ZF STATEMENT ON UNESCO’S CANCELLATION OF EXHIBIT DETAILING HISTORY OF ISRAEL

The ZF today slammed the decision by UNESCO to cancel a scheduled exhibition on the historic connection between Israel and the Jewish nation as a ‘dismal capitulation.’ The exhibition, titled “The People, the Book, the Land — 3,500 years of ties between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel,” was, after several years of preparation and research by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, scheduled to open this week – until it was shelved at the behest of the 22 members of the Arab Group.

ZF chairman Paul Charney elaborates

“The decision by UNESCO – a body that purports to be concerned with educational, scientific and cultural matters – to cancel the exhibition is both a dismal capitulation and nakedly political. To shelve an exhibition after invites have been sent out is grossly insulting to all those who spent years preparing it. But the reason, and reasoning, behind the shelving goes beyond bad manners. It provides us with a microcosm of the Israeli-Arab conflict. The official explanation given was that the Arab members were concerned that the subject matter might harm the chance of a successful outcome to the current peace talks. The opposite is true – the acceptance by Palestinians and the Arab world in general that Israel is not a foreign body, but the legitimate expression of the Jewish nation’s longstanding connection to the land of Israel, is crucial to peace. But instead of defending its principles, the UN is once again paralysed between those unwilling to stand up for Israel in case they rock the boat, and those that just want to throw Israel off the boat altogether. It’s particularly striking given that the UN has just declared 2014 a year of solidarity with the Palestinians – with nary a word about the risk of partiality."

ZF COMMEMORATES PASSING OF ARIEL SHARON 1928-2014

The ZF joins Israel in commemorating the memory of Ariel Sharon, her former Prime Minister, who passed away this weekend at the age of 85. Described by Ben Gurion as ‘the greatest field commander,’ nicknamed in the Knesset as ‘the bulldozer,’ and perhaps best defined by the title of his autobiography, ‘Warrior,’ Sharon was an indomitable force both on and off the battlefield. Born in the yishuv of Mandate-era Palestine in 1928, the chronology of his achievements is in many ways the history of Israel and the defence of the Jewish national home.

From engineering Israel’s lightning victory in the Six Day War, to turning the tide during the Yom Kippur War, to overseeing the security measures against the Second Intifada, Sharon earned a reputation as a bold and brilliant strategic mind, willing to make tough decisions when the fledgling country could not afford the luxury of failure. His time as a politician was no less noteworthy, with his unilateral disengagement from Gaza showcasing his ability to pursue a resolution to conflict, even in the absence of a viable peace partner.

Paul Charney, ZF Chairman:

“All Israelis and Zionists owe Ariel Sharon a huge debt. The history of his life is an effective reminder that the struggle for Zionism - a national home for the Jewish people - was not completed in 1948 with the establishment of the state of Israel. Instead, it required the ingenuity of military leaders like Sharon, as well as the staunch courage and commitment of Israelis soldiers, to defend the state from the threats ranged against her, from massed Arab armies on her borders, to Palestinian terrorists targeting her civilians. While both his military and political careers aroused controversy and prompted criticism from the left and right of the political spectrum, the legacy of Ariel Sharon will remain his single-minded yet pragmatic commitment to the survival of Israel.”

ZF STATEMENT ON THE QUENELLE

From Paul Charney, ZF Chairman:                                                                             

“There should be no question that the quenelle is a symbol of pure hatred against the Jewish people. It was invented and popularised by a man, Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, whose entire raison d'être appears to consist of ridiculing and denigrating the memory of the 6 million Jewish men, women, and children murdered during the Holocaust. Its design as an inverted fascist salute enables its supporters to indulge themselves in the sickening thrill of publicly mocking the historic persecution of Jews, albeit in the most cowardly way imaginable. And of course, the defence that the symbol is merely against ‘the system’ or ‘the establishment’ is no defence either, since it implicitly promotes the idea that Jews are intrinsically part of whatever political order is being challenged at the time, therefore propagating the anti-Semitic myth of Jewish global domination.”

