Abbas is hostile toward the United States
NEW YORK (Press Release) – The American Jewish Committee (AJC) strongly criticized Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for his expressed hostility towards the United States.
“Threatening the U.S. is not a strategy for advancing the prospects of peace,” said AJC CEO David Harris.
Addressing the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Abbas declared that the U.S. is “unfit” to be a mediator, and he no longer sees a role for Washington in the peace process. The Palestinian leader also threatened to cancel existing agreements with Israel.
Abbas’s harsh attack on the U.S. comes after he announced earlier this week that he would not meet with Vice President Pence, as previously scheduled, during his visit to the region.
“The Palestinian Authority’s wholesale condemnation of President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and decision to snub the vice president, is totally unhelpful and needlessly incendiary,” said AJC CEO David Harris.
“Let’s remember that it was Abbas who, in 2008, rebuffed a two-state deal offered by Israel, and who later was AWOL when Israel, at the request of Washington, froze settlement building for ten months as a goodwill gesture to restart peace talks,” said Harris. “Now, tragically, he squanders yet another chance to offer hope to the region simply because Washington has recognized the 68-year reality that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.”
Immediately following Trump’s December 6 announcement, the PA encouraged protests, while Hamas, which rules Gaza and recently signed a “reconciliation agreement” with Abbas’s Fatah, called for a third intifada “to liberate Jerusalem.”
“Once again, Abbas has withdrawn into his comfort zone of relying on verbal support in international fora instead of returning to direct negotiations with Israel, the only viable path to achieve an enduring, comprehensive peace based on two states for two peoples,” said Harris.
Vice President Pence, responding to Abbas’s cancelation of their meeting, commendably said: “It’s unfortunate that the Palestinian Authority is walking away again from an opportunity to discuss the future of the region, but the Administration remains undeterred in its efforts to help achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians and our peace team remains hard at work putting together a plan.” — Preceding provided by American Jewish Committee
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Anti-Semitism abounds at McMaster University
HAMILTON, Ontario, Canada (Press Release) — Anti-Israel students at McMaster University have published multiple social media posts praising Adolf Hitler, demonizing Jews and glorifying terrorist organizations.
A firestorm has broken out in the McMaster community following a December 2017 McMaster Report by anonymous campus anti-Semitism watchdog Canary Mission which identified 39 current and former students who posted over 280 bigoted comments on social media.
The Canary Mission exposé includes a video and in-depth profiles of the individuals.The individuals were all affiliated with McMasterSolidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (Mac SPHR), the local campus anti-Zionist organization, which is a Canadian wing of Students for Justice In Palestine.
The list of outrageous comments include:
- “Death to America and white people”
“How long does it take a zionist woman to take out the trash?…………Nine months.” — Nadera Masad
- “I honestly wish I was born at the time of the second world war just to see the genius, Hitler, at work.”
- “falastine ibladna wel ya7ood eklabna [palestine is our land and the jews are our dogs].”
- “Where is hitler when u need one?’ I literally ask this every day.”
- “I’m actually going to the rule the world and get rid of anyone who doesn’t have basic common sense or if you’re yahoodi [Jewish]” — Esra Bengizi
The Algemeiner ran an article on the report. The response was rapid, with McMaster students, Mac SPHR and individuals profiled in the report all addressing the concerning revelations. A McMaster community chat forum on Facebook with over 29,000 members, discussed the issue.
The anti-Zionist Mac SPHR released a statement on its Facebook page that condemned the anti-Semitic comments posted by the numerous members and officers within their organization.
However, the response was not all positive. “The only good Zionist is a dead Zionist. Add that to my profile.”
This was the shockingly unrepentant tweet sent out by one studentwithin a day of being exposed for promoting violence against Jews and praising Hitler. Since over 6.4 million Jews currently reside in Israel, her statement is nothing short of a call for a genocide — in greater number than even her hero Hitler.
A few hours later she tweeted, “I keep saying, we need to cleanse the world of creatures such as these dirty white Americans,” with the note “Add this to my canary profile.” — Preceding provided by American Jewish Committee.
