European Gaza flotilla seeks EU political cover

In spite of all the problems, Europeans and the Euro media never give up on their favourite pastime:  Israel bashing.

Source: EU Observer (Second Gaza flotilla seeks EU political cover)

The organisers of a second flotilla aiming to break Israel's siege on Gaza are seeking EU diplomatic protection after Israeli commandos killed nine people and injured 52 during their first trip in 2010.

Speaking to EUobserver from Paris on Monday (4 April), Claude Leostic from Association France Palestine Solidarite (AFPS) said the group will next week send letters to top EU officials Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton urging them to threaten Israel with economic sanctions if there is a repeat of last year's violence.

The first Gaza flotilla ended in an Israeli commando raid which killed nine people and injured 52.

"The EU has been saying for a long time that the blockade is against international law. It has the means to apply economic pressure, to cancel its economic agreement with Israel. If they are serious about their position, they could send such a message. This would be a really good move," she explained.

The NGOs behind the project also expect several MPs from EU countries and MEPs from Brussels to join them when they set sail in late May. [...]

Photo: peaceful flotilla "militant".

Vocabulary and images used by the Spanish media regarding Israel

Spain, Israel and the Jews: An analysis of the vocabulary and the images used by the Spanish media regarding Israel

On Tuesday, March 22, 2011, an article by Ana Carbajosa was published by Spanish daily El País. Ana Carbajosa is El País' correspondent in Jerusalem, which is Israel's capital, though the newspaper she works for still denies this fact by intentionally indicating that Israel's capital city is Tel Aviv.

But now it's time to focus on the vocabulary and the images used by the Spanish anti-Israeli media, and the aforementioned article will be used here as a good example of media bias against the Jewish State.

Firstly, the article is titled as follows: El ejército israelí mata a ocho palestinos, dos de ellos menores, en Gaza, i.e., Israeli army kills eight Palestinians, two of them being minors, in Gaza. And secondly, it's subtitled as follows: "Más de una veintena de palestinos, varios de ellos jóvenes, han resultado heridos durante el ataque a consecuencia de una serie de ataques perpetrados por el ejército", i.e., "More than twenty Palestinians, several of them being youths, have been injured during the attack as a consequence of a series of attacks perpetrated by the army".

Both the title and the subtitle deliberately omit Israel's main reason to attack: Palestinian attacks intentionally directed against Israeli civilians by launching rockets from the Gaza Strip. It's also deliberately omitted that among those killed there were three Palestinian terrorists who were firing from densely populated areas, a fact which could confirm Israel's claim of being attacked by them and the use of local non-combatants as human shields and civilian infrastructures as bases for their operations.

The Palestinian attacks against Israel, the dead terrorists and their tactics are mentioned within the main body of the article, but taking into account that the title is written in bold and in bigger letters and the subtitle is just under it, as well as they're the first part to be read, they claim the attention of the reader firstly and thus condition his or her perception of what has happened: a supposed Israeli attack against Palestinian civilians or at least without consideration for them.

Furthermore, the terms "terrorist", "terrorists" or "terrorism" are not used regarding the members of Palestinian terrorist groups or the groups themselves. The two Palestinian terrorist groups mentioned in this case are Islamic Jihad and Hamas, which are referred to by their names or as "Palestinian armed groups" or simply "armed groups". Hamas is also referred to as an "Islamist movement".

The terrorists are referred to as "militiamen"

In order to avoid doubts about Israel's veiledly alleged vileness among the readers and to erase those facts which could be used to defend Israel's claims from their minds, it's told precisely in the last paragraph that Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip, early in 2009, left 1,400 Palestinians dead.

Google Map Belgium exposes Elders of Ziyon cell based in Brussels synagogue

An antisemitc comment has been on Google Maps Belgium since 15 Avril 2010 describing the Great Synagogue of Brussels, which is also the Great Synagogue of Europe‎, thus (translation from the Flemish) :

"All political, economic and financial decisions in Belgium are taken here. For a decision to be taken, the Belgian Parliament (Wetstraat) has to seek prior approval from the Learned Elders of Ziyon cell based at the Great Synagogue of Brussels (Regentschapsstraat)." 

"hoofdsynagoge Brussel Hier worden alle beslissingen genomen op politiek, economisch en financieel vlak voor België. Vooraleer een beslissing genomen wordt in de Wetstraat, wordt hier in de Regentschapsstraat toestemming gevraagd aan de Wijzen van Zion."