ZF CONDEMNS BBC COMEDY SKETCH

The ZF condemns the BBC for broadcasting a sketch that not only propogates the oldest and most baseless stereotypes about Israelis, but also ridicules anti-Semitism at a time when anti-Jewish bigotry is on the rise.

BBC 3’s ‘The Revolution Will Be Televised’ programme, broadcast in December, included a candid camera sketch where the presenters dress up as workmen and pretend to be representatives for the Israeli Embassy. The presenters then begin informing local property owners that the embassy is taking their land for a variety of spurious reasons – mocking Israel for its supposedly expansionist policies.

The satirical explanations given to the members of the public perpetrate the oldest stereotypes about Israel’s alleged attempts to justify its supposedly illegitimate presence in the Middle East: “Before it was your land it was our land, so we are really going to take what was rightfully ours,” “This is our land that was given to us by the Almighty,” and “We’ve been doing it for years.”

Given that such one-sided and prejudiced portrayals of Israel contribute to anti-Jewish bigotry, perhaps the most shocking aspect of the programme is the open ridiculing of complaints about anti-Semitism. When one member of the public expresses amusement at the situation, a presenter tells him: “I’m finding that smile a bit anti-Semitic… so I think you should really wipe it off your face” - suggesting that anti-Semitism is not a valid concern. It is hard to imagine that the BBC would allow racism against another minority group to treated in this way.

ZF Chairman Paul Charney added:

“No doubt the makers of ‘The Revolution Will be Televised” thought they were being tremendously edgy and brave, mocking Israel by suggesting it takes land with impunity. Instead, they simply pandered to the prejudices of those who believe that the less-than-one-percent of the Middle East which is devoted to Jewish national self-determination is still too much.

“This biased viewpoint would be woefully inaccurate at the best of times, but it seems especially egregious given that Israel is not only currently negotiating with the express desire of ceding land to the Palestinians, but continues to release convicted murderers just to keep them at the negotiating table. But I’m sure the makers of this programme will turn their sights on Israel ’s neighbours soon enough. The PA’s glorification of terrorists? The collapse of democracy in Egypt ? Syria ’s civil war? Or maybe the lack of human rights in the rest of the Middle East just isn’t that much of a laughing matter?”

STATEMENT ON THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR DEAL

The ZF today expresses its gravest reservations about the Iranian nuclear deal recently struck in Geneva . The deal, brokered on behalf of the P5+1 countries, has been widely hailed as a major breakthrough in the long-running standoff over Iran ’s nuclear programme. However, by offering to reduce the level of sanctions without gaining corresponding cast-iron guarantees that the nuclear programme is only intended for civilian usage, the international community has let Iran off the hook. Apparently desperate to believe in the moderation of Hassan Rouhani, Western negotiators have now eased the pressure on a regime that has a track record of duplicity and misdirection, is currently knee-deep in Syrian blood, and might well soon trigger a nuclear arms race in the most volatile region on the planet.

Failure to dismantle the infrastructure for war

The main problem of the negotiations is the failure to address Iranian facilities that are clearly designed for the development of nuclear weapons. Under the Geneva deal, Tehran will be allowed to keep both its heavy water reactor in Arak and thousands of centrifuges – key elements for military, not civilian, nuclear production.

The threat of duplicity

The Iranian regime has a track record of duplicity over its nuclear programme, and there is a very real threat that the easing of sanctions will provide it with the cover it needs to complete a nuclear weapon. Iran could easily follow in the footsteps of North Korea , surreptitiously continuing its programme until it had reached the point of no return.

The reality of the Ayatollah’s regime

Despite the charm offensive of Hassan Rouhani, Iran is still the same state it has been since 1979– a reactionary, messianic theocracy under the total control of the Ayatollahs. This Islamist regime shares the ideology of the radical extremists who commit terrorist atrocities across the globe, and has no regard for democracy or human rights. Those seeking proof of the reality of Tehran ’s ambitions and ruthlessness should look no further than Syria , where Iranian expertise, weapons and soldiers have played a central role in the brutal massacring of the civilian population.

