Zionist Federation News

IRAN, ISRAEL & THE WEST: A BRITISH JEW'S PERSPECTIVE

2012-02-07T03:42:00.000-08:00

The British embassy in Tehran is sacked. Britain severs its diplomatic ties, expels the
Iranian ambassador and all other diplomats to the court of St. James. It was something
of a courtly dance, the British clearly knew what to expect, there was no surprised struggle,
no hostages and there are signs in the backchannels that the Iranians didn't want events
to go as far as they did or, perhaps, Ahmedinejad or the Supreme Ayatollah is scoring points
off the other. Where does all this sit in the grand strategy of Britain and the Arab world?
By Howard Morris

First, of course, Iran isn't an Arab country.
Most of the time this seems an irrelevant
distinction but it's important in the Middle
East where Iran strives to be the regional super
power and to champion the cause of the
Shi'ite, a minority in Islam but in significant
places forming the majority, strung across
the area in a vast crescent. In Saudi, in Oman,
Bahrain, the UAE, among the Iraqi Sunni, Iran
is feared far more than Israel is loathed. The
Arabs don't want Iran to get the Bomb. That
we know.
And so to Britain. What are its Middle
Eastern goals? Competing factors tend towards
a balance but one that persistently
nags Israel, a strategic friend, to compromise
and concede. British governments are not
and never have been driven by the Jewish
vote. There are almost twice as many Jews living in Brooklyn as in the
entire United
Kingdom. With a UK population of around
60 million, the presence of 300,000 Jews is
immaterial and while we may have disproportionate
business and professional success,
it's still not enough to make the Jewish
vote, Jewish influence, a powerful voice in
Westminster - whatever our enemies might
say, and of course they do darkly mention
"cabals" and "media ownership," more of this
later.
We need oil, so, like the U.S., this drives
Britain to want to befriend the Arabs. And
the Foreign Office has a tradition of Arabism.
Being an Arabist is a thing in Britain, like being
an Anglophile in the U.S.
But off we went to war in Iraq. A war
from which Israel tried to dissuade us and
that a million marched against. We did that
because of the "Special Relationship" with
the United States. It led to the social democrat,
Tony Blair, making common cause with
the right wing President Bush and burning
his reputation and legacy with the left in
Britain in the process. President Obama, incidentally,
is far less of an Anglophile than
previous presidents - his father saw the
British repression of the Mau Mau uprising
in Kenya. Be that as it may, Britain is closer
politically to the U.S. than to Europe and it
is expedient for America to have an ally that
militarily punches above its weight. So we
won't get out of line with the U.S.
And Britain does respect Israel. The attitude
is sometimes coloured by stereotypes
and tropes about Jews. While Nazi type racist
anti-Semitism haunts the fringes of the
near irrelevant nutty right wingers, the real
anti-Semites are on the left. They see Israel
as America's proxy. They like their minorities
to be obviously suffering and dependent
and Jews seem to do so well. Hence the
BBC's institutional bias. It's full of socialists
who have given up every vestige of true socialism
in their own lives but retain a dislike
for the U.S. and all its works. Israel is seen by
them as a creature of the imperial powers, a
view shared by the left in Europe, a colonial
imposition. In contrast Americans see Israel
as an analogue of their own struggle for liberty
in their own land. So a Labour MP who
questioned the appointment of a Jewish
ambassador to Israel because his loyalties
might be divided and who raised some ugly
implications of conspiring groups of international
Jews, was forced to apologise. But the
mainstream media hardly touched the story.
Britain, whatever its left leaning media
might say, is a friend to Israel and itself a
tolerant country. Remember it was Britain
who gave the Balfour Declaration and even
though the Irgun and the Stern Gang fought
a bitter war against the forces of the British
Mandate I don't once recall my parents or
any family members having encountered
any anti-Semitism during the period before
Independence.
In the future? Well there is a significant
Muslim minority in Britain that is growing
and will be the majority in some places.
Among them are a sizeable chunk who are
disenchanted and militant and vehemently
anti-Israel and anti-British. Britain has absorbed
minorities before but this will be a
big swallow.

Howard is an English lawyer at a major international
firm, recently seconded to their New York office.
He is accompanied by his wife, Gaby. They have
two children, both in their twenties, back in the UK.

BEN WHITE-AMNESTY BOOK LAUNCH

2012-01-19T06:15:00.000-08:00

Ms Kate Allen
Managing Director
Amnesty International UK
The Human Rights Action Centre
17-25 New Inn Yard
London EC2A 3EA

12th January 2012

Dear Ms Allen,

We support freedom of speech and accept the right of people to criticise Israel’s policies. But we urge you to reconsider the appropriateness of promoting Ben White, whose book launch your organisation is due to host on 26th January, whose criticisms and whole approach to Israel go well beyond the bounds of acceptable conduct.

In 2002 he wrote “I have just provided a by no means comprehensive list of reasons why I can understand very well that some people are unpleasant towards Jews. I do not agree with them, but I can understand.” (“It is Possible to Understand the Rise in Anti-Semitism”, June 2002)

This appears to be a justification for anti-Semitism. Maybe you can’t see a problem with White’s statement; however, would you be prepared to host someone who had written “I can understand very well that some people are unpleasant towards blacks or homosexuals – I do not agree with them but I can understand”?

Further, in the same article White defended “alleged anti-Semitic remarks made by Jürgen Möllemann, the Deputy Leader of the FDP Party, when he compared the Israeli Government’s actions to those of the Nazi regime”. To White, these comparisons are merely “unwise and unsound” but “........not anti-Semitic. It does not make racist assumptions, nor does it smack of bigotism.” he wrote. This view is contrary to the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia’s working definition of anti-Semitism which includes the drawing of comparisons between contemporary Israeli policy and that of the Nazis.

White was, himself, guilty of using descriptions of Nazi-type actions when he wrote in 2007: “Pity the Palestinians, who, in the name of a ‘social-democratic experiment’, had to endure massacres, death-marches, and ethnic cleansing.” There were no death marches nor ethnic cleansing and one alleged massacre, which is disputed, as opposed to several documented Arab massacres of Jews) Such comparisons, and the use of Nazi- related terminology, go beyond legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies and are offensive to those who suffered so horrifically under the Nazis in ways which bear no comparison to what has happened in Israel. (“Boycott the Backlash, November 2007)
Perhaps you are unaware that White’s previous book “Israeli Apartheid: A Beginner’s Guide” was full of untruths and inaccuracies. Among the worst of these was his misquoting of Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, as saying “We must expel Arabs and take their places” Ben Gurion had actually said the opposite: “We do not wish and do not need to expel Arabs and take their places.” Ben Gurion made it clear that he saw a future for Arabs living in a Jewish state. (2009, Chapter 2)
White also relied on dubious sources, one of them being an essay on Anti-Zionism by Roger Garaudy who was convicted of Holocaust denial in France in 1998.

White ignores inconvenient facts that don’t accord with his theories. The results of a survey conducted recently in September 2011 by leading Palestinian pollster Dr. Nabil Kukali of the Palestinian Centre for Public Opinion, contradict much of what White states. Only one-quarter (23 percent) of eastern Jerusalem’s nearly 300,000 Arab residents said they would "definitely" prefer Palestinian citizenship. Remarkably, 42 percent said they would actually move to a different neighbourhood if necessary in order to remain under Israeli rather than Palestinian authority, confirming results from a similar survey administered by a Palestinian pollster in November 2010. Participants offered several practical reasons for preferring Israeli citizenship: higher income, more employment opportunities, a better social safety net, including health insurance, pensions, and disability benefits and greater freedom of movement under Israel's jurisdiction. Indeed, two-thirds reported that they travel not just to West Jerusalem, but also to other parts of Israel every week. At the same time, more than half of the respondents said they were concerned about decreased freedom of expression and increased corruption under Palestinian rule. (Realclearworld.com, 23rd September 2011)

In 1949 there were 34,000 Christians in Israel; as at Xmas Eve 2011 there were 154,500, representing 2% of the population and being the only Christian community in the Middle East that is growing. Again, contrary to White’s dismal analysis, statistics show that over the years, the Christian Arabs have enjoyed the highest rates of success in the matriculation examinations, both in comparison to the Muslims and the Druze and in comparison to all students in the Jewish education system. (www.mfa.gov.il, Christians in Israel, December 2011)

You have announced on your website: “What many in Israel call ‘the demographic problem’ White identifies as ‘the democratic problem’ which goes to the heart of the conflict: Israel's definition not as a state of its citizens, but as a Jewish state.” Despite the fact that the rights of minorities are guaranteed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence and by Israeli law, and that Israel’s Arabs participate equally in all aspects of the State, White has a problem with Jewish sovereignty. White’s actions are motivated not by a true concern for the Palestinians but rather an irrational obsession with and hatred of Israel. If he were truly concerned with the rights of underprivileged people, why, in all the time that he spent living in Brazil, have we been unable to find any articles by him on the terrible discrimination and persecution suffered by those in the Favelas and by the native peoples in the Amazon region?

Why also does he defend Sheikh Raed Salah, a racist and anti-Semite who (inter alia) claimed the Jews baked the blood of children into their holy bread, claimed 4,000 Jews skipped work at the World Trade Centre on 9/11, laughed at the memory of taunting a Jewish teacher of his with a Swastika and wrote a poem referring to Jews as “monkeys and losers” and being “the bacteria of all times”. Why does he associate with Azzam Tamimi, who has advocated suicide bombing, has told students he “longs to be a martyr” and that Israel “must come to an end”?
For all these reasons, I and many others cannot understand why Amnesty is giving White a platform to propagate his abhorrent and mendacious views unchallenged, and I would urge you to reconsider your support for this event. Alternatively, you could postpone it in order to put on a revised event that would enable a genuine debate to take place with a speaker who holds a different view to that of Mr. White, for example, Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh who lives in Israel.

Yours sincerely,

Harvey Rose
Chairman

cc. Jewish Chronicle
London Jewish News
Jerusalem Post
Haaretz
Evening Standard
Jewish Telegraph

ADVERTISING WATCHDOG CONDEMNS WEBSITE OF PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY MISSION TO UK

2011-12-06T01:55:00.001-08:00

The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that the website of the Palestine Authority Mission to the UK was misleading.

The violations of the CAP Code included an interactive graphic showing Palestine covering the whole territory from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea, erasing Israel from the map. The website also described Jaffa as “a Palestinian Arab city … military occupied by Israel since 1948”. There were also misleading statements regarding Jerusalem, Hebron and Bethlehem.

The website was changed shortly before the ruling was confirmed.

Alan Aziz, Director of the Zionist Federation said:

“We welcome this finding and thank the members of the ZF who submitted complaints. It is vitally important that the British public receives accurate information about the Middle East.”

Jonathan Turner, Head of the ZF’s legal group, said:

“The ASA should be congratulated on its careful and impartial scrutiny. Too often we are on the defensive against attacks on Israel and Israeli organisations. As this ruling shows, those who attack us should pay more attention to failings in their own camp. We will examine the revised website as well as other advertising and if necessary make further complaints.”

We have images from the website prior to it being changed available upon request.

The Zionist Federation has spokespeople available for comment at your disposal both in the UK and in Israel. During office hours please email Stefan@zfuk.org or call 020 8202 0202. For out of office times please call Stefan Kerner on 07767 370 620 or Alan Aziz on 07768 946 868.

WHAT MESSAGING WORKS

2011-11-29T04:32:00.000-08:00

There is much debate over what words and lines are effective when discussing the Israel Palestinian conflict and how an advocate for Israel can put their case in the most favourable manner.

Recently, ‘The Israel Project’ has run a number of focus groups to find out what messages work with the general public and how best to present Israel’s case. The most recent research was carried out with British University students and the preliminary results may come as a surprise to some readers.

Although the general anti-Israel message does seem to have had an effect in the overall perception of the conflict, the specifics of roadblocks, settlements and other such activities were not brought up those being surveyed as reasons for this sentiment; more it was a general sense that Israel had committed humanitarian violations which had, in turn, disenfranchised the Palestinians. Yet despite this, there was no consensus of one side being right and the other being wrong. Those surveyed saw things in shades of grey rather than black and white.

Perhaps reassuringly, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) did not appear to have made much traction with any students beyond those attending particularly aggressive campuses; and boycotts, particularly academic ones, had very little support both as a concept and as an effective technique to pressurise Israel.

What we can learn from this is that we do not necessarily need to be overly concerned about dealing with specific attacks and accusations made against Israel by our opponents and should concentrate on delivering a simple, positive message about Israel in order to counter them.

The strongest messages appeared to be centred around the inclusivity of Israeli society and Israel’s leading position in alternative energy and technology advancements. Among the students surveyed, the fact that Muslim and Christian Arabs have the right to vote and serve in the parliament proved both surprising and very encouraging. And although the students did not see Israel’s scientific strengths as reason to become supportive of the state, the issue does allow the discussion to become broader based.

The weakest message for this particular group seemed to be the religious one that G-d gave the Land of Israel to the Jews and they have lived there for thousands of years.

Also, there is a consideration to be made about discussing the advances and contributions Israel has made to the world in such a strong manner, as the natural response to this was that if it was so good then it must be able to solve the conflict if it really wanted to.

Overall, what we can take from the focus groups is that students who may not instantly become pro-Israel are open to discussion and that the BDS movement have been quite successful in creating a general negative image of Israel without the use for specifics.

Moving forward, although the focus group, where these result emanated, concentrated on university students and its findings are very preliminary, there is no reason to limit the conclusions to just this demographic group. These ideas can be conveyed in debate with other groups as well and should be used as a guide rather than the rule for all cases.

With thanks to ‘The Israel Project’ for organising the focus groups and for producing the results.

BEHIND THE LINES: POLLARD'S PLIGHT

2011-11-15T01:44:00.000-08:00

BY GIL HOFFMAN, THE JERUSALEM POST
November 11, 2011

Ahead of 26th anniversary of Jonathan Pollard's arrest, an exclusive
look at year-old clemency request reveals how his case was mishandled.

Following the release of Gilad Schalit from the clutches of Hamas in the
Gaza Strip, one of the questions most often asked to spokesmen for
Israel who address audiences in the United States is why Israeli agent
Jonathan Pollard remains in an American federal prison.

Pollard will enter his 27th year in captivity on November 21, even
though the median sentence for those convicted of passing classified
information to an ally is just two to four years.

No one else in American history has ever received a life sentence for
this offense.

Successive Democratic and Republican regimes in Washington can be blamed
for not commuting Pollard's sentence. Some hold American Jewish leaders
responsible for not taking a public stand on Pollard until recently and
still not taking enough action.

The last seven prime ministers of Israel undoubtedly could have each
made Pollard a higher priority.

But an exclusive look at Pollard's request for clemency from US
President Barack Obama, which he submitted a year ago, tells a deeper
story of intrigue, legal misconduct and the interference of an American
defense secretary known for being anti-Israel.

Pollard filed his request for clemency last October and over the past
year added seven supplemental filings with letters to Obama calling for
his release from many current and former senior American and Israeli
officials. After a plea from Pollard's wife Esther, Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu followed up with his own formal request three months
later.

A White House spokesman confirmed in May that such requests tend to be
answered within six weeks. He has not said why Obama has been dragging
his feet.

Clemency requests were also filed in 1992 to thenpresident George Bush,
in 1993 to then-president Bill Clinton, and in 2008 to then-president
George W. Bush. The first two announced that they had denied the request
to commute Pollard's sentence.

George W. Bush left office without responding to the request at all.

While the US Board of Prisons web site lists a "presumptive parole date"
in 2015, following 30 years of Pollard's sentence, the US Justice
Department is expected to oppose parole, so Pollard is unlikely to
apply. If he did apply and was rejected, it could bar him from
requesting parole for another 15 years and harm chances of persuading a
president to grant clemency.

Those close to Pollard warn that due to his poor health, he may not
survive four more years in prison. His clemency request reveals for the
first time his long list of ailments: Diabetes, nausea, dizziness,
blackouts and ongoing issues with his gall bladder, kidneys, sinuses,
eyes and feet. He also suffers from Meniere's disease, which causes him
to lose consciousness and fall without warning.

Despite an exemplary prison record, applying for parole is also not an
option for Pollard because of a severe impediment unilaterally imposed
by the US Justice Department preventing his pro bono attorneys, Eliot
Lauer and Jacques Semmelman, from seeing key documents that were
submitted to the judge before he was sentenced in 1987.

Requests for the lawyers to have access to Pollard's file have been
rejected even though both lawyers obtained the appropriate "top secret"
security clearances.

Since the lawyers have not seen their client's entire court file, those
opposed to parole have free reign to say anything about Pollard without
the risk of being contradicted by the documents.

Explaining that their client was not seeking to exonerate himself via a
pardon, Pollard's lawyers wrote in the clemency request that "while
there are serious and substantial issues surrounding the sentencing
process, Mr. Pollard has exhausted his remedies in the US court system.

His sole remaining avenue of relief from his life sentence is executive
clemency."

The request lists Pollard's offense as "conspiracy to deliver national
defense information to a foreign government," but Pollard stressed in
his own words: "I was never charged with, nor did I plead guilty to
harming the United States or aiding a foreign government that is an
enemy of the US."

Pollard has expressed his remorse for his crime on multiple occasions
and also made a point of reiterating his remorse in the document. The
loyalty that he expresses to the US sounds surprising from a man who
hasn't exactly been treated well by American institutions.

"I have never, to this day, lost my love, respect, and gratitude for
everything this country has given me," Pollard wrote. "I deeply regret
what I did.

While my intention at the time I committed this offense was only to help
protect Israel and never to cause damage to the US, I have long since
come to understand that what I did was wrong and that I should have
acted on my concerns in a more appropriate, legal manner."

Pollard received a life sentence on March 4, 1987, despite a plea
agreement he signed a year earlier in which he committed to plead guilty
and cooperate fully with the investigation against him in return for a
commitment by the American government not to seek a life sentence.

Prior to the sentencing, the Department of Justice which revealed that
no concrete harm had been done to the US as a result of Pollard's
espionage.

But then-American defense secretary Caspar Weinberger submitted a
46-page classified declaration two months before the sentencing that
apparently claimed the opposite. Just one day before the sentencing he
submitted another, shorter letter to the judge in which he falsely
accused Pollard of causing at least as much harm to American national
security as had spies for the Soviet Union who were given life
sentences.

Portions of the Weinberger declaration that are in the public record
indicate that it consisted largely of projections of possible future
harm.

Pollard's lawyer at the time, who had full access to the document,
responded to it by saying that "Secretary Weinberger nowhere alleges
that the US has lost the lives or utility of any agents, that it has
been obligated to replace or relocate intelligence equipment, that it
had to alter communication signals, or that it has lost other sources of
information, or that our technology has been compromised.

Indeed the memorandum only discusses the possibility that sources may be
compromised in the future."

Years after other agents were convicted of revealing information that
Pollard was accused of leaking, his current lawyers wrote in the
clemency request that it is likely that many of Weinberger's projections
never came to pass and that scrutinizing his declaration would confirm
that.

"The passage of nearly a quarter century has demonstrated that the
anticipated harm to the US has not materialized and never will," the
lawyers wrote. "Inasmuch as Mr. Pollard's life sentence was premised, in
substantial measure on these projections, commuting of the sentence
would be just and appropriate."

Weinberger's downplaying of Pollard's case in a 2002 interview with
journalist Edwin Black substantiated the lawyers' belief that the harm
Weinberger projected did not materialize.

"The Pollard matter was comparatively minor," Weinberger told Black.
"It was made far bigger than its actual importance."

Weinberger's deputy at the time of the Pollard affair, Lawrence Korb,
who is currently one of the most outspoken advocates for Pollard's
release, recently said that "Weinberger had an almost visceral dislike
of Israel."

If Weinberger's declarations were so damaging, why didn't Pollard object
to the last-minute submissions, rebut them or request a hearing at which
the government would have had to prove Weinberger's charges or withdraw
them? The apparent answer is that Richard Hibey, the lawyer of Lebanese
descent whom Israel paid to represent Pollard, did not tell him that he
was entitled to any of those approaches.
Pollard's clemency request includes a lengthy opinion written by former
federal judge George Leighton of Chicago in which he blamed Hibey for
not preventing the life sentence Pollard received.

"The evidence shows that the government engaged in serious misconduct
that went unchecked by an ineffective defense counsel, Richard Hibey,
and that these constitutional violations severely prejudiced Mr.
Pollard and resulted in his life sentence," Leighton wrote. "He was
deprived of effective assistance of counsel as a result of his counsel's
failure to deal competently with unproven, highly damaging eleventh hour
factual assertions made by the government in a supplemental declaration
of secretary of defense Caspar Weinberger submitted the day before
sentencing."

The most problematic mistake by Hibey, who later represented the
Palestinian Authority in American courts, was that after the sentencing,
he did not file a onepage request for an appeal within the required 10
days. This barred Pollard from ever appealing his life sentence, and as
a result, there has never been any direct appellate review of the
sentencing.

Lauer and Semmelman, who became Pollard's lawyers in 2000, have
attempted unsuccessfully to bring the case back to courts, but their
efforts have been rejected on procedural grounds, leaving clemency by an
American president as the only way Pollard can leave prison alive.

"After nearly 25 years, we respectfully suggest that further
incarceration of Mr Pollard would serve no purpose," Lauer and Semmelman
wrote Obama. "Any deterrent effect on others based on the sentence's
severity has been accomplished."

www.jpost.com/Features/FrontLines/Article

ARTICLE BY SIR MARTIN GILBERT TO COMMEMORATE THE 94TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BALFOUR DECLARATION WHICH WAS GIVEN TO THE ZF IN 1917

2011-11-10T02:32:00.000-08:00

In the autumn if 1917, the British War Cabinet, desperate to persuade the Jews of Russia to urge their government to renew Russia’s flagging war effort, saw a future Jewish Palestine as an inducement and stimulus to the patriotic zeal of Russia’s Jews. To this end, Britain, encouraged the possibility of an eventual Jewish majority in Palestine, even if – with the population then being some 600,000 Arabs and 60,000 Jews – such a majority might take many years to emerge.
On 24 October 1917, the Foreign Secretary, A.J. Balfour told the War Cabinet: ‘The vast majority of Jews in Russia and America, as, indeed, all over the world, now appeared to be favourable to Zionism. If we could make a declaration favourable to such an ideal, we should be able to carry on extremely useful propaganda both in Russia and America.’ On November 1, a senior Foreign Office official noted that the Zionist leaders then in Britain were prepared to send ‘agents’ to Russia and America ‘to work up a pro-ally and especially pro-British campaign of propaganda among the Jews.’
The Balfour Declaration was issued the next day, November 2. To secure the results hoped for by the Foreign Office, Vladimir Jabotinsky agreed to go at once to Russia, to stimulate Russian Jews to urge their government not to pull out of the war, and leave Britain and France in danger of defeat at the unfettered hands of Germany. Weizmann agreed to go first to the United States and then to Russia, to rouse pro-war sentiment among the Jewish masses in both countries. But on November 7, before Jabotinsky or Weizmann could set off, the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd and withdrew Russia from the war.
Publication of the Balfour Declaration had been delayed a week so that it could first be published in the weekly Jewish Chronicle on November 9. It was thus issued too late to affect the Bolshevik triumph. It did, however, encourage American Jews, especially those born in Russia, to volunteer to fight in Palestine against the Turks as part of the British Army. Yitzhak Rabin’s father was among those volunteers.
The Balfour Declaration had nothing in it about Jewish statehood. On 31 October 1917, Balfour told the War Cabinet that while the words ‘national home … did not necessarily involve the early establishment of an independent Jewish State’, such a State ‘was a matter for gradual development in accordance with the ordinary laws of political evolution’.
On 3 January 1919 agreement was reached between Weizmann and the Arab leader Emir Feisal, stating that that all ‘necessary measures’ should be taken ‘to encourage and stimulate immigration of Jews into Palestine on a large scale, and as quickly as possible to settle Jewish immigrants upon the land through closer settlement and intensive cultivation of the soil’. In taking such measures, the agreement went on, ‘the Arab peasant and tenant farmers shall be protected in their rights, and shall be assisted in forwarding their economic development.’
On February 27, in Paris, Weizmann presented the Weizmann-Feisal Agreement to the Allied Supreme Council of the victorious powers, which wanted to know if a Jewish ‘nationality’ would involve eventual statehood? Weizmann told them: ‘Later on, when the Jews formed the large majority, they would be ripe to establish such a Government as would answer to the state of the development of the country and to their ideals.’ On July 5, Balfour informed the British general then in charge of Palestine that land purchase could continue ‘provided that, as far as possible, preferential treatment is given to Zionist interests’.
When Winston Churchill was asked, in 1937 by the Royal Commission on Palestine, whether a Jewish majority had been intended by those who, like himself while Colonial Secretary in 1922, had been responsible for the evolution of the Mandate, he replied: ‘Certainly we committed ourselves to the idea that some day, somehow, far off in the future, subject to justice and economic convenience, there might well be a great Jewish State there, numbered by millions, far exceeding the present inhabitants of the country and to cut them [the Jews] off from that would be a wrong.’

UK RALLY FOR GILAD SHALIT

2011-10-20T02:45:00.001-07:00

The Jewish Community turned Hendon’s Brent Street into a little bit of Israel tonight as they celebrated the release of Gilad Shalit from 5 years of captivity at the hands of Hamas.

Singing and dancing were interspersed with speeches from a variety of people, all of whom represented different parts of the community who have campaigned for all these years for the safe return of Gilad.

The Zionist Federation of the United Kingdom, who organised the event introduced Hemda Garelick who is a close family member of Gilad Shalit and who told the cheering crowd how Aviva Shalit, Gilad’s mother, had told her just a short while earlier how they had just enjoyed their first proper family meal together in more than 5 years.

Michael Brodsky, the Director of Public Affairs at the Embassy of Israel, spoke of the emotions that the entire State of Israel was feeling and the high price that had been paid to bring Gilad Shalit home.

Oliver Mayemba, representing the Christian Friends of Israel, expressed his joy at Gilad’s release and told of how his prayers and those of so many Christians throughout the UK and Israel had finally been answered.

Alan Aziz, the Zionist Federation’s Executive Director said’ “This was a wonderful way to end an emotional day. Israel has paid a heavy price but has brought home one of its children. Our message is clear, we celebrate the return of an innocent citizen while Hamas celebrate the return of murderers and terrorists.”

COMMENT ON GILAD SHALIT’S IMMINENT RELEASE

2011-10-18T01:32:00.001-07:00

The Zionist Federation of the United Kingdom welcomes the release of kidnapped Israeli Gilad Shalit.

Gilad Shalit was kidnapped and held illegally for over 5 years with no access to his family and even the International Red Cross have failed to make contact. Israel values all life as precious and has shown this with the news that it has agreed to the release of a thousand convicted Palestinians for the safe return of Gilad Shalit.

Gilad’s captivity has been in the hearts and minds of every Israeli citizen and supporter around the world; and we await his release and return to freedom. We also hold this as a further symbol of Israel’s willingness to make painful concessions in order to achieve its dream of peace.

The Zionist Federation hopes that this news is confirmed and is the start of a period of renewed hope that will bring a peaceful solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

RALLY TO CELEBRATE THE RELEASE OF GILAD SHALIT

2011-10-18T01:19:00.001-07:00

With the news that kidnapped Israeli Soldier, Gilad Shalit, is due to be released from captivity after more than 5 years, the Zionist Federation UK are holding a rally to celebrate this news. Although we recognise the very high price that Israel has had to pay to ensure his release, Israel has once again shown the value it places on each and every one of its citizens. We look forward to seeing Gilad safely in the arms of his loving family.

ZF supporters will be gathering on the corner on Brent Street and Bell Lane in Hendon from 6.00pm tomorrow, Tuesday 18th October.

The Zionist Federation hopes that this is the start of a period of renewed hope that will bring a peaceful solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict and that positive news will be forthcoming regarding the additional six Israeli MIA's - Zecharya Baumel, Zvi Feldman, Yehuda Katz, Ron Arad, Guy Hever and Majdy Halabi.

GILAD SHALIT PRESS RELEASE

2011-10-13T01:18:00.001-07:00

The Zionist Federation of the United Kingdom welcomes the news that a deal for the release of Israeli Gilad Shalit has been agreed between Israel and Hamas.

Gilad Shalit was kidnapped and held illegally for over 5 years and had no access to his family. Even the International Red Cross have failed to make contact. Israel values all life as precious and has shown this with the news that it has agreed to the release of a thousand convicted Palestinians for the safe return of Gilad Shalit.

