Editor’s E-Mail Box: December 11, 2018 (7 items)

House of Representatives adopts measure punishing use of human shields in combat

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has commended the U.S. House of Representatives for adopting the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (H.R. 3342). This critical and timely legislation mandates new sanctions against Hamas, Hezbollah and foreign state agencies that use civilians as human shields or provide support to those doing so.

This is the first time Congress has taken legislative action against this heinous practice.

The importance of this legislation is underscored by the recent discovery of Hezbollah terror tunnels into Israel that originated under the cover of civilian houses in Lebanon. And just weeks ago – using the cover of civilian populations in Gaza – Hamas fired more than 500 rockets at communities across southern Israel.

Hamas and Hezbollah are clearly and blatantly violating international law and endangering innocents by placing their terrorist infrastructure among civilian populations. The legislation imposes sanctions on members of terrorist organizations or agents of a foreign state that the president has determined knowingly encouraged, supported, ordered, controlled or has otherwise been complicit in any attempt to use civilians or protected property to deliberately cause casualties or shield lawful targets from attack.

In October, the Senate adopted this important legislation. It now goes to the president for his signature.

AIPAC  offered its appreciation for the leadership of Reps. Ed Royce (R-CA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and  Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Bob Corker (R-TN) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ).  — From AIPAC

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U.S. State Department designates countries with worst records for religious freedom

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday issued the following statement:  “On November 28, 2018, I designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for having engaged in or tolerated ”systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom.” I also placed Comoros, Russia, and Uzbekistan on a Special Watch List for governments that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom.” Finally, I designated al-Nusra Front, al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qa’ida, al-Shabab, Boko Haram, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Khorasan, and the Taliban as Entities of Particular Concern.

“In far too many places across the globe, individuals continue to face harassment, arrests, or even death for simply living their lives in accordance with their beliefs. The United States will not stand by as spectators in the face of such oppression. Protecting and promoting international religious freedom is a top foreign policy priority of the Trump Administration. In July, I hosted the first-ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, which brought together some 85 likeminded governments and more than 400 civil society organizations to harness global attention and motivate forceful action to advance respect for the human right of religious freedom.

“Safeguarding religious freedom is vital to ensuring peace, stability, and prosperity. These designations are aimed at improving the lives of individuals and the broader success of their societies. I recognize that several designated countries are working to improve their respect for religious freedom; I welcome such initiatives and look forward to continuing the dialogue.

“The United States remains committed to working with governments, civil society organizations, and religious leaders to advance religious freedom around the world.” —From U.S. State Department

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Minority group members praise Israel’s record on human rights

Shadi Halul, Kazim Khalilieh, Hazar Gadben, and Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg speak at forum in Tel Aviv on minorities. (Photo: Koby Dovraz)

The Zionist organization Im Tirtzu held its 6th annual Zionist Conference for Human Rights Monday night in Tel-Aviv.

During the conference, which takes place annually on international Human Rights Day, Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg explained that the conference aims to underscore the unbreakable connection between Zionism and human rights, and to counter those who use the call of human rights to slander and delegitimize Israel.

The event opened with a panel on the topic of the integration of minorities in Israel and featured Chairman of the Christian IDF Officers Forum, Captain (res.) Shadi Halul, Muslim social activist, Kazim Khalilieh, and Druze attorney and activist Hazar Gadben.

“There is no country that is more just than Israel,” said Halul during the panel, “which provides full and equal rights to all of its citizens. As a minority, I can testify to all the horrors that Christians experienced and continue to experience in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt – but in Israel, we live freely in peace.”

Kazim Khalilieh, who presents pro-Israel lectures around the world, discussed the difficulties of advocating for Israel as a member of the Muslim community.

“It’s not easy to go against the current,” said Khalilieh. “Two years ago, my parents stopped talking to me because of my support for Israel. But that is who I am; I need to stand up for the truth.”

Hazar Gadben called on those who slander Israel to “wake up.” “All the radical-Left Jews who slander and demonize Israel need to wake up and understand that if they were the minority in Israel, they would go back to being ‘Jews with big noses’ and would be oppressed to no end.”  — From Im Tirzu

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Hasbara Fellowships offers pro-Israel advocacy training classes for North American students

As the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement continues to pervade higher education, Hasbara Fellowships, a leading campus activism organization working with over 80 universities across North America, is bringing over 70 students from more than 25 campuses on two all-encompassing advocacy training trips this winter with an eye on cultivating the next generation of passionate and articulate voices for Israel.

The 16-day Israel Training Program trips — to be held December 16-January 1 as well as December 25-January 10 — feature all key aspects of advocacy training from public speaking, to on-camera techniques, to social media skills, to coalition-building, to role-playing scenarios which are likely to arise in hostile campus environments. Trip participants will also take part in a negotiations seminar and will travel across Israel for insightful briefings and firsthand accounts from top Israeli experts in diplomacy, media, and other fields that intimately shape advocacy.

Students attending the winter trips hail from campuses in Arizona, California, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Toronto, Virginia, and Vermont. The campuses run the gamut from small to large Jewish communities, from nascent to longstanding Israel advocacy presences, and from emerging to active threats emanating from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and other pro-BDS groups.

