Israeli Envoy: Campus Campaigns To Silence Pro-Israel Voices 'A Real War'

 

Discussing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting the Jewish state, Ambassador Dani Dayan, Israel’s Consul General in New York, declared that the “real war” is the intimidation, disruption and attempted silencing of pro-Israel voices on U.S. college campuses.

"There we have a real war,” Ambassador Dayan said, referring to attempts to shut down pro-Israel speakers on American campuses. “And we have to be much more aggressive, much more assertive. … But it is not only an Israeli problem, what is happening on many campuses across America. I think it is first and foremost an American problem.”

 

He's certainly correct, given how conservative speakers are routinely treated when they attempt to speak on campuses and cut through the leftist propaganda students are deluged with.

Ambassador Dayan himself has experienced this. Just last month, he was heckled and interrupted repeatedly during a speech at the City College of New York by students from the CCNY chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine and other anti-Israel groups.



Regarding the anti-Israel actions on U.S. campuses, Ambassador Dayan said, “In some senses, I think we are in the same boat, as we say sometimes in Israel, with other movements that their freedom of speech is obstructed on many campuses.”

He continued: “It happens on the West Coast. It happens on the East Coast. I think as a foreign representative I have to be very careful but I think it is a problem that American society has to deal with not only in respect to Israel.”

“In some senses, it is the same phenomenon that we see on campuses by extreme elements that are also anti-Israeli but not only anti-Israeli. In some cases they are even anti-American. And we as Israel, we have to be relentless. We cannot give up.”

As to that, Ambassador Dayan has vowed to return to CCNY and refuses to be intimidated. We should not give any ground to our enemies,” he stated. “On the contrary, I will make a point of coming to the same place again next year and the next semester. And we must persevere.”

Danon also had something to say about the BDS movement as a whole, which he described as 'a “big failure.”

“Let’s not forget that. “You know, I saw a survey of the market value of the companies targeted by BDS and all of them – for sure the average, maybe there was one that for common business reasons didn’t – but on the average they made twice the market performance. So the economic BDS is a total failure. And it is sufficient to see the shape of Israel’s economy these days.”

One More Great Reason Not To Buy Anything Here Ever Again

Ahh,the overpriced coffee everyone loves to hate! I remember when I used to take my escrow checks when I closed deals to my bank to deposit them. It was located right next to...a Starbucks. My ritual was to walk in after I finished my banking and celebrate with a large black espresso, the only time I would ever buy anything from Starbucks.

Nevermore...the constant uber prog ethos prevailing finally got to me, as well as seeing stories about certain things. And the corporation's obvious disdain for religious freedom, the company's boycott of Israel and heavy support for organizations like Planned Parenthood's baby parts market.   But now, I have an even better reason never to step in a Starbucks again.

Starbuck's far Left CEO, Howard Shultz is the guy behind these policies, and today, he endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.

That's expected. After all Schultz voted twice for Obama, he and Mrs. Clinton feel exactly the same way about a lot of things, and Schulz can endorse whoever he want. But this is a business decision, and Howard Schultz is sending us a message.

If you support Israel, if you think Planned Parenthood's Federal funding should be severely limited if not cut off altogether, if you think religious freedom and women's rights are important and especially if you think Hillary Clinton is too dishonest, too serially corrupt and too dangerous and incompetent to be president then you owe it to yourself to make a decision too, and boycott Starbucks' overpriced prog-fascist funding machine.

Not only will you save money, but you'll feel a lot more empowered and better about yourself.

The Unintended Education

This is the story of a 'teachable moment' that wasn't intended to be one.

Shachar Rabinovitch is a 13-year-old girl living in Israel. She recently wrote to British academic Marsha Levine, who is reportedly an expert on horses that she was doing a school project and sent her a polite letter asking her for some information about the domestication and breeding of early horse species:

Hello!

My name is Shachar Rabinovitch and I'm from Israel.

I'm doing an assessment for school about horses, and it will be great if you can answer a few questions that I will ask.