Gilad’s captivity has been in the hearts and minds of every Israeli citizen and we join them in calling for his swift release and return to freedom. We also hold this as a further symbol of Israel’s willingness to make painful concessions in order to achieve its dream of peace.

The Zionist Federation hopes that this news is confirmed and is the start of a period of renewed hope that will bring a peaceful solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

The Zionist Federation has spokespeople available for comment at your disposal both in the UK and in Israel. During office hours please email Stefan@zfuk.org or call 020 8202 0202.

PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN - WEST LONDON GROUP

2011-10-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

Meeting at Hammersmith Thursday 6th October
Observer Feedback

The event, held in a Methodist Church of God in which a Palestinian flag was draped across the preachers lectern, was sadly misleading. Much was made of Israel’s destruction of Palestinian homes and schools, the Apartheid Wall and buses, the Palestinians paying taxes to live in East Jerusalem and only benefitting from 8% of investment, but no context given. The constant referral to the Apartheid Wall was left without any reference as to why it had to go up in the first place. The endless loaded descriptions of Israel’s military occupation of the territories was presented without referencing how it came to be. And in a final admission by one white British woman: she stated Israel has no right to exist and that the concept that Jews had lived in Israel for 4000 years was, “a load of twot.”

There was a historic presentation to begin with in which facts were misrepresented and inaccurate. Dates given were wrong, events were incorrectly expressed and misleading. Words such as force, control, and creeping expansionism, were frequently used. No-one would discuss the fact there was no such place as Palestine until 70AD when the Romans attempted to wipe out all evidence of the Jewish homeland of 2000. No mention was made that a remnant of Jews has always lived in the land.

An interesting comment was, “it doesn’t matter about Israel’s religious beliefs but only international law.” This statement epitomised for me, the man with a plank in his own eye trying to remove the speck from another. No mention was made of the Arab claim to Jerusalem as their religious site, or that the thousands of Grad rockets launched into Israel were a violation of international law. No mention was made of the Palestinian people embracing militant Islam with its desire to drive Israel into the sea. No recognition given to Israel’s existential threats and addressing them - to work together to find peace.

A British civil servant stood up and talked about law, used phrases like illegal possession, he stated that Palestinians were treated as second class citizens, had to have Jerusalem residency permits, experienced discrimination in receiving access to public services, that their rights to residency could be revoked if they left Jerusalem and that this was why they build illegally to accommodate their expanding families. He stated discrimination was demonstrated by the delivery of poor roads, lack of sewage and water, disparity in building laws and that the residents of West Jerusalem get away with more than those in the East when it comes to building permits.

He went on to say that any Israeli who marries a Palestinian cannot have their spouse live with them in Israel, or their children. He stated the annexation was illegal under international law - yet failed to address any of Israel’s concerns about security and the restraining of militant groups operating within the territories.

No mention was made that Israel had always accepted a two state conceptually, but that the Palestinians had refused it.

A Church leader, Stephen Sizer, spoke of the misinterpretation of the Bible and how Zionism had become a new mission for many Christians. He said they were wrong. He stated Israel had become a Christian theme park and that the set itinerary for most groups was to see only what Israeli authorities want them to see. That the wall, they called Haffrodah (!) was in Dutch, the Afrikaans equivalent for segregation based on race, hence the Apartheid theme.
He made no mention of the 1.2 million Arabs who want to live in Israel, nor the jobs, medical benefits and aid given to thousands of Palestinians.

He used an interesting analogy of Israel being like a child who puts his hand in a cookie jar and wants to take out three biscuits at once – but cant. The three biscuits are called Israel, Democracy and Occupied Territories. He stated Israel cannot take all three, only two.

He used quotes from various international figures about South Africa as a comparison and the removal of apartheid, but failed to point out that since then, South Africa now has a major crime epidemic with many leaving the country. He talked of East and West Jerusalem being autonomous, but didn’t explore the problems as for example seen in East and West Berlin, where it failed and those left in the East had a torrid existence.

Finally, a lady stood and talked about the systematic destruction of Palestinian homes and schools, which was an effective speech. I could not respond because I do not know what is happening there – but would like to.

Overall it was disappointing and misleading. All the good that Israel does was never mentioned of course. They exploit emotive words such as apartheid, evictions, ethnic cleansing, segregation, colonisation and war crimes (Gaza). Never do they talk about the militants that operate from schools and community centres in Gaza, the butchering of a Jewish family a few months ago, and the thousands of Grad rockets that land on Israeli soil - and the rest.

They complain that the borders of Gaza are unfair, discriminatory and restrictive, yet what do they expect to happen if they gain independence? The phrase wanting to have ones cake and eat it springs to mind.

My overall view was that they talk a good talk and have certainly mastered the exploitation of emotive language and narrative. Israel has much catching up to do in the PR game and needs to do so soon.

Howard Stern is a Christian Zionist Federation Spokesman for Israel and works as a professional negotiator and mediator. Howard is also organising a conference on12th November 2011 entitled ‘Israel’s Future and Ours’ on the challenges facing Israel today. If you wish to attend please contact go to www.hagoshrim.org,uk.

ZF ISRAEL TRIP 2011 PROGRAMME

2011-09-15T04:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday 18th September

9pm Meet & greet at the Carlton hotel

Monday 19th September

8 – 9 Breakfast
9.15am Welcome briefing by Gil Hoffman,
Jerusalem Post. Magenta Hall.
10.15am Depart for Independence Hall
11am Guided tour of Independence Hall
12pm Free time/lunch in Nachalat Benyamin/Shenkin
1.20pm Meet group
1.30pm Depart for Old City Hall
3.10pm Depart for Bar Ilan University
3.45pm Tour of University
5.30 pm Depart back to the hotel
6 – 7pm Break
7.10pm Walk to the Old Port
7.30pm Group dinner at Badolina
8.30pm Walk back to Hotel

Tuesday 20th September

7.45-8.45 Breakfast
9.00am Guided tour by Miri Eisen to Kfar Kassem & nearby settlements on the green line.
11.30am Depart for Zichron Yaacov
12.30pm Group lunch at Bistro de Carmel
1.45pm Tour of Baron de Rothschild wine cellars
2.50pm Depart for Daliat el Carmel
3.15pm Visit the Mohraka Monastry
4pm Depart for Market in Osfiya
4.10pm Free time at the Shuk
4.45pm Meet back at the coach
5pm Briefing on the history of the Druze community
6pm Group dinner with a Druze family
7pm Depart for Tel Aviv
8.30pm Arrive back at the hotel

Wednesday 21st September

7.15–8.15 Breakfast
8.30am Depart for Jerusalem
10.00am Tour of Herzl Museum + Herzl’s graveside
11am Meeting with Mark Regev
12 noon Group lunch in Ein Karem
1pm Depart for Gilad Shalit tent
1.20pm Show solidarity with Shalit family
1.50pm Depart for Kotel
2.10pm Free time at Kotel
3pm Meet at Dung Gate
3.10pm Depart for Knesset
3.30pm Meet MK’s plus VIP access tour of the Knesset
5.30pm Depart for Tel Aviv
6.30–8pm Free time for dinner
8pm Israel Update with David Horovitz – former
Editor of The Jerusalem Post. Carlton Hotel

Thursday 22nd September

8.30–9.30 Breakfast
9.45am Depart for Rabin Centre
10.30am Welcome by the Director
10.45am Tour of the Centre
1pm Visit Bakery 29 – where all the profits go to helping IDF soldiers
2pm Depart for Design Museum Holon
2.30pm Tour of Design Museum
4pm Depart for Jaffa
4.30pm Meet Frank Meisler at his workshop in Jaffa –
one of Israel’s leading artists
6.30pm Group dinner at Dr Shakshouka in Jaffa
8.00pm Arrive at the Nalaga’at Theatre
8.30pm Watch ‘Not by Bread Alone’

Friday 23rd September

8am Breakfast with & briefing by lone soldiers.
9.30am Check out of rooms
10.30am Walk to Ben Gurion house
11am Guided tour of Ben Gurion’s house
12pm Programme ends

Important Numbers: Police 100 Ambulance 101 Fire 102
Dalia Israel Mobile 0544 453 181 Carlton Hotel 03 – 520 1818

As always, the itinerary had to be tweaked until the last moment,
but it promises to be a truly inspiring five days in Israel.
We hope you have an enjoyable and informative trip!

ISRAEL CONNECT & YOUNG JNF ISRAEL TRIP 2011 PROGRAMME

2011-09-15T04:42:00.000-07:00

MONDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER

Jerusalem
Bring modest clothing for Kotel.

09.00 Welcome & Israel Update
Overview of programme, meet the group.
Speaker: Update on current political situation by Israeli spokesperson

11.00 Fruit Picking / Volunteering
Through Project Leket, volunteers, through the support of farmers, go into fields to pick and gather fruits and vegetables that were left and not harvested at the end of the season. All of the collected produce is distributed to non-profit organisations serving people in need of food, located throughout Israel.
An ideal way to get to know the rest of the group in an informal, fun and different setting!

12.50 Lunch

15.00 Tree Planting
Plant a tree in the Lord Sacks Forest in Jerusalem.
Did you know? Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st Century with more trees than it began the 20th Century with. This was achieved in a country that is more than half desert.

16.30 Gilad Shalit Tent
Gilad Shalit is an Israeli IDF who was captured on the 25th June 2006 by Hamas in a cross-border raid. He has been held hostage at an unkown location in Gaza by Hamas since then, with no access allowed by his family, the Red Cross, or anyone. His family (father Noam and mother Aviva) has set up a tent utside the residence of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to demonstrate for their relative's release.

17.30 Kotel
The Western Wall, or the Kotel, is known as the most significant site in the world for the Jewish people.

20.30 Dinner in Tel Aviv

22.00 Tel Aviv by night
A chance to let your hair down and get to know the group. Experience Tel Aviv’s incredible night life whilst overlooking the sea.

TUESDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER

Down South!
Bring your swimming costume!

08.45 Leaving Hotel

10.00 Sderot Indoor Recreation Center
Over the past few years, the Israeli communities on the border with Gaza have endured continual Kassam rocket attacks. These attacks are untargeted, but some have hit residences and schools, killing 11 citizens and hurting hundreds more. The city of Sderot, located on the border with Gaza, has been hardest hit — its children growing up in the shadow of violence, fear, and uncertainty. To directly impact the lives of the children of Sderot and provide them with the chance to simply be kids the largest indoor playground in Israel in Sderot has been built. The all-inclusive Indoor Recreational Center opened on March 10, 2009 to provide Sderot’s youth with a place to have fun, connect with friends, enjoy stimulating classes, and be children, beyond the conflict. A place to feel strong and free, away from their daily helplessness and anxiety. And parents can have peace of mind knowing that their children are playing and learning in an environment that is safe and secure.

12.15 Halutzit
A remarkable community of pioneers at Halutzit in the Northern Negev who have seen their communities dismantled twice in the name of peace, first at Yamit in Sinai, and then at Atzmona, Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip. Now they are building again from nothing, for a third time. In plastic greenhouses they are growing superb sweet peppers and lettuces that you can find on the shelves of top-quality supermarkets and stores in the UK.

13.45 Lunch & Swimming Pool – Kibbutz Tze’elim

17.15 Ayalim Centre
Built in the middle of the Negev desert, 20 miles south-east of Beersheva, Yerucham was established as a development town in 1951. It has one of Israel's highest unemployment rates, few facilities and is a very challenging place to live. Yet young people are moving here, through an organisation called Ayalim. They are true 21st Century Zionists.

18.00 Dinner at Yerucham
We will spend the evening with the residents getting to know more about them and the project.

22.00 Tel Aviv by night

WEDNESDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER

08.45 Leaving Hotel

09.45 Dialogue in the Dark
Dialogue in the Dark has been presented in over 30 countries and more than 160 sites in over 110 cities throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and America since it’s opening in 1988. So far, over 6 Million visitors have experienced Dialogue in the Dark worldwide, and over 6,000 blind candidates have found employment through Dialogue in the Dark.

12.30 Lunch at IDC
IDC Herzliya has attracted 850 students from over 50 countries to its International School (RRIS), the only academic institution in Israel that offers three-year Bachelor’s Degree Programs and Master's Programs taught entirely in English. Known for their programmes on National Security and Counter-Terrorism we will see what makes IDC so special, and have a briefing from a top lecturer.

14.30 Rich Confections
Netta Korin grew up in a family that had to be careful with their money. She thought to be happy you had to have money, and thus was determined she would be a millionaire. By 25 she was a investment banker on Wall Street , and was a millionaire. Few years later following a break up with her boyfriend, she realised money wasn’t everything. She wanted to help. She visited the Friends of IDF and heard how some had to stay on base during their leave because there was no food for them at their homes. Now she runs a bakery, with all profit supporting Friends of IDF.

15.15 Free time for shopping/leisure/beach in Tel Aviv

18.30 Dinner in Tel Aviv

20.00 Briefing by David Horovitz - with Zionist Federation Israel Trip Group
David Horowitz is an Israeli journalist, author and speaker, and the former Editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post – one of the biggest newspapers in Israel; widely read around the world.

21.30 Tel Aviv by night
A chance to let your hair down and get to know the group. Experience Tel Aviv’s incredible night life whilst overlooking the sea.

THURSDAY 22ND SEPTEMBER

Up North!

08.30 Leaving Hotel

10.00 Navy Base
Israel has four Navy bases – one of the key bases being in Haifa. The Haifa Navy base were responsible for stopping the flotilla in May 2010. A chance to have a tour around the Navy base, and see a different side to Israel’s defence.

12.30 Ein Hod
Ein Hod is a picturesque artists’ village, the only one of its kind in Israel and one of the few such villages in the world. Nestled in natural vegetation and bordered by an ancient olive grove, it lies on the western slopes of Mt Carmel, in a breathtaking landscape looking out toward the sea and the Crusader fortress of Atlit.
Be sure to visit the pub: Danny’s Beer!

14.30 Google Israel
Israel has more companies quoted on the high-tech NASDAQ stock exchange in New York than any other country outside the United States. In innovation it outshines all its neighbours. Between 1980 and 2000 Egyptians registered 77 patents in the US. Saudis registered 171. Israelis registered 7,652.
A chance to visit Google Israel, to see how Israel is competing in the international market, and why Google decided to set up an R&D centre in Israel.

16.30 Wine Tasting at Carmel Winery
A new Center for Wine Culture has opened at Carmel Winery’s Zichron Ya’acov Wine Cellars. At Carmel’s Zichron Ya’acov Wine Cellars, it is possible to see winemaking on both a large and small scale. It is the largest winery in Israel, yet there is also a small state-of-the-art facility for making the upper level wines. Visitors will learn about the history of Israeli wine from the 1880’s right up to the recent quality revolution. The winery provides a fascinating glimpse into the ancient, old and new world of winemaking, all in one setting.

20.00 Dinner at the Winery
’Bistro de Carmel’ is a Mediterranean style diary restaurant situated in the historic house where the winemaker used to live until the 1970’s.

21.30 Tel Aviv by night
A chance to let your hair down and get to know the group. Experience Tel Aviv’s incredible night life whilst overlooking the sea.

FRIDAY 23RD SEPTEMBER

09.30 Breakfast with Lone Soldiers
The IDF defines a lone soldier as one who has no immediate family in Israel, primarily made up of those that made aliyah. A chance for discussions with soldiers – a chance to learn about their motivations and challenges, whilst meeting Israeli’s of similar age.

10.45 Rabin Centre
On November 4 1995 the Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated at the close of a peace rally entitled, “Yes to Peace, No to Violence” in Tel Aviv. An Israeli Jew shot the Prime Minister three times in the back. The assassination took place at the height of a difficult political struggle centred on the character and future of the State of Israel, a struggle that was accompanied by incitement against the Prime Minister and against the political process he led. The Center is the national institute dedicated to improving the shape of Israeli society by ensuring that the legacy of Yitzhak Rabin continues to impact the youth and people of Israel.

12.45 Sikkum and Goodbyes

13.30 End of Programme

Contact Phone Numbers in Israel
If you are dialing or texting from your British mobile phone, you will need to enter as below.
If dialing from an Israeli phone, replace the digits ‘00972’ with a ‘0’.

Gary Sakol Israel Mobile (from Sunday 18th, PM) 00972 54 793 1126
Melanie Lax Israel Mobile (From Sunday 18th, PM) 00972 54 242 6321
Alan Aziz (emergency only) 00972 52 600 0444
Taxi number in Tel Aviv 00972 3 546 6222
Hotel: Grand Beach Hotel, 250 Hayarkon St., Tel Aviv, 63113 00972 3 543 3333
Police 100
Ambulance 101
Fire 102

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER FROM THE ZIONIST FEDERATION

2011-09-15T03:52:00.001-07:00

The Rt Hon David Cameron MP
The Office of the Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA

Dear Prime Minister,

RE: Durban III Conference 22nd September 2011

As a supporter of true principles of human rights and equality, I urge you to oppose the U.N.’s ‘Durban III’ gathering scheduled to be held in New York later this month. It is intended to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 2001 World Conference of Racism held in Durban, South Africa which became a forum to attack America, the West and, in particular, Israel. The conference not only failed to combat racism but has become the worst international manifestation of anti-Semitism in the post-war period.

The result of the 2001 conference was the notorious ‘Durban Declaration’ that charged only Israel with racism, out of 192 member states, and singled out ‘the plight of Palestinians under foreign occupation’. The U.N. sponsored NGO Forum of the Conference formally declared Israel a ‘racist apartheid state’ guilty of ‘genocide’.

The European Union is the most influential bloc of democracies at the U.N. and it must not give legitimacy to a conference that will be dominated by enemies of democracies and human rights, such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has regularly called for the destruction of Israel and denied the Holocaust.

I urge you to follow the USA, Canada, Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Australia, Austria, Italy, Germany and Israel by withdrawing both Britain’s support and presence at this forthcoming event and to openly condemn Durban III.

Yours sincerely,

Harvey Rose
Chairman

ZF BRIEFING ON THE PROPOSED MOTION FOR PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

2011-09-08T04:51:00.000-07:00

On 20th September, the Palestinian Authority will go to the United Nations and request UN membership and international recognition of an independent state of Palestine based on the 1967 borders. The United States of America have announced that they will use their veto against any motion of this kind at the Security Council, meaning that the PA will most likely then turn to the General Assembly to ask for its status to be upgraded from ‘UN Observer’ to a ‘Non-Member State.’ This will require a two-thirds majority to pass but it is felt that there is a strong possibility that this will be achieved. As nothing will change ‘on the ground’, this move by the PA is seen as an attempt to isolate Israel on the international stage and detract from their refusal to negotiate directly with Israel to come to a peaceful resolution to the long running issue.

“Unilateral actions taken by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations, and will not be recognized by the international community.”

Joint statement by the United States, European Union, Russian Federation and United Nations, 26th June 2009

Why is it Wrong?

Any unilateral act is in direct contravention of the Oslo Accords of both 1993 and 1995 which specifically called for a negotiated resolution to the permanent status of Palestinian statehood. The Accords, signed by the PLO on behalf of the PA, explicitly forbids either side from acting in the manner that the Palestinians are now threatening. If the PA violates these agreements the whole premise of future negotiations will be undermined and even the legitimacy of the PA itself will be called into question.

“A final agreement has to be precisely final and that is why it must be reached by negotiation between the parties. Anything else will be a dangerous mirage for the Palestinians.”

Former Spanish PM Jose Maria Aznar, 6th September 2011

Is It Legal?

The Palestinian’s actions are also a direct violation of UN Resolutions 242 and 338, the main resolutions pertaining to the 1967 borders, as they both call for negotiated agreements leading to ‘secure and recognized boundaries’. The 1967 lines was also never seen as an international border, rather an armistice line from 1948, and thus a PA unilateral declaration of statehood based on the 1967 lines is in defiance of these UN Resolutions.

If this motion was to pass the UN General Assembly, it is widely accepted that future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians become significantly more difficult and complicated as it makes it harder for the Palestinians to compromise on their positions. The Palestinians will also have less incentive to achieve a negotiated settlement while continuing to attempt to isolate Israel in the international arena.

“A unilateral declaration of statehood by the Palestinians at the United Nations can lead to a stalemate between the sides especially when a peace agreement can be achieved through direct negotiations.”

Israel President Shimon Peres, 4th September 2011

What are the Consequences?

It is feared that the UN motion will lead to violence as expectations of statehood on the Palestinian streets will not be met. Expectations of ‘changes on the ground’ that turn out to be clearly false are likely to lead to anger and demonstrations with the real threat of another Intifada.

“It is not going to be a dramatic result and I do not believe it will be right to continue, for there to be preoccupation about something dramatic happening.”

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, 29th June 2011

What is the Alternative?

Israel regularly and openly calls for a resumption of faced to face negotiations between the two sides and that Israel has two main principals that must be agreed for any deal to be made. Firstly, Israel’s security needs must be met and these include a more defensible border than the 1967 lines and a non-militarisation of a Palestinian state. Secondly, Palestinian acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state alongside a Palestinian state, with the implication that there can be no Palestinian ‘right of return’ to Israel as this would end the Jewish majority in the state.

“Now is the time for the international community to tell the Palestinian leadership what it refuses to tell its own people: there are no shortcuts to statehood. They will have to get off the bandwagon of unilateralism and back to the hard work of direct peacemaking.”

Israel Ambassador Ron Prosor Speaking to the UN Security Council, 11th June 2011

What can you do?

The United Kingdom has yet to decide which way it will vote in the United Nations Assembly so there is still time for you to help.

Please write to your local MP urging them to support peaceful negotiations and reject unilateral UN resolutions. Take the time to write, encourage your friends and family to write. Write to your local newspaper or national newspapers making the case for the UK to support peaceful negotiations and reject unilateral UN resolutions.

With thanks to Beyond Images, The Jerusalem Post and BICOM for information in this document

JONATHAN POLLARD

2011-09-08T04:05:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Pollard was sentenced to life imprisonment despite never having stood trial for the charges made against him that included spying for Israel. He has never been indicted or charged with treason and those found guilty in a court of law with similar offences to his have been sentenced, on average, for up to four years only. Why is Jonathan Pollard being treated so differently to other US citizens? Despite many years of campaigning for his release, which include personal requests from numerous Israeli Prime Ministers, Pollard remains behind bars. Read the article by internationally renowned lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, which helps to explain the injustices that Jonathan Pollard has had to face.

Pollard's sentence should be commuted to time served
Alan M. Dershowitz - The Jerusalem Post - August 21, 2011

There are several reasons why justice demands that Jonathan Pollard's sentence be commuted to time served and that he be immediately released.
The first is a legal and constitutional argument. Pollard waived his right to trial by jury in exchange for a promise by the government that it would not seek life imprisonment. The government broke that promise. It submitted a perjured affidavit by then Secretary of Defense Weinberger demanding life imprisonment and overstating the damage that Pollard had caused. This was a direct breach of the plea bargain. Unfortunately Pollard's appeal was argued to a panel that included two Jewish judges, at least one of whom aspired to the Supreme Court. The two of them wrote a scandalously inept opinion affirming the sentence, while the third, non-Jewish, judge declared it to be a gross violation of due process and basic fairness. The non-Jewish judge, who had no fear of being accused of dual loyalty, was correct. The two Jewish judges were dead wrong.
I know of no other case in American jurisprudence in which a plea bargain has been so blatantly violated and the violation approved by an appellate court. The legal remedy is enforce the plea bargain as written and impose the sentence that the government promised it would seek. If Pollard had served that sentence, he would be free by now.
Even if the law did not require Pollard's immediate release, principles of fairness and equal justice surely would. The typical sentence imposed on an American who spies for an ally of the United States is in single digits. Such sentences have been imposed on Americans who spies for Egypt and other countries that are American allies. There is no reason in justice or fairness for Pollard to have received the double digit sentence for spying for Israel. The prosecutor in this case tried to justify this sentencing disparity by arguing that since so many Americans support Israel, the need for deterrence is greater. This is an unacceptable double standard.
Finally, there are the humanitarian considerations. Pollard has served longer than any American convicted of spying for an American ally. He is very sick having undergone several surgeries. He will die in prison unless his sentence is commuted.
Why, it might be asked, is he still in prison? The answer is that two groups of people have worked hard to keep him in prison. The first is the intelligence community, led by former CIA Director George Tenet. President Clinton was apparently prepared to release Pollard toward the end of his term when Tenet, former head of the CIA, threatened to quit. This threat violated the law, which expressly prohibits a CIA Director from making policy. Tenet's illegal threat made policy and kept Pollard in prison.
The other group that worked hard to keep Pollard in prison was a group of Jewish senators who wrote to President Clinton insisting that Pollard's sentence not be shortened. President Clinton personally told me that this letter from influential Jewish senators affected his decision. Now even several of these senators are calling for Pollard's release.
Pollard's continued imprisonment, in violation of law, equality, justice and compassion, is a stain on America. This stain can be removed if President Obama commutes Pollard's sentence to time served. A commutation is different than a pardon. A pardon erases the conviction, whereas a commutation simply reduces the sentence, without in any way suggesting that the defendant was not guilty of a serious crime. Pollard has admitted his guilt, not once but several times. The first time was when he pleaded and was sentenced. More recently he has apologized, as has the Israeli government. By pleading guilty and cooperating with the investigation, Pollard spared the government the embarrassment and difficulties inherent in a spy trial. Had he not confessed his guilt, it is unlikely he would have been convicted of the most serious charge of spying, since the only direct evidence outside of his confession was the fact that he had unauthorized possession of classified material.
For helping the government in this way, he was promised that he would not have to spend the rest of his life in prison. But now he is likely to die in prison, a broken and sick man, unless President Obama does the right thing. The time has come, indeed it is long overdue, for Jonathan Pollard to receive proportional justice.

ZIONIST FEDERATION APPALLED AT TURKEY'S EXPULSION OF ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR

2011-09-06T03:35:00.001-07:00

The Zionist Federation is appalled at Turkey’s expulsion of Israel’s Ambassador and suspension of military agreements in the aftermath of the publication of the UN's Palmer Report. The Turkish Government is playing a very dangerous political game at Israel’s expense and has proved its complete hypocrisy with its recent treatment of the Kurdish population - highlighting its own abysmal record on human rights.

Israel and Turkey have shared strong relations for many years and it is worrying that the relationship has deteriorated under the Erdogan Government. Calls by Turkey for Israel to issue public apologies are shown by the Report to be completely unwarranted. Indeed they represent unhelpful and potentially dangerous political gains.

The Zionist Federation welcomes the conclusions of the Palmer Report that the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip is both legal and justified. The report confirms that Israel has the right to defend itself and its border and acted accordingly during the Flotilla crisis last year. The organisers of the flotilla were criticised in the Report as reckless for attempting to break the blockade. The Report also questioned the true motives of the IHH.

ZIONIST FEDERATION WELCOMES THE ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA TO LONDON'S ROYAL ALBERT HALL

2011-09-06T03:09:00.001-07:00

The boorish behaviour displayed by the PSC (members of whom tried to interrupt last night’s Israel Philharmonic Prom) was vigorously countered by members of the ZF - who were there in force. More than 100 pro-Israel advocates counter-demonstrated outside the Albert Hall and leafleted members of the audience. After the performance the advocates were outside the stage door with Israel flags to say “kol ha’kovod (well done!) to conductor Zubin Mehta and the members of the IPO. This was greatly appreciated by the IPO as was the rapturous reception they received from 99.9% of the audience.
The PSC yet again foolishly “shot itself in the foot” with Culture Minister Ed Vaizey tweeting "Demonstrators seem to have turned [the] entire audience pro-Israel". The demonstrators were greeted by boos from almost every member of the audience when they triesd to protest, and were drowned out by the orchestra as the music got louder and were then removed by the venue security.
The ZF advocates waved flags and held banners saying  CULTURE BRINGS HOPE, BOYCOTTS BRING HATE and  SUPPORT CULTURE, SUPPORT DEMOCRACY, SUPPORT ISRAEL.
Alan Aziz, Chief Executive of the ZF said “It is a disgrace that people who do not want to understand Israel’s challenges choose to obsessively try to disrupt cultural and educational events in the UK. The ZF’s presence here tonight was to counter this ignorant and ill-conceived protest. We will always be there to counter Israel hate and we thank all our allies last night - especially our Christian friends - for supporting Israel”. The performance will be broadcast again on the BBC on 7th September at 14.30.
The Zionist Federation thanks StandWithUsUK and the British Israel Coalition for helping advertise the pro-Israel demonstration, and attending.