The catastrophic implications of a nuclear bomb

There must be no misunderstanding the seriousness of Iran procuring a nuclear weapon. Should this worst-case scenario occur, it would most likely trigger an arms race in the Middle East . The nuclear brinksmanship between the US and the Soviet Union was arguably the most dangerous period in humanity’s history; for it to be repeated in this volatile and unstable part of the world would be a global catastrophe. Additionally, a nuclear Tehran represents a unique threat to Israel , given the frequent and shameless calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state made by the Iranian leadership.

LATEST BDS FAIL: PRO-PALESTINIAN WEBSITES RELY ON ISRAELI TECH

The ZF today highlighted the latest example of a BDS fail, in which extreme pro-Palestinian activists who claim to support Boycotts, Sanctions and Divestment against Israel fail to practice what they preach. The most recent stumbling block for those committed to singling out the Jewish state is how to make an anti-Israel website without using Israeli technology.

 

For example, the website of the Cornell University branch of ‘Students for Justice in Palestine’ explains that the group’s campaigns include boycotting skincare products, soft drink manufacturers, and even hummus. Or the ‘Palestinian Holocaust Museum’ website, which presumably is opposed to any recognition of Israel since it promotes the baseless assertion that Zionists have committed genocide against the Palestinians.

 

What do these two websites have in common? They were both constructed using Wix: an Israeli website-building programme, based in (where else?) Tel Aviv.

 

Paul Charney, ZF chairman said:

 

“The misguided BDS campaign to ostracise Israel has hit another snag, as yet again rabid pro-Palestinians find that living without the benefits of the Start-Up Nation might not be as easy as they’d hoped. Supporters of peace should be pleased, since boycotting Israel does nothing to help the two sides reconcile.”

AL JAZEERA FOCUSES ON FAMILY OF HAMAS MASS-MURDERER

• News report critical of visitation rights for families of Palestinian prisoners
• Story focuses on family of Abdullah Barghouti, Hamas bomb-maker
• No information provided about Barghouti’s involvement in terrorism

The ZF today condemned an Al Jazeera story as a ‘failure of basic journalistic integrity.’ “Children visit jailed Palestinian relatives” focuses on the experience of the family of one Abdullah Barghouti, serving time in an Israeli jail. The audience is encouraged to sympathise with the young girls who make the hours-long journey from Ramallah to visit their father, with the programme noting how exhausting these ‘special occasions’ are. The news story uses the girls as an example of Palestinian families whose children have to travel alone because their adult relatives are denied access into Israel. Faeda al Barghouti, the wife of Abdullah, complains that she herself is banned from visiting her husband, and has only seen him twice in the last decade. She describes how she has been ‘refused security clearance’, but that no reason has been given for this. Since the only information the audience receives about Abdullah Barghouti is that he is serving 67 life sentences, the inference from the report is that Israel deliberately and arbitrarily denies family visits, feeding into the standard narrative of unjust treatment of Palestinians.

Abdullah Barghouti is in fact one of the most senior Hamas figures held by Israel. He was sentenced due to his role in constructing the bombs used in multiple suicide attacks on civilian targets, responsible for the deaths of 66 Israelis and the wounding of over 500. The victims of these attacks, such as the Sbarro massacre at a Jerusalem restaurant, included children and pregnant women; nonetheless, Barghouti remains unrepentant to this day, and has stated that if released he would continue to be actively involved in such acts of terrorism. None of this is mentioned in the report.

Paul Charney, ZF chairman, commented:

“Al Jazeera’s story on the family of Abdullah Barghouti represents a failure of basic journalistic integrity. Surely any discussion of the security concerns surrounding a prisoner must explain what they have been imprisoned for? Instead, Al Jazeera deliberately omitted any information about Barghouti except for his prison sentence – perhaps in order to imply that Israel simply hands out lengthy imprisonments for no good reason to Palestinians.  This omission suggests two points. Firstly, that Al Jazeera recognised that to mention Barghouti’s history would undermine the entire point of their piece – indeed, many viewers might be surprised by how many rights even an unrepentant murderer of civilians gets. And secondly, this means that Al Jazeera were more interested in producing a cheap smear of Israel than actually reporting on the situation.”