1. What ancient horses breeds preserved and were a base to the breeds we know today?

2. How did the ancient humans created new breeds or kept the ones who already were existent?

3. What ancient horse breed the ancient humans used the most and what were those uses?

4. Where did the ancient horses breeds lived?

Thank you for reading my questions,

Shachar Rabinovitch

 


Levine, who is Jewish (at least genetically) and who still claims to be a researcher at Cambridge University although apparently she no longer is, replied :

Dear Shachar Rabinovich:

I'll answer your questions when there is peace and justice for Palestinians in Palestine.

I am a member of Jews for Justice for Palestinians. I support Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions. You might be a child, but if you are old enough to write to me, you are old enough to learn about Israeli history and how it has impacted on the lives of Palestinian people. Maybe your family has the same views as I do, but I doubt it. So, I suggest that you look at this link: (link to this hate site omitted by yours truly)

yours sincerely

Dr. Marsha Levine

Levine caught a little bit of flack even in the UK for this gratuitous nastiness. She defended herself for her response as “fair,” saying she didn’t want to boost the 13-year-old girl’s “ego or make her feel better about herself.” Per Britain's Jewish Chronicle:

“I made the decision that I have the choice not to waste my time on people who tread on the rights of other people. I didn’t do anything to her. I said that when there is justice for Palestine I will answer her – that’s a fair answer.

“I want this girl not to worry about horses. I don’t need people emailing me… I don’t see any obligation to further her ego or make her feel better about herself.”

In other words, she decided to boost her own ego by shaming a 13-year-old girl who did nothing to her but ask a few polite questions about a subject Dr. Levine is supposedly a known expert on. And of course, to let her know that as a Jew living in a country Dr. Levine considers a pariah, she wasn't entitled to even basic civility, let alone any education.

A number of people have commented on the cruelty of Marsha Levine's response to a 13-year old girl, but I actually see Marsha Levine's action in a positive light. While her intent wasn't to teach Shachar anything, I think she did, and she even might have imparted something to more than a few discerning Jews victimized by what I refer to as the Jewish Stockholm Syndrome.

You see, Ms. Levine has now given young Shachar some important lessons - that Jew hatred and its modern mask 'anti-Zionism' is a psychosis which no appeasement, actions or 'dialogue' can alleviate or end, and that all too many Jews eagerly participate in it with extraordinary zeal. She also now understands that there is no consideration or quarter given for age or sex and most importantly, that a strong and powerful Israel is an absolute necessity.

She has also learned exactly what kind of 'human beings' populate BDS ranks.

These are valuable lessons a lot of Jews, especially in the diaspora have yet to learn. So Marsha Levine was actually teaching in spite of herself...just not what she expected to teach.

Speaking of which, various other academics who are experts on horses were revolted by Marsha Levine, and are helping Shachar with the information she was seeking. As one of them, Professor James Russell of Harvard put it,“Prof. Levine’s conduct is unprofessional and beneath human contempt. It makes one ashamed to be a member of the same academic profession. But it does reflect very accurately the character of the BDS movement and of those who support it.”

Indeed it does. Unintended education can sometimes be the most valuable of all.

JK Rowling - When Cowardice Calls

British author JK Rowling is a brilliant storyteller who achieved her fame and fortune creating Harry Potter, one of modern literature's heroic characters, He's noted for his willingness to face up to evil and stand by his values no matter what the odds. More than one person has seen Rowling's Harry Potter series, written in the age of the terrorism of 9/11 and the London Tube bombings as an allegory for our own times.

Britain has changed a great deal recently. It's become a place with 9 sharia courts mandatory for Muslims in domestic affairs, scandals involving Muslim gangs engaged in serial rape and abuse of British girls and a rising tide of anti-semitism,often thinly masked as 'anti-Zionism.'

It's a place where a British soldier can be openly beheaded in broad daylight on the streets of London, and where certain areas areas are virtually no-go areas for non-Muslims. And it's a place where the BDS movement is strong, and where even the BBC's former chairman called the nationally funded broadcaster biased and warped in its Middle East coverage where Israel is concerned.

