News – Diaspora
While Israel has received countless accolades for its progressive position on gay rights – it’s basically the only country in the Middle East where members of the LGBTQ community can thrive – anti-Israel activists were still able to convince a U.S. gay rights organization that anything to do with it should be banned and ostracized.
Succumbing to pressure from BDS activists, the National LGBTQ Task Force, planning a national conference of LGBTQ activists in Chicago, went ahead and cancelled an event organized by A Wider Bridge, which advocates for LGBTQ rights in the U.S., Israel, and around the world. We’ve become accustomed to BDS rearing its ugly head at universities, film festivals, concerts (thanks Roger Waters), and obviously in the world of politics, but gay rights? I mean, haven’t you heard of our pride parades or our incredible gay scene in Tel Aviv? Have you seen what they do to gay people elsewhere in the Middle East?
Dafna Meir was at home taking care of her kids until a Palestinian teenager broke into her home and – after confronting the woman – stabbed her to death in front of her children. The New York Times, in reporting the incident, chose to use this headline: “Israeli Woman Stabbed Amid West Bank Exchanges of Violence.” As Honest Reporting asks, what exactly were these exchanges of violence? Dafna Meir’s unsuccessful attempts to defend herself, and her children? The Times eventually changed the headline to read, “Stabbing of Israeli Woman in West Bank Suggests Shift in Violence.” Close, but still no cigar.
Jim Clancy, former CNN anchor and suspected anti-Semite, has an answer to Dafna Meir’s brutal death at the hands of the aforementioned teenage Palestinian terrorist: occupation. When all else fails, blame the Zionists.
The #Occupation is not a victimless crime. https://t.co/upF3EEZCwz https://t.co/w0ps1TIkSk
— Jim Clancy (@ClancyReports) January 18, 2016
A panel of students, rabbis and community leaders discussed the challenges facing Jewish students on campus in Toronto, and how difficult it is to maintain one’s Jewish identity.
Canada was not invited to a Paris meeting to discuss defeating the Islamic State, which will be attended by defence ministers from the United States, France, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Some have claimed it’s likely due to PM Trudeau’s decision to end combat operations against ISIS terrorists.
U.S. ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro sparked fierce criticism Monday, after accusing Israel of adhering to ‘two standards of law” in the West Bank: one for Israelis and another for Palestinians. “Too much vigilantism goes unchecked,” Sapiro said in Tel Aviv. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu responded, saying, “The ambassador’s words, on a day when a mother of six is buried and a day when a pregnant woman is stabbed, are unacceptable and incorrect. Israel enforces the law against Israelis and against Palestinians. It is the Palestinian Authority who is responsible for the political deadlock and which continues to incite and refuses to negotiate.”
A Jewish cemetery in Germany was desecrated for the third time in three months, as reported by German newspaper Hannoversche Allgemeine. The paper quoted Hanover Jewish community chairman Michael Prince as calling for “tighter security measures” at the cemetery.
A former Nazi will stand trial for the deaths of 3,681 people, according to the BBC. 95-year-old Hubert Zafke is accused of being an SS medical orderly at Auschwitz from October 1943 to January 1944, and also an accessory to murder.
News – Israel
A Palestinian teenager has been arrested for the cruel murder of Dafna Meir (mentioned above), a 39-year-old mother of six. The suspect, 16, was arrested overnight on Monday in a Palestinian village near the scene of the attack, where he was hiding out, the IDF said. He reportedly was given away by local residents.
A blogger for Israellycool recently uploaded a video to YouTube called “Facebook hides ‘the Truth about Jews’ but only from Jews.” The one-minute clip aims to prove that Facebook pages that incite violence against Jews can’t be accessed from inside Israel, but can be from “Palestine.” The blogger was later surprised to learn that YouTube removed the video, saying it constitutes hate speech and violates its community guidelines. The video remains on Facebook, however. Watch it here. Do you think it constitutes hate speech? I don’t.
Three people were injured, two of them seriously, after a suspected gang hit in Tel Aviv Tuesday. According to reports, a car exploded and burst into flames in a Tel Aviv suburb, with police believing the culprits to be part of Israel’s seedy underworld. As if we didn’t have enough to worry about already.
