council.
NGOs supported by Sweden are also among the leaders in the effort to rewrite the history of the conflict in order to portray Israel as an "evil empire" and the world's worst violator of human rights. The Palme Center, run by the Social Democratic Party and leading trade unions, accuses Israel of "provok[ing] the al-Aqsa rising and the 'Second Intifada,'" and "disproportionate violence against civilians, unlawful executions and torture." The fighting in Gaza is also blamed solely on "the provocative Israeli occupation," rather than on the over 8,000 rockets launched by Hamas, or other forms of terror. The history of Arab rejectionism, the wars designed to "wipe Israel off the map", and the decades of massive Palestinian terror, are erased as part of this demonization.
Similarly, a Sabeel project [which is Christian], "The Nakba Memory, Reality and Beyond," used SIDA funding (SEK 540,000) "to commemorate the Nakba of 1948". Sabeel is a leader of the church divestment campaign, and its director, Naim Ateek, employs anti-Semitic themes and imagery in sermons promoting "Palestinian Liberation Theology."
Diakonia's "International Humanitarian Law" project and other Swedish government funding are behind the abuse of legal frameworks to demonize Israel. The "lawfare" movement uses courts in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand to accuse Israelis of war crimes and similar charges. While all of the cases heard to date have been dismissed, the main purpose of this effort is to reinforce the incitement and hatred directed against Israelis through the rhetoric of morality and human rights. Using Swedish funding, lawfare cases are promoted by Al Haq and the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), which, like other such groups, accuses Israelis of "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity."
When NGO Monitor sent the draft report to the Swedish embassy in Tel Aviv and government officials in Stockholm, they refused to comment or to engage in a discussion of the implications of these reprehensible activities. Perhaps now, after the Aftonbladet report has highlighted the results of this demonization, they will reconsider and stop this destructive misuse of public funds.
Gerald M. Steinberg heads NGO Monitor and is a professor of political science at Bar Ilan University
A screen capture showing the article in Aftonbladet, with a picture of a dead Palestinian next to a picture of a New Jersey rabbi.- Behind the Humanitarian Mask: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia's anti-Israeli activities
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia totally obsessed with Israel
- Conservative Swedish FM Carl Bildt likens Netanyahu to Hamas
- Sweden: when incitement against Jews is allowed
- Swedish government funds fuel Mideast radical NGOs
- Nina Witoszek: Europe has learned little from history
- Al Haq: Europe funding anti-Israeli NGO
- European funding for the narrative war, Gerald Steinberg
- Swedish journalist looks for Swedish extremist Jews
- "Are we using European tax money to promote peace or hatred?", asks ECI director
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Rotterdam fires Tariq Ramadan over Iranian TV show
"The enlightened Ramadan makes talk shows for the Islamic fascists of Tehran; without any twinges of conscious, since the Islamic republic is evidently his ideal republic. It is clear where this Dutch-subsidised bridge builder is building his bridges to. To the fascist Islamic regime of Ahmadinejad. [...] This club of liars and state rapists is who Tariq Ramadan, the Rotterdam builder of bridges, works for. Anyone who works for the immoral, extremely violent and anti-Semitic Iranian regime, not out of any necessity and certainly voluntarily, may not and cannot ever build bridges with Dutch money. And if Ramadan has unexpectedly built a small bridge, we should destroy it as quickly as possible. Because the other side of that bridge, the bank on which Islamic fascism thrives, must never be a Dutch polder." (Afshin Ellian)
Hopefully he will not be allowed to enter the US.
Background:
- Tarik Ramadan has show on Iranian TV
- Rotterdam should get rid of this Islamist
- Rotterdam: complaint about Tariq Ramadan prayer
NRC.nl reports :
The Rotterdam city government wants to break ties with the Muslim philosopher Tariq Ramadan, sources at city hall say.
Ramadan (46) has been an adviser on integration for the city of Rotterdam for two years. Recently, he has come under criticism because he hosts a weekly talk show on the Iranian TV station PressTV, which is financed by the Tehran regime.
The sources at Rotterdam city hall said the board of council executives and the mayor feel Ramadan has lost credibility as an adviser on integration issues. The decision was expected to be made official after a 2 p.m. board meeting on Tuesday.
Rotterdam hired the Egyptian-Swiss theologist to help 'bridge the divide' between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities. The city government also funds Ramadan's chair at the Erasmus University, where he has been a visiting professor of Identity and Citizenship since 2007.