The vociferously anti-Israel Labour Party just elected Jeremy Corbyn by a landslide as its new leader, a man who makes no secret of his hatred for Israel and refers to Hamas and Hezbollah as 'friends.'

One of the more insidious aspects of all this are widespread calls for boycotts of Israel scientists, academics and cultural figures, frequently expanded to include British Jews or anyone else who defends Israel and dares to go against the tide.

Ms. Rowling (who remains a solid Labour supporter) appeared for a moment to stand against that tide last week.

Along with about 150 other prominent Britons in the arts, she signed an open letter in the very anti-Israel Guardian newspaper calling for more cultural ties and engagements with Israel instead of boycotts.

"Cultural boycotts singling out Israel are divisive and discriminatory, and will not further peace," the letter states. "Open dialogue and interaction promote greater understanding and mutual acceptance, and it is through such understanding and acceptance that movement can be made towards a resolution of the conflict."

The letter continues by voicing support for the two-state solution and concludes that "Cultural engagement builds bridges, nurtures freedom and positive movement for change."

In view of the ongoing cultural,academic and artistic boycotts of all things Israeli now ongoing in Britain and elsewhere, this letter was at least an admirable attempt at a principled stance, and a chance to go on record as someone unwilling to go along with the mob.

And then the mob struck back, singling out JK Rowling, the most famous and well known of the signers as a traitor to her leftist views. And goodness,did she cave quickly, revealing the moral delinquency within! Here's her response:

“The Palestinian community has suffered untold injustice and brutality. I want to see the Israeli government held to account for that injustice and brutality. Boycotting Israel on every possible front has its allure. It satisfies the human urge to do something, anything, in the face of horrific human suffering.

What sits uncomfortably with me is that severing contact with Israel’s cultural and academic community means refusing to engage with some of the Israelis who are most pro-Palestinian, and most critical of Israel’s government. “

In other words, what JK Rowling is telling her critics is 'What are you thinking? There are all sorts of self-hating Jews and far Left Israelis we can team up with to use as a cover for our own Israel hatred and anti-semitism! Why throw out the baby with the bath water?'

This at a time when Jewish men, women, children and the elderly in Israel are being targeted for terrorist assault on a daily basis, and the 'Palestinian community' is by and large applauding it as something holy.

And JK Rowling gives this hateful conduct a complete pass, legitimizing it.

I'll resist the temptation to speculate here on how her Harry Potter stories would have been warped if her fictional creation had her morals and her values.

Some things are so obvious they need no explanation, especially when cowardice and appeasement call and receive such a willing and servile answer.

Jew Hatred, Cellphones And Boycotts

 

Orange Telecom is a huge French company involved in the global telecom market. Among its global partners is an Israeli company called Partner Communications, which provides Orange with a piece of the lucrative Israeli cellphone market in exchange for being allowed to use Orange's name.

 

A couple of days ago, the company's CEO, Stephane Richard, speaking at a news conference in Egypt made it very clear that he wanted to sever ties with Israel to join the BDS movement, saying he would "sever ties tomorrow" except for the danger of getting sued for violation of contract.

“Believe me I would cancel the contract tomorrow if I could,” Richard said. His comments were reported by the Daily News Egypt. The reasons he gave for doing business in Israel were that Orange could not cancel without being sued by Partner Communications.

"I know that it is a sensitive issue here in Egypt, but not only in Egypt... We want to be one of the trustful partners of all Arab countries."

In answers to questions about Orange's profit from the Israeli market being a factor, he claimed that that "the interest for us is certainly not a financial interest."

"If you take those amounts on one side and on the other side the time that we spend to explain this, to try to find a solution and the consequences that we have to manage here but also in France, believe me it's a very bad deal."

Mais oui...the consequences of explaining to possible customers in the Arab world and in France that they do business with the Jews! Pauvre Monsieur Richard...

Needless to say, the Israelis did not exactly appreciate his remarks, and asked for clarifications.

And they got them, with suspicious speed. Today, Orange unilaterally cancelled its contract with Partner, essentially telling the Israeli company 'sue me.'