FROM SEPTEMBER TO SEPTEMBER

2011-09-01T06:43:00.001-07:00

Written by Solon Solomon, former Member of the Knesset Legal Department, in charge of international and constitutional issues

Back then, in the early days of President Obama in office, U.S. foreign policy seemed to enter a new era. Withdrawal from Iraq, closure of Guantanamo, in other words, recoil from all the “sins” that seemed to stigmatize the Bush administration. Yet, Guantanamo did not close, the Iraq withdrawal has not been total and American presence still exists in Afghanistan. Like the end of history that Francis Fukuyama hailed to predict, yet never came to be, so seems to be the case with U.S. unilateralism in foreign policy.

On the contrary, the Obama administration got entangled in a military operation in Libya on a unilateral base, without congressional approval. True, that unilateralism was an agreed one, stemming from a U.N. Security Council Resolution, whose binding character all U.N. members accept. Still- even agreed- it remains the unilateral imposition of the will of the Security Council’s majority.

If this is so, it brings us back to the 9/11 world reaction, when the world powers appeared determined to pronounce the right to self-defense, not against a particular enemy, but against a particular phenomenon, namely the terrorist attacks. Also then, through an agreed mode-a U.N. Security Council Resolution-the U.S. in particular launched unilaterally what came to be known as a “war on terror.”

This agreed unilateralism served the interests of U.S. foreign policy for almost a decade. Yet, recent events, such as the Arab spring, depicted also its limits. Because, if agreed unilateralism is let to expand in an unrestrictive way, where is the room for bilateralism? What is the point of international agreements and coordination, in the final line, what is the point of international law itself?

Agreed unilateralism -no matter how agreed it maybe- still remains unilateralism. And as such, it does not always work. In the case of Libya, it did not bring to Qaddafi’s fall and the arrest warrant against him, issued by the International Criminal Court, was not executed. Not surprisingly, the international community opted for a more bilateral approach in the case of Syria, based on exerting pressure to Assad to resign, rather than military measures against the country.

Also on a regional level, agreed unilateralism ultimately met its limits. The Egyptian demand for an increase of the Egyptian military presence in demilitarized Sinai was answered positively by Israel’s government on an exceptional basis, yet on blurry-if not non existent- legal grounds. Ultimately, this agreed unilateralism was thwarted by the Knesset Speaker’s request for an advisory opinion on whether the Israeli Parliament should also approve such Egyptian requests.

True, the recent terrorist attack where infiltrators from Sinai caused Israeli casualties coupled with the repeated blowing up of the pipeline carrying gas to Israel, seemingly confirm agreed unilateralism. If Israel had consented to the Egyptian demand, these violent incidents would not have occurred, the argument goes.

But, even if this is true, agreed unilateralism’s application can not be overstretched in order to in essence trample on bilateral agreements. International order is based on coordination. If international diplomacy is translated as unilateral responses to unilateral requests, then it is not negotiations that shape international landscape, but the influence of the side which exerts more efficient pressure. If nowadays, criticism is headed towards international law as the law of the strong, all the more in case of unrestricted agreed unilateralism.

This brings us back again to the United Nations and September. The Palestinians have already announced their intentions to unilaterally quest for a U.N. Resolution acknowledging their status as a state. Their quest will probably be granted. The international community will agree on this.

Yet, the question is if this agreed unilateralism should be harnessed for the interests of international stability and legality. Would a U.N. proclamation of a Palestinian state create also an economically and politically viable one, a real state which could stand to the legitimate Palestinian aspirations? And what message would the international community transmit regarding international law, when previous Security Council Resolutions, such as 242, as well as the Oslo Accords, explicitly endorse a bilateral, negotiations stance?

Ten years after the 9/11 response Resolution endorsing agreed unilateralism, the United Nations is called to define now also its limits. This is how it is after all; from September to September.

ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC OPRCHESTRA AT THE BBC PROMS

2011-08-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

The Zionist Federation has announced that it will be organising a counter demonstration outside the Royal Albert Hall in support of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance as part of the BBC Proms.

While other groups will be protesting outside the Hall and calling for boycotts and chanting words of hatred, Israel will be represented inside the Hall by music and culture. We believe it is vital that stand up for the only democracy in the Middle East and are calling on everyone to support the IPO.

The Zionist Federation will be demonstrating between 6pm and 8pm on Thursday 1st September and are proud that Israel is represented at the Proms by such a wonderful orchestra.

For further information please contact the Zionist Federation on 020 8202 0202 or by email at Stefan@zfuk.org

TERRORIST ATTACKS IN ISRAEL

2011-08-18T04:49:00.000-07:00

18th August 2011

The Zionist Federation is shocked and saddened at the news of the terror attacks that have been carried out in Southern Israel today, including on an Egged bus near Eilat. As we wait to learn the full extent of the casualties we can only hope and pray that it is as low as possible.

We call on the Palestinian Authority to condemn this terrorist attack on innocent civilians in the strongest possible terms.

Zionist Federation Chairman, Harvey Rose, stated, “This cowardly attack once again shows the constant threat of terrorism that Israel faces. My thoughts are with the family and friends of those hurt and killed.”

The events of this morning have highlighted, once again, the need to find a long term and secure solution that will bring peace to both Israel and the Palestinians. A negotiated solution must be found and unilateral acts by the Palestinian Authority only hinder the possibility of finding a mutually acceptable agreement that must include the acceptance of Israel as a Jewish State.

The Zionist Federation have spokespeople available for comment and analysis.

Please contact Stefan Kerner, our Director of Public Affairs, on 020 8202 0202 or by email at Stefan@zfuk.org.

LUSH COSMETICS SUPPORT FREEDOM FOR PALESTINE

2011-07-21T01:11:00.000-07:00

Lush Cosmetics – Support for ‘Freedom for Palestine’

Lush Cosmetics are running a campaign on their website in support of OneWorld’s song ‘Freedom for Palestine’. The article on the company’s website includes some appalling bias and falsehoods which need to be addressed.

Below is a link to the relevant section of the company’s site and some highlighted parts of the article. We have also listed a few very simple retorts to these false accusations that have been made.

We are calling on our supporters to contact the company to dispute the stance that they have chosen to take and call for them to withdraw their support for OneWorld. Relevant contact details for the company are listed at the end of this document. When you write your letter please consider the points below but please do not copy and paste them into your draft. It is much more effective if they receive individual letters rather than many with the same wording.

http://www.lush.co.uk/articles/our-ethical-campaigns/oneworld_100-10285_10.html

“Israel’s siege of Gaza has condemned its 1.5 million inhabitants to levels of poverty more commonly associated with sub-Saharan Africa – a humanitarian disaster with no end in sight.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross declared that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza – April 2011
(http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/red-cross-official-gaza-isn-t-experiencing-a-humanitarian-crisis-1.357268)

Israel sends in thousands of tonnes of supplies into Gaza every single week.
(http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/HumanitarianAid/Palestinians/Humanitarian_and_Civilian_activities_towards_Gaza_Strip_June_monthly_report_2011.htm)

The life expectancy of someone living in Gaza is actually longer than someone living in Glasgow.
(http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/society/health/factcheck+glasgow+worse+than+gaza/2320267.html)

“A third generation of Palestinian children is now being brought up in refugee camps inside and outside Palestine”.

Why are there still refugee camps after 60 years?
Why are Lush not calling for Arab countries to help these children?
The economy of the West Bank is one of the fastest growing in the world.
The West Bank receives the second highest amount of economic aid in the World (http://www.nationmaster.com/country/we-west-bank/eco-economy)

“All the above actions are illegal under International Law”

No they are not. Israel adheres fully to the Geneva Convention on all matters regarding the Palestinians.
Why is there no call in the Lush campaign for Hamas to stop its terrorist activity?
Why is there no comment in the Lush campaign of the Hamas Charter that calls for the destruction of Israel and the killing of Jews?

The OneWorld campaign supported by Lush equates Israel with Apartheid South Africa.

This is a pernicious accusation that is completely false. Israel’s democracy provides for more rights for its minority citizens than most of the neighbouring countries allow for their majority citizens.

Israel has an Arab sitting on the Supreme Court. It has Arab political parties and Members of the Knesset. Israel has no legal restrictions on and allows complete freedom of religion. Israeli Arab citizens are allowed to and do volunteer to serve in the IDF.

How to Contact Lush:

Chief Executive and Founder:
Mark Constantine
18-20 Market Street
Poole
Dorset BH15 1NF

Lush Press Office:
Tel: 020 7434 3948
Email: sean.gifford@lush.co.uk

Customer Care
18-20 Market Street
Poole
Dorset BH15 1NF
Tel: 01202 641 006
customercare@lush.co.uk

SAR-EL: IDF VOLUNTEERS

2011-07-14T05:12:00.000-07:00

SAR-EL July 2011

IDF Volunteers

When the first Lebanon war broke out in 1982, reservists from the north of Israel were called up and as a result, the shortage of manpower on farms became a problem. General Aharon Davidi (former head of the IDF Paratroopers and Infantry Corps) decided to send Shlichim, Israeli representatives to the US to try and recruit volunteers. It was an immediate success and 650 volunteers arrived in Israel. In 1983 Sar-El was born, the name is the Hebrew acronym for Service for Israel. The organisation has grown from strength to strength and today around 4000 volunteers a year come to help the Israeli Army with civilian duties. There are also special youth programmes organised during the summer holidays.

Volunteers come from all four corners of the world: people of all ages, secular and religious, Jews and Christians from every conceivable background. All are committed to doing their share for the Israeli army on a one, two or three week programme, but probably their biggest contribution is the moral support they give to the young soldiers who very much appreciate their presence on camp. Often they ask volunteers the question: “We have to do this, but you?” the answer is that many Jews in the Diaspora feel the need to help support Israel in defending their Jewish homeland. The soldiers also realise that, despite what they hear and see in the world media, they are not alone and that, in their own words: “not everyone hates us”. How sad that some young people who know how much their country contributes to the good of humanity, should feel that way.

I always had a soft spot for the young Israelis who, immediately after having finished their secondary education, were called upon to serve their country. Volunteering to help the IDF was what I wanted to do and I first joined Sar-El in 2002. My doctor had no problem confirming that I was physically fit but had to be convinced that, joining Sar-El at my age, was not a sign a mental disorder. After my security status was approved, I joined my group in Israel at a designated meeting point. I spoke to new apprehensive ‘recruits’ and to some returning Sarelnicks and thought that it was a good sign if people kept coming back.

We were soon divided into groups and sent to our respective bases. Some camps have better facilities than others but one cannot pick and choose because ‘you are in the army now!’ Every group is escorted by soldiers, Madrichim who are in charge of the volunteers for the duration of the programme. After boarding our coach and a short introduction, we were read the Army Rules. The four most important rules are: No alcohol. No drugs. No proselytising. Boys and Girls sleep in separate quarters.

Patience and a well developed sense of humour are a must! On the base, we were first shown to our barracks which usually sleep 4 to 6. We could choose any of the 2 ft 6in wide beds with a 2 ½ inch thick mattress. Oy Vey! But who cares, you only sleep there anyway! No time for unpacking as we are rushed off to get our uniforms – the highlight of the day. Uniforms are laundered but not ironed and they come in four sizes only: too short, too long, too big and too small! Back at the barracks, we slip on our uniform and hope it will fit. Finally, we put on our adjustable belt and secure our cap under the epaulette. Suddenly, a change of mood comes over us, we now stand upright and proud, our laughs are fading and emotions take over – we now really feel part of the country!

The main meal is ‘served’ lunchtime, food is plentiful and usually reasonably tasty, with the compulsory tomato chunks, cucumber slices, humus or tehina and a variety of salads. When at morning or evening mealtime, yogurt is on the menu and no spoons are available, don’t fuss about it. I took advice from a clever young soldier who told me: “don’t struggle with a fork, just drink your yogurt”. Also remember to clear up after yourself, it’s every man for himself.

The work varies from folding uniforms to checking gas masks, from painting to sorting out medical supplies, depending on what is needed at the time. The work can sometimes be repetitive and boring but it needs to be done. The more demanding physical jobs are usually given to strapping young men.

We were to remain on the base all week and there would be no wandering out on shopping expeditions. Back at the barracks, unpacking is quick as there is very little storage space. I found my padlock, enabling me to lock away my valuables when the cleaners would come to do the room – I soon discovered we were the cleaners.

The next morning, we joined the regular soldiers on the parade ground. We stood at ease, then to attention, then at ease again and I was honoured with raising the flag. I was overwhelmed. I could hear my heart beat as I ran up the flag. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I felt a knot in my throat when we sang the HaTikvah while I stood to attention next to our flag.

On another base, the project for our group of ten was to paint certain areas and re-arrange the plants to produce an instant manicured garden ready for the welcome reception for the new base Commander. It worked like a military operation! The next day, the officer in charge called us together around a table bedecked with drinks, biscuits and fruit. He thanked us profusely in Hebrew and finished with “Atem tsevet min haShamaim”, “You are a team from Heaven”.

When my friend Renata heard that the volunteers had to share one nearly bald broom, she immediately donated her brand new one to the IDF. As I returned to base, carrying the broom on my shoulder as one would carry a rifle, an appropriate Yiddish saying came to mind: “Az Gott vill, schiest a Beizim!”, “If God wills it, even a broom can shoot!”

Each time spent at Sar-El is a different ‘adventure’, has a different ‘flavour’ and awakens different emotions, but the ‘good-feeling’ for the Neshama, the soul, the camaraderie and the good humour never change.

Yom HaAtzmaut – May 2011

Today I am a seasoned volunteer and my yearly stint at Sar-El is a privilege. The apprehension of the unknown is replaced by far more important thoughts, such as, will the kitbags we are filling or the medicines we are packing, be used on active duty?

We, Sar-El volunteers support the IDF because WE ARE PART OF “AM ISRAEL”.

Michèle Katz
London

If you think you would like to partake in the Sar-El experience, please visit their website at www.sar-el.org where you will find all the necessary information or contact Jennie Goldstone on sarelvolunteers@btinternet.com

FLOTILLA FACTS - SUMMER 2011

2011-06-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

Flotilla Violates International Law,
Intends To Provoke Violent Confrontation

Last year, anti-Israel extremists and Turkish jihadists organized a flotilla to violate Israel’s naval blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza. The Israeli Navy redirected five of the boats to the Israeli port of Ashdod without incident. However, those on the sixth boat refused to cooperate. When Israeli officers boarded the ship, the Turkish jihadists brutally attacked them with knives, metal bars, and guns. Nine jihadists were killed.

This year, the same anti-Israel extremists are planning another international flotilla battalion. They plan to set sail at the end of June with an estimated 10 to 15 ships with 1,000 to 4,000 passengers from 32 countries, purportedly to bring humanitarian goods to Gaza. International leaders, from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the EU, have urged the organizers to cancel the flotilla. (You can read some of their comments below.)

Nine basic facts about the flotilla:

1. The flotilla organizers blatantly violate international law by trying to breach a legal maritime blockade. According to international and customary law, Israel has the legal right to impose a land and naval blockade on Hamas-controlled Gaza. Hamas is openly dedicated to Israel’s destruction, has been in an ongoing state of armed conflict against Israel, and has fired over 10,000 rockets into Israeli civilian centers. Israel has the legal right and responsibility to protect its citizens by inspecting goods entering Gaza to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas.

2. The flotilla organizers intend to aid and support Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by members of the international community, including the U.S., Canada, Israel, the EU, Japan, and Jordan. Hamas’ founding document calls for the murder of Jews, the “obliteration” of Israel, and Israel’s replacement with an Islamist theocracy.

3. The flotilla organizers are trying to provoke a violent confrontation. If they were sincerely concerned about humanitarian aid for Gazans, they would deliver it through official Israeli entry points. Israel has repeatedly offered to deliver goods after officially inspecting them for weapons. The organizers have refused to comply. Instead, they hope their provocative, hostile breach of the blockade will compel Israel to use force and make Israel look like an aggressor.

4. Gazans are not facing a humanitarian emergency that justifies breaching the blockade. Humanitarian and consumer goods enter Gaza on a daily basis. UN officials repeatedly confirm that there is an ample supply of food and consumer goods. Israel only limits the entry of dual-purpose goods that could be used for weapons. International statistics indicate that Gazans have a higher standard of living than people in nearly all of Africa, including South Africa, as well as parts of Asia and the Middle East. In fact, Gaza faces a glut of goods, not a shortage of goods, according to recent press reports.

5. Hamas, not Israel, has caused the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. Hamas has chosen war against Israel instead of peaceful coexistence. It has imposed a repressive, dictatorial, fundamentalist regime on Gaza residents and has murdered its political rivals.

6. Flotilla organizers claim to be “nonviolent peace activists” and “human rights activists.” They are not. They are members of extremist organizations that support terrorist groups and are dedicated to the destruction of Israel. The Free Gaza Movement is an affiliate of the International Solidarity Movement, which opposes the existence of the Jewish state. The IHH (Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation) is a Turkish Islamist organization with links to jihadist organizations in Bosnia, Syria, Iraq, Libya, and elsewhere.

7. If flotilla organizers really were peace and human rights activists, they would not go to Gaza but to Libya or Syria, where the brutal Assad regime has arrested, tortured, and murdered thousands of nonviolent, freedom-seeking demonstrators and has caused thousands of others to become refugees.

8. The flotilla organizers are violating, not upholding, one of the most fundamental human rights—a nation’s right and responsibility to protect itself from enemies bent on murdering its citizens and destroying its state.

“As a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens.” —U.S. President Barack Obama, May 1, 2011

9. International leaders oppose the flotilla.

U.S.: “[G]roups and individuals who seek to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions. … We want to just reiterate that there are established and efficient mechanisms for getting humanitarian assistance through to Gaza.” —U.S. State Department Spokesman Mark Toner, June 1, 2011

UN: “The secretary-general called on all governments concerned to use their influence to discourage such flotillas, which carry the potential to escalate into violent conflict.” —Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, May 27, 2011

Canada: “Unauthorized efforts to deliver aid are provocative and, ultimately, unhelpful to the people of Gaza. Canada recognizes Israel’s legitimate security concerns and its right to protect itself and its residents from attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups, including by preventing the smuggling of weapons.”
— Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, May 28, 2011

France: “[T]he boarding of any naval vessels which are known to have the intention of breaking the naval blockade imposed on Gaza is strongly discouraged, given the security risks associated with such an undertaking.” —Official Statement

EU: “I don’t consider a flotilla to be the right response.” —Catherine Ashton, EU High Commissioner for Foreign Policy

Turkey: “We are reconsidering our plans [about participating in the flotilla]. … From our point of view, the developments in neighboring Syria are critically important.” —IHH Board Member Hüseyin Oruç, June 14

With thanks to ‘StandWithUS’

ZIONIST FEDERATION CONDEMNS UCU

2011-06-02T01:07:00.001-07:00

The Zionist Federation is disgusted by UCU's attempt to redefine the definition of antisemitism. Under the MacPherson Definition of 'Racism', every minority has the right to identify what constitutes racism against it.

The ZF further condemns UCU's illegal and discriminatory "Threats to academic freedom in Israel and Palestine" motion passed on 29th May, promoting an academic and cultural boycott of Israel and prompting the circulation of pro-boycott materials. As noted by Academic Friends of Israel, the motion is "in breach of discrimination and equality legislation and also outside the aims and objects of the union".

By passing this motion, the University and College Union has confirmed that it is institutionally antisemitic.

We note the lengths that the Union will go to in order to pursue its highly questionable political agenda

The ZF urges University Vice-Chancellors to withdraw from negotiations with UCU until this blatantly racist vote is rescinded.

For further information / quote / spokesperson:
Zionist Federation
020 8202 0202
gary@zfuk.org
Outside of office hours: urgent@zfuk.org

MAKE A SOLDIER SMILE

2011-05-20T01:58:00.001-07:00

Click image to enlarge.

NEW ZF STYLE YOM HA’ATZMAUT EVENT IS A SELL OUT SUCCESS

2011-05-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

After many years of traditional Yom Ha’atzmaut Concerts, the ZF decided to host a huge party at Alexandra Palace for ISRAEL 63. This enabled guests to be able to sing and dance in a true 'CHAGIGA' style event -
just like the events that happen all over Israel on Yom Ha’atzmaut.

Einat Sarouf, who is known in Israel as the energy queen in Israel, headed up the entertainment assisted by 4 other singers and a choir of 100 children from Matlida Marks, Akiva and Sinai Schools.

Over 1000 people attended this sell out event.

Alan Aziz, ZF Director and executive producer of the event said "I am delighted that the new style of event was such a success - It is so important during these difficult times that we celebrate Israel’s Birthday properly and with pride”.

ZF APPOINTS NEW DEPUTY DIRECTOR

2011-04-07T05:48:00.001-07:00

At the ZF’s annual gala awards dinner last week, Harvey Rose - Chairman of the Zionist Federation, announced Gary Sakol as new Deputy Director of the ZF. In addition, Gary is currently the Director of Israel Connect – the young professionals wing of the ZF. The promotion came as a result of the ZF’s increased focus on Young Professionals and students. Alan Aziz, director of the ZF said:

“Life on campuses around the UK is becoming increasingly difficult, with more incidents than ever before. The ZF is increasing its activities in this area. In addition, the ZF is shifting more and more of its attention towards its younger leaders and as such, Gary is the best person to take on this new role within the ZF This is an extremely important arena for us, and will not neglect it”.

Gary Sakol said “At Israel Connect we provide students and Young Professionals with training, so as they can become a better and more confident advocate for Israel. This may be in the workplace or on campus. There is a great framework for Young Jewish people on campus and before – with both UJS and Youth Movements. However time and again we experience people leaving University with no framework for them to continue their involvement and educational continuation – unless they want to join a fundraising committee”.

Gary, originally from Glasgow and a graduate of Leeds University, previously worked for the youth movement Habonim Dror, where he served as Camps Organiser and Mazkir.

ZF WELCOMES RETRACTION BY RICHARD GOLDSTONE

2011-04-07T05:46:00.001-07:00

Richard Goldstone, who chaired the U.N. fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict, wrote in the Washington Post last Friday that had he known what he knows today about the Gaza war of 2008-09, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document.

He has now concluded that the crimes committed by Hamas were intentional and that their rockets were purposefully and indiscriminately aimed at civilian targets whilst Israel’s actions indicate that civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy.

He also criticized Israel’s lack of cooperation, (which was due to the one sided mandate of the enquiry).

Goldstone wrote that Israel has investigated its own actions with transparency to a significant degree whilst Hamas has done nothing and that regrettably, there has been no effort by Hamas in Gaza to investigate the allegations of its war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.

Such war crimes continue to this day with no condemnation from the UNHRC.

Alan Aziz, Chief Executive of the ZF said: “We are saddened that this retraction has barely been reported in the mainstream media who all went to great lengths to report on the original report and notes once again that this type of selective reporting highlights the manner in which Israel is singled out for special and biased treatment”

Goldstone concluded that the U.N. Human Rights Council should condemn the heinous acts of Hamas in the strongest terms and that the Human Rights Council should also condemn the inexcusable and cold-blooded recent slaughter of a young Israeli couple and three of their small children in their beds (which the ZF notes was also largely ignored by the mainstream media).

The Goldstone report has been one of the most damaging libels ever produced against the State of Israel. Whilst the re-assessment by Goldstone is very welcome the ZF hopes this is just the beginning of his efforts to undo the enormous damage he has caused

ISRAEL CONNECT EUROPEAN YOUNG LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME - COPENHAGEN REPORT

2011-04-07T05:41:00.000-07:00

The 2011 annual Israel Connect European Young Leadership group met in Copenhagen at the beginning of April 2011 for the second seminar of the programme. The guest speaker for the seminar was Miri Eisen.

Eisen served in the Israeli intelligence community and retired from active duty at the rank of full colonel in 2004. Over her twenty year career in the military she served as the deputy head of the combat intelligence corps, the assistant to the director of Military intelligence and as the intel officer in combat units and research departments. She was appointed as a special spokesperson for the IDF during operation "defensive shield" in spring 2002, and became the first military intelligence high ranking officer to be fully exposed to the public eye.

During the time with the group, Miri ran three in depth sessions covering The Zionist Narrative;The history of the Jewish national movement, Israeli politics and society – the approaches toward the conflict and a session focused on practical advice about Working with the Media.

In addition, the group focused on the technique of Asking Questions in order to develop a conversation, and had a session sharing (in depth) initiatives that five members of the group were working on. This session was a real eye opener to the group as they realised how involved everyone was in their own programmes, and how much potential there is for impact when the group works together.

The seminar was finished with a talk from Dan Oryan – the deputy Israeli Ambassador to Denmark – who talked about Israeli Perception in Denmark, and the challenge Israel has within Europe.

PALESTINIAN TERRORIST ATTACKS IN JERUSALEM KILLS A UK NATIONAL

2011-03-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

Last Friday terrorists entered Itamar (a settlement) and knifed to death a family of 5 whilst they slept. The mother and father and 2 sons aged 11 and 4 had their throats slit and a 3 month old baby girl had her head cut off.

The news of this appalling crime was greeted in Gaza with celebrations (similar to the celebrations on hearing the news of 9/11).

You would not have seen this incident fully reported in much of the mainstream media (and certainly not on the BBC) - most of whom chose to major on the decision to expand the settlement.

That weekend saw the launch of some 63 mortar shells and four rockets from the Gaza Strip into Southern Israel, representing an unprecedented increase in projectile fire from the Gaza Strip since the end of Operation Cast Lead. Today, terrorists in the Gaza Strip continue to fire mortars and rockets at Israel. Whilst fortunately no one was killed, the barrage brought terror to hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens.

Yesterday a terrorist bomb exploded at a crowded bus stop opposite the central bus station, killing a 58 year-old British woman. Clearly intended to harm innocent civilians, this appalling and criminal attack injured more than 40 people, some of whom are in a critical condition.

Earlier today, terrorists in Gaza fired two Grad-type Katyusha rockets at Be'er-Sheva, the largest city in Southern Israel (home to more than 200,000) and a Grad-type Katuysha rocket that landed in close proximity to Ashdod (a city of more than 200,000).They also launched some eight mortars into the areas of Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev in Southern Israel.

The BBC coverage of all these incidents has been selective,inaccurate and misleading, prompting Louise Bagshawe MP to protest in the Telegraph today.

We call on the BBC to put aside their obvious anti-Israel bias and to report fully and fairly, as the BBC Charter requires. We also call upon the BBC to issue the Balen Report it commissioned (on its Middle East bias), rather than spend hundreds of thousands of pounds to obstruct its release.

If you wish to interview a ZF spokeman in the UK or in Israel please contact
gary@zfuk.org
urgent@zfuk.org (outside of office hours)
020 8202 0202

ISRAEL, THE OIL PRODUCER, IS ABOUT TO HAVE THE LAST LAUGH

2011-03-24T04:48:00.000-07:00

LETTER FROM PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND DISPORA AFFAIRS MINISTER YULI EDELSTEIN TO FACEBOOK FOUNDER AND CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG

2011-03-23T09:40:00.001-07:00

HAILING FOR A CAB?

2011-03-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

If you are in London, and in need of a taxi, look out for this special taxi driving around. The taxi driver, who is a member of Christian Friends of Israel and the ZF, has dedicated her taxi advertising to helping raise awareness of Gilad Shalit at no extra charge at all.

ZF RESPONSE TO THE PROMISE

2011-03-04T03:24:00.000-08:00

The Zionist Federation has been contacted by many people – both Jewish and non-Jewish – who were upset and infuriated by “The Promise” on Channel 4. The ZF is horrified by this latest demonisation of Israel on the Channel, in the context of an increasingly hostile and ill-informed discourse about Israel in UK media, and asks OFCOM to bring to account the management of a TV Channel that in 2008 also thought it appropriate for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to give the Christmas message.

Jonathan Hoffman, co-Vice Chair of the ZF, said: “Channel 4’s “The Promise” gave a misleadingly partial and sometimes false impression of both the history of Israel and the country today. Its theme was that the Jews deserved their own State because of the Holocaust but that they then very quickly began to behave like their tormentors. Israeli Jews were depicted either as living in California-style houses with swimming-pools or as heartless soldiers who mistreat Arabs and protect the most extreme settlers. Even though this was a drama and not a documentary, many viewers would have taken it as historic fact – particularly in view of the lavish realism of the production – and Channel 4 therefore has an unquestionable obligation to at least attempt to be balanced and accurate.”