Ramadan, whose principal message is that Islam and European culture do not have to be at odds, is a controversial figure. He already came under fire in the Netherlands in April because of statements that were allegedly homophobic and misogynistic.
The right-wing liberal party VVD dropped out of the local coalition after the city decided to extend Ramadan's contract for another two years. An investigation commissioned by the city had come to the conclusion that the allegations against Ramadan were unfounded.
The Rotterdam city government was surprised last week when it learned about Ramadan's cooperation with the Iranian TV channel. Three local opposition parties immediately called for his resignation, as did the ruling Christian democrats, CDA, in the Dutch parliament.
Ramadan defended his position in a letter to NRC Handelsblad on Tuesday saying: "The present controversy says far more about the alarming state of politics in the Netherlands than about my person."
- European Union invites extremist Muslim representatives to interfaith dialogue
Hopefully he will not be allowed to enter the US.
Background:
- Tarik Ramadan has show on Iranian TV
- Rotterdam should get rid of this Islamist
- Rotterdam: complaint about Tariq Ramadan prayer
NRC.nl reports :
The Rotterdam city government wants to break ties with the Muslim philosopher Tariq Ramadan, sources at city hall say.
Ramadan (46) has been an adviser on integration for the city of Rotterdam for two years. Recently, he has come under criticism because he hosts a weekly talk show on the Iranian TV station PressTV, which is financed by the Tehran regime.
The sources at Rotterdam city hall said the board of council executives and the mayor feel Ramadan has lost credibility as an adviser on integration issues. The decision was expected to be made official after a 2 p.m. board meeting on Tuesday.
Rotterdam hired the Egyptian-Swiss theologist to help 'bridge the divide' between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities. The city government also funds Ramadan's chair at the Erasmus University, where he has been a visiting professor of Identity and Citizenship since 2007.
Ramadan, whose principal message is that Islam and European culture do not have to be at odds, is a controversial figure. He already came under fire in the Netherlands in April because of statements that were allegedly homophobic and misogynistic.
The right-wing liberal party VVD dropped out of the local coalition after the city decided to extend Ramadan's contract for another two years. An investigation commissioned by the city had come to the conclusion that the allegations against Ramadan were unfounded.
The Rotterdam city government was surprised last week when it learned about Ramadan's cooperation with the Iranian TV channel. Three local opposition parties immediately called for his resignation, as did the ruling Christian democrats, CDA, in the Dutch parliament.
Ramadan defended his position in a letter to NRC Handelsblad on Tuesday saying: "The present controversy says far more about the alarming state of politics in the Netherlands than about my person."
- European Union invites extremist Muslim representatives to interfaith dialogue
Monday, 17 August 2009
Why Did Germany Honor an Israel-Basher?, by John Rosenthal
"Langer was honored not despite her anti-Israeli invective, but precisely because of it. More precisely, it shows that government officials were fully aware of what author Ralph Giordano has called Langer’s encouragement of the "widespread" tendency in Germany to "unload the burden of one’s own guilt via criticism of Israel."
Last month, Germany awarded one of its highest honors, the "Federal Merit Cross, First Class," to the Israeli lawyer and political activist Felicia Langer. The Merit Cross is awarded by the German president, currently Horst Köhler, for "special contributions to the Federal Republic of Germany." A former member of the Central Committee of the Israeli Communist Party, Langer is known in Germany, above all, as a ferocious critic of Israel. She has lived in Germany since 1990.
By her own account, Langer left Israel out of protest and she has said that she made "a politically conscious choice for Germany … because I understood with what brutality and sophistication Israel was exploiting the Germans’ guilt." In numerous public statements in books, lectures, and interviews, she has, among other things, called for war-crimes trials against Israeli leaders, dismissed Palestinian suicide bombings as the consequence of "suicidal desperation," and endorsed the charge that Israelis were behaving like a "master race." Coy comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany are indeed a regular part of Langer’s repertoire. (For a selection of translated quotes, see here.)
The news of Langer’s award has prompted incredulous reactions from both Israeli officials and officials of Germany’s leading Jewish organization, the publicly-funded Central Council of Jews in Germany. It has also prompted other Jewish recipients of the Merit Cross, in both Germany and Israel, to threaten to return their awards in protest if Langer’s award is not rescinded. [...]