Did I mention that the French government has a 25% stake in Orange Telecom? That, of course, is the heart of the matter. A big factor in the Socialist Hollande government winning the last French presidential election was their carrying the Muslim vote almost in a solid bloc. Without that support and the support of the anti-Israel Left, there's no way Hollande and the Socialists win.

Underlining this, French Ambassador to the U.S. Gerard Araud suddenly went public and defended Orange Telecom's illegal actions 'because of the settlements and the occupation.'

Of course, Ambassador Araud didn't mention what sovereign country Judea and Samaria belonged to when Israel 'occupied' their territory, but such matters apparently escape sophisticated Europeans like him. What matters is that diplomats don't make public statements like this unless their government okays it. And companies don't make illegal moves like this exposing them to litigation unless a 25% stakeholder goes along with it.

This is a reflection of the current state of affairs in France. In spite of all the platitudes denouncing anti-semitism, Jews continue to be assaulted in France with distressing regularity even in neighborhoods formerly considered safe and property is routinely vandalized, while the French government has responded by actually reducing security for the country's Jewish communities and institutions.

The only major French politician who seems to be serious about protecting France's Jews is Marine Le Pen of the National Front. The current government is not.

France is also rumored to be working closely with Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to draft a UN resolution recognizing a Palestinian State on the pre 1967 lines that includes dividing Jerusalem and creating half a million Jewish refugees.

The French government has simply chosen sides in this war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in a statement, "I call on the French government to publicly denounce the despicable statement and miserable actions of a company that is under partial French government ownership.”

Israeli-American media mogul Haim Saban, who holds a controlling share of Partner Communications, accused Orange Telecom of reacting to pressure from anti-Semitic groups.

“Partner is an Israeli firm in every sense. We signed a contract with them and we are considering our steps in the wake of their statement,” Saban told Ynet.

Orange “conceded to pressures from all sorts of anti-Semitic bodies,” he was quoted as saying on Channel 2. “In each generation they rise up to destroy us — we are strong and we will be united and fight them.”

The interesting part of that remark is that Saban is en route to Las Vegas, Nevada to meet with others who have to muscle to do just that.

A group of Jewish billionaires like Saban and Sheldon Adelson are meeting to create a strategy on combating Israel boycott efforts.

Adelson himself had some pithy things to say about the matter. The French government “de facto owns Orange,” he said. “The French government should speak out and dissociate itself from the head of Orange in France.”

Adelson also criticized the Israeli government -and rightfully so, in my opinion - for not setting up and funding an organization to fight anti-Israel boycotts and attempts to delegitimize Israel.

The way forward is pretty easy to define.

Right now, less than 2 percent of the agricultural and industrial products Israel exports to the EU originate in Judea and Samaria, while Israel as a whole imports far more from the EU than the EU buys from Israel (about $26.7 vs. $18.3 billion). Moreover, most of what Israel imports from the EU could easily be replaced by new imports from Asia, Australia and the United States.

So Europe stands to lose a lot more than Israel from ridiculous boycotts, and most of the EU knows it. What's really needed is a good object example to drive the lesson home.

Saban, Adelson and their group could start by advertising online and in major media advising Israel's friends, Jewish and non-Jewish, to boycott everything French..its wines, brandies and liqueurs, its cheeses, its perfumes, its electronics, fashions, everything. They could publish a 'do not patronize' list of French products, and encourage Israel's supporters not to visit France and spend money there. This would be devastatingly effective in America.

Israelis could be assisted in participating by the government of Israel insisting that all French goods imported to Israel, even goods partially manufactured in France or with French components be clearly and prominently labeled as such.

At the same time, Orange Telecom should be aggressively pursued in court for breach of contract and for damages to Partner Communication. I'm certain Haim Saban is already laying the groundwork for that.

That's the best way to destroy the BDS movement and governments leaning towards institutionalizing it. Make France the example of the high price that entails, not just with Israel but with its friends around the world.