A number of demonising falsehoods were included, for example that all Arab refugees fled in 1948 because of fear of Jews (the truth is that the Mayor of Haifa begged them to stay and that many were told to flee by their leaders, in anticipation that the massing Arab armies would annihilate the Jews and that they could then swiftly return); that the IDF uses children as ‘human shields’; and that Israel was created purely because of Western guilt about the Holocaust.

The bias of the series is clear from Director Peter Kosminsky’s own article in the Guardian. The researchers interviewed members of the International Solidarity Movement - a group whose antithetical views about Israel are well known – as well as Combatants for Peace and Breaking the Silence, both organisations representing the small minority of dissident soldiers. There is no indication that less extreme organisations were consulted in the making of the series.

While Kosminsky insists that the series included certain events for ‘balance’ and that he based everything on actual incidents, the overall combination, selection and ordering of the events was deliberately anti-Israel and the series clearly set out to demonise Israel.

The ZF will be writing in the strongest possible terms to Channel 4 and OFCOM.

ZF BRINGS ISRAELI SCIENCE TO THE UK

2011-03-01T01:06:00.001-08:00

Israel Science Days for Students in 4 cities

The ZF annual Israel Science Days 2011, will be taking place on Monday 28th February through to Thursday 3rd March
in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and London attracting nearly two thousand people, mainly students.

Four world-class Israeli scientists will talk about their unique ground-breaking research and resulting implementation in the fields of cancer treatment, stem cells, the heart, etc.
They will bring added colour and completely new information to the subjects, enlightening and surprising not only the students but also their teachers.
All talks will be illustrated by colourful PowerPoint presentations, and students will have the opportunity to ask questions and talk to the speakers.

The Speakers are:

Professor Smadar Cohen                Repairing broken hearts by biomaterials
Professor Yechzkiel Barenholz       Targeted Nanodrugs in cancer patients
Dr Shoshana Merchav                      Stem cell therapy
Professor Michel Revel                    New approaches in treating Multiple Sclerosis

Thursday 3rd March is in London and is a free event designed for years 12 and 13, to enhance interest in, and greater understanding of the A-Level Biology course,
with the latest developments in the field of medicine in Israel. There will be over 1000 students at this one event.

There will be an exhibition (open from 10 am – 5 pm), including films, power points and wall-mounted items, with exhibits from universities
and teaching hospitals throughout Israel, showing the latest developments and treatments which are used all over the world.

Every student will receive a booklet with details of the talks and exhibits and each school participating will receive books on Israel for their libraries.

Apart from the Science days, The four Scientists will be addressing school students in each city,
as well as visiting different campuses around the UK and speaking to many medical students and doctors.

Large community events will be held every evening in each of the regions.

For more information please contact Alan Aziz, Executive Director for the ZF UK: 07768946868 or urgent@zfuk.org

CHANNEL 4'S LANDMARK TV SERIES 'THE PROMISE' IS BUILT ON A SERIOUS HISTORICAL FALSEHOOD ABOUT ISRAEL

2011-02-23T04:28:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to Beyond Images (www.beyondimages.info) who have issued a briefing to counter many of the statements and claims made in this inaccurate and misinformed documentary.

British TV channel Channel 4 has been broadcasting 'The Promise'. And it is a landmark piece of television. 'The Promise' is a four-part, six-hour dramatisation of the founding of Israel, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today.

We have been watching it. And it is gripping. We are not surprised that it has been receiving very good reviews, and is a likely candidate for future broadcasting awards. Over 1.5 million viewers in the UK have been watching its two episodes to date, including - we assume - most people with an active interest in the conflict: politicians, academics, students, members of human rights groups, writers and intellectuals, diplomats and civil servants.

The production is superb. The acting is excellent. It is meticulously observed and staged..And it is also built on a major historical falsehood. A falsehood so severe that it undermines the credibility of its messages. Its director Peter Kosminsky claims that he "told both sides of the story". But episode 1 reveals that he does not even know what the Israeli side of the story is......

'The Promise' describes the events of 1945-8 through the eyes of Len, a British sergeant who had witnessed the liberation of the Jews at Bergen-Belsen, and is later posted with British forces to Palestine. At a crucial moment in that first episode Len, together with other British army officers, receives a briefing from their British army commander on the purpose of their mission in Palestine, and the history behind it. This takes place shortly after the second world war.

The commander's words are not intended as a partisan speech. It is the moment at which the British soldiers (and by extension 1.5 million viewers) are provided with the background to the conflict, and indeed the subsequent episodes of 'The Promise'. Indeed it is the only piece of the script which endeavours to tell the story of how the Jews, the Arabs and the British found themselves in three-way conflict.

Here is what the British commanding officer in The Promise says:

"The Jews and Arabs have been living here in relative harmony for thousands of years. But our victory over the Germans has turned the trickle of Jews coming to this land into a flood. You must understand, the Jews see it as their holy land. But the Arabs, who have been here for over a thousand years, see them as stealing their land. Our job is to keep the two sides apart....."

There you have it. The historical narrative of Israel. And it is a narrative which does not operate to resolve the conflict, but to perpetuate it. Ever since World War Two, the Arabs have seen the Jewish national enterprise as the consequence of Nazism. Without indigenous roots. And without historical legitimacy.

They build their sense of victimhood on the argument that they are "paying the price" for European fascism. Far from challenging this mindset, Kosminsky's so-called 'balanced' narrative has reinforced it. Kosminsky makes no mention of the steady return to Palestine of Jews which had been carrying on since the 1880s. Kosminsky does not hint at the Balfour Declaration or other international commitments to support a Jewish national home.
Kosminsky does not recognise that Jewish national life had existed thousands of years ago in the land of Israel, and that the connection is a national connection.

Kosminsky does not pay any attention to the Jews' state-building efforts in the period before the Second World War. And Kosminsky perpetuates a complete falsehood that the Jews and Arabs had been living in "relative harmony". Kosminsky reportedly researched The Promise for over a decade. But has he heard of the Arab riots against the Jews of the Yishuv in the 1920s or 1930s?

Has he heard of the incessant violent assaults upon Jews building up Palestine? Has he heard of the Hebron massacre of 1929?

The idea that there was "relative harmony" in Palestine till World War Two is a fiction. It's a fiction which Hamas and other rejectionists and ideologues readily embrace.

Meanwhile, the claim that the Arabs had been living there for a thousand years is also a massive over-simplification. Even the most partisan historians have to admit that Palestine under the Ottomans and then the British was not exactly a hub of Arab nationalism, or a focal point of Arab pride and economic endeavour.

While 'The Promise' is brilliant drama - and we will be highlighting its strengths as well its weaknesses in the future - there are plenty of other major flaws in its so called 'balanced' narrative and in its framing of the conflict. In subsequent weeks we will be explaining them. For now, here is a link to the programme website. We have quoted just one short extract from episode one. See for yourself: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-promise/4od (Not available outside the UK)

And by the way, here are two other examples of the damage which is caused when the narrative of Israel is artificially started at World War II:

Barack Obama made this error in his major speech to the Arab world in June 2009: click here:
'How President Obama got it wrong on Israel's history... and why it matters for future peace' (Beyond Images Briefing 242)

And The Economist made this error in an obituary of Yasser Arafat published in 2004: see
The Economist Magazine's obituaries: misleading accounts of Israel's history' (Beyond Images Briefing 124)

Key messages:

Delegitimisation of Israel is not just a matter of outrageous, flagrant denial of Jewish national rights.

It is happening in drip-drip style, as ideas which call the history of Israel into question are steadily absorbed into liberal discourse, into respectable mainstream thinking. Click here for The Beyond Images Report on Delegitimisation which provides many examples of this.

Elements of Channel 4's 'The Promise' are a classic instance of this phenomenon. The Promise is doubtless being viewed by almost everyone in the UK who passionately believes in the Palestinian cause.

In building its drama on the basis of an explicit historical fiction, it is not contributing to peace and understanding. It is fuelling the falsehoods on which the delegitimisation of Israel thrives. There are many many other falsehoods: we will be highlighting some in future emails.

No amount of great acting and brilliant direction can obscure that fact.

By the way, we have not seen a single syllable uttered about The Promise in public by any of the central Jewish organisations which claim to be fighting delegitimisation in the UK, in the two weeks since its broadcasts began..... Are we on Beyond Images missing something.... or - just possibly - are they?

TOWER HAMLETS COUNCIL AND VEOLIA

2011-02-23T04:13:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday 2nd February, Tower Hamlets Council passed a motion, called “Bin Veolia”, which began the process of ending the Council’s business with Veolia and committing the council to “do everything in its power to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against the pariah state of Israel”
Background:
Veolia
• Veolia is a multinational company which provides infrastructure to local authorities including running transport services, water sanitation and energy.
• It is the leading recycling and waste management company in the UK.
• Veolia has a 5% stake in the building of the Jerusalem Light Railway.
• The tram will run through Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem as well as to Jewish neighbourhoods beyond the Green Line, such as Pisgat Zeev.
• There are having to be some demolitions in both East and West Jerusalem to build the line.
• In Oct 2010, Veolia agreed in principle to sell its 5% stake in the Consortium building the Jerusalem tramway to the Israeli company Egged Holdings.
• Additionally, Veolia provides other services in Israel, including waste management, which may include collecting rubbish from Israeli Settlements.
• Veolia is in the 6th year of an 11 year contract with Tower Hamlets Council.

Bin Veolia Campaign
• There is an international campaign to both boycott and divest from Veolia due to its investment in the Light Railway and its other work in Israel.
• The campaign has had successes in Sweden, Australia, France and Ireland
• The specific “Bin Veolia” branded campaign is run by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). It is relatively new; the anti-Veolia campaign had previously been pushed by Scottish PSC.
• PSC is currently promoting a ‘boycott Veolia campaign fortnight of actions in February’.

Veolia and UK councils
• Several UK councils, including Swansea City Council and Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, have passed resolutions calling for a boycott of Veolia.
• Scottish PSC recently circulated a lengthy briefing to several councils, arguing for Veolia to be boycotted.
• In general, owing to EU and UK law, councils cannot boycott a country. They also can’t exclude specific companies from tenders unless they’ve “committed an act of grave misconduct”.

Tower Hamlets
• This is not the first time a motion to boycott Israel has been presented to Tower Hamlets Council.
• In 2009 a motion regarding support for the Palestinians in Gaza was passed. This requested the Council have no links with the ‘rogue Israeli regime’.
• The Council has also previously investigated Veolia and decided to uphold the contract.

Proposers
• Harun Miah and Fozol Miah are Respect councillors of small wards.
• They are the only Respect councillors in Tower Hamlets.
• It was understood that they brought this motion to the table in an attempt to:
o create a stir
o increase their personal political profiles
o support the new independent mayor Lutfur Rahman, who was backed by Respect and defeated the official Labour candidate in October’s election
• Harun Miah seconded the boycott motion in 2009.

The Motion
• The motion refers to Israel as a ‘pariah state’.
• It was amended by a Liberal Democrat councillor to ‘review’ rather than ‘terminate’ contracts with Veolia.
• It carried , amended, by 11 votes to 7 of the 51-member council with the amendment.
• The votes against were from the Conservative group.
• The votes in favour were from eight Independent Mayoral-supporting councillors, two Respect members and the Council’s one Liberal Democrat.
• Labour, the largest group on the council, abstained. This is likely to have been a compromise position due to splits inside the Labour Group, which is divided between opponents and supporters of the Mayor.
• Implementation of the motion is to be investigated by a council official - Tower Hamlet Council’s Corporate Director for Communities, Localities and Culture.

Next Steps
• There are also likely to be similar motions at other local councils in the next few weeks. If you become aware of these, please let us know.
• The internal politics of Tower Hamlets Council is extremely delicate. Fair Play is working with allies in the Council to consider future actions.
• If you live or work in Tower Hamlets, please write to your local councillors to express your feelings about the motion and let us know about any responses.

Appendix 1: Tower Hamlets Motion as passed
Councillor Huarn Miah moved, and Councillor Fozol Miah seconded, the motion as printed in the agenda.
Councillor Stephanie Eaton moved, and Councillor Ohid Ahmed seconded, an amendment which was accepted by Councillor Harun Miah.
This Council notes that:
1) This Council has long term contracts with the multinational company Veolia
2) Veolia is deeply involved in contract work for the Israeli government which assist their continued oppression of the Palestinian people
3) In particular, Veolia is directly implicated in maintaining illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territory
4) Under the Public Contract Regulations (2006) a contracting local authority may exclude an economic contractor from bidding for a contract if the contractor has “committed an act of grave misconduct in the course of its business”

This Council believes that:
1) Veolia has clearly committed acts of grave misconduct in relation to the Palestinian people and the maintenance of illegal settlements and in other respects as well
2) There should be an urgent investigation by Council officers to confirm the charges of grave misconduct that have been levelled in the international campaign to “Bin Veolia”
3) The Council should do everything in its power to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against the pariah state of Israel
4) Urgent steps should be taken to review all contracts with Veolia and not to place any further contracts with this company
5) The Mayor should write to Veolia as soon as possible to communicate to them the contents of this motion and the council’s determination to terminate any relationship to Veolia

By Fair Play Campaign Group: Bringing together those committed to opposing
anti-Zionist activity and boycotts that target the people and supporters of Israel.
The ZF is part of the executive of the FPCG.

JC LETTER BY HARVEY ROSE

2011-02-22T09:13:00.001-08:00

Message from HE Ron Prosor, Ambassador of Israel to the Court of St James’s

2011-02-03T02:47:00.000-08:00

I am delighted to send my warmest wishes on the occasion of the dedication of Reverend William Hechler’s gravestone.
Britain and Israel enjoyed a friendship long before the establishment of the State of Israel, as a result of the committed efforts of British Christian Zionists. Marking Reverend Hechler’s prominent place in the rich tradition of Christian Zionism in Britain, on the eightieth anniversary of his passing, is especially timely.
The support he gave to Theodor Herzl is symbolic of the understanding that is found today among our Christian friends, of the eternal connection that exists between the Jewish People and Eretz Yisrael.
The People of Israel deeply value your solidarity. You are friends who stand with us as we face the challenges of the future, who share with us a love of the Holy Land, and who lend your principled and unwavering support.
I commend the work of all of the organisations involved in this important act of remembrance.
Shalom Aleichem – may Reverend Hechler’s memory be blessed.

JORDAN TAKES OVER ISRAEL IN PAGE & MOY TRAVEL BROCHURE

2011-01-19T04:54:00.000-08:00

In Page & Moy's latest Wildlife & Culture Travel Brochure they advertise a trip to 'Cairo & the Red Sea'. In the map of the area the letters J and part of O of Jordan are over Israeli territory. The ZF spoke with Page & Moy who assured us that this was not a political statement and was only for graphical convenience, and nor did they mean to cause offence. They have assured us that they will be amending this map in all future brochures.

Click on the picture above to enlarge the map.

To see the brochure in its original form see page 30.

SIMPLY THE BEST

2011-01-06T06:43:00.000-08:00

A past graduate of the ZF 6th form programme is currently serving in the IDF and has contacted the ZF asking us to send letters to the soldiers who are currently on their Officers course. These young people have to go through rigorous training for 2 months and subsequently are signing up for an extra year in the army. Here is an excerpt of her email to us:

The soldiers in Officers school are giving up extra time of their lives in order to DO more. They are the best of the best and they don't even realise it. I plan on letting them know the importance of what they're doing as some of them are feeling very down. The desert gets very cold at nights and only this week some of them suffered from frostbite.

We are asking you to write letters of gratitude to give them motivation and to thank them for defending Israel. The best way of sending the letters is by emailing them to office@zfuk.org by Thursday 13th January, so that we can present them in time for their graduation at the end of January.

PALESTINE ADVERT IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC "TRAVELER" MAGAZINE

2011-01-06T05:32:00.001-08:00

This advert recently appeared in the new National Geographic Traveler magazine. It gives the following false impressions:
• that Palestine is a country
• that Jerusalem is part of Palestine
• that Palestine extends from the Med to the Jordan
• this advertisement would mislead tourists, since on travelling to territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority, they would not find the sites and facilities which the advertisement promotes
As you may remember, the Advertising Authority Agency recent banned an Israeli Government Tourist Office advert for that all of the areas featured on the map were part of the state of Israel.
click here to read

Please send reasoned complaints to the ASA regarding this advert.
Complaints can be made here

Click the image below to enlarge.

MEETING WITH BRITISH RED CROSS HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

2010-12-14T03:33:00.000-08:00

written by Adrian Korsner

A delegation organised by the ZF including Jonathan Lux and His Honour Dennis Levy QC from the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (and UK Assn.), together with Jamie Slavin of The Board Of Deputies and Adrian Korsner from the UK Zionist Federation, met on 10th December with Michael A Meyer OBE, the Head Of International Law at the British Red Cross.
They handed a letter Mr Meyer expressing theirsadness at the apparent inaction by the ICRC in the matter of verifying the wellbeing of Gilad Shalit, imprisoned by Hamas for more than 4 years. Mr Meyer read the document and then asked Jonathan Lux to speak on the matter.
Mr Meyer then spoke, on behalf of the British Red Cross which he made clear was NOT the ICRC. The ICRC had a right to visit Prisoner's of War or Civilian Internees held as a result of an international conflict and could only visit if allowed to by the holding body (Hamas). An international conflict was one between two independent states. Since Hamas was not a state, the conflict could not be considered international.
Despite this, Mr Meyer said that, in twenty eight years at the Red Cross, he could not remember any prisoner ever having received as much attention as Gilad had. The ICRC had made repeated requests for access.
The ICRC had a remit, only to address matters from a moral standpoint, The ICRC is a completely impartial observer and has to act in this way. It is essential that actions taken or statements made do not alienate it from either side in a dispute as, if it did, it would lose all potential access. Its remit is to work, behind the scenes, not to organise marches or demonstrations.
The visitors asked Mr Meyer to take the following request to the ICRC. They asked that the ICRC made every attempt to maximise, absolutely, its efforts to visit Gilad and to express publicly its disappointment if it was unsuccessful. They also asked that the ICRC used all its considerable 'Moral Powers' to harness the plight of Gilad with the world's press. Mr Meyer listened intentively to all that was said and agreed to present the views of the group to the ICRC in Geneva.

ANTI-ISRAEL U.N. OFFICIAL RESIGNS

2010-12-06T04:47:00.000-08:00

German law professor Christian Tomuschat, the anti-Israel and anti-American official heading the U.N. committee to enforce the Goldstone Report, has resigned. The biased U.N. probe now has no leader, and is in disarray.

This unprecedented resignation follows a global campaign by UN Watch that exposed Professor Tomuschat's egregious bias and breach of his obligation under international law to be objective and impartial:

• UN Watch's team of researchers tracked down and translated Professor Tomuschat's German academic writings. We published a 30-page report revealing how he had frequently compared Israeli actions with the "barbarism" and "inferno" of World War II; how he performed legal work for PLO leader Yasser Arafat; and how he repeatedly accused Israel of “state terrorism.” This was reported worldwide.

• When Tomuschat delivered his report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in September -- calling for the investigation of Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni for alleged war crimes in Gaza -- UN Watch was the only group to take the floor and directly challenge Tomuschat for his bias, stirring reactions from Tomuschat as well as the council president himself.

• When Tomuschat then appeared at a U.N. press conference, journalists followed up on UN Watch's campaign and challenged Tomuschat to defend himself.

Finally, thousands of UN Watch supporters worldwide have been taking action on our website every day to demand from the U.N. that Tomuschat resign. In the end, he gave in.

It's one more UN Watch victory for the genuine principles of human rights, international law, and Middle East peace and security.

ZF RESPONSE TO MICK DAVIS (JC 19 NOVEMBER)

2010-11-23T02:31:00.001-08:00

The comments by ZF Chairman Harvey Rose in today’s JC were edited and did not reflect the tone of what he said.

Rose was quoted as follows: “ …. while agreeing with "much" of Mr Davis's position, [Harvey Rose] said: "How Israel is perceived in the UK has a direct bearing on our comfort levels in Britain . It troubles me that so many people place the blame entirely on Israel ."

What he actually said to Simon Rocker (the reporter) was:

“I think that the comments of Mick Davis of the LJCC are very interesting and I agree with much of what he says.

“The majority of leadership are left of centre. We at the ZF are more in the centre but as we seem to be the organism most willing and ready to stand up in support for Israel when needed, this has given the impression that we are on the right of this debate.

“There is no doubt that how Israel is perceived has a direct bearing on our comfort levels in Britain .

“I believe we need to concentrate on how we can present to the media a more balanced and factual position on events that all too often produce a one-sided anti-Israel response from the media.

“It is certainly my opinion that the failure to reach a two state solution is more at the door of the Palestinians than the Israelis. It troubles me that so many people place the blame entirely on Israel : “If only Israel did this or did that, then peace would prevail.”

“Obviously Israel has its part to play but to continually give the Palestinians and their leadership a free pass does nothing to move the peace process forward. Until we get these important messages across the comfort levels of Jews in this country will not improve.”

ISRAEL CONNECT EUROPEAN LONDON CONFERENCE REPORT

2010-10-20T04:01:00.001-07:00

Israel Connect European Young Leadership Conference
London, 15th – 17th October 2010

This weekend saw over 100 participants attend Israel Connect’s Annual European Conference. After a few years of trying different iterations and methods, we can definately say that we have taken this event to a new level.

All feedback received from the participants has been extremely positive, going into detail about how much they benefited from the programme, and how much they appreciated the opportunity to meet and discuss with other like-minded Young Professionals.

This conference was made up of over thirty ‘alumni’ graduates from previous Israel Connect European (ICE) Young Leadership groups, and over seventy participants from around the UK and Europe who have not previously experienced the Israel Connect Europe programme. In previous years we have always used the London conference to launch a new cohort of the ICE Young Leadership Programme. However, unlike pervious years, we have postponed the start of the ICE programme to January. This was as we learnt that the participants of the new group were not able to network effectively and form as a group, due to the vast number of additional people at the conference. Despite the impressive line up of speakers, we felt this was the right method. Due to not welcoming in the new ICE group this year, we were originally slightly worried about numbers, but we need not have been!

Our speakers for the weekend included:

- MK Nitzan Horowitz. Current Israeli Member of Knesset (Meretz) and former Journalist (Foreign Affairs commentator and head of the International desk at Channel 10). Nitzan provided two great sessions for the group talking about the current situation in Israel, along with the equality opportunities that Israel presents and how he thinks they need to be improved.
- Hillel Neuer. Director of UN Watch (Human Rights NGO), lawyer and regular commentator. Frequently quoted as an expert on U.N. and human rights issues by major media. Hillel gave us an account of the mockery that is the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and introduced us to the concept of lawfare, which he predicts is the next bit method that some will use to deligitimise Israel.
- Yehuda Avner. Israeli former diplomat who served as ambassador to United Kingdom and Australia. Served as advisor to Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, and Shimon Peres. Originally from UK. Amb. Avner gave an incredibly vivid and colourful account of his past experiences with previous Prime Ministers, and shared his advice of how best to deal with hostile audiences and questions. Never before has Israel Connect seen such a large group of Young Professionals sit so still, and soak up every word of a speaker.
- Ofer Laufman. Chairman of the Department for Diaspora Activities of the World Zionist Federation. Ofer spoke as the representative of the WZO, and gave an impressive account of the need for activists. If anyone was unsure why they were attending the conference, they realised the need after they heard Ofer speak.
- Andrew White. Founder of the Beyond Images education and advocacy project on Israel, working as a lawyer. Andrew gave the inspiration needed for the seminar, moving away from primarily facts and analysis, to looking at the need for advocates in the community, and showing the resources available.

Saturday night was a time to let our hair down with the annual Israel Connect European club night. Over 150 people attended, with lots of networking and mingling occurring after an intense day and a half of study.

Sunday morning was a break for the non-alumni group, as the alumni of the ICE programme participated in focus workshops looking at the new outline for next years programme, and how we could improve it. Following this was the essential session of ‘what about the alumni?’. Here the alumni group of over 30 sat and discussed avidly what role they should play in the ICE programme, and how they can best stay connected without the reality of having regular seminars throughout the year. Lots of suggestions arose, and it is fair to say that everyone in the session was inspired about realizing the potential of the group, and the impact we could have.

What was most incredible about the conference, was the feedback from the speakers and observers (eg. Jewish Agency representatives). All speakers and presenters were incredibly impressed with the high quality of participants on the programme, their enthusiasm, and eagerness to get involved and learn. They confirmed what we thought – this truly is an incredible and valuable programme.

OBAMA SPEECH TO THE UN

2010-09-29T05:06:00.000-07:00

Following is a passage on the Israel/Palestinian Arab conflict, from President Barack Obama's UN speech.

Amidst this upheaval, we have also been persistent in our pursuit of peace. Last year, I pledged my best efforts to support the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, as part of a comprehensive peace between Israel and all of its neighbors. We have travelled a winding road over the last 12 months, with few peaks and many valleys. But this month, I am pleased that we have pursued direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in Washington, Sharm el Sheikh and Jerusalem.

Now I recognize many are pessimistic about this process. The cynics say that Israelis and Palestinians are too distrustful of each other, and too divided internally, to forge lasting peace. Rejectionists on both sides will try to disrupt the process, with bitter words and with bombs and with gunfire. Some say that the gaps between the parties are too big; the potential for talks to break down is too great; and that after decades of failure, peace is simply not possible.

I hear those voices of skepticism. But I ask you to consider the alternative. If an agreement is not reached, Palestinians will never know the pride and dignity that comes with their own state. Israelis will never know the certainty and security that comes with sovereign and stable neighbors who are committed to coexistence. The hard realities of demography will take hold. More blood will be shed. This Holy Land will remain a symbol of our differences, instead of our common humanity.

I refuse to accept that future. And we all have a choice to make. Each of us must choose the path of peace. Of course, that responsibility begins with the parties themselves, who must answer the call of history. Earlier this month at the White House, I was struck by the words of both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “I came here today to find a historic compromise that will enable both people to live in peace, security, and dignity.” And President Abbas said, “We will spare no effort and we will work diligently and tirelessly to ensure these negotiations achieve their cause.”

These words must now be followed by action and I believe that both leaders have the courage to do so. But the road that they have to travel is exceedingly difficult, which is why I call upon Israelis and Palestinians -- and the world -- to rally behind the goal that these leaders now share. We know that there will be tests along the way and that one test is fast approaching. Israel’s settlement moratorium has made a difference on the ground and improved the atmosphere for talks.

And our position on this issue is well known. We believe that the moratorium should be extended. We also believe that talks should press on until completed. Now is the time for the parties to help each other overcome this obstacle. Now is the time to build the trust -- and provide the time -- for substantial progress to be made. Now is the time for this opportunity to be seized, so that it does not slip away.

Now, peace must be made by Israelis and Palestinians, but each of us has a responsibility to do our part as well. Those of us who are friends of Israel must understand that true security for the Jewish state requires an independent Palestine -- one that allows the Palestinian people to live with dignity and opportunity. And those of us who are friends of the Palestinians must understand that the rights of the Palestinian people will be won only through peaceful means -- including genuine reconciliation with a secure Israel.

I know many in this hall count themselves as friends of the Palestinians. But these pledges of friendship must now be supported by deeds. Those who have signed on to the Arab Peace Initiative should seize this opportunity to make it real by taking tangible steps towards the normalization that it promises Israel.

And those who speak on behalf of Palestinian self-government should help the Palestinian Authority politically and financially, and in doing so help the Palestinians build the institutions of their state.

Those who long to see an independent Palestine must also stop trying to tear down Israel. After thousands of years, Jews and Arabs are not strangers in a strange land. After 60 years in the community of nations, Israel’s existence must not be a subject for debate.

Israel is a sovereign state, and the historic homeland of the Jewish people. It should be clear to all that efforts to chip away at Israel’s legitimacy will only be met by the unshakeable opposition of the United States. And efforts to threaten or kill Israelis will do nothing to help the Palestinian people. The slaughter of innocent Israelis is not resistance -- it’s injustice. And make no mistake: The courage of a man like President Abbas, who stands up for his people in front of the world under very difficult circumstances, is far greater than those who fire rockets at innocent women and children.

The conflict between Israelis and Arabs is as old as this institution. And we can come back here next year, as we have for the last 60 years, and make long speeches about it. We can read familiar lists of grievances. We can table the same resolutions. We can further empower the forces of rejectionism and hate. And we can waste more time by carrying forward an argument that will not help a single Israeli or Palestinian child achieve a better life. We can do that.

Or, we can say that this time will be different -- that this time we will not let terror, or turbulence, or posturing, or petty politics stand in the way. This time, we will think not of ourselves, but of the young girl in Gaza who wants to have no ceiling on her dreams, or the young boy in Sderot who wants to sleep without the nightmare of rocket fire.