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Erdogan’s comments excessively harsh
NEW YORK –Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations today said comments over the weekend by Turkish President Erdogan about Israel following President Trump’s decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital were excessively harsh and unjustified. The leaders also said President Erdogan’s comments were beyond the bounds of legitimate political debate about Israeli policies and stirred extremism and incitement to violence.
In a letter to President Erdogan Stephen M. Greenberg, Chairman of the Conference of Presidents wrote,
“Because of our longstanding relationship with Turkey, we are writing on behalf of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations to share with you our profound concern regarding your recent excessively harsh statements about Israel following President Trump’s decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
We recognize the sensitivities involved and your right to disagree with a U.S. policy decision. We also respect the profound significance Muslims accord religious sites in Jerusalem. Every sovereign nation, including Israel, has the right to designate its own capital city and seat of government and every country has the right to determine the contours of its diplomatic relations with other countries, as Turkey did in 1949 when it became the first Muslim majority country to recognize the State of Israel.
We are deeply troubled by press reports in which you are quoted saying “Israel is a terror state” and an “occupier state”, and referred to Israel’s “oppression built upon the blood of innocent children.”
We find unacceptable your recent statements about Israel. Regrettably, these unjustified accusations go far beyond the bounds of legitimate political debate about Israeli or U.S. policies, serving to stir extremism, incite violence, and diminish Turkey’s standing in the region and the world.
Turkey can play a valuable role in bringing stability to the region. As an important leader in the region and in the Muslim world, as the current Chair of the OIC, we hope you will use your position to contribute to bringing Israel and the Palestinians together in their quest for peace and security.” – Previous provided by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
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Arab refugees bring anti-Semitism with them
BERLIN (Press Release) – Anti-Semitism is widespread among Arab refugees in Germany, concluded a study commissioned by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
Reporting on the study, AJC Berlin Director Deidre Berger said: “Until now, reports that many new arrivals in Germany espouse anti-Semitism have been largely anecdotal. But this new scientific analysis shows that the problem is widespread in the refugee communities from Syria and Iraq. Anti-Semitic attitudes, stereotypes, and conspiracy theories are common, as well as a categorical rejection by many of the State of Israel.”
The study was conducted in Berlin by Dr. Günther Jikeli, a historian and expert on anti-Semitism who teaches at Indiana University and the University of Potsdam. It is based on interviews with 68 refugees aged 18 to 52 from the two countries. A follow-up study by the researcher with 85 additional respondents confirms the results.
“This study should send a wake-up call to government and civil society. Our political leaders must make certain that anti-Semitic attitudes will not be tolerated, and that infractions of the law will be prosecuted. In addition, the classes that newcomers take to integrate them into German life should include information about Jewish life in Germany and the country’s connections with Israel, as well as values of liberal democracy,” Berger said. “Given the depth of anti-Jewish hostility in Arab countries, this is not surprising; nonetheless, the dimensions of the problem are much larger than expected.”
Even so, Berger noted, “the study showed that some refugees hold considerably more nuanced positions than others. In particular, those who were persecuted as minorities in Syria and Iraq take clearer stances against anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel.”
Some of those interviewed also indicated growing doubts about at least some anti-Semitic stereotypes when confronted with information about Jews, Israel and the Holocaust. This shows the critical need for more educational measures.”
Publication of this study comes against the backdrop of a new wave of anti-Semitic hate protests in Berlin and Munich, where Arab and Turkish demonstrators burned Israeli flags, chanted anti-Semitic slogans, and flew the flags of the terrorist organization Hamas.
In the wake of these recent developments, Berger said “we are thankful that Chancellor Merkel has clearly condemned this hatred. What we need now is clear political action.”
AJC has repeatedly urged the German government to appoint a Federal Commissioner for Anti-Semitism Affairs to coordinate government responses to anti-Semitism, and to step up prevention measures. Dr. Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and German-Yazidi integration expert Duezen Tekkal, among others, have made similar requests. –Preceding provided by the American Jewish Committee
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Preceding is a compilation of news releases sent to San Diego Jewish World.