 

Crossposted at the Times of Israel

U Of Georgia Students Pass Resolution Calling For More Israel Investment

 

Well, they're definitely not Columbia or UCLA:

The Student Government Association (SGA) of the University of Georgia on Tuesday passed the first college resolution this year calling for the school to invest more in its relations with Israel. The resolution was sponsored and composed by the local chapter of activist group Students Supporting Israel and is the third such resolution ever to be passed.

In the resolution, the SGA, which represents over 35,000 students in Georgia, supports the expansion of study abroad opportunities in Israel for both undergraduate and graduate students across all fields of study. The text asserts that “academic freedom and collaboration are crucial to the pursuit of knowledge,” but that the university currently offers “very limited options” for study abroad in the Middle East.

The resolution calls Israel “one of the most stable countries in the Middle East, and the country with the highest ratings in freedom, human rights, and democracy in the region.” It also argues that the Jewish state is a “global leader” in science and technology research, agricultural development and practices in sustainability.

The full resolution's available at the link. And according to my source, it stands a pretty good chance of being adopted by the administration. Sanity reveals itself.

Elizabeth Warren Gets Taken In By Anti-Israel Fake Holocaust 'Victim'

 

Progressive icon and Leftist demagogue Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was speaking at Tufts University in Massachusetts when she got played...and big time. At one point, taking questions, she picked Elizabeth Moseley, who threw Israel and Gaza into the mix. Here's a transcript of what went down:

Moseley: “Eva Moseley, I’m not a student, I’m not an alumnae, but was in faculty life. I was also a Holocaust refugee and I’m extremely concerned that Jews don’t do to another people what was done to them.”

Warren: “I think that’s fair.”

Moseley:"You recently said that you believe that Israel has the right to self-defense," the activist continued. "Do you also believe that the Palestinians have a right to self-defense?”

Warren:“Of course. And the answer is yes. The direction we ought to be moving is not toward more war. The direction we need to be moving, as I said, I believe we need to move to a two-state solution where both peoples can be secure and safe within their own borders. So, I’m there.”

At that point, one of Moseley's friends weighed in: “You specifically apologized for Israeli actions attacking schools and hospitals and you’re going on the congressional Israel trip which we all know is like AIPAC alignment, is what that is. So as a progressive, as someone who wanted you to come be a progressive, how can you say what you’re putting forward on Israel is progressive?”

Warren: “You know, look, you can do whatever characterization you want of it, but listen only to my words. I didn’t apologize for anyone. I made clear what my view is. I don’t want to see anyone kill more people.”

Then back to the scripted talking points...“You know, it’s – I think that peace favors both peoples and that’s what we really need,” Warren said, adding, “But I always want to be clear about this. The parties themselves are the ones that will have to negotiate this – it is not up to America to impose it.”

So let's analyze this a bit.

 

First of all, who's Eva Moseley? She is a retired Harvard clerical worker who is also a prominent BDS supporter and a member of the ultra far Left Cambridge Peace Commission who has made Israel-bashing her vocation. Eva Moseley is who the Commission goes to when they need an Israel basher for one of those 'as-a-Joo' moments.

Nor, by her own admission is she a Holocaust victim. She left Vienna with her parents for America in 1939, and as she said in this fan letter to Holocaust denier and Hezbollah fan Norman Finklestein, "I'm one of the lucky few who escaped and, because I was only six at the time of the Anschluss, escaped virtually all the trauma as well."

In spite of admitting having no connection with Judaism or the local Jewish community, Eva Moseley definitely knows how to use the accident of her birth to slime Israel. As she told her pals on the Peace Commission, "I can do my 'I escaped from Nazi Vienna and am unhappy with what Israel does' schtick, if you think that would help."

Next, let's see what she and her fellow Palestine groupie were able to manipulate Senator Warren into endorsing.

That 'Palestinian right of self defense' is well established code for terrorist attacks against Israel's civilians, part of the 'resistance.' If Senator Warren doesn't know that, she hasn't been paying attention much to the region or the Arab rhetoric on this subject and I would question her fitness to lead.

Second, when the unidentified Pal groupie attacked her for 'apologizing' for Israeli actions, Senator Warren's reaction was to say 'I am too a progressive, I didn't apologize for Israel, you know I just really want peace, kumbayah.'