This time, we should draw upon the teachings of tolerance that lie at the heart of three great religions that see Jerusalem’s soil as sacred. This time we should reach for what’s best within ourselves. If we do, when we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the United Nations -- an independent, sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel. (Applause.)

You can read his full speech here: http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2010/September/20100923103817su0.9430048.html

CURRENT SITUATION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND ISRAELI SOCIETY

2010-09-16T01:14:00.000-07:00

From the beginning of this new year, polls have been published by the Central Bureau of
Statistics and by research institutes concerning the demographic, sociological and spiritual trends
taking place amongst the Jewish people; and concerning the composition of the population of the
State of Israel – including the trends, changes and developments that are taking place in all spheres
of Israeli society.
On the basis of these polls and studies and the information we receive throughout the year, we
hereby present the main findings which can be of assistance in appreciating the map of the Jewish
people worldwide.
World Organization of Orthodox
Synagogues and Communities

The Composition of the Population of the State of Israel
On the eve of Rosh Hashana 5771 (September 2010) the total population of the
State of Israel was 7,645,501 (over 7 million, 645 thousand), composed as
follows: Jews: approximately 5,770,900; Arabs: approximately 1,559,100;
Others (including non-Arab Christians and unclassified): approx. 315,000.
Aliya
In 2009, 14,572 olim (immigrants) arrived in Israel, including: 3,245 from Russia; 2,474
from the U.S.A.; 1,602 from the Ukraine; 1,558 from France and 708 from Great
Britain.
Born in Israel
71.7% of all the Jews in the State of Israel were born in Israel, including
161,042 children who were born in 2009.
Note: this information originates with the Central Bureau of Statistics in
Israel.
The Jews of the Diaspora (in the large communities):
In the U.S.A.: 5.3 million. In France: 485,000. In Canada: 375,000. In Great Britain:
292,000. In the Russian Republic: 205,000. In Argentina: 182,000. In Germany:
119,000.
According to this data, 43% of World Jewry live today in the State of Israel.
Note: these findings are based on studies conducted by the demographer Prof. Sergio Della Pergola
of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
2
Self-definitions of those responding to the study carried out by
the Central Bureau of Statistics
8% Ultra-orthodox. 12% Religious. 13% Traditional/Religious. 25%
Traditional (not so religious). 42% Secular.
Observance of Jewish Tradition
25% Very observant. 38% Quite observant. 31% somewhat observant. 6% not observant at all.
21% report that they are more observant today than in the past. 14% report that they are less
observant today than in the past.
Observance of Jewish Tradition in the Secular community
 24% of all secularists attended synagogue on Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur last
year.
 82% of the secularists always take part in the Passover Seder.
 67% always light Hanukka candles.
 29% always light Shabbat candles.
 26% always fast on Yom Kippur.
 22% strictly observe eating Kosher for Passover food on Passover.
 10% strictly observe eating Kosher food.
Note: 86% of all the secularists who took part in the study testify that they observe tradition to some degree.
Participation in Synagogue Prayer Services
 72% of all Jews (aged 20 and over) attended synagogue during the past year.
 23% of the men visit the synagogue every day.
 25% take part in the prayer services in synagogues only on Shabbat and Holidays.
 11% go to synagogue only on Rosh Hashana and/or on Yom Kippur.
 16% go to synagogue only on special occasions, such as celebrations or memorial
services.
 24% do not attend synagogue at all.
Synagogues and Communities in Israel
In the State of Israel there are about 10,000 Orthodox synagogues where
about a million and a half persons (ultra-orthodox, religious and
traditional) worship, and about 55 Conservative synagogues and 25 Reform
synagogues.
In about 800 traditional-religious synagogues in Israel some community activity takes place at
various levels.
Note: the number of young secular men putting on tefillin (phylacteries) in synagogue is gradually growing
smaller.

ZIONIST FEDERATION CONDEMNS TUC CONGRESS APPROVAL OF DISCRIMINATORY BOYCOTT OF ISRAELI GOODS

2010-09-16T01:12:00.000-07:00

The ZF totally condemns the British Trade Union Congress' approval of a discriminatory boycott of Israeli goods, yesterday.

Jonathan Sacerdoti, Director of Public Affairs of the Zionist Federation, said "the TUC Congress calls for an immediate end to the military blockade on Gaza. This can only happen when there is no remaining threat of terrorist rocket attacks emanating from the Gaza strip. Rockets are currently still being launched towards Israeli civilian areas. In recent months Israel lifted many of the restrictions on what is allowed to pass into the Gaza strip, but it remains clear to all who are open minded enough to see it that until a better method for ensuring Israel's security from terrorist attacks exists, restrictions must stay in place. This is simply common sense.

"The TUC should concentrate on representing the interests of its members at a time when cuts are affecting ever more of them. There is no legitimate reason for the TUC to be targeting Israel (and no other country in the world) according the dubious desires of a group of its members who take few (if any) proactive actions to foster peace in the Middle East. The PSC continually seeks to hijack Trade Unions to promote their anti-Israel and anti-peace agenda. It is a divisive and disruptive organization.“

The ZF encourages its supporters to fight back, by getting involved in Trade Unions and speaking out as well as buying Israeli goods. We call on trade union members to protest to their union executives and we call for increased cooperation between the TUC and the Histadrut, for the benefit of peace in the interests of both Palestinian and Israeli workers.

Israel remains committed to the existence of two states: one for the Jewish people and one for the Palestinian people. To that end, negotiations are underway between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Israel has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to a secure two state solution.

Note on TUC's actions:

The TUC Congress claims to be concerned for the welfare of Palestinians, yet made no mention of the Jordanian government's failure to provide refugees of the 1948 war with basic human rights such as citizenship and voting. Nor did they condemn Lebanon for its refusal to allow Palestinian refugees the right to work or vote. They issued no condemnation of Syria for its terrible treatment of Palestinians in its care, no condemnation of Hamas for its continued assault on the freedoms of residents of Gaza including the burning of UNRWA children's camps, human trafficking, regular executions and use of torture, and the continued murders of Israeli civilians. Furthermore, the TUC issued no condemnation of Iran for its systematic use of rape and torture of political dissidents, executions by stoning, or persecution of homosexuals and women. Nor did they condemn Yemen for its brutal and deadly attacks against civilians in the north (with Saudi collusion).

In fact, the TUC Congress issued no condemnations of anyone apart from Israel, the one country in the region that shares Western values and constantly strives to improve itself and the lives of its citizens and workers.

Notes on boycotts:

- A boycott will not help to bring peace to the region. Boycotts are divisive and deliberately discriminatory. Those truly interested in promoting and encouraging peace in Israel and the Middle East concentrate on cooperation, not on strengthening and creating divisions.

- A boycott harms everyone: Palestinian workers will suffer directly as a result of any boycott, as many rely on Israel for work. The Palestinian economy is growing rapidly in a challenging global climate, largely owing to collaborative efforts involving Israel to improve the lives of Palestinians. The UK may also suffer increased isolation and counter-boycott from countries who recognise the negative and counter-productive nature of anti-Israel actions such as this boycott. Of course, such a boycott is directly intended to damage Israel, for no constructive reason.

Notes on settlements:

- The TUC statement contains numerous factual inaccuracies and distortions. There is no legal decision on the status of the settlements so they cannot be termed ‘illegal’. The US government for one does not hold that they are illegal. The territories of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) are disputed, and their status can only be practically determined as part of direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel. Boycotts here or anywhere else in the world will not assist in creating a workable and fair solution.

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS OF THE ZIONIST FEDERATION WELCOMES MIDDLE EAST PEACE TALKS ON BBC NEWS

2010-09-07T02:37:00.000-07:00

Last night Jonathan Sacerdoti, Director of Public Affairs of the Zionist Federation, appeared on BBC News at 8pm.
This can be viewed here

On Thursday morning, 2 September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas launched direct negotiations in Washington, in the presence of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Zionist Federation welcomes the United States’ invitation to resume direct talks with the Palestinian Authority, without pre-conditions, and acknowledges that Israel has called for direct negotiations since the formation of the current Israeli government a year and a half ago.

Israel remains deeply committed to peace and aspires to achieve a stable, sustainable agreement that will ensure peace, security and prosperity for both peoples. Obtaining peace between Israel and the Palestinians is a very difficult task, but it remains an achievable goal and an aspiration for Jews around the world. However, Israel needs a courageous partner on the Palestinian side in order to reach a peace agreement. Peace requires a bold Palestinian partner who will stand before his people and declare that, in order to reach a peace agreement, each side must make painful compromises. He must also publicly strengthen and legitimise a Palestinian aspiration for a peaceful end of the conflict (by ending incitement via media, schools and religious outlets, end the glorification of terrorists and murderers, and create a leading voice in Palestinian society that positions the PA and the Palestinians as partners for peace, not as opponents of israel), create a domestic solution to the refugee problem, and recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. President Sadat of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan demonstrated this brave leadership in their day. We hope that President Abbas will choose to walk in their footsteps.

ZIONIST FEDERATION CONDEMNS HEAD OF FINNISH AMNESTY'S DESCRIPTION OF ISRAEL AS "SCUM STATE"

2010-09-02T03:57:00.000-07:00

In a letter to Salil Shetty, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, the Zionist Federation has responded to the derogatory remarks by the head of Amnesty Finland, who described Israel as a "scum state". The full text of the letter is as follows:

To: Salil Shetty, Secretary General, Amnesty International

25th August 2010

Dear Mr Shetty,

I am writing on behalf of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland to express our outrage at the comments of Frank Johansson, the head of Amnesty Finland, who branded Israel a “scum state,” as reported in the Jerusalem Post.

Writing in his blog, Johansson wrote on Monday that “a friend of mine who works in Israel was visiting [and] while piling wood in the shed, we got to [talking about] his favourite topic. [After] several years of residence in the Holy Land, he has come to the conclusion that ‘Israel is a scum state.’ Based on my own visit[s], which occurred during the 1970s and for the last time in the 1990s, I agree.”

The precise phrase that he used is apparently a highly derogatory term in Finnish, and is frequently translated as “scum,” “scum bag” or “douche bag.” The blog clearly provides readers with Johansson’s title, “director of the Finnish branch of Amnesty International”, thus associating his deplorable comments with Amnesty. For him to claim that this is a personal view is not acceptable. It is no less appalling whether he said it in his official capacity or otherwise. That Amnesty is represented by someone with such a view is disgraceful.

Quite apart from openly displaying prejudice against the world’s only Jewish state, Johansson’s statement is at odds with the facts. Newsweek this week rated Israel the 22nd best country in the world, and the best in the Middle East. A recently released Gallup poll published in Forbes magazine contended that Israel is the world's eighth happiest country.

We call on you to condemn Johansson’s statement, and to freeze links to Amnesty Finland until Johansson resigns. We further call on you to end all of Amnesty’s actions in demonising Israel.

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Director of Public Affairs

Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland

ZF STATEMENT RE. YESTERDAY'S SHOOTING

2010-09-02T01:29:00.001-07:00

The Zionist Federation of Great Britain & Ireland deplores yesterdays shooting of four Israeli civilians (one of whom was pregnant) near Hebron and expresses its condolences to the families of the victims. The ZF believes that this shooting underlines the need as suggested by United Nations Resolution 242 for the Israel Defense Forces to remain in the West Bank until civil security can be guaranteed.

ZF STATEMENT RE. OVADIA YOSEF'S REMARKS

2010-08-31T06:34:00.001-07:00

The Zionist Federation of the United Kingdom & Ireland deplores the recent offensive remarks by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

The ZF supports direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and the position of the Israeli Government as formulated by the Prime Minister’s Office: “Israel is going to the negotiations out of a desire to make progress with the Palestinians toward an agreement that will put an end to the conflict and ensure peace, security and good neighborly relations between the two peoples.”

TONY BLAIR WELCOMES RE-START OF DIRECT PEACE TALKS DURING HERZLIYA SPEECH

2010-08-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, Tony Blair gave a speech during a conference in Herzliya. Well worth a read. A small section of the article reads:
A constant conversation I have with some, by no means all, of my European colleagues is to argue to them: don’t apply rules to the Government of Israel that you would never dream of applying to your own country. In any of our nations, if there were people firing rockets, committing acts of terrorism and living next door to us, our public opinion would go crazy. And any political leader who took the line that we shouldn’t get too excited about it, wouldn’t last long as a political leader. This is a democracy. Israel lost 1000 citizens to terrorism in the intifada. That equates in UK population terms to 10,000. I remember the bomb attacks from Republican terrorism in the 1970’s. There weren’t many arguing for a policy of phlegmatic calm.

Read the full article:

Tony Blair welcomes re-start of direct peace talks during Herzliya speech
There are two forms of de-legitimisation. One is traditional, obvious and from the quarters it emanates, expected. It is easier to deal with. This is attack from those who openly question Israel’s right to exist. It is easier to deal with, because it is so clear. When the President of Iran says he wants Israel wiped off the face of the map, we all know where we are. This is not to minimise the threat of course. It remains and is profound. It is just to say that were this the only form of de-legitimisation, it wouldn’t warrant a conference of analysis; simply a course of action.
The other form is more insidious, harder to spot, harder to anticipate and harder to deal with, because many of those engaging in it, will fiercely deny they are doing so. It is this form that is in danger of growing, and whose impact is potentially highly threatening, in part because it isn’t obvious.
I would define in it this way: it is a conscious or often unconscious resistance, sometimes bordering on refusal, to accept Israel has a legitimate point of view. Note that I say refusal to accept Israel has a legitimate point of view. I’m not saying refusal to agree with it. People are perfectly entitled to agree or not; but rather an unwillingness to listen to the other side, to acknowledge that Israel has a point, to embrace the notion that this is a complex matter that requires understanding of the other way of looking at it.
The challenge is that this often does not come from ill-intentioned people; but well-intentioned. They would dispute vigorously such a characterisation of their mindset. They would point to the injustice of Palestinian suffering, acts of the Israeli Government or army which are unjustifiable and they would say, rightly, that you cannot say that to criticise Israel is to de-legitimise it. Such minds are often to be found in the west. They will say they advocate a two state solution and they will point to that as proof positive that they accept Israel’s existence fully.
The problem is that though this is true in theory, in practice they wear Nelson’s eye patch when they lift the telescope of scrutiny to the Israeli case. In a very real sense, they don’t see it.
So, for example, on Gaza they won’t accept that Israel might have a right to search vessels bringing cargo into Gaza, given that even this year over 100 rockets have been fired from that territory into Israel Leave aside the multiple investigations relating to the flotilla, upon which there will naturally be heated debate. I mean a refusal to accept that, however handled, no Israeli government could be indifferent to the possibility of weapons and missiles being brought into Gaza.
I often have a conversation about the West Bank which goes like this. Someone says: Israel must lift the occupation. I reply: I agree but it has to be sure that when it does so, there will be security and a Palestinian force capable of preventing terrorism. They say: so you’re supporting occupation. I say: I’m not: I’m simply pointing out that if Hamas, with an unchanged position on Israel, were running the West Bank, Israel would have a perfectly legitimate right to be concerned about it’s security.
A constant conversation I have with some, by no means all, of my European colleagues is to argue to them: don’t apply rules to the Government of Israel that you would never dream of applying to your own country. In any of our nations, if there were people firing rockets, committing acts of terrorism and living next door to us, our public opinion would go crazy. And any political leader who took the line that we shouldn’t get too excited about it, wouldn’t last long as a political leader. This is a democracy. Israel lost 1000 citizens to terrorism in the intifada. That equates in UK population terms to 10,000. I remember the bomb attacks from Republican terrorism in the 1970’s. There weren’t many arguing for a policy of phlegmatic calm.
So the issue of de-legitimisation is not simply about an overt denial of the State of Israel. It is the application of prejudice in not allowing that Israel has a point of view that should be listened to.
One thing I state repeatedly in interviews about Gaza – despite disagreeing with the previous policy on it – is to say to western media outlets: just at least comprehend why Israel feels as it does. In 2005 it got out of Gaza i.e. ceased occupying it, took over 7000 settlers with it and in return got rockets and terror attacks. Now I know all the counter-arguments about the unilateral nature of the withdrawal, the 2005 Access and Movement agreement and the closure of the crossings. But the fact remains: there is another point of view and you can’t describe it as illegitimate.
This is then hugely heightened by the way things are reported. Here the televisual images – whether in Lebanon, Gaza or indeed any field of conflict – in Afghanistan for example, are so shocking that they tend to overwhelm debate about how or why conflict began. Because Israel – like the US or the UK – has superior force and because in such situations the horrible tragedy is that the innocent die – these images arouse anger, sympathy and a disgust that at one level is completely understandable but at another obscures the difficult choices nations like ours face, when they come under attack.
The combination of all of this is curious disjunction of perception. I spend large amounts of time in Israel, and outside of it in different parts of the world. To those outside, Israel is regularly perceived as arrogant, overbearing and aggressive. To Israelis, there is a sense that the world is isolating it unfairly and perversely refusing to see they too have a right to have their voice heard. Hence this conference.
The issue is how to respond. First, there is a clear and vital principle that needs to be established: to criticise is not per se to de-legitimise. The fact is there are plenty of Israeli and Jewish voices that passionately disagree with Israeli policy. I am a friend of Israel and openly avow it. I have plenty of criticisms. De-legitimisation is qualitatively different. It can seem the same sometimes. But it isn’t. The one is valid. The other is not. Friends of Israel should be the first to make the distinction.
Having done that, however, we should highlight the fact that de-legitimisation is happening, and be vigilant and vigorous about identifying and countering the instances of it. This needn’t be done stridently. But it should be done insistently. The aim: not to make people agree necessarily with Israel’s point of view; but to insist they listen to it and persuade them at least to the position of understanding. Where there is incitement, expose it. Where there is a one-sided account, argue the other side. Always have a voice out there – and not just the politicians – but the voices of the people. And do it systematically and with unity.
Second, Israel should always be a staunch and unremitting advocate and actor for peace. What I mean by this is not that it should simply be for peace; it should advocate it and act to achieve it. Tzipi Livni’s and Ehud Olmert’s negotiations under the previous Israeli Government and previous US administration, were an immensely important part of showing to the world that whatever else they might say, they had to accept that the Government of Israel was genuinely trying to bring about peace. The re-start of the direct negotiations to be launched next week is important in itself; important because it shows that PM Netanyahu on behalf of the new Government of Israel is an advocate for peace; important because, with a l year time frame being indicated, it shows that there is a sincere yearning on the part of the people of Israel to live in an enduring and honourable peace with their Palestinian neighbours. I know some are cynical. I know some say it’s all for show. I reject that view. I think if Israel can receive
real and effective guarantees about its security, then it is willing and ready to include a negotiation for a viable, independent Palestinian state. This is a brave decision by the PM and the right one.
Third, there will be no successful negotiation unless all the final status issues are on the table. I’m not going to try to negotiate solutions here and now. That is for later. We can think creatively and constructively. Indeed we must do so. But proposals on these issues will be a litmus test of seriousness.
Which brings me to a fourth point. A crucial response to de-legitimisation is to deal with the legitimate criticism. What is it? Let me answer based on my experience. It is that we can and should do more and more quickly to improve the daily lives of Palestinians. Now there has been real progress here in the past year. We should deepen it. I am a convinced persuader for the bottom up approach – I continue to believe that no top-down negotiation will work without it. I also think we have visible empirical evidence to support it: the improvements in Jenin and the opening of the Jalameh crossing to Israeli Arabs; changes to A & M in response to the hugely improved capability of the PA on security; the very successful PIC in Bethlehem that yielded hundreds of millions of dollars of investment; the modus operandi with the new department under DPM Shalom that has resulted in significant gains; and I hope in time a new approach to tourism and to development for Palestinians in Area C.
Such change does not only lead to improvements to Palestinian lives. It also deals with what is the most potent fuel – especially in Arab media – of hatred against Israel. That is the idea that Palestinians suffer not injustice alone; but a form of humiliation. Dignity is a very important concept. Consistent with security, Israel should be constantly looking for ways to compensate for the indignity which inevitably results from the security measures taken and should seek to avoid any unnecessary indignities.
I was pleased and heartened when the Government changed policy on Gaza. The truth is you can justify restrictions in Gaza taken for reasons of security. But with a Gazan population, half of whom is under the age of 18 and 300,000 of whom are under the age of 4, security is the only arguable basis upon which to put such restrictions. Of course Gilad Shalit should be released immediately. His detention is a profound denial of human rights, as is the way he is being treated. But a policy based on threats to Israel’s security is the only one its friends can defend.
This leads me to my final point. It is our collective duty – yours and mine – to argue vigorously against the de-legitimisation of Israel. It is also our collective duty to arm ourselves with an argument and a narrative we can defend and with which we can answer the case against Israel, with pride and confidence.
Let me tell you why I am a passionate believer in Israel. This is a democracy. It’s Parliament is vibrant. Its politics is, well, not notably restrained, let’s say. Its press is free. Its people have rights and they are enforced. I had an argument with a friend about Israel. I said to them: ‘ok let’s assume you are charged with a crime you didn’t commit and the penalty is 20 years in prison. And you’re a critic of the Government. Tell me: under which country’s legal system, in this region, would you prefer to be tried?’ He struggled for a bit and then said: ‘that’s not the point.’ ‘But it is’ I replied.
Look around the world about what we admire about the Jewish people: their contribution to art, culture, literature, music, business and philanthropy. It’s a spirit that is identifiable, open and rather wonderful. Whatever bigotry is, it is the opposite of it. It is a free spirit. On holiday I read the new biography of Einstein. Having in early life taken not much interest in the issue, he became an ardent supporter of Israel. But look at the character of the Israel he supported: like Einstein himself – a free thinker, a rebellious thinker even, but one supremely attuned to the future.
That is the Israel people like me support. So guard it; keep it. I am a religious person myself. But the society I want to live in, is one that treats me no better as a result; makes my view one amongst many; and pursues science, technology and progress with vigour and without prejudice. The best answer to the de-legitimisation of Israel lies in the character of Israel itself and in the openness, fair-mindedness and creativity of ordinary Israelis. That character and those people built the State of Israel. They remain it’s guardians. They are why to de-legitimise Israel is not only an affront to Israelis but to all who share the values of a free human spirit.
Thank you.

JOHNNY IS NOT THE ROTTEN ONE, BY JULIE BURCHILL

2010-08-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

I love Israel and I love Rihanna, so imagine my glee earlier this year on seeing a photo of her lying by EXACTLY the Tel Aviv swimming pool where I had been lounging just a few days before! Hmm, if you SQUINTED a bit, we might even be...nah, it’s not gonna work, is it! I’m somewhat less fond of Lady Gaga so I wasn’t quite as stoked to see her mooching around the Western Wall. And I can’t stand Madonna so I wasn’t especially overjoyed to see her poncing around the Promised Land like she owns the place (or is at least is on a promise).  

But hey, as the Tesco ad says - every little helps! Especially in the long war against the half-witted anti-Semites who seek to demonize Israel as a uniquely heinous blot on the modern map through the medium of cultural boycott.

 Of course people are free to boycott whoever they wish. For several years now I have refused to buy the produce of or visit any country which practises gender apartheid - i.e. Muslim states - as I will not contribute in any way to a vile belief system which results in females being treated in a way that is a cross between the way Tsarist Russia treated the Jews and Scrooge treated money. 

Contrast Rihanna’s glorious Israel gigs with the extraordinary disrespect with which she was treated by Malaysian Islamists last year when scheduled to play in that country. The usual curtain-twitching Mrs Grundyish mullahs got their dish-dashes in a twist, with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party branded her ‘sexier and more dangerous than Avril Lavigne’ - fair enough, but so’s my cat! Furthermore, they prissed, a Rihanna concert would be ‘akin to insulting Eastern culture, belittling local artistes, internationally causing losses to the country’s economy and supporting Israel’s war policy, which is supported by America.’ As well as killing the polar bears and causing ayatollahs beards to drop out, no doubt.

 Previously the joyless Malaysian fuss-buckets had been tut-tutting over the badness of Beyonce, who scrapped two shows there in the space of two years due to Islamic narrow-mindedness, and fined the Pussycat Dolls promoter when the laydeez were accused of flouting Malaysia’s decency regulations. I don’t think it’s any coincidence, to be frank, that Beyonce, Rihanna and the lead Pussycat are black women, and thus the Islamist busybodies feel perfectly entitled to dictate how they should behave. Islam’s genocidal history of enslaving non-Muslims is one they have never apologized for - unlike Western cultures - and on seeing a sassy female who is also black, their who-died-and-made-me-Caliph mentality must go into overdrive.

 I always think of Islamic inhumanity to women, homosexuals, blacks, Christians, Buddhists and the rest of we kaffirs when I read about the latest ill-informed crooning clown to diss Israel. Has-been trip-hop act Massive Attack are the latest sheep-like clod-hoppers to hitch their wagon to a bar, using their appearance at the Big Chill earlier this month to flash up images on a screen behind them. A member of the audience told the JC last week "Massive Attack had a screen behind them that was flashing up statistics and political images. Various topics were touched on such as BP and economic strife but the theme was anti-Israeli … there were slogans about Israelis' wealth compared to Palestinians', troop numbers and armed checkpoints. The general vibe was that all hardship in Palestine was Israel's fault. There was not a word about the terror attacks or fundamentalism.

" Hypocrisy strike one - and probably strike two too. It would be interesting to know whether those performers who refuse to go to Israel and slate America - and here they may or may not agree with that regular laugh-riot Kamaruzaman Mohammad, a leader of the youth wing of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, which claimed that attending the California-based Rihanna's proposed concert was a form of support for Israel because "Whether Rihanna realises it or not, we know that the taxes she paid also contributed to the war in Gaza” - also prevent their records or movies or books from being sold or downloaded in these countries. I doubt it, the greedy pigs. 

Let them stew in their own duplicit swill, I say. Massive Attack can join such anti-Israel heroes as Elvis Costello (who is so politically sophisticated that he once called Ray Charles ‘a blind, ignorant nigger’) and Bobby Gillespie - such a loss to the Brains Trust that he reportedly defaced a MAKE POVERTY HISTORY poster to make it read MAKE ISRAEL HISTORY. Allegedly he couldn’t even spell ISRAEL properly - ISREAL he wrote, which has GOT to be a Freudian slip - and whatever one thinks of the tiny, democratic state surrounded by filthy rich, oppressive dictatorships, how extraordinarily arrogant to downgrade such a massive issue as world poverty simply to score a point. Ick! 

Yes, Israel-haters can keep that grisly pair; in our corner, in the spirit of curiosity and keeping an open mind, we have the unique, the unimpeachable John Lydon, who will lead his group Public Image Limited in concert in Tel Aviv at the end of this month. "If Elvis-fucking-Costello wants to pull out of a gig in Israel because he's suddenly got this compassion for Palestinians, then good on him," Lydon told the Independent. "But I have absolutely one rule, right? Until I see an Arab country, a Muslim country, with a democracy, I won't understand how anyone can have a problem with how they're treated.

" John Lydon: the voice of common sense versus the dark forces of universal hypocrisy. Welcome aboard!

ISRAEL TAKES EUREKA CHAIR - WORLD'S LARGEST R&D INITIATIVE

2010-08-16T08:13:00.001-07:00

Israel became the first non-European state to head the EUREKA Network, the leading industrial R&D initiative in Europe and the largest of its kind in the world with investments of 1.5 billion euros every year. Israel's Office of the Chief Scientist head Eli Opper will serve as the organization's chairman.

In recent years, Israel became one of the five most active members in Eureka boasting the same number of projects as much bigger [EU] countries. Out of nearly 300 new projects initiated by Eureka in 2008, 40 involved Israeli companies. As the head of the pan-European, inter-governmental initiative, Israel has planned five conferences, starting in Tel Aviv in October and culminating in Jerusalem in June 2011. Eureka was set up in 1985 as a legal framework allowing European companies to collaborate and receive government funding.

ISRAEL'S ECI TELECOM WINS £528M CONTRACT WITH BT

2010-08-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

Israel's ECI Telecom has won its largest ever contract, an £528m deal with BT's Openreach to help establish a large-scale super-fast broadband network in Britain.

ECI will deploy next generation access for up to 18 million households and businesses throughout Britain in the next 3-5 years. Deployment is scheduled to begin in July-August. Openreach, which was created in 2006 to give communications providers equal access to Britain's local access network, plans to invest a further 1 billion pounds ($1.51 billion), or 2.5 billion in total, to extend deployment of fibre-to-the-premise and fibre-to-the-cabinet to around two thirds of Britain by 2015.