The EU, maintaing its harsh stance on Israeli settlements, slightly tweaked a previous statement Monday. First, it reiterated that “in line with international law — all agreements between the State of Israel and the EU must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.” Then, almost as an afterthought, it emphasized that this “does not constitute a boycott of Israel which the EU strongly opposes.” Right. Thanks for clearing for that up.
Michal Froman, the pregnant 30-year-old who was stabbed yesterday by a Palestinian teenager, described the attack to news reporters, saying it was almost as if the attacker did not want to kill her. “It’s very strange,” she said. “When I hear about terror attacks in other places I say, ‘May the terrorist’s name be blotted out, and that I hope they kill him.'”
But during the attack against her, she experienced something else, possibly even empathy for the assailant. “To be stabbed with a knife from from up close is something very personal, and I wondered what he went through, why he’s doing it, what does he want to get out of it? To be one of the martyrs? To be part of something? I don’t know,” she said. “I didn’t wonder why he didn’t kill me because it very much seemed to me that he came to stab and escape, to achieve some purpose that was not to kill me. I don’t know what his story was.”
A Muslim woman from New York has shared her love of Israel in a Facebook status, asking people not to listen to the media, and claiming that there are many more Zionist Muslims like her who enjoy the land of Israel, a place where “Muslim women can drive, shop independently, study, work, and enjoy life.” Read her entire statement here.
Health
Israel and India will begin working together on new health technologies, thanks in part to the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation. Under their new deal, Israeli firms will build business relations with Indian companies, while India can reap the benefits of advanced Israeli medical technologies.
Liberia has thanked Israel for helping to wipe out its Ebola outbreak. You’re welcome.
A panel on Jews and HIV in Toronto addressed the social, political and biomedical implications of HIV having evolved from being considered a guaranteed death sentence in the 1980s to what is now “a chronic, manageable illness,” due to sweeping medical advancements.
Business
Israel has opened up the doors to its new technology school in East Jerusalem, in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Education, in a bid to offer bright Arab students with the chance to “tackle the technological challenges of the 21st century.”
Google has teamed up with Israeli startup Sesame Enable, which has developed a touch-free smartphone specifically for people with mobility impairments. The two companies aim to distribute Sesame’s technology to members of Israel’s disabled community, free of charge.
Sports
After a Twitter solidarity campaign and a survey affirming that France’s Jews should continue to wear kippahs on their heads, supporters of the soccer club Olympique Marseille have announced that they will cover their heads during the team’s match against Montpellier on Wednesday, to show their solidarity with the Jewish community.
It’s truly a touching gesture, and one that is greatly appreciated. Ron Attias, a taekwando fighter, will be Israel’s first-ever male representative of the sport at the 2016 Olympics, Ynet reports, after Attias won a gold medal at a qualification tournament in Turkey. Mazel tov.
Replay Technologies isn’t the only Israeli sports startup making gains. The NBA just signed a contract with Israel’s WSC Sports Technologies, providing the league with the startup’s AVGEN (Automatic Video Generator) and Clipro technology, which delivers in-game and post-game highlights near real-time. While this is an amazing feat, it is bad news for professionals who get paid to come up with these highlights, as now they too will have to compete with technology.
Culture
Australian powerhouse Sia, of Elastic Heart and Chandelier fame, will perform in Tel Aviv this May!!! Check out her latest song, co-written and co-produced by Kanye West, below:
In Hungary, Holocaust film Son of Saul (nominated for an Oscar, and winner of a Golden Globe) has sparked backlash, with critics referring to the film as “Jewish propaganda.” I assure you, the film’s bleak and depressing content is the farthest thing from propaganda, and as close to telling the truth as possible.
Just because Drake isn’t on it anymore doesn’t mean it’s not still around. Degrassi: Next Class began its latest season on the Family Channel last week. The series boasts two Jewish actors, who spoke to The CJN about their aspirations, characters, and well, Drake.
Throwback
You might not know this, but matkot isn’t a new revelation on Israeli beaches. It’s actually been around for decades.
Canadians have always had hockey ?? Americans have always had baseball ⚾️??Israelis have always had matkot ?????? (@happyintlv) A photo posted by The CJN (@thecjn) on