Senator Warren, like more than a few Democrats is willing appear to be pro-Israel when it suits them for donor money and votes. But she  is also  apparently more than willing to 'triangulate' that support to appeal to her progressive, predominantly  anti-Israel base. Not only that, but the fact that she got so easily manipulated and doesn't appear to actually know much about the region except the talking points she's been fed is a bad combination.

Massachusetts voters who think Israel does have the right to defend itself and to exist should take note.

Pat Condell: Why I Support Israel

The one and only Pat Condell on Israel, who as always gets right to the heart of the matter.(h/t, The Noisy Room)

Kosher And Halal Slaughtering Are Unlawful 'Animal Cruelty' - But Animal Brothels Are Legal???

 

The enlightened country of Denmark has banned Muslim Halal and Jewish Kosher slaughtering, also known as shechita.

Denmark's Agriculture and Food Minister Dan Jørgensen signed a regulation at the end of last week banning both religious slaughter of animals for the production of halal and kosher meat.

Ironically, there isn't a single Kosher slaughterhouse in Denmark, so apparently they mean to even prohibit importing Kosher meat from outside the country.

The change to the law has been called “anti-Semitism” by Jewish leaders and “a clear interference in religious freedom” by the non-profit group Danish Halal.

EU regulations require animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered, but grants exemptions on religious grounds. For meat to be considered kosher under Jewish law or halal under Islamic law, the animal must be conscious when killed.

Yet defending his government’s decision to remove this exemption, the minister for agriculture and food Dan Jørgensen told Denmark’s TV2 that “animal rights come before religion”.

In Denmark and several other European countries, there are a lot of things that apparently come even before animal rights.

Sex for profit, for example. Not only is bestiality (or, to use the term its proponents prefer 'zoophelia') perfectly legal, but so is animal prostitution, something I first wrote about back in 2006.

On the Internet, Danish animal owners advertise openly that they have sex with animals for sale, and it's perfectly legal, so there's no intervention from police or other authorities, Danish newspaper 24timer reports.

In interviewing the animal owners, the newspaper was told that the animals involved have many years of experience and that the animals themselves wanted sex. The cost to the client varied from DKK 500-1,000 (about $85-$170 American).

What I want to know is, who asked the animals if they wanted sex with humans? And did the animals talk back in Danish?

Nothing has changed and yes, sex tourism is a big business in Denmark, particularly from those countries like Norway where bestiality used to be legal but was just banned late last year. Apparently allowing animals to be raped repeatedly for fun and profit doesn't qualify as cruelty or a violation of 'animal rights'. At least in Denmark.

Needless to say, since I found this out I don't eat anything made in Denmark. There's no telling where it's been or what prior use any animal involved was put to, if you take my meaning.

And for those of you PETA activists out there, Denmark is also one of the top three countries in trapping, farming and processing minks for those coats you love to hate.

Of course, 'animal rights' don't really count either if they get in the way of soulless bureaucratic statist philosophy. A perfectly healthy young giraffe named Marius was recently shot to death in Denmark using a bolt gun, slaughtered publicly in the Copenhagen zoo and fed to lions in front of a group of schoolchildren because- wait for it- his genes were too well represented in the existing giraffe population, so he was 'surplus'. Even though there were two other zoos willing to take him and one private benefactor put up almost a million U.S. dollars to buy him, the zoo authorities decided to shoot him and turn him into lion food anyway.

In light of this, how cruel is Kosher slaughtering? In fact, it's actually more humane than the usual methods, stunning or electric shock.