ECI supplies communications platforms for carrier and service provider networks. It was acquired by a group of funds led by the Swarth Group for $1.24 billion in 2007 and delisted from Nasdaq.

For the full story please see: http://www.ispreview.co.uk/story/2010/07/06/eci-telecom-wins-crucial-uk-bt-next-gen-fibre-optic-broadband-contract.html

ISRAELI ECONOMY AND THE OECD

2010-08-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

Israel has recently been accepted to the OECD. This recent development is likely to support growth in international trade and financial activity. According to the OECD, Israel's GDP grew by 0.7 percent in 2009, compared to an OECD average of minus 3.3 percent. The current growth forecast for 2010 and 2011 is 3.8 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.

The bilateral business relations between Israel and the UK continue to thrive. Last figures show that the UK remains a key target market and destination for the Israeli exporters. During the first half of 2010, the UK became Israel’s third-biggest export market in the world and the biggest export market in Europe. On the other hand, Israel is the UK’s third biggest export market in the Middle East and major UK companies have significant business interests in Israel especially in the fields of science and technology due to Israel’s developed R&D capabilities.

Britain continues to remain a key target market and destination for the Israeli exporters. Israeli exports to the UK in the first half of this year equalled USD894 million, an increase of 54% in dollar terms compared to the same period last year. During the first half of 2010, UK became Israel’s third-biggest export market (from forth last year) and the first-biggest export market in Europe.

According to figures from the Export and International Cooperation Institute (IECI), U.S. remains the first export of goods (excluding diamonds) in the first half of the year with approximately $5.7 billion, an increase of 8% compared to last year. India became Israel’s second-biggest export market from eighth last year; UK third, Holland occupies the fourth place after a down second place in the first half of 2009, China climbed to 5th place (up from 11th place) and Germany ranked sixth (was third last year).

The Swiss Institute for Management Development (IMD) ranked Israel 17th out of 58 of the world's most economically developed nations in its 2010 World Competitiveness Yearbook, raising it by seven spots from its 2009 ranking.

Israel was also rated first in several of the report's sub-categories. The Israeli economy was considered the most durable in the face of crises, and was ranked No. 1 for its expenditure in research and development as a percentage of gross domestic products (GDP). Israel also came in first for the innovative capacity of firms to generate new products, processes and services. In the business-efficiency category, Israel scored very high in availability of skilled labor, finance skills, entrepreneurship of managers and venture capital. For the full story please click here.

TEN OF THE GREATEST

2010-08-12T03:57:00.001-07:00

ZF LETTER PUBLISHED IN DAILY MAIL, IN RESPONSE TO LETTER FROM MRS MAI WABY

2010-08-12T02:33:00.001-07:00

Sir,

Mrs Waby's letter ['Debate', 6th August] was the cause of some sadness
to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain. Such extreme, polarised
views as hers do little to advance peace, and are more like to cause
further division and mistrust among those concerned with Israel and the
Palestinians.

Mrs Waby writes of "43 years of illegal occupation", and the
"illegitimate creation of Israel", as well of "most" of "several million
Palestinians... rot[ting] in poverty". Such false statements are
counterproductive in the struggle for peace which is the aim of the
majority of Israelis, as well as of this and every previous Israeli
government.

Life expectancy in Gaza is rising, and is currently higher than in
Turkey. Only last month a brand new luxury shopping Mall was opened
there. The opulent hotels, olympic-sized swimming pool and fancy
restaurants in Gaza also paint a different picture from Mrs Waby's.

The State of Israel's foundation can in no way be described as
illegitimate. The state was voted into existence by the United Nations
Security Council in 1947, which recommended the termination of the
British Mandate, and the partition of the territory into two states: one
Jewish, and one Arab. It was the leaders of the Arab community who
rejected this, just as many Palestinian leaders do today, unable to
fathom the cheek of the Jews wanting their own state in their historic
homeland.

Today, the Hamas regime which rules the Gaza strip has a stated
genocidal intent and rejects totally in its written charter the prospect
of any negotiated peace with Israel. This is more than just hard talk;
unguided rockets continue to be launched from Gaza on Israeli civilian
areas, making life for those within range unbearable.

It seems that for Mrs Waby certain refugees have no rights, while others
have carte blanche to behave as they wish, attacking men, women and
children with rockets, and keeping a prisoner -- Gilad Shalit -- in
total isolation from the outside world for over 4 years.

Many worry that some in Britain and beyond are less interest in pursuing
peace and fairness in the Middle East, and more interested in bashing
the only Jewish state in the world, Israel. Such aggressive and
unfounded attacks on Israel as Mrs Waby's do little to persuade them
otherwise.

Yours faithfully

Jonathan Sacerdoti,
Director of Public Affairs
Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland

SUPPORT ISRAEL: IF IT GOES DOWN, WE ALL GO DOWN

2010-08-12T02:32:00.000-07:00

By José María Aznar

Anger over Gaza is a distraction. We cannot forget that Israel is the West’s best ally in a turbulent region
For far too long now it has been unfashionable in Europe to speak up for Israel. In the wake of the recent incident on board a ship full of anti-Israeli activists in the Mediterranean, it is hard to think of a more unpopular cause to champion.
In an ideal world, the assault by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara would not have ended up with nine dead and a score wounded. In an ideal world, the soldiers would have been peacefully welcomed on to the ship. In an ideal world, no state, let alone a recent ally of Israel such as Turkey, would have sponsored and organised a flotilla whose sole purpose was to create an impossible situation for Israel: making it choose between giving up its security policy and the naval blockade, or risking the wrath of the world.
In our dealings with Israel, we must blow away the red mists of anger that too often cloud our judgment. A reasonable and balanced approach should encapsulate the following realities: first, the state of Israel was created by a decision of the UN. Its legitimacy, therefore, should not be in question. Israel is a nation with deeply rooted democratic institutions. It is a dynamic and open society that has repeatedly excelled in culture, science and technology.
Second, owing to its roots, history, and values, Israel is a fully fledged Western nation. Indeed, it is a normal Western nation, but one confronted by abnormal circumstances.
Uniquely in the West, it is the only democracy whose very existence has been questioned since its inception. In the first instance, it was attacked by its neighbours using the conventional weapons of war. Then it faced terrorism culminating in wave after wave of suicide attacks. Now, at the behest of radical Islamists and their sympathisers, it faces a campaign of delegitimisation through international law and diplomacy.
Sixty-two years after its creation, Israel is still fighting for its very survival. Punished with missiles raining from north and south, threatened with destruction by an Iran aiming to acquire nuclear weapons and pressed upon by friend and foe, Israel, it seems, is never to have a moment’s peace.

For years, the focus of Western attention has understandably been on the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. But if Israel is in danger today and the whole region is slipping towards a worryingly problematic future, it is not due to the lack of understanding between the parties on how to solve this conflict. The parameters of any prospective peace agreement are clear, however difficult it may seem for the two sides to make the final push for a settlement.
The real threats to regional stability, however, are to be found in the rise of a radical Islamism which sees Israel’s destruction as the fulfilment of its religious destiny and, simultaneously in the case of Iran, as an expression of its ambitions for regional hegemony. Both phenomena are threats that affect not only Israel, but also the wider West and the world at large.
The core of the problem lies in the ambiguous and often erroneous manner in which too many Western countries are now reacting to this situation. It is easy to blame Israel for all the evils in the Middle East. Some even act and talk as if a new understanding with the Muslim world could be achieved if only we were prepared to sacrifice the Jewish state on the altar. This would be folly.
Israel is our first line of defence in a turbulent region that is constantly at risk of descending into chaos; a region vital to our energy security owing to our overdependence on Middle Eastern oil; a region that forms the front line in the fight against extremism. If Israel goes down, we all go down. To defend Israel’s right to exist in peace, within secure borders, requires a degree of moral and strategic clarity that too often seems to have disappeared in Europe. The United States shows worrying signs of heading in the same direction.
The West is going through a period of confusion over the shape of the world’s future. To a great extent, this confusion is caused by a kind of masochistic self-doubt over our own identity; by the rule of political correctness; by a multiculturalism that forces us to our knees before others; and by a secularism which, irony of ironies, blinds us even when we are confronted by jihadis promoting the most fanatical incarnation of their faith. To abandon Israel to its fate, at this moment of all moments, would merely serve to illustrate how far we have sunk and how inexorable our decline now appears.
This cannot be allowed to happen. Motivated by the need to rebuild our own Western values, expressing deep concern about the wave of aggression against Israel, and mindful that Israel’s strength is our strength and Israel’s weakness is our weakness, I have decided to promote a new Friends of Israel initiative with the help of some prominent people, including David Trimble, Andrew Roberts, John Bolton, Alejandro Toledo (the former President of Peru), Marcello Pera (philosopher and former President of the Italian Senate), Fiamma Nirenstein (the Italian author and politician), the financier Robert Agostinelli and the Catholic intellectual George Weigel.
It is not our intention to defend any specific policy or any particular Israeli government. The sponsors of this initiative are certain to disagree at times with decisions taken by Jerusalem. We are democrats, and we believe in diversity.
What binds us, however, is our unyielding support for Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself. For Western countries to side with those who question Israel’s legitimacy, for them to play games in international bodies with Israel’s vital security issues, for them to appease those who oppose Western values rather than robustly to stand up in defence of those values, is not only a grave moral mistake, but a strategic error of the first magnitude.
Israel is a fundamental part of the West. The West is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is upturned and Israel is lost, then we are lost too. Whether we like it or not, our fate is inextricably intertwined.
José María Aznar was Prime Minister of Spain, 1996-2004

DISRUPTIVE ANTI ISRAEL PROTESTERS CLEARED OF CHARGES

2010-08-12T01:49:00.001-07:00

The Zionist Federation is appalled by the Highbury Corner Magistrates Court decision to clear of all charges the four anti-Israel campaigners who locked themselves to fixtures inside the Israeli-owned Ahava shop on Monmouth Street in London’s Covent Garden, once in September 2009 and again in December 2009. We note that owing to an apparent failure of communication, a key witness for the prosecution was not present in court. We particularly regret this fact, as it is of vital importance that the strongest legal case possible is made against those who seek to attack and disrupt Israeli and Jewish shops.

Boycotting and disrupting Jewish and Israeli shops is always wrong. The movement to encourage such boycotts is misguided at best, and deliberately unhelpful and discriminatory at worst. Such boycotts damage the well-being of Israeli and Palestinians, who depend on the support of British and other consumers for their livelihood.

This case comes after last month's case at Hove Crown Court when seven anti-war activists were cleared of all charges after breaking into the EDO arms equipment factory in Brighton and causing £200,000 worth of damage. The British courts and government should resist in the strongest ways possible the attempts of small, fringe groups like these to politicise and highjack our legal system. A worrying trend can be observed where the courts are allowing disruptive and damaging behaviour to go unpunished.

We strongly disagree with both the actions and the motivations of the anti-Ahava protestors. Their attempt to discredit this entirely legitimate business is wrong. It does nothing to promote the dialogue, negotiation or spirit of cooperation which are essential ingredients for a positive future for all in the Middle East.

Different legal interpretations regarding the current status of the West Bank and its potential future status should not be used as a reason to attack individuals and businesses operating legally and legitimately in the UK. Nobody has a right to attempt to intimidate innocent shopkeepers and customers who are doing nothing wrong. Such bullying is at one pathetic and counterproductive, and reveals the true motivations of the perpetrators. We call to everyone to stand strong in the face of this bullying.

The ZF encourages shoppers to show support for Ahava and other Israeli businesses by shopping freely in their stores and buying their high quality products, as they would in any other store.

Jonathan Sacerdoti, Director of Public Affairs of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain which supports a regular counter-protest supporting Ahava, said: "the British legal system is being highjacked by a small and malicious group of anti-Israel campaigners. They appear to be far more interested in attempting to damage the Jewish state than in building a peaceful future for the Middle East."

"This UK government, like the last, does not support boycotting Israeli goods, no matter from which part of Israel they originate. Those who seek to intimidate shops selling Israeli products should be ashamed of themselves. Their actions run contrary to the traditional British values of decency, fairness and freedom. Other local businesses are also damaged by the presence of these disruptive crowds, who show no concern for the damage they do to those around them."

GAZA & GOLDSTONE: WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT? BRIGHTON EVENT REPORT

2010-08-11T04:19:00.001-07:00

Waking up the following Monday morning to hear that five Grad Missiles had luckily just missed Eilat reconfirmed why so many felt the need to go to the Ralli Hall in Hove the previous evening. The Sussex Jewish Representative Council together with the ZF were delighted to host the evening which was attended by over 200 people. Unlike the recent protests in Waitrose this was a thoroughly civilised and well organised event. While we had ample security thanks to our local CST but the audience were so well behaved that they had a relatively easy evening.

Under the direction of the very able Sir Ivan Lawrence QC, an interesting and informative evening evolved. David Cohen, who incidentally is the volunteer Chairman of Israel Connect (the young professionals wing of the Zionist Federation), presented “An Idiot’s Guide to The Goldstone Report” followed by a Questions and Answers session. Our panel consisted of Ruvi Zeigler, (International Human Rights Lawyer) Alex Brummer (City Editor of The Daily Mail), Richard Harrington( MP for Watford and former chairman of CFI) and Sam Barsam (Board of Deputies defence committee). David also joined the panel and we had the benefit of his extensive knowledge. Ruvi explained the responsibilities that Israel faces because she controls the land and sea around Gaza, Alex predicted that the world was rapidly changing and thought that people are now waking up to the nonsense that Hamas peddles. After much discussion on the” Camel Corp” Richard assured us that the foreign office was not anti Israel. Questions arose concerning David Cameron’s recent remarks to the Turkish Government. It was clear that the Jewish community felt insulted that he so lighted tossed around words like “prison camp”, especially when Israel and the international community is sending so much aid into Gaza and no one needed to be reminded what these words mean to Jews. Sam gave a chilling warning about the 1930’s rhetoric that is abounding. Sir Ivan pinned Ruvi down on Israel’s right to assassinate overseas enemy combatants. I am not sure we all understood the answer as the legalities were so complicated. However we did realise that this is something that all countries do clandestinely.

In the audience sat both Christians and Jews together with some VIPs which included The Deputy Mayor, The Chief of Police, the journalist Julie Birchill and the Executive Director of the ZF Alan Aziz. The evening was attended by both Rabbi Efune and Rabbi Radar.

By the end of the evening the audience understood that the situation and responsibilities in Gaza are complex. While the “Lefties” and the media generally have a lot of say, blaming Israel for everything it became quite apparent during the evening that our suspicions and beliefs that the suffering of the population in Gaza is directly due to Hamas were correct.

As the week continued the news from Israel got worse with the loss of life on the Northern Border. Of course there were the voices that tried to blame Israel but it was so clear cut that even the UN, who do not support anything that Israel does, could only agree that the firing was started unprovoked by the Lebanese Army.

GILAD SHALIT BADGES AVAILABLE IN THESE SHOPS

2010-08-11T04:07:00.001-07:00

Gilad Shalit Badges are available in the following shops:

- La Boucherie, Barkingside
- Just Kosher, Borehamwood
- Lets Meat, Borehamwood
- Kanteen, Bushey
- Rubens, Central London
- Norman Goldberg, Clayhill
- Kosher Deli, Edgware
- Tuti Gusti, Edgware
- Burger Bar, Finchley
- Eye Warehouse, Finchley
- Carmelli's, Golders Green
- Grodinski's, Golders Green
- Menachems Butcher, Golders Green
- Pita, Golders Green
- White House Express, Golders Green
- Kosher Deli, Hendon
- Mana Deli, Hendon
- Mr Baker, Hendon
- The White House, Hendon
- Golan's Bakery, Ilford
- Kosher Cuisine, Mill Hill
- Amici, Pinner
- Yummies, Radlett
- A Perlmutter, Southgate
- Buckinghams Bakery, Stanmore
- Ivor Silverman, Stanmore
- Daniels Bakery, Temple Fortune
- Kosher Paradise, Temple Fortune
- Landy's Chemist, Temple Fortune
- Matok, Temple Fortune
- Pita, West Hampstead

For more information visit www.gilad.org.uk.

If you are a shop and would like to have badges by your till, please contact gary@zfuk.org.

ZF MARKS GILAD SHALIT'S 24TH BIRTHDAY WITH NEW BADGE CAMPAIGN AND WEBSITE FOR ACTION

2010-08-10T02:14:00.000-07:00

28th August marks Gilad Shalit's 24th birthday. Gilad was kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists in a cross border raid from the Gaza Strip on 25th June 2006, aged just 19. He has been held hostage by Hamas ever since with almost no contact to the outside world.

To mark Gilad’s birthday, the Zionist Federation on behalf of the Jewish community is launching a campaign to increase awareness of his plight in the form of a badge appeal. Similar to the bright yellow ribbons in Israel, the ZF has produced thousands of yellow badges which are available in Jewish shops around London or for order online at www.gilad.org.uk. We are asking members of the community to wear the badges in order to raise awareness, and show their solidarity with Israel. Also via the website, we are inviting people to send their wishes to Gilad’s family. There they can also sign a petition that will be passed on to the UK Government, encouraging them to place pressure on the relevant agencies to ensure the safe release of Gilad Shalit.

Four years, two governments, two prime ministers, two defence ministers, and two heads of the Israeli Armed Forces have unsuccessfully tried to secure a prisoner exchange with Hamas. The International Red Cross has given Shalit the status of Prisoner of War, a status which guarantees visits by the Red Cross and contact with their families. By never complying with these rules, Hamas is violating international human rights. The attempts by the International Red Cross to secure Gilad's release from captivity have not been sufficient. The ICRC ways to put pressure behind its demands and to enforce them. After over four years, we urge them to increase their efforts.

The ZF urges everyone to redouble their own personal activity on this important issue, by writing to their MP, contacting the press and broadcast media during the week of Gilad's birthday, and simply by spreading the word among their own networks.

CONTACT DETAILS FOR UK NEWSPAPERS

2010-08-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

Contact details for UK newspapers
Here are the contact details of the main UK newspapers.

When writing to the press, keep your letter short, polite, and reasoned. This increases the chance of publication. Try to use your own words wherever possible, even if you are paraphrasing something you read elsewhere. This is always better than copying and pasting.

The Evening Standard
Email: letters@standard.co.uk

Daily Express
Editor: Peter Hill
The Northern & Shell Building, Number 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN
Email: greg.swift@theexpress.co.uk

Sunday Express
Editor: Martin Townsend
The Northern & Shell Building, Number 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN
Email: liz.james@express.co.uk

Financial Times
Editor: Lionel Barber
1 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL
Fax: 020 7873 3076
Email: letterspage@ft.com

The Guardian
Editor: Alan Rusbridger
119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER
Fax: 020 7837 2114
Email: nigel.willmott@guardian.co.uk
letter@guardian.co.uk

The Independent
Editor-in-chief: Simon Kelner
2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF
Email: letters@independent.co.uk

Independent on Sunday
Editor: John Mullin
2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF
Email: letters@independent.co.uk

Daily Mail
Editor: Paul Dacre
Northcliffe House 2 Derry Street Kensington, London W8 5TT
Fax: 020 7937 4463
Email: letters@dailymail.co.uk

Mail on Sunday
Editor: Peter Wright
Northcliffe House 2 Derry Street Kensington, London W8 5TT
Fax: 020 7937 4463
Email: letters@mailonsunday.co.uk

Daily Mirror
Editor: Richard Wallace
1 Canada Square Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP
Fax: 020 7293 3409
Email: mailbox@mirror.co.uk

Sunday Mirror
Editor: Tina Weaver
1 Canada Square Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP
Fax: 020 7293 3939
Email: letters@sundaymirror.co.uk

News of the World
Editor: Colin Myler
1 Virginia Street, London E1 9XR
Fax: 020 7488 4433
Email: letters@newsoftheworld.co.uk

The Observer
Editor: John Mulholland
119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER
Email: Letters@observer.co.uk

The People
Editor: Lloyd Embley
1 Canada Square Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP
Fax: 020 7293 3810
Email: mailbox@people.co.uk

The Sun
Editor: Dominic Mohan
1 Virginia Street, London E1 9XR
Fax: 020 7488 3253
Email: letters@thsun.co.uk

The Daily Telegraph
Editor: Tony Gallagher
1 Canada Square Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP
Email: dtletters@telegraph.co.uk

The Sunday Telegraph
Editor: Ian MacGregor
1 Canada Square Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP
Email: stletters@telegraph.co.uk

The Times
Editor: James Harding
1 Pennington Street, London E1 9XN
Fax: 020 7488 3242
Email: letters@thetimes.co.uk

The Sunday Times
Editor: John Witherow
1 Pennington Street, London E1 9XN
Fax: 020 7782 5658
Email: letters@sunday-times.co.uk

STATEMENT ON THE LEBANESE BORDER INCIDENT OF 3RD AUGUST 2010

2010-08-04T08:13:00.001-07:00

Statement on the Lebanese border incident of 3rd August 2010

The Zionist Federation regrets yesterday's escalation of hostility on the Lebanese/Israeli border, in particular the loss of life.

We send our condolences to the family of Lt. Col (Res.) Dov Harari and our prayers for recovery to Captain Ezra Lakia. We also recognise the loss of life on the Lebanese side.

The ZF is gravely concerned about the way the incident has been reported in the media, in particular the general failure to report the comments of an UNIFIL spokesman that Israel notified them of the intention to carry out maintenance work to prune trees, and that UNIFIL passed that information on to the Lebanese army.

UNIFIL also say they are of the opinion that the Israeli forces were on the Israeli side of the border and that this is currently being verified. They also confirm that it was the Lebanese army who opened fire. Despite that, many news agencies and newspapers have attempted to blame Israel for the escalation.

We call on all those who have misreported this incident to issue a correction.

We are astonished that the Lebanese army arranged for a journalist to be with them. This suggests that this legitimate and notified action by the Israelis may have been used as an opportunity for an escalation.

If this is indeed the case it is deplorable.

The Zionist Federation has spokespeople available for television, radio and written press upon request.

RESPONSE TO DAVID CAMERON'S REMARKS ON 27TH JULY 2010 IN ANKARA

2010-07-29T01:51:00.001-07:00

The Israeli Defence Forces have a duty and a right to defend the civilian population of Israel, who are the victims of frequent acts of terrorism. In particular, the Israeli men, women and children living in southern Israel have to endure ongoing and indiscriminate rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. Rockets are still being launched at an average rate of one every week.
Those on board the Mavi Marmara sought to challenge a known naval blockade intended to stop weapons being imported into Gaza. Many previous attempts to smuggle arms into Gaza have been made, and also stopped by the IDF. A rocket that arrives in Gaza on one day will be launched towards the civilian population of Israel the next. This is what is ‘unacceptable’, not the efforts of the Israeli Navy to defend the lives of Israelis.
The UN agrees with Israel that those wishing to send aid to Gaza should do so by land. UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky stated last week, "there are established routes for supplies to enter by land. That is the way aid should be delivered to the people of Gaza… Our stated preference has been and remains that aid should be delivered by established routes, particularly at a sensitive time in indirect proximity talks between Palestinians and Israelis,"
As the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Ron Prossor has said, “the people of Gaza are the prisoners of the terrorist organisation Hamas. The situation in Gaza is the direct result of Hamas’ rule and priorities.
“We know that the Prime Minister would also share our grave concerns about our own prisoner in the Gaza Strip, Gilad Shalit, who has been held hostage there for over four years, without receiving a single Red Cross visit”.

ENDS

Jonathan Sacerdoti Director of Public Affairs The Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland 020 8202 0202

UNIVERSAL JURISDICATION

2010-07-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

The Zionist Federation welcomes the statement by the Secretary of State for Justice, the Rt Hon. Kenneth Clarke, that it is his intention to amend the legislation relating to war crimes.
We note he has tabled a written statement in the House of Commons confirming that UK War Crimes legislation will be amended at “the first opportunity” in order to rectify the anomaly that has enabled campaign groups to obtain arrest warrants against visiting Israelis on the basis of unfounded War Crimes charges. We congratulate him and the Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon. William Hague, together with the Coalition Government, for taking this early opportunity to honour their commitment to rectify this situation which has damaged international relationships and caused considerable embarrassment.
We strongly support the view it is important to retain legislation that will safeguard against proven war criminals being allowed to enter the UK, but agree with the proposal that the matter of issuing arrest warrants should rest solely in the hands of the Director of Public Prosecutions and is not open to abuse due to frivolous requests for warrants being presented to inexperienced magistrates by manipulating individuals.
We concur with the conclusion of the Justice Minister that the abuse of the current legislation has hindered the government’s ability to help in conflict resolution and welcome the proposed changes, which can only be beneficial to the role the United Kingdom can play in advancing the Middle East peace process.
We look forward to the proposed amendment being put before Parliament and trust it will receive widespread support.
Joy Wolfe MBE ZF Co President

HAMAS APPEAL TO ISRAELI COURT (IN THE COUNTRY THAT THEY DO NOT RECOGNIZE AND WANT TO DESTROY)

2010-07-19T05:22:00.001-07:00

by KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Hudson New York
Four Hamas political figures facing expulsion from Jerusalem have expressed their readiness to do almost anything to remain in the city under Israeli sovereignty, including renouncing their ties to the radical Islamist movement.
The Israeli Ministry of Interior had revoked the status of the four Hamas representatives as permanent residents of Jerusalem, paving the way for their expulsion from the city. These representatives who are fighting to retrieve their Israeli ID cards belong to the same organization whose leaders used to send young men and women to blow themselves up in Israel, killing hundreds of innocent civilians -- including Arabs.
The four men ? three legislators and a former minister -- have good reason to put up a good fight to stay in Jerusalem. The last thing they would want is to be deported to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or any Arab country.
To prevent their expulsion, they have even chosen to appeal to courts of the country that they do not recognize and would so much like to destroy: Israel. Moreover, they have written to the Israeli authorities letters arguing that they do not represent Hamas, but the people who voted for them in the January 2006 parliamentary election.
The Hamas men's campaign is not about being allowed to stay with their families in Jerusalem -- or even to spy, which the Israelis would find out -- as much as fear of what awaits them under Fatah in the West Bank, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and dictatorships in the Arab world, where there is no democracy, and rule of law is capricious at best.
Once they arrive in the Gaza Strip, they will discover that their government, the Hamas government, has imposed a reign of terror and intimidation on the local population and is even confiscating much of the humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, that is being dispatched to the area.
In the West Bank, they are likely to be chased by Palestinian Authority security forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad. These forces have long been waging a ruthless campaign against Hamas representatives and supporters in the West Bank.
Hundreds of Hamas followers are being held in Palestinian-run prisons without trial. Most are denied family visits and the right to consult with a lawyer. At least three Hamas detainees are believed to have died as a result of torture in the prisons controlled by Abbas and Fayyad.
In the Gaza Strip, the four Hamas representatives will have to join 1.5 million Palestinians whose living conditions have only deteriorated since Hamas seized control of the area exactly three years ago.
In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Hamas operatives would not enjoy many of the privileges they are entitled to as residents of Jerusalem and holders of Israeli ID cards:
As permanent residents of Jerusalem, the four Hamas men enjoy the same rights as every Israeli citizen, with the exception of voting for the Knesset: freedom of movement; social welfare, and free education and healthcare. They can vote for the Jerusalem Municipality and travel around the country freely and without having to obtain special permission.
They can get into their cars, which have Israeli license plates, and drive any time of the day to eat fish in Jaffa or swim in the Kinneret in Tiberias.
They have unlimited access to Israeli hospitals and free education for their children; and are entitled to many social and economic benefits that many Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip do not have.
The Hamas representatives know that in most of the Arab countries they would be dealt with as a "security threat," and would most probably find themselves under house arrest. That is, of course, if any of those countries agrees to host them in the first place.
Now, however, the Hamas men are willing to humiliate themselves by publicly disowning the Islamist movement. If the choice is between membership in an Islamist movement and life in Israel, to the Hamas leaders, the latter option seems more attractive.