Thus, we now know that Langer was nominated for the award by none other than Evelyn Hecht-Galinski. (Hecht-Galinski mentions this fact in a letter that appeared in the July 23 edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.) Now, as it so happens, Hecht-Galinski is herself well-known in Germany as an especially virulent critic of Israel. Indeed, this and the fact that she is the daughter of one of the leading figures of Germany’s small post-war Jewish community are, in effect, the only things for which she is known. Like Langer, Hecht-Galinski does not shy away from comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany. Only last year, she was involved in a highly publicized dispute with the journalist Henryk Broder after Broder accused her of "specializing" in a sort of "anti-Semitic anti-Zionism." (On that controversy, see my contemporaneous report here.)
In the meanwhile, moreover, the full text of the speech given in Langer’s honor at the award ceremony has been made available. Langer is a resident of Tübingen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and the ceremony was held in Stuttgart, the state capital. Lieutenant Governor (or "Staatssekretär") Hubert Wicker presented the award. Responding to the controversy over Langer’s award, a spokesperson for the state government has insisted that Langer was honored "for her humanitarian contributions, independently of political, ideological or religious motivations" and her "efforts to help persons in need regardless of nationality or religion" (source: Spiegel-Online).
But the text of Wicker’s award speech clearly reveals that Langer was honored not despite her anti-Israeli invective, but precisely because of it. More precisely, it shows that government officials were fully aware of what author Ralph Giordano has called Langer’s encouragement of the "widespread" tendency in Germany to "unload the burden of one’s own guilt via criticism of Israel." Giordano, who has written numerous books on the Third Reich and Germany’s troubled relation to its Nazi past, is one of the Merit Cross recipients who has threatened to return his award. Describing Langer’s professional and political activities in Israel, Wicker told her:
Moved by the treatment of the Palestinians after the Six Day War as well as since the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, you saw it henceforth as your task to defend the underprivileged in Israel and in the neighboring occupied territories. …
For 23 years you fought against expropriations, the destruction of homes and deportations.
Your clients informed you about torture, forced confessions, deportations in violation of international law, and punishments resembling clan-liability such as the tearing down of suspects’ houses.
In those trying times, you accomplished much. …
Note the two references in quick succession to "deportations," an idiom that clearly suggests that Israelis are guilty of "Nazi-like" crimes. The reference to "punishments resembling clan-liability" [sippenhaftähnliche Bestrafungen] likewise carries a strong whiff of the Third Reich. "Sippenhaft" is the practice of punishing family members for an individual’s alleged crimes. The Nazis were notorious for employing this form of punishment: notably, against members of the resistance in the occupied territories.
The full import of these remarks, moreover, can only be appreciated on the background of Wicker’s previous remarks on Langer’s childhood and family history. Langer was born in Poland in 1930 and she is reported to have fled to the Soviet Union with her family in 1939 following the German invasion. (At the time, roughly half of Polish territory was, in any case, directly annexed to the Soviet Union.) She thus in fact escaped persecution, but she has referred to herself, nonetheless, as an "indirect" Holocaust survivor, “since directly my husband is a survivor.” (For the full quote and source, see here.)
Wicker’s speech likewise, in effect, elevates Langer to the status of an "indirect" Holocaust survivor:
None of us who were born after the War can properly appreciate the human suffering and decades-long grief that have marked your life.
The only thing that remains for us today is to bow down in respect before the victims and the obligation to do everything we can so that this sort of thing [Derartiges] never happens again.
This sort of thing?! But Wicker’s description of Israeli treatment of the Palestinians clearly suggests that "this sort of thing" is happening again — namely, in the Middle East. Employing precisely the same convoluted logic as Wicker, Felicia Langer has in fact explicitly called on Germany to intervene in the Middle East conflict on behalf of the Palestinians. "Germans," she has said, “have not only the right, but the obligation, to intervene. Precisely because they kept silent once before." (For full quote and source, see here.)
The text of Wicker’s award speech has been published on the pro-Palestinian German website Das Palästina Portal. The revealing motto of the site is "Never Again - No One - Nowhere." The obvious implication is that something like the Holocaust is now happening again ("Never Again") - not in Europe, but in the Middle East ("Nowhere") and not to Jews, but to Palestinians ("No One"). In the view of Das Palästina Portal and Felicia Langer, the Jews have become the perpetrators. Hubert Wicker and the government of Baden-Württemberg evidently share this assessment. Does German President Horst Köhler agree?
Source: Pajamas Media
John Rosenthal writes on European politics and transatlantic relations. More of his work can be found at Transatlantic Intelligencer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