Shechita mandates a razor sharp knife, and in fact a schochet, a Jewish ritual slaughterer, is required to check it at frequent intervals and discard the knife if there is a nick or burr which might preclude a clean, swift passage of the knife in severing the trachea and the esophagus in accordance with Jewish Law. The Law also requires that none of the following occurs,specifically to make sure the animal suffers very little pain and dies almost instantaneously, usually in about 20 seconds or so:(a) hesitation or delay while drawing the knife, (b) excessive pressure or chopping, (c) burrowing the knife between the trachea and the esophagus or under the skin, (d) making the incision outside the specified area, and (e) laceration or tearing of the trachea or esophagus from a nicked, dull or otherwise flawed blade. After the animal is killed, its internal organs are examined to make sure it is healthy and had no disease or imperfection, one reason why you never hear of Mad Cow disease or salmonella when it comes to kosher meat and poultry. An animal improperly slaughtered is not kosher, and because of the desire to avoid unnecessary pain to an animal, Jewish Law also forbids observant Jews to hunt unless it is to save human life.

On the other hand stunning and electric shock can cause considerable pain to an animal. Both can involve intense torment for an animal for anywhere from one to two minutes, even longer if a heart attack or seizure results. Such events are not infrequent.

There's really no mistaking what this actually is. Denmark has changed quite a bit from the country that risked everything to save their Jewish population and smuggle them to Sweden in what amounted to an almost national conspiracy after the Nazis occupied the country.

As President of the European Jewish Congress, Dr Moshe Kantor, remarked: "This attack on basic Jewish religious practice in Denmark puts into question the continuance of community life in the country and follows strongly on the heels of persistent attacks on Jewish circumcision."

Denmark will likely follow Norway's example and quiet its restive Muslim population by amending its law to allow halal slaughtering but ban kosher slaughtering.In fact, that change is already being discussed.

The new law also follows strongly on the heels of a number of diplomatic rifts between Denmark and Israel regarding the Danish Left wing government's love affair with those Arabs whom identify themselves as Palestinians and its support for the BDS movement.

The country's foreign ministry both directly and through its international development agency Danida provides significant funding to some of the most anti-Israel NGOs. DanChurchAid, which receives tens of millions of dollars annually from the Danish government, supports and partners with active participants in the BDS campaign against Israel.And Denmark’s biggest bank, Danske Bank, announcing earlier this week that it would no longer do business with Israel’s biggest bank, Bank Hapoalim as well as other Israeli banks because they have branches in Judea and Samaria and actually allow Jews to have accounts and do business there.

Denmark also recently upgraded its diplomatic relations with the as yet non-country of 'Palestine' to full embassy status, and when Mogens Lykketoft, Speaker of the Danish parliament came on a visit to the region earlier this month, he made a point of visiting Mahmoud Abbas, the unelected head of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and Gaza, the home of the genocidal Hamas, but claimed he couldn't manage to work Israel into his visit because of 'scheduling conflicts'.

Now there's a statement about human rights and democratic values for you! Obviously Lykketoft cares a lot more about pleasing those of his voters in Denmark who identify with the Palestinians than human rights or democracy.

With all of this, the Danish government is also sending a message to its Jews that echos the Bad Old Days:




It translates to English as "Jews Unwelcome Here."

Message received.

Israel: Dealing With Boycotts, Lies And Intimidation

My latest is up at the Times of Israel..here's a slice:

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is sitting down with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Kerry, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Quartet envoy Tony Blair, the former British prime minister to discuss his 'framework agreement' designed to extend negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to the end of 2014 and to make plans for supporting it.

The talks are being held in Munich, with the murderous irony obviously escaping Kerry and the others. And Secretary Kerry had a few words to say to Israel about the need for them to knuckle under, warning that Israel's relative security and prosperity that's bound to collapse if the Palestinians don't get what they want:

"The risks are very high for Israel. People are talking about boycott. That will intensify in the case of failure. We all have a strong interest in this conflict resolution," Kerry said. "Today's status quo absolutely, to a certainty, I promise you 100 percent, cannot be maintained. It's not sustainable. It's illusionary. There's a momentary prosperity, there's a momentary peace."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his cabinet weighed in sharply against what appeared to be a threat in order to force Israel into unsafe strategic concessions:

"The attempts to boycott the State of Israel are not moral or justified," Netanyahu said. "Moreover, they will not achieve their purpose. Firstly, they only serve to make the Palestinians become more entrenched in their stance of refusal. Secondly, no pressure will make me abandon the State of Israel's vital interests, of which security of the civilian population is foremost."

Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz also spoke out, calling Kerry's comments "offensive, unfair and intolerable."

"You can't force the State of Israel to negotiate with a gun to our heads while we are discussing the most critical of our national security interests."

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said that "the advice-givers" should know that Israel will not abandon its land because of economic threats. "We expect our friends around the world to stand beside us, against anti-Semitic boycott efforts targeting Israel, and not for them to be their amplifier."

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki responded in a statement claiming that Secretary Kerry has a long history of supporting Israel and opposes boycotts.

Then. like clockwork, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, the EU ambassador to Israel weighed in, saying that 'of course' Israel would be blamed if the peace talks with Mahmoud Abbas collapse, and that Israel would likely endure “increasing isolation” .

“If the talks are wrecked as a result of an Israeli settlement [construction] announcement, then the blame will be put squarely on Israel’s doorstep,” the EU envoy said. If Israel’s actions result in the talks’ breakdown, “naturally and logically [Israel] will be to blame,” he said.

“If Israel continues to expand its presence beyond the Green Line, without a peace agreement being signed, it “will find itself increasingly isolated,” he predicted. “Not necessarily because of any decisions taken at a government level but because of decisions taken by a myriad of private economic actors, be it companies, be it pension funds, be it consumers who will be choosing other product on the supermarket shelves.”


While we can certainly swallow this for the sake of diplomacy, let's not be under any illusions here.

Senator Kerry does indeed have a records of supporting Israel, one that was created while he was a senator in a state with an influential Jewish population and subject to re-election in order to retain his senate seat. Now, he works for President Obama and doesn't need top worry about being re-elected, with all that entails.

And there's no doubt in my mind that what he said was being used by design as a threat. Last September when the talks began, no less than senior PLO negotiator Nabil Shaath was complaining, saying that they had been 'enticed' into the talks by the new EU guidelines boycotting Israeli entities beyond the 1948 ceasefire lines but that the U.S. had talked the EU into postponing them..for now.

Established American law circa 1977 exists making it illegal for U.S. companies to cooperate with any boycott of Israel or deal with foreign companies that do, imposing stiff penalties on any that fail to comply. Had the Obama Administration wanted the EU boycotts quashed completely, a mere mention of these laws would have been sufficient.

As for the remarks of Lars Faaborg-Andersen, they are so disingenuous as to defy belief. So it won't be government actions but private ones? When the EU's official policy is to turn part of Israel into a walled ghetto in order to appease their restive Muslim populations and force Israel into concessions? The EU finessed this to a degree in order to attract Israeli funding and technological expertise for its Horizon 2020 project, but make no mistake that this is official EU government policy as EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was at pains to emphasize, and that the EU will have no qualms about extending it to all of Israel no matter what Israel does or doesn't do.

You'll also notice that no one in the Quartet is talking about any pressure on Abbas and the PLO if a deal falls through, which makes it increasingly likely that the PLO will engineer something to torpedo the talks. And why not? The EU just gave them a huge incentive to do exactly that.

So what should Israel do to counteract this? What actions should it consider?

The first thing to remember is that while land and strategic concessions given to the Palestinians and the Arab states last a long time, political situations in Western countries can change relatively quickly with every election.

For instance, For instance, Australia's foreign minister recently questioned the whole rationale behind considering Jewish commu8nities in Judea and Samaria 'illegal'...which of course, they aren't except to the EU. Canada's stance on Israel and the Palestinians used to pretty much mirror the EU's. Not any more, as Canadian PM Harper's recent visit proved. Nor is Canada likely to go along with any BDS-style boycotts:



Australia, China, The U.S. and India along with a number of other countries remain prime markets for what Israel has to sell.

The EU itself may not even be in existence a couple of years from now.Nor is every current EU country likely to go along all that strictly with its anti-Israel policies even if it is.

Not only does Israel have the option of increasing its trade with other markets, but Israel also has the option of taking direct action against discriminatory EU policies.

Read the rest here .