BRITISH JEWS SEE THEMSELVES AS ISRAEL’S CRITICAL FRIENDS

2010-07-19T01:26:00.000-07:00

Jews in Britain strongly identify with and support Israel. They are ready to see Israel swap territory for peace and to talk with Hamas if it will advance the cause of peace. At the same time, they are concerned about Israel’s security, support the separation barrier/security fence and viewed the 2008/09 operation in Gaza as “a legitimate act of self-defence.”
These are the central findings of the most definitive study ever conducted of the attitudes of Jews in Britain towards Israel. The study, entitled Committed, concerned and conciliatory: The attitudes of Jews in Britain towards Israel, is published today by the community’s leading research institute, the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR).
Based on over 4,000 individual responses, with fieldwork conducted by Ipsos MORI and with the support of several leading experts in Jewish demography and sociology, the findings show that:
More than nine out of ten Jews have visited Israel, and a similar number consider it their ‘ancestral homeland’.
Four-fifths of respondents say Israel plays a central or important role in their Jewish identities, and one in five says they are very or fairly likely to live there in the future.

See http://www.jpr.org.uk/publications/publication.php?id=235

EDO Factory

2010-07-06T04:06:00.000-07:00

The ZF regards the acquittal of the seven who admitted causing £180,000 of criminal damage in the EDO factory in Brighton as an utter disgrace.

(The seven argued that they were seeking to prevent ‘Israeli war crimes’).

It seems that the ‘rule of law’ in the UK has effectively broken down,
since it varies according to the political bias of the Judge deciding on an individual case.

The ZF:
-          calls on the UK Government to censure Judge George Bathurst-Norman who directed the Jury to a “not guilty” verdict.
-          hopes that the prosecution refers the case to the Court of Appeal for clarification of the law.

-          Is complaining to the Office of Judicial Complaints and calls on its supporters to do the same

The form can be found from this link http://tinyurl.com/2appu3d

CHRISTIAN FRIENDS OF ISRAEL (UK) AND THE ZIONIST FEDERATION

2010-07-06T02:07:00.001-07:00

Christian Friends of Israel (UK) and the Zionist Federation, which together represent thousands of individuals - including members of the Methodist Church - the length and breadth of these islands, were appalled that on 30th June the Methodist Conference overwhelmingly accepted a report on the Israel/Palestinian conflict that reeks of 'supercessionism' (the strain of Christian belief that denies the Biblical claim of the Jewish people to the land of Israel).

Not only that: as organisations working together to bring about closer ties between our two faith communities, we totally deplore the completely biased and one-sided nature of the report and the conclusions drawn from it.

There is no justification for the boycott, that the Methodist Conference approved, on goods grown or made by Jews in Judea and Samaria, nor will a move like this improve the lives of the many hundreds of Palestinians whose livelihood depends upon employment in these areas.

In remaining in Judea and Samaria for security reasons, in areas occupied as a result of the defensive war of 1967, Israel is acting perfectly legally. UN Resolution 242 says that withdrawal from these areas should be in exchange for security. The reality is that Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, only to be rewarded with unceasing terrorist attacks.

The ZF and CFI (UK) call upon all right-thinking people to protest to the leadership Council of the Methodist Church at this blinkered, flawed report and the recommendations flowing from it.

The ZF and CFI (UK) believe that interfaith dialogue between Jews and Christians on the one hand, and those Methodists who supported the motion on the other, is impossible until this report is withdrawn in its entirety, and a more balanced approach to this extremely difficult subject is adopted.

SPANISH PM AZNAR IN LONDON TIMES : “IF ISRAEL GOES DOWN, WE ALL GO DOWN”

2010-06-30T05:06:00.000-07:00

“Anger over Gaza is a distraction. We cannot forget that Israel is the West’s best ally in a turbulent region”

Spanish Prime Minister Aznar addressing last month's UN Watch gala. Geneva, May 27, 2010.
UN Watch congratulates José María Aznar, former Prime Minister of Spain and recipient of UN Watch's 2010 Guardian of Freedom Award, for the following article published on Thursday in the Times of London.

   By José María Aznar For far too long now it has been unfashionable in Europe to speak up for Israel. In the wake of the recent incident on board a ship full of anti-Israeli activists in the Mediterranean, it is hard to think of a more unpopular cause to champion. In an ideal world, the assault by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara would not have ended up with nine dead and a score wounded. In an ideal world, the soldiers would have been peacefully welcomed on to the ship. In an ideal world, no state, let alone a recent ally of Israel such as Turkey, would have sponsored and organised a flotilla whose sole purpose was to create an impossible situation for Israel: making it choose between giving up its security policy and the naval blockade, or risking the wrath of the world.

  In our dealings with Israel, we must blow away the red mists of anger that too often cloud our judgment. A reasonable and balanced approach should encapsulate the following realities: first, the state of Israel was created by a decision of the UN. Its legitimacy, therefore, should not be in question. Israel is a nation with deeply rooted democratic institutions. It is a dynamic and open society that has repeatedly excelled in culture, science and technology.  

Second, owing to its roots, history, and values, Israel is a fully fledged Western nation. Indeed, it is a normal Western nation, but one confronted by abnormal circumstances.  

Uniquely in the West, it is the only democracy whose very existence has been questioned since its inception. In the first instance, it was attacked by its neighbours using the conventional weapons of war. Then it faced terrorism culminating in wave after wave of suicide attacks. Now, at the behest of radical Islamists and their sympathisers, it faces a campaign of delegitimisation through international law and diplomacy.

  Sixty-two years after its creation, Israel is still fighting for its very survival. Punished with missiles raining from north and south, threatened with destruction by an Iran aiming to acquire nuclear weapons and pressed upon by friend and foe, Israel, it seems, is never to have a moment’s peace.

  For years, the focus of Western attention has understandably been on the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. But if Israel is in danger today and the whole region is slipping towards a worryingly problematic future, it is not due to the lack of understanding between the parties on how to solve this conflict. The parameters of any prospective peace agreement are clear, however difficult it may seem for the two sides to make the final push for a settlement.  

The real threats to regional stability, however, are to be found in the rise of a radical Islamism which sees Israel’s destruction as the fulfilment of its religious destiny and, simultaneously in the case of Iran, as an expression of its ambitions for regional hegemony. Both phenomena are threats that affect not only Israel, but also the wider West and the world at large.

Spanish ex-PM Jose Maria Aznar (left) receiving UN Watch's 2010 Guardian of Freedom Award; community leader Joe Tugendhaft (center); Executive Director Hillel Neuer (right). UN Watch annual gala, Geneva, May 27, 2010. Click here to watch the "Global Impact" video of UN Watch screened at the dinner.

 The core of the problem lies in the ambiguous and often erroneous manner in which too many Western countries are now reacting to this situation. It is easy to blame Israel for all the evils in the Middle East. Some even act and talk as if a new understanding with the Muslim world could be achieved if only we were prepared to sacrifice the Jewish state on the altar. This would be folly.

  Israel is our first line of defence in a turbulent region that is constantly at risk of descending into chaos; a region vital to our energy security owing to our overdependence on Middle Eastern oil; a region that forms the front line in the fight against extremism. If Israel goes down, we all go down. To defend Israel’s right to exist in peace, within secure borders, requires a degree of moral and strategic clarity that too often seems to have disappeared in Europe. The United States shows worrying signs of heading in the same direction.  

The West is going through a period of confusion over the shape of the world’s future. To a great extent, this confusion is caused by a kind of masochistic self-doubt over our own identity; by the rule of political correctness; by a multiculturalism that forces us to our knees before others; and by a secularism which, irony of ironies, blinds us even when we are confronted by jihadis promoting the most fanatical incarnation of their faith. To abandon Israel to its fate, at this moment of all moments, would merely serve to illustrate how far we have sunk and how inexorable our decline now appears.  

This cannot be allowed to happen. Motivated by the need to rebuild our own Western values, expressing deep concern about the wave of aggression against Israel, and mindful that Israel’s strength is our strength and Israel’s weakness is our weakness, I have decided to promote a new Friends of Israel initiative with the help of some prominent people, including David Trimble, Andrew Roberts, John Bolton, Alejandro Toledo (the former President of Peru), Marcello Pera (philosopher and former President of the Italian Senate), Fiamma Nirenstein (the Italian author and politician), the financier Robert Agostinelli and the Catholic intellectual George Weigel.

  It is not our intention to defend any specific policy or any particular Israeli government. The sponsors of this initiative are certain to disagree at times with decisions taken by Jerusalem. We are democrats, and we believe in diversity.  

What binds us, however, is our unyielding support for Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself. For Western countries to side with those who question Israel’s legitimacy, for them to play games in international bodies with Israel’s vital security issues, for them to appease those who oppose Western values rather than robustly to stand up in defence of those values, is not only a grave moral mistake, but a strategic error of the first magnitude.

  Israel is a fundamental part of the West. The West is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is upturned and Israel is lost, then we are lost too. Whether we like it or not, our fate is inextricably intertwined.  

José María Aznar was prime minister of Spain between 1996 and 2004. He is the 2010 recipient of UN Watch's Guardian of Freedom Award.

ZIONIST LEADERS MEET BRITISH AMBASSADOR

2010-06-30T03:55:00.000-07:00

Tom Phillips addressed a Brish Zionist Federation Leadership Group
which includes a group of Young ZF Leaders from across Europe who are
called ZF Israel Connect.

Within the group are representatives from the UK Denmark France
Switzerland Germany Finland and Hungary.

The British Ambassador shared with the group some of his
experiences in Israel as he nears the end of his tenure in Israel.

The ZF UK have met with Tom every year during his Ambassadorship.

Alan Aziz Director of ZF UK and Israel Connect Europe said that - we
are delighted to have met again with our Governments representative
in Israel and to hear his views as he prepares to leave, only by being
in Israel can one really understand the complexities of the situation
here, it is sad that most of Israels detractors have never set foot in
this special country.

Over 700 attend rally in support of Israel in London

2010-06-08T04:49:00.001-07:00

Over 700 attended the rally in support of Israel on Wednesday 2nd June, 19.00-20.00 outside the Israeli Embassy of London – organized by the Zionist Federation.
Photo’s attached for your information. More photos available upon request.
Photos courtesy of Adrian Korsner.

Banners were held with the following messages:
Aid not Arms
Israel Wants Peace, not Terror
Peace activists don’t use weapons
End Hamas rockets = End Blockade
Free Gaza from Hamas

The following people spoke at the event:
MP Louise Ellman
Author, Commentator, Director of the Centre for Social Cohesion Douglas Murray
Chairman of the Zionist Federation Andrew Balcombe
Representative of Christian Friends of Israel Candido Giraldo
Rabbi Shisler

The peaceful rally ended with the 700+ crowd singing both the British and Israeli national Anthem.

ATTACK ON ISRAELI DEPUTY AMBASSADOR IN MANCHESTER

2010-05-04T01:38:00.000-07:00

The Zionist Federation unreservedly condemns the attack on the Deputy Ambassador of the State of Israel last night. It calls on the police and the University to take the strictest possible action against these would-be deniers of free speech. Those reponsible must be sent down from the unversity and prosecuted if responsible for criminal damage.

It is the abject failure of university Vice Chancellors to deal with extremism which fuels this kind of hateful action. Do we have to have serious injury or a death before Vice Chancellors see that the right to protest does not include the right to endanger life and limb?

The ZF again calls on Universities UK to stop extremist action at Universities; if it cannot, the next government has to step in quickly. The Universities were asked to act in 2006, in the Report of the All Party Committee on Antisemitism. But - as was shown last night and as is shown by the numbers of former Islamic Society activists who have been arrested and/or charged for terrorist offences - inaction opens the door to campus extremism.

LATEST HADAR-ISRAEL VIDEOS: HOW TO CHALLENGE DELEGITIMIZATION OF ISRAEL

2010-04-22T04:19:00.000-07:00

How can Israel respond to the strategic multi-dimensional campaign against it that is increasing in intensity daily?
D.J Schneeweiss, Israel's Coordinator of Anti-Boycott Strategy in Europe recently told Hadar-Israel that "we must respond to every challenge and in every arena," and that citizen action can play a crucial role.
"Israel's enemies are trying to change the rules of the game" by laundering their anti-Israel positions through use of human rights language and universal values rather than facts, Schneeweiss said. Their strategic goal is to tear asunder Israel's legitimacy. We must be ready to combat the lies that are being spread.
Israel's self-defense in response to missile attacks from terrorist armies exceeds international law standards according to IDF Lieutenant Colonel (res.) David Benjamin who was legal advisor to the IDF in Gaza for many years. Benjamin told Hadar-Israel that the good news is that, so far, Israel is winning the war against terrorist attacks despite having one hand tied behind its back, as it fully adheres to international law and basic moral standards, while its enemies do not.
The two spoke about combating terrorism, the Goldstone Report, and more at Hadar-Israel's most recent forum in Jerusalem. The event was headlined by international human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler on the topic "Lawfare! Fighting False Legal Actions and Boycotts that Demonize Israel."

Click here

to view the new videos of David Benjamin and D.J. Schneeweiss, as well as other exclusive and important videos of Irwin Cotler, Dore Gold, Danny Ayalon and Alan Baker.

ISRAEL AND THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS

2010-04-20T02:07:00.000-07:00

Israel and the upcoming elections – Please ask your Parliamentary candidates to agree to the following:

1. In December 2008 Israel had the right to attack Hamas terrorists in Gaza , after being subjected for eight years to their rocket attacks and that in future Israel has the right to defend itself.
2. The loophole in the Universal Jurisdiction Law - which enables Israelis visiting London to be arrested with no reference to the Attorney General - must be closed as a matter of urgency.
3. The biased Goldstone Report must be rejected in the UN.
4. There must be no boycott against Israel .
5. Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons.
6. There must be no UK government contact with Hamas and Hizbolla until those organisations have proved beyond doubt that they renounce terror.

FULL TEXT OF LETTER FROM RONALD S. LAUDER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

2010-04-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

15 April 2010

Dear President Obama:
I write today as a proud American and a proud Jew.
Jews around the world are concerned today. We are concerned about the nuclear ambitions of an Iranian regime that brags about its genocidal intentions against Israel. We are concerned that the Jewish state is being isolated and delegitimized.
Mr. President, we are concerned about the dramatic deterioration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Israel.
The Israeli housing bureaucracy made a poorly timed announcement and your Administration branded it an “insult.” This diplomatic faux pas was over the fourth stage of a seven stage planning permission process – a plan to build homes years from now in a Jewish area of Jerusalem that under any peace agreement would remain an integral part of Israel.
Our concern grows to alarm as we consider some disturbing questions. Why does the thrust of this Administration’s Middle East rhetoric seem to blame Israel for the lack of movement on peace talks? After all, it is the Palestinians, not Israel, who refuse to negotiate.
Israel has made unprecedented concessions. It has enacted the most far reaching West Bank settlement moratorium in Israeli history.
Israel has publicly declared support for a two-state solution. Conversely, many Palestinians continue their refusal to even acknowledge Israel’s right to exist.
The conflict’s root cause has always been the Palestinian refusal to accept Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. Every American President who has tried to broker a peace agreement has collided with that Palestinian intransigence, sooner or later. Recall President Clinton’s anguish when his peace proposals were bluntly rejected by the Palestinians in 2000. Settlements were not the key issue then.
They are not the key issue now.
Another important question is this: what is the Administration’s position on Israel’s borders in any final status agreement? Ambiguity on this matter has provoked a wave of rumors and anxiety. Can it be true that America is no longer committed to a final status agreement that provides defensible borders for Israel? Is a new course being charted that would leave Israel with the indefensible borders that invited invasion prior to 1967?
There are significant moves from the Palestinian side to use those indefensible borders as the basis for a future unilateral declaration of independence. How would the United States respond to such a reckless course of action?
And what are America’s strategic ambitions in the broader Middle East? The Administration’s desire to improve relations with the Muslim world is well known. But is friction with Israel part of this new strategy? Is it assumed worsening relations with Israel can improve relations with Muslims? History is clear on the matter: appeasement does not work. It can achieve the opposite of what is intended.
And what about the most dangerous player in the region? Shouldn’t the United States remain focused on the single biggest threat that confronts the world today? That threat is a nuclear armed Iran. Israel is not only America’s closest ally in the Middle East, it is the one most committed to this Administration’s declared aim of ensuring Iran does not get nuclear weapons.
Mr. President, we embrace your sincerity in your quest to seek a lasting peace. But we urge you to take into consideration the concerns expressed above. Our great country and the tiny State of Israel have long shared the core values of freedom and democracy. It is a bond much treasured by the Jewish people. In that spirit I submit, most respectfully, that it is time to end our public feud with Israel and to confront the real challenges that we face together.
Yours sincerely,
Ronald S. Lauder
President
World Jewish Congress

ASA ADJUDICATION ON ISRAEL TOURISM ADVERT

2010-04-20T01:55:00.001-07:00

The Zionist Federation was disturbed to read the adjudication (14 April) of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about an advert for tourism in Israel.

This adjudication is grossly disproportionate since there is not the slightest risk that the British public would be misled by the inclusion of photos of the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock into thinking that East Jerusalem was not disputed territory. There is no other way for tourists to see these sights other than through Israel. Indeed Israel took responsibility to support the religious sites of all denominations, a commitment which formed part of the obligations of an agreement with the Palestinian Authority signed in 1995. East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel over 40 years ago. Legally, from Israel’s point of view, it is one City with no difference between East and West

By saying that photos of the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock cannot be shown in Israel tourism advertising, the ASA is therefore preventing them being shown in ANY tourism advertising. That cannot be to the benefit of tourists.

We note that this ASA adjudication can be reviewed by the Independent Reviewer (Sir Hayden Phillips) at the request of the advertiser and that he can call for a review if there is “a substantial flaw of process or adjudication …. or where additional relevant evidence becomes available.”

We hope that there is such a review and that this results in the ASA Council changing its ruling.

For further information:
Alan Aziz
020 8202 0202
alan@zfuk.org

ZIONIST FEDERATION GENERAL ELECTION 2010-GUIDANCE NOTES

2010-04-16T04:44:00.001-07:00

ZIONIST FEDERATION GENERAL ELECTION 2010-GUIDANCE NOTES
(In conjunction with Christian Friends of Israel)

1. Regardless of which candidate you may vote for, it would be very helpful if you-preferably in conjunction with some of your neighbouring colleagues (who must reside within the same constituency)- meet briefly with each of the mainstream party candidates to ascertain their attitudes on some or all of the issues mentioned below. The principal reason is to keep track on not only the next MP for your area but also on those aspiring to Parliament, either in the constituency you live in or- as inevitably many unsuccessful candidates do-where they move on to what they perceive as a more winnable seat. Your notes of their response will be helpful for our community in the future.

2. Organising hustings meetings after an election has been called is very unlikely to be accommodated in the candidate’s crowded programme, but holding a brief meeting with concerned constituents from a faith/religious community will usually be allotted in as each candidate will want to maximise their potential votes. Logically, asking for such a meeting-the best way to approach the candidate directly or through their agent-should be undertaken as soon as possible, rather than leaving it to the last few days before polling. If the candidate has already been approached, ask if he/she will either include you in the meeting or arrange for you to see any notes made by those who have already requested the meeting. Please remember you are dong so as concerned Jewish constituents.

3. In any constituency in which there is a BNP candidate attending for election, it is vital that all members of the community use their vote wisely. Ask neighbours and friends in the constituency to spread the word throughout the wider community: ‘Please use your vote for any of the mainstream parties’. Further details are available from the ‘Hope not hate’ campaign-which is supported by the Board – at www.hopenothate.org.uk

4. Discussing the following issues with candidates may result in their asking questions about the matters concerned or aspects of the subjects. If you are unsure of the facts, indicate that you will arrange for a briefing sheet to be sent to them and then please let us know the information required and the contact details for the candidate(s) concerned. We will ensure that such briefing notes are sent to them regardless of whether they are successful or not, after the 6th May, though if a candidate-should they become the constituency’s MP- post the election, to hold more detailed discussions on the suggested and other subjects of interest or concern.

5. If you have any questions- please do not hesitate to either email office@zionist.org.uk or call the Zionist Federation (0208 202 0202) and ask to leave a message for Eric Moonman or email info@bod.org.uk or call the Board of Deputies (0207 543 5400) to ask for advice or guidance. And please remember to notify your findings to the Zionist Federation requesting it is forwarded onto the Board of Deputies Elections Desk.

SUGGESTED SUBJECTS TO BE DISCUSSED WITH ELECTION CANDIDATES 2010

1) Israel & Middle East
[a] Have you visited Israel and or the Palestinian Administrated Territories?
[b] What is your position on Israel, its security concerns etc?
[c] Do you favour a two state solution: Israel and Palestine?
[d] Will you support strong sanctions being taken against Iran as long as it pursues nuclear ambitions?
[e] Would you agree ‘no recognition’ of Hamas & Hezbollah until each renounce terrorism?
[f] Do you oppose the campaign for an academic boycott of Israel?
[g] What is your view of calls for boycott of Israeli products and goods?
[h] Will you support legislation on Universal Jurisdiction making action against suspected war criminals subject to the approval of the Attorney General/DPP?

2) Anti Semitism & Racism (optional)
[a] Are you aware of the scale of the problem including a record number of race hate incidents against Jewish people and property last year (924 incidents-CST Annual Report)
[b] What suggestions would you make to help combat anti Semitism?
[c] What initiatives would you consider to tackle racism in general?

ISRAEL'S 2010 YOUNG SCIENTIST OF THE YEAR

2010-04-15T03:04:00.000-07:00

April 2010

Competing against 59 of Israel's top teenage scientists who presented 40 projects at Jerusalem’s Bloomfield Science Museum, Leo Baeck High School student Adi Friedman was awarded First Prize in the annual Intel-Israel Young Scientists Competition for her technique for replacing eroded spinal discs by injecting a hydro gel polymer. Adi's inspiration to develop a non-surgical technique was triggered by her father's severe pain from an eroded spinal disc.

A panel of judges headed by Hebrew University Prof. Hanoch Gutfreund declared Adi the 2010 winner and her prize of a full university scholarship was awarded to her by President Shimon Peres at Beit Hanassi in Jerusalem.

When interviewed about her achievement and the success of her findings, the modest 18 year old spoke of how much she owed to the Technion's Tammy Porat and 2004 Nobel Laureate for Chemistry, Professor Ciechanover for their guidance and support and to Leo Baeck Education Center headmaster Dani Fesler, a leader in gender-equality in education and an inspiration to all his students to reach for the sky.

Adi will now be representing Israel in the 2010 Intel International Young Scientists Competition

For further information contact:

Carol Brauner
Director of International Development
Email: carol@leobaeck.org.il
Web: www.leobaeck.org.il/english
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=141374049527

STATEMENT FROM THE ISRAEL MINISTRY OF TOURISM

2010-04-15T02:55:00.000-07:00

Minister of Tourism, Mr. Stas Misezhnikov stated in reaction: Jerusalem, through the city's myriad of religious and historical sites, is one of the most important tourism destinations in the State of Israel. The city attracts on a yearly basis millions of tourists of all faiths and nationalities, regardless of their personal or political persuasion.

The Ministry of Tourism is positioning Israel worldwide as the Holy Land, with Jerusalem at it's core, which represents more than a city of Peace, but also the united capital of the State of Israel. Just as no religious faction would interfere with the official stand of the English government regarding the country's marketing policy, so the attempt to do so towards Israel is at the outset flawed and therefore, under no circumstances negotiable.

ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION WILL NOT BE HALTED BY EXTREMISM

2010-04-13T08:41:00.001-07:00

Confusion surrounded the announcement that Eurovision entrant and Arab Israeli singer Mira Awad would be withdrawing from a concert to celebrate Israel’s Independence in central London. Mira was due to appear in the ZF organised celebration on Monday 19th April as half of the headline act with co-singer NOA, one of Israel’s top performing artists. NOA issued the following statement:

“I am extremely disappointed that Mira Awad will not be performing as my guest in London on April 19th. Due to vulgar threats made to her and her family and Ofer our manager. By small-minded, cold-hearted people, she was forced to cancel. Mira and I, together and apart, will continue to fight with the tools at our disposal, words and music, to change this awful reality. We believe wholeheartedly that "there must be another way"!

Mira has since denied the death threats, but the ZF said it stood by its initial announcement and regretted the sad situation in which the singer is clearly under continuing pressure. Chief Executive Alan Aziz said:

“We do not wish to comment further on this sad story except to say
that the message coming from Arab extremists in Israel will not deter the ZF from celebrating Israel’s birthday, its diversity, its rich culture and most importantly, its democracy”

The ZF has organised Israel Independence Day concerts in the UK for the last 20 years, marking Israel’s 60th birthday at Wembley Stadium two years ago with the biggest Israel concert to be held in the world on that day. It is expecting a large crowd this year for NOA, and for X Factor’s Stacey Solomon, who will also make an appearance.

FILMING OPPORTUNITIES:
Monday 19th April, 7pm Central London
Crews are welcome to film at the concert if advance arrangements are made to interview NOA before or after the show.

INTERVIEWEES
Alan Aziz, Executive Director, ZF
NOA, Israeli Singer & songwriter & last year’s Eurovision Song Contest performer

BACKGROUND FOOTAGE
Footage of Mira & NOA’s previous concerts can be made available on request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE FILMING PLEASE CONTACT
ALAN AZIZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of the ZIONIST FEDERATION
email - alan@zfuk.org
Tel: 020 82020202

STAND WITH US ONLINE BOOKLET

2010-04-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

Stand With Us Online Booklet

THE DEATH (?) MUHAMMAD ZEN ISMAIL AL-FARMAWI

2010-04-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

Shalom friends and family,

I'm sure that the name of Muhammad Zen Ismail Al-Farmawi is unknown to most (if not all) of you. He is the 15 year old boy that a few weeks ago was reported killed by the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) during fighting in Gaza. Media outlets like the New York Times, CNN, UPI, BBC, and all of the Arab world's media reported that he was killed by Israeli soldiers, a charge that was denied by Israel. They all claimed that his body was not recovered due to intense fighting in the area. The Palestinian news agency, Ma'an, reported:

"Muawiya Hassanein, director of ambulance and emergency services in Gaza, said Muhammad Zen Ismail Al-Farmawi, 15, was shot dead near the southeasterly border by Israeli forces, while local sources who wished to remain anonymous said the death may have been an internal matter.

Hassanein said ambulances had been unable to retrieve the body because of ongoing clashes in the area, while an Israeli military spokesman said he had no knowledge of the incident."

Much to the surprise of everyone (except for Israelis, I guess), the "dead" boy miraculously showed up, returned from the dead. Again, the report from Ma'an:

"It turns out Al-Farmawi was among 17 Palestinians detained by Egyptian forces shortly after they infiltrated the Egyptian side of Rafah via one of Gaza's numerous underground smuggling tunnels. The detainees, among them 12 minors, were returned to security forces at the border on Friday. They had been questioned about tunnel locations, leading to at least three closures, Egyptian security sources said.

Relatives expressed "overwhelming happiness" that their son was unharmed during the violence, our correspondent reported from Rafah.

Muawiya Hassanein, Health Ministry director of ambulance and emergency services in Gaza, told Ma'an that after "huge efforts and contacts" to return the boy's body, officials found him among those who were detained. He was assumed to have died in the clashes Tuesday after a Palestinian ambulance crew was refused permission to access to the area following reports of deadly fire, Hassanein explained at th time.

In what would turn out to be a second erroneous explanation that day, local residents also told Ma'an at the time that while the boy was indeed killed, the Israeli military was not involved. The purported death was an "internal matter," locals said, insisting on anonymity."

While the Western media broadcast the story of his death, did anyone see a broadcast about his return to life? I didn't! And, you may ask, what happened to him in Egypt? Well, according to the Jerusalem Post, he was in an Egyptian prison where, for 3 days, he was beaten and tortured with clubs and electrical wires. Not just Al-Farmawi, but his friends as well -- all of whom were minors. Where's the outrage? Where is the story from the NY Times? the BBC? CNN? Al- Jazeera? Of course, there are none. Why isn't Egypt held to the standards of human rights that Israel is? Why isn't the Palestinian media outlet, Ma'an, held to the same standards as the Israeli media? Obviously, these questions are rhetorical in nature.

However, in a serious note, where did the Goldstone report get the majority of its facts and figures that it used to condemn Israel's actions during Operation Cast Lead last year in Gaza? Ma'an. Where did the world's media get their inflated figures for the so-called "massacre" in Jenin in 2002 that proved later to be a fabrication? Ma'an. Who routinely reports of the terrible things that Israeli soldiers do to innocent Palestinians without ever truly investigating the incident? That would be Ma'an again. And, as we have learned from independent sources about Muhammad al-Dura, the young boy who died in his father's arms that we all saw live in 2000 as the second Intifada was begun which was widely reported that the IDF murdered him in cold blood, this was also not the case as independent sources in Germany and France have proven in! court that much of the scene was staged and he was most likely killed by Palestinia fire. And where did we get the original "facts" in this case? You guessed it... Ma'an!