Link: http://maps.google.be/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode&q=Rue+de+la+R%C3%A9gence+32+1000+City+of+Brussels+&aq&sll=50.838685%2C4.355135&sspn=0.007182%2C0.01929&num=10&ie=UTF8&hq&hnear=Rue+de+la+R%C3%A9gence+32%2C+1000+Bruxelles&ll=50.83882%2C4.35536&spn=0.000898%2C0.002411&z=19
then click on the Synagogue.

Needless to say, no such remarks feature either on the Cathedral or on the Great Mosque Brussels maps.

100 years ago Charles Maurras wrote: when all is hopeless try anti-Semitism

On 28 March 1911, Charles Maurras, an intellectual who became a member of the Académie Française in 1938, wrote in L’action française :


"Anti-Semitism is providential. When all looks either impossible, or awfully difficult, it will sort out, smooth over and simplify everything."

H/T N.L.

Belgian newspaper: 99% of Jews stink according to a prostitute

Last weekend, Gazet van Antwerpen, a local Antwerp newspaper, carried an article about prostitution in the city.  The newspaper quotes a prostitute's views on her clients according to nationality and ethnic group. What caracterises her Jewish clientele is lack of hygiene and hypocrisy:

"99% of Jews  - even those with side curls - are dirty and stink.  They always come on Sunday because shabbat is sacred for them.  They do not want to be seen and often hide under an umbrella.  Even when the sun is shining ..."

"99% van de joden - ja, zelfs die met pijpenkrullen - zijn onhygiënisch en stinken. Ze komen altijd op zondag want de sabbat (zaterdag, red.) is heilig. Ze willen niet opvallen en verbergen zich vaak onder een paraplu. Ook als de zon schijnt...".

Arab democracy: Dieudonné goes to Tunisia and calls Zionism a cancer that pollutes the world

French comedian Dieudonné gave a performance in newly democratic Tunisia on 16 March. (See list of court convictions).  Dieudonné is an iconic figure in France.

The CRIF published an article by Jean Corcos "Dieudonné in Tunis : a new anti-Semitic delirium and disturbing developments in Tunisia".

His visit was widely covered and he was interviewed by newspapers and a TV channel, MosaïqueFM.net.  Jean Corcos saw the video and comments (excerpts):

"From the outset, the pseudo comic is on familiar ground harping on his all consuming obsession: "My show is critical of the Zionists." If he talks about his visits to Iran it is to say that the Iranian people "are courageous" and that "they always have the United States and Israel on their backs" ...  opponents killed by the regime in Tehran will think it's tasteless humor. Also note his crass ignorance, which makes him put the date of the Islamic revolution at 1975, or when he tells later that "Ben Ali has held for 30 years".  In fact he took power in 1987!

 Dieudonné immediately "appropriated" the Tunisian revolution by stating that it will be an example to the world. A world, obviously, that must be rid of "Zionism" and soon after with accents reminiscent of nazism he called his spooky ennemy a "cancer" that "pollutes the atmosphere of France and of the World".

"Zionism is money, money for the sake of money, it's Wall Street", he said.  Dieudonné also had a go at Dominique Strauss-Kahn [who is Jewish and expected to be the Socialist party candidate at the French presidential elections in 2012] is the real racist "who unlike Jean-Marie Le Pen [former leader of the far right party Front National] - cited by the journalists - "is the real racist." DSK was called the "candidate of Israel" and "the candidate of Wall Street" ... Can it be any clearer?

But the feeling of uneasiness is perhaps even stronger when one listens to the journalists.  [...] What's shocking is the fact that for the Tunisians who interviewed Dieudonné it is obvious that Israelis are racists of the worst kind. And that they are "a population that feels superior to all others, and who wants to dominate the world" ...

Belgian-Arab artist: electric chair for children with Hebrew inscription

Interestingly, Belgian Arab artist Jamila Al Badaoui claimed that her "electric chair for children" had been at various exhibitions in Brussels without a single complaint being raised. Also interesting to note, none of the inscriptions is in any of the three Belgian official languages: Flemish, French and German.

Source: European Voice (Shock and withdraw)

Artwork is on display, then it's gone.  From the European Commission's department of self-inflicted wounds: on Tuesday (8 March), to celebrate International Women's Day, the Commission hosted an exhibition of work by Arab women artists.

One work, “Electric chair for children”, by the Brussels artist Jamila Al Badaoui, was not on show for long. The work bears a sign saying “Caution: buried electric cable below”, in English, Arabic and Hebrew. The artist said the piece was intended as a universal statement about children's rights and in no way an attack on Israel. But it was withdrawn a mere two hours after going on display.

The Commission's Development and Co-operation department, which is hosting the exhibition at its offices on rue de la Loi until 1 April, said the decision to withdraw the piece was taken by the organisers, the Arab Women's Solidarity Association.

H/T: Esther