If the world is going to hold Israel to stringent media standards (which I believe that we should be held to), then the same must be applied to Ma'an, other Palestinian news sources, and the Arab world as well (not to mention the Western apologists like CNN, the NY Times, BBC, etc.). Whenever the "street" needs to be riled up, some Arab leader announces that Al-Aksa must be defended as the Israelis are preparing to assault and destroy the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aksa mosque. All of us in the west know that this is not the truth. Any right-thinking Arab know that this is not the truth. But, to get the "street" to rise up, they spout this nonsense and here we go again... sigh...

Bottom line -- responsibility and accountability. That's what is needed to help weed through the massive amount of information that is coming out of our region. However, there is neither responsibility nor accountability. While the original story is usually found on the front page of the newspaper, above the fold, the retraction is buried on page 34 at the bottom as it is not "sexy" enough of a story to peak a reader's interest. This attitude has to change for there to be a chance at peace -- but it's not going to change.

And remember, today is 1383 days that Gilad Shalit has been held in Palestinian captivity (if he is still alive) with no humanitarian visits -- where is the outrage? Where is the caring? On the plus side, when I was in Rome last month, there was a huge poster of him hanging on the City Hall with a caption demanding his release. However, when will the world put pressure on them? Why is aid pouring into Gaza? Why is the world demanding that Israel and Egypt lift their "blockade" of Gaza? sigh...

Keep fighting the good fight!

Much luck and love always,
Steve

SOAS: THE SCHOOL OF ORGANISED ANTI-SEMITISM / BY SHLOMI COHEN

2010-04-12T09:01:00.001-07:00

On the first week of my degree, nearly three years ago, I met a friend of mine who had heard that I was going to SOAS. He asked – jokingly - if I really knew what the initials of SOAS stand for. The headline was his answer. I obviously didn’t take it seriously; I mean, after all, Anti-Semitism is a strong word, right? It’s the kind of word Jews tend to use very infrequently and only if a non-Jew makes a very racist comment. It is also, illegal. You cannot be anti-Semitic nor support racism, especially in a place like SOAS, right? Well, that’s exactly what I thought up to the moment I realised that Anti-Semitism in SOAS is here, hidden behind the modern, fashionable and so beloved ideology around our campus, Anti-Zionism.

Quote me: “Whoever supports Anti-Zionism, supports Anti-Semitism.” Yes, I bet you read that and said: ’I am Anti-Zionist but I don’t have anything against Jews, after all, I am not a racist!’ I am writing mainly to you guys, to the ones who are so against Zionism without even understanding what Zionism is, and to the ones who support the Palestinians, basing your ‘knowledge’ on nothing more than what you see on the BBC, without even considering how racist and radical the Palestinian leadership can be.

Zionism is nothing less than the dream and the ideal of the Jewish people returning to Israel. Zionism is comprised of a belief that Jews are a nation, and as such are entitled to self-determination as all other nations are. Palestinians included. But when students claim that Zionism equals racism, they actually deny the Jews the right to identity. Anti-Zionists deny Jews a right that they are all so ready to give to others, first of all the Palestinians.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) - or as some members of SOAS tend to describe them as freedom fighters (Leila Khaled, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacker jailed by the British in 1970 for attacking an El Al flight) - from the 1960s onwards denied the link between Judaism and the land of Israel. Moreover, Israel never existed on any Palestinian map throughout the Oslo “peace process”. They also deny the Holocaust, update blood libels and Jewish conspiracy themes with their general incitement to violence. Yes, this is the PLO which is so beloved by students and others in SOAS who ignore and excuse the terrorism, Jihadism and anti-Jewish stereotypes to be found in PLO nationalism. After all, please don’t forget that Palestinians can only be the victims and never the bad guys.

The United Nations, that we all support and admire for their decisions and actions, passed resolutions against Israel that most of you support. These include the withdrawals of Israel from Hezbolland (South Lebanon) and from Hammastan (Gaza). So, how come when the resolutions are so against the Jews you accept them but when the UN passed a resolution on the partition of Palestine in 1947 into two states, a Jewish one and a Palestinian one, you are against it? And on the same note, the Palestinians, that students are such a big fan of, together with the Arab countries surrounding Israel, tried to wipe out Israel from the map when they started the war against Israel in 1948 because there is no place for Jews in Palestine. And of course, this is not based on any anti-Semitic reasons.

How many of you believe that Jews succeeded merely because of the conspiracy in which the Zionists, i.e. the Jews, manipulated England and America via their strong lobbies? This is a typically anti-Semitic narrative of which Hitler might have approved.

Let me make it straight for you, I don’t accuse any student or member of staff of deliberate anti-Semitism. I know you oppose racism, prejudice and discrimination. I also know, as you might have just realised, that you have been misled into thinking you can be anti-Zionist and still stay true to all principles you believe in. But to be honest, what do you expect when SOAS hosts events such as "Sharon: A New Hitler for a New Age" featuring British MP George Galloway, or when members of staff give legitimacy for suicide bombers or when the head of the SOAS Jewish Society was called a "fascist" and a "terrorist". What can one expect when the movie “Jerusalem, the Promise of Heaven", which states that "these people (the Jews) have no values or ethics" and refers to Jewish prayers as "satanic rustles and whispers" was shown in the SOAS Student Union's lounge? Take a moment and think about it.
Once I told a friend of mine a joke: “There is no anti-Semitism in SOAS.”

DEATH THREATS FORCE ARAB ISRAELI EUROVISION SINGER TO CANCEL LONDON APPEARANCE AT ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY SHOW

2010-04-12T01:13:00.000-07:00

Mira Awad, the Arab Israeli singer who represented Israel at the last Eurovision Song Contest, has been forced to withdraw from the ZF Israel Independence Day Concert in London due to death threats made against her and her family.

The singer is half of a duo with Achinoam Nini, also known as NOA, another of Israel’s top artists, and they perform internationally to packed audiences, promoting a unique message of peace and co-existence. The ZF who have organised annual Israel Independence Day events in Britain for many years took the decision to invite them to headline the show and celebrate the diversity of the Israeli population, of which almost 20% are non-Jewish citizens, mainly Arabs.

Mira Awad who lives in Tel Aviv, and her family who live in Kfar Rameh, a small Arab Village in the north of Israel, now have round the clock security because of the death threats. Her Manager, Ofer Pesenzon, said:
“Mira and NOA’s message is about finding a peaceful way forward. It is tragic that when both sides try to come together by any means possible to build a better future for Israel and its citizens, there are those prepared to use violence and intimidation to destroy it.”

Mira will remain in Israel whilst NOA performs at the London concert, her first appearance in 6 months since giving birth to a daughter. The ZF’s Executive Director Alan Aziz said
“Our concert is a celebration of independence but it’s also about building understanding. Mira wanted to be the Arab Israeli voice promoting a peaceful way forward, and the threats to her life expose the real truth behind the conflict - that everyone is hostage to extremism, and it is a dangerous and growing phenomenon that denies Israel’s right to exist, and the world’s right to democracy.”

The ZF has announced that X Factor finalist Stacey Solomon will also feature in this year’s show. Stacey Solomon, the 20 year old single mum from Dagenham, Essex has come a long way from her days serving up fish and chips at a local restaurant. She studies theatre arts and attended King Solomon High School. She came into the public eye when she appeared on the first show of X Factor Live Auditions shocking everyone with an angelic rendition of Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World. “I’m rarely surprised, but I have to be completely honest with you, that performance took me by surprise. I think you are really, really good.” said Simon Cowell

FILMING OPPORTUNITIES
Mon 19th April 7.30-10pm
Crews will have access to film at the event and there will be an opportunity to interview NOA after the show.

INTERVIEWEES
Alan Aziz, Executive Director, ZF
NOA, Israeli Singer & songwriter & last year’s Eurovision Song Contest performer

BACKGROUND FOOTAGE
Footage of Mira & NOA’s previous concerts can be made available on request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE FILMING PLEASE CONTACT
ALAN AZIZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of the ZIONIST FEDERATION
EMAIL: alan@zfuk.org
MOBILE: 07768 946 868

BRITAIN-HATE WAR ON CAMPUS TO BE "STAMPED OUT"

2010-03-23T03:37:00.000-07:00

The Academic Friends of Israel

22 March 2010

The view from Britain-Hate war on campus to be "stamped out"

The Reut Institute recently described London as one of the "Hubs of Delegitimisation" where a widespread network of anti-Zionist groups, hostile human rights organisations and home grown radical Islamists use cultural, academic, legal and financial weapons to campaign against the delegitimisation and demonisation of the State of Israel.
Therefore it is no surprise that over the last three months there have been many protests and actions by anti-Israel/anti-Zionist groups in Britain and on our campuses in particular , the latest being Israel Apartheid Week” at the beginning of March. Their protests will continue with the Boycotts Divestment and Sanctions [BDS] Global Day of Action on 30 March. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which will be putting an advert in the Guardian on that day, has also targeted students by encouraging them to involve Palestine student societies; trade union branches; faith groups and other sympathetic organisations to make BDS target relevant to each group – e.g. if a university has a contract with Eden Springs or Veolia.

Therefore the news that the Board of Deputies of British Jews has at long last put together a five-point action plan to combat this “virus of extremism" on Britain's university campuses is welcomed, but one has to ask why has it taken them so long when the worsening situation has been apparent to everyone else for many years. The answer is that the new leadership of the Board of Deputies is much more proactive than previous ones who preferred to work behind the scenes so as not to cause fuss which they believed resulted in increased Antisemitism. There is a time and place for everything but the policy of working behind the scenes has recently proved unsuccessful when the British government betrayed the Jewish community over promises made over "universal jurisdiction".

It has been apparent to many of us that our University Vice -Chancellors already have the necessary powers to deal with extremism and racism if they want to take action but many have been reluctant to “bit the bullet” for fear of offending one group or another or hide behind the ‘academic freedom’ or ‘freedom of speech’ banner. Therefore the recent decision by the Vice -Chancellor at Manchester University, after pressure from the Board of Deputies, to make speakers at last month's "Palestine Week" conference sign an undertaking not to incite hatred is most welcome and not before time. Speakers at that meeting included Azzam Tamimi of the Muslim Association of Britain, who had told a SOAS audience that he longed to be a martyr and that supporters of Hamas should not be afraid to be labelled terrorists.

If signing an undertaking not to incite hatred can work at Manchester University then it can work anywhere. We owe it to our students to give this decision the widest publicity and encouragement.

Remember also that the current generation of students is being brought up on a diet of ‘Israel is an apartheid state’ and ‘Israel is a racist state’ and this will influence their decision making when they are in positions of power and influence in 30 years time.

Ronnie Fraser

Director The Academic Friends of Israel

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU'S LETTER FOR THE ZIONIST FEDERATION'S 110TH ANNIVERSARY

2010-03-18T05:29:00.001-07:00

GORDON BROWN'S LETTER FOR THE ZIONIST FEDERATION'S 110TH ANNIVERSARY

2010-03-11T04:02:00.000-08:00

ACTION ON IRAN

2010-02-11T07:34:00.001-08:00

Ivan Lewis MP, Minister of State for the Middle East, received an emergency petition on Iran in Parliament today. The petition, signed by 4000 supporters of Christian Friends of Israel, begged the Government to strengthen sanctions against Iran.

“We urge Ministers to press the enforcement of UN Resolution 1696 and require Iran to unconditionally stop enriching uranium, to open all its facilities to monitoring by IAEA, and to stop funding terrorist groups including Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas.”

The Minister told Geoffrey Smith, Director of Christian Friends of Israel (CFI) who organised the petition, that the UK Government is increasingly concerned by nuclear development in Iran and actively engaged in raising international support on this issue. “This strengthens our case,” he said.

The petitions were signed by members of CFI from churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their concern is that once Teheran has enriched its supplies of uranium to 20% it could bar the inspectors and produce weapons grade uranium in a matter of months. They urged the Minister to press governments in the EU to co-ordinate action and impose a new round of tougher sanctions for the sake of regional peace.

Issued by CFI Communications PO Box 2687 Eastbourne BN22 7LZ registered charity no 1101899 www.cfi.org.uk

ISHMAEL KHALDI - I AM AN ARAB AND A MUSLIM AND LOVE MY COUNTRY, ISRAEL

2010-02-02T09:25:00.001-08:00

Ishmael Khaldi, the first Bedouin Deputy Consul of Israel and the highest ranking Bedouin ever within Israel’s Foreign Ministry, spoke to over 800 people at ten different events organized by the Zionist Federation.

Khaldi talked about how he moved from his Bedouin village Khawalid where he had a four mile round trip walk to school every day, north east of Haifa, and graduated from being a Shepherd, through a Christian school in Haifa, to obtain a Degree at Haifa University in Political Science and masters at Tel Aviv University. Having served in the Israeli Border Police Force and as a Political Analyst for the IDF he then became the first Israeli Bedouin Diplomat in the Foreign Ministry and served as Deputy Consul in San Francisco from 2006-2009. Assignments included acting as translator for Clinton/Arafat talks, and speaking to the Arab Media during the Gaza disengagement. He explained how the Bedouins have served for a long time with Israeli Forces, even pre Israeli State together with Pal mach and Haganah in the early 40’s.

Khaldi’s visit to the UK began on Sunday 24th January where he spoke to Sixth Form students, all part of an Israel Advocacy Training programme. This programme was developed upon the request of sixth form students who all felt comfortable with their Jewish knowledge, but acknowledged that their Israel information could be improved. As the majority of students will be going to university in the next year or two, it is essential that they are able to learn the facts and tools to be able to speak up for, and defend Israel where necessary, and also to have the ability to sing Israel’s praises the rest of the time.

Ishmael gathered a crowd of a hundred at a joint event with EDRS (Edgware Reform Synagogue) and MNS (Middlesex New Synagogue), a crowd of sixty in Leicester, a crowd of 70 at Muswell Hill Synagogue and a crowd of over 130 in South Manchester.

However, Khaldi did not only speak to Jewish communities. He also spent a lot of time on University Campus’s speaking at events with both Jewish and non-Jewish Audiences. This was of vital importance as it demonstrated to many how Israel is a democratic state and not just a Jewish State. Khaldi successfully defended the concept of the two state solution and Israel on its democratic values. While not dwelling on Israel's current level of liberal democratic values, he made a point of stating what we all believe; that Israel, like most democracies is not perfect, but strives to be "the best of the best bunch." The audiences on campus left the lecture theatre’s in the knowledge that for all its faults, perhaps the democracy of Israel is like ours; not perfect, but amongst the best of the best.

Ishmael spoke at LSE (London School of Economics), SOAS (School of African Studies), and to over 100 students in Birmingham, and to another 100 students in Leeds University. Sadly Ishmael’s talk at Leeds University was met by twenty protests from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC), who at one point tried to storm the room. Despite the protesters, and after a barrage of speakers on campus, all claiming that Israel is a racist and apartheid state - courtesy of The Friends of Palestine Society, Khaldi's arrival was a breath of fresh air. At SOAS some of the students in audience who had extremely negative views about Israel, could not believe that an Israeli Arab Muslim was saying that he loves his country and that most of the Palestinian problems are of their own making.

Extremely interesting questions followed all talks, and in every instance had to be cut short due to a lack of time. Extremely worthwhile for all.

ISRAEL RETURNS FROM HAITI

2010-01-28T02:27:00.001-08:00

The Zionist Federation welcomes the safe return of the Israeli rescue and medical team that did such incredible work in helping with the search and rescue and medical treatment in Haiti

We also congratulate the Save a Child's Heart organisation for identifying a number of children whom they hope to bring to Israel for heart surgery, and welcome the arrival of the first child in Israel today (Thursday). We urge people to respond to the SACH fundraising appeal to make this possible.

We note with pleasure that the Israeli team has left a legacy of equipment behind, including 30 tons of medical equipment for use in the ongoing aid effort. This includes bandaging gear, surgery equipment, two incubators and other medical accessories as well as 1150 blankets, 30 large-sized tents, 500 mattresses, 200 sleeping bags and kitchen equipment. The equipment will be distributed to tent-cities in different locations in Haiti, under the coordination of the Israeli Ambassador.

We are proud that Israel has played such a valued role alongside the delegations from other countries around the world, including the UK, saving many lives and providing medical care for the injured, demonstrating the highest level of humanitarian concern after this tragedy.

Joy Wolfe co President Zionist Federation

ISRAEL IN HAITI

The ZF extends condolences to the families of the bereaved in Haiti, and sends a message of sympathy to the many who have suffered hardship.

Israel has featured predominately in the news for its response it has provided in Haiti after sending over 200 troops to assist in the search and rescue for survivors, along with setting up a field hospital. Below are only a few of the links showing Israel’s importance and achievements on the ground.

• CNN’s video state’s that: “No one except the Israeli hospital has taken any of our patients. [At seeing the Israeli field hospital – set up in a football pitch] “I am amazed at what’s here. Its like another world compared to the other hospital”. “Have the Americans set up a field hospital? Not yet. The Israeli’s came from the other side of the world”. Watch the video here.

• At the Israeli field hospital a baby was delivered by Doctor Shir Dar on Sunday. The mother has decided to name the baby ‘Israel’. Watch the YouTube video here.

• Tom Gross writes: Israel’s Disproportionate Response. Because of Israel's long history of enduring bomb and missile attacks the Israeli army (the IDF) is one of the most experienced in the world in treating mass-injuries and using specially trained sniffer dogs to locate wounded persons in the rubble. The IDF was one of the first on the scene in Haiti last week (sending considerably more troops than, for example, Britain and France did). Over 5,000 Haitians have already been treated in the IDF Medical and Rescue Field Hospital, set up in a large tent on a soccer field in Port-Au-Prince. In addition, Israeli forces have located and rescued survivors trapped in ruined buildings, including many who were injured during the collapse of the UN headquarters. In addition to teams from the IDF's canine unit, Israel sent 52 doctors and 25 nurses as well as paramedics, and has set up a pharmacy, a children's ward, a radiology department, an intensive care unit, an emergency room, two operating rooms, a surgical department, an internal medicine department and a maternity ward. Israel has since sent a further 220 doctors, medics and nurses. Israel also sent a number of French-speaking translators to aid doctors.

• The Israeli Army is the “Rolls Royce” of medicine in Haiti. You can see six new videos of the Israel team in Haiti by clicking here and scrolling down to the third item.

• After only 38 hours the ZAKA international rescue unit delegation pulled eight students alive from the collapsed university building. In an email that the head of the ZAKA International Rescue Unit delegation managed to send to the ZAKA headquarters in Jerusalem on Sunday, he writes of the “Shabbat from hell. Everywhere, the acrid smell of bodies hangs in the air. It’s just like the stories we are told of the Holocaust – thousands of bodies everywhere. You have to understand that the situation is true madness, and the more time passes, there are more and more bodies, in numbers that cannot be grasped. It is beyond comprehension”. Amid the stench and chaos, the ZAKA delegation took time out to recite Shabbat prayers - a surreal sight of ultra-orthodox men wrapped in prayer shawls standing on the collapsed buildings. Many locals sat quietly in the rubble, staring at the men as they prayed facing Jerusalem. At the end of the prayers, they crowded around the delegation and kissed the prayer shawls.

WHEN GOOD DEEDS ARE WORSE THAN DOING NOTHING

2010-01-26T10:57:00.000-08:00

by OLIVER WORTH, Jerusalem Post

When sending two jumbo-jets of aid, and setting up a field hospital with hundreds of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel is met with scorn, you know something isn't right. While most of the mainstream American and British news networks reported extensively on Israel's reaction to Haiti's devastating earthquake, unfortunately we were also reminded just how entrenched some of the world's hatred for the Jewish state really is.

        While the fact that most of the Arab world donated mere pennies, or nothing at all, has escaped mention, Israel's attempt to save lives has been labeled by many as nothing but a PR exercise. The sad truth is that the the anti-Israel hard left has done such a great job of dehumanizing Israelis, that the idea they could be doing good deeds is totally incomprehensible. It's true -Israel's actions in Haiti are creating good press, but that's what happens when you do good things.

        The assertion that Israel should somehow have to apologize for coming across positively is absurd, and grounded in anti-Semitism. As Kevin Myers writes for the Belfast Telegraph, "They are perhaps the only people in the world for whom extenuating circumstances are routinely cited in explanation of their charitable deeds".

        While it’s no surprise that the Islamist, anti-Semitic Iranian mouth-piece Press TV accuses Israeli doctors of using the Haiti emergency to harvest organs, one should not expect to read the headline "Israel's double standards over Haiti," in Britain's Guardian newspaper, except, of course, in the comparison between Israel's efforts in Haiti and the efforts of any of Israel's neighbours. Unfortunately it comes as no surprise to those regularly inflicted with the Guardian's bias that the piece is, of course, in reference to Israel's treatment of Haitans and those it is at war with.

        Israel's commitment to saving lives in disaster zones has nothing to do with Gaza. Israel has shown its amazing commitment to the preservation of life in India, Indonesia, Kenya and many other nations, Gaza war or no Gaza war. There is simply no comparison between the response shown to a people at the mercy of horrific natural events, and a people who have effectively been at war with srael since its birth.

        It's truly astonishing that part of the mainstream British press has found itself unable to differentiate between a helpless Haitian people in desperate need of aid, and the Palestinian people who elected a terrorist organization into power.

        While no one in their right mind would deny the widespread suffering of the Gazan people, drawing any moral equivalence between Israel's relationship with them and those trapped under rubble in Haiti is truly perverse. When the attitude toward Israel is so widely based on anti-Semitism and hate, what evidence is there to believe things would change with an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement? For peace to be possible, Israel rightly has to believe that its concessions and sacrifices would be met by more than continued hatred, that peace with the Palestinians is also peace with the world.

        As things stand, Israel is the only country in the world—bar none—that has to justify giving aid and saving lives. As long as Israelis (or perhaps simply Jews) are viewed as incapable of doing anything good, in a sentiment propagated by so much of the world media, then Israel will be in no position to make concessions for peace.

        No one is asking for the world to kiss Israel's feet for acts which are in line with its own moral code, but when Israel provides more per capita than any other nation in the world and is met with scorn, and the world's worst and wealthiest human rights abusers give nothing and are met with silence, well, something isn't right.

ISHMAEL KHALDI - THE FIRST BEDOUIN DEPUTY CONSUL OF ISRAEL

2010-01-26T03:06:00.000-08:00

Press time available.

The ZF is pleased to announce that Ishmael Khaldi, the first Bedouin Deputy Consul of Israel will be visiting the UK between Sunday January 24th and Thursday January 28th.

Ishmael, who grew up as a shepherd in the village of Khawalid in northern Israel, went on to become a Deputy Ambassador in San Francisco – Israel’s first Deputy Consul of Israel.
He obtained a Masters Degree in Political Science from Tel Aviv University and served in the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the Israeli Police.

Ishmael will be speaking at the following locations:
Sunday 24th – North London
Monday 25th – LSE University, Birmingham University, Leicester
Tuesday 26th – Leeds University, South Manchester
Thursday 28th – SOAS University, North London

Ishmael is part of a ‘Minorities in Israel’ series that the Zionist Federation is running. Previous speakers have included Mohammad Darawashe, Khaled Abu Toameh and Zeidan Atashi.

Journalists interested in Khaldi’s unique story and insightful views are welcome to contact Gary at the ZF on 020 8202 0202 or gary@zfuk.org.

A NEW DECADE BEGINS WITH STANDING UP FOR ISRAEL

2010-01-19T05:34:00.000-08:00

Press Release

On Wednesday January 20th the Zionist Federation together with Christian Friends of Israel will be holding a Lobby Day in Parliament to speak up for Israel. Around 200 participants from all over the UK will be attending the event and raising their concerns directly to their constituency MP, thereby exercising their fundamental political rights. At the heart of the Lobby are two issues: Firstly, the principle of universal jurisdiction, which has been putting Israeli officials such as Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni under threat of arrest, and secondly, the worrying Iranian nuclear programme and its threat not just to Israel, but to the rest of the international community.

“In the run up to the election it is more important than ever to make our voice heard on issues we feel strongly about”, says Alan Aziz, ZF’s Director. ”It is crucial for ZF and CFI members to remember that they have the right to discuss matters that concern them with their elected MPs”. The event will include a training session in the morning about how best to approach one’s MP, and briefings in the afternoon by a number of prominent MPs.

For details contact Gili at the ZF on 020 8202 0202, 07588201848 or at gili@zfuk.org.

ISRAEL'S RIGHT IN THE ‘DISPUTED’ TERRITORIES

2010-01-12T02:55:00.000-08:00

By DANNY AYALON, Wall Street Journal

The recent statements by the European Union’s new foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton criticizing Israel have once again brought international attention to Jerusalem and the settlements. However, little appears to be truly understood about Israel’s rights to what are generally called the “occupied territories” but what really are “disputed territories.”

That’s because the land now known as the West Bank cannot be considered “occupied” in the legal sense of the word as it had not attained recognized sovereignty before Israel’s conquest. [This is because, according to the Geneva Convention, a country can only "occupy" a land of another country. And the world's opinion is based solely on that Convention.] Contrary to some beliefs there has never been a Palestinian state, and no other nation has ever established Jerusalem as its capital despite it being under Islamic control for hundreds of years.  

The name “West Bank” was first used in 1950 by the Jordanians when they annexed the land to differentiate it from the rest of the country, which is on the east bank of the river Jordan. The boundaries of this territory were set only one year before during the armistice agreement between Israel and Jordan that ended the war that began in 1948 when five Arab armies invaded the nascent Jewish State. It was at Jordan’s insistence that the 1949 armistice line became not a recognized international border but only a line separating armies. The Armistice Agreement specifically stated: “No provision of this Agreement shall in any way prejudice the rights, claims, and positions of either Party hereto in the peaceful settlement of the Palestine questions, the provisions of this Agreement being dictated exclusively by military considerations.” (Italics added.) This boundary became the famous “Green Line,” so named because the military officials ! during the armistice talks used a green pen to draw the line on the map.

After the Six Day War, when once again Arab armies sought to destroy Israel and the Jewish state subsequently captured the West Bank and other territory, the United Nations sought to create an enduring solution to the conflict. U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 is probably one of the most misunderstood documents in the international arena. While many, especially the Palestinians, push the idea that the document demands that Israel return everything captured over the Green Line, nothing could be further from the truth. The resolution calls for “peace within secure and recognized boundaries,” but nowhere does it mention where those boundaries should be.

It is best to understand the intentions of the drafters of the resolution before considering other interpretations. Eugene V. Rostow, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs in 1967 and a drafter of the resolution, stated in 1990:

“Security Council Resolution 242 and (subsequent U.N. Security Council Resolution) 338… rest on two principles, Israel may administer the territory until its Arab neighbors make peace; and when peace is made, Israel should withdraw to “secure and recognized borders,” which need not be the same as the Armistice Demarcation Lines of 194.”

Lord Caradon, the British U.N. Ambassador at the time and the resolution’s main drafter who introduced it to the Council, said in 1974 unequivocally that,

“It would have been wrong to demand that Israel return to its positions of June 4, 1967, because those positions were undesirable and artificial.”

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. at the time, former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, made the issue even clearer when he stated in 1973 that,

“the resolution speaks of withdrawal from occupied territories without defining the extent of withdrawal.” This would encompass “less than a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied territory, inasmuch as Israel’s prior frontiers had proven to be notably insecure.”

Even the Soviet delegate to the U.N., Vasily Kuznetsov, who fought against the final text, conceded that the resolution gave Israel the right to “withdraw its forces only to those lines it considers appropriate.”

After the war in 1967, when Jews started returning to their historic heartland in the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria, as the territory had been known around the world for 2,000 years until the Jordanians renamed it, the issue of settlements arose. However, Rostow found no legal impediment to Jewish settlement in these territories. He maintained that the original British Mandate of Palestine still applies to the West Bank. He said “the Jewish right of settlement in Palestine west of the Jordan River, that is, in Israel, the West Bank, Jerusalem, was made unassailable. That right has never been terminated and cannot be terminated except by a recognized peace between Israel and its neighbors.” There is no internationally binding document pertaining to this territory that has nullified this right of Jewish settlement since.

And yet, there is this perception that Israel is occupying stolen land and that the Palestinians are the only party with national, legal and historic rights to it. Not only is this morally and factually incorrect, but the more this narrative is being accepted, the less likely the Palestinians feel the need to come to the negotiating table. Statements like those of Lady Ashton’s are not only incorrect; they push a negotiated solution further away.

Mr. Ayalon is the deputy foreign minister of Israel.