“Regardless of any campus’s environment as it relates to Israel and the Jewish community, virtually every school is affected by the BDS movement in some form, whether it be through student government resolutions, biased professors, apathetic administrations, ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ displays, or other types of incidents and discourse,” said Hasbara Fellowships Executive Director Rabbi Elliot Mathias. “In this ever-shifting landscape, pro-Israel students need the tools to tackle any possible scenario on campus and beyond, and to make the case for Israel in a balanced, reasoned manner that does more than ‘preach to the choir.’ Our Israel Training Program trips accomplish this by enabling students to gain leadership skills, network with their peers, meet Israelis and Palestinians from all sides of the political spectrum, and travel to strategic locations throughout the country.”

In addition this winter, a new partnership with the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law has resulted in the launch of the JIGSAW initiative (Justice Initiative Guiding Student Activists Worldwide), where 12 law students will be trained in a specific Hasbara Fellowships legal track in order to bring back relevant knowledge and assist undergraduate advocates in their work on campus by using university policies, and state and federal law.

Hasbara Fellowships, a program spearheaded by Aish HaTorah since 2001, brings hundreds of students to Israel every summer and winter, giving them the information and tools to return to their campuses as educators about Israel. To date, Hasbara Fellowships has educated over 3,000 students on more than 250 campuses. Upon returning from the program, the Hasbara Fellows receive support from the organization’s staff, as well as access to various campaigns, programs, speakers, and other materials and tools. Hasbara Fellowships focuses on college campuses, but the information and tools it provides young adults continuously empower them as they enter other forums in their personal and professional lives.

While the full cost of the winter trips is valued at $3,500, the students’ experience is generously subsidized by Hasbara Fellowships.

“In recent years on campus, I had been struggling to defend this love I have always had for the Jewish nation, but Hasbara Fellowships provided me with indispensable tools and breathtaking experiences to help me in my quest to stand and support Israel,” said Oren Rosenberg from the University of Minnesota, a past participant on the trip. “On the program, we met with people hailing from every corner of the political spectrum and heard countless aspects of the many narratives regarding the conflict. It was a priceless experience that will help to guide me for a lifetime.”  — From Hasbara Fellowships

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Ambulance boat begins service on the Kinneret

United Hatzalah’s ambulance boat on the Sea of Galilee

Following a summer that had a tremendously high increase in the number of drownings across Israel, and in specific on the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), United Hatzalah initiated a campaign for a new ambulance that will ride the waves of the freshwater lake that sees hundreds of thousands of annual swimmers and beachgoers. On Sunday, that dream became a reality as the newest ambulance in the emergency medical organization’s fleet took its maiden voyage on the waters of the Kinneret.

Chapter head of United Hatzalah of Tiberias (Tevaria) and the region Yossi Vaknin spoke about the new addition to the organization’s maritime fleet: “The new ambulance boat brings with it many capabilities that we did not have in the past. Capabilities that will help our teams on the water save more lives by both getting to those who need assistance faster and begin treatment sooner.”

The first improvement made on the new boat is that it contains a wide area on the deck that will allow the rescue teams to begin treatment of injured or drowned persons during transport while still on the water. Another important addition is the inclusion of underwater sonar tracking devices that will help the team search for missing or drowned people.

Vaknin listed a few other innovations that the new maritime ambulance includes: “Due to the increased size of the boat we can sail during stormy weather, whereas before we had to head back to dock and wait out storms before we could mount a rescue. The new model also includes a closed room for the sailing team and for the treatment of patients. This will allow us to embark on rescue missions and transport patients during the cold winter months. This is a marked improvement that will make a big difference when it comes to rescues that are conducted on the lake.”

The boat, which has been inaugurated as Salty Mec II, is named after a boat that was sailed by Bernard Manger. Bernard’s daughter Renee Manger, orchestrated the donation of the boat through the B.L. Manger Foundation. Renee dedicated the rescue boat in memory of her father and twin brother.

Manger explained that when she was young, her father had a fishing boat called the Salty Mec. Her childhood memories are filled with being out on the water with her family. As soon as the idea of donating a boat to save lives in Israel came up, the board of the foundation immediately knew that this was how they wanted to support United Hatzalah. — From United Hatzalah

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StandWithUs raises nearly $4 million at Beverly Hills gala

A sold out crowd of 900 gathered as StandWithUs (SWU) celebrated its seventeenth year at its annual “Festival of lights” gala held December 9, 2018 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.  On the last night of Hanukkah, SWU lit the candles in a joyous uplifting of dance and song.  The theme of the evening included the escape and miracle of survival of nearly one million Jewish refugees from Arab countries.
Close to $4 million was raised which will go towards the non-profit Israel education organization’s annual budget of $12 million for 2019.  Naty and Debbie Saidoff and Bruce and Ellie Lederman once again, co-hosted the gala so that all the monies raised can go into programming.  Naty Saidoff once again led the fundraising during the course of the evening.
Since its inception in 2001 by Roz and Jerry Rothstein and community leader Esther Renzer, StandWithUs has been dedicated to challenging anti-Semitism about Israel on campuses and communities through education.  The organization has grown to 18 chapters throughout the U.S. and including Israel, Canada, the UK and Brazil.
The event honored board members and philanthropists Helen and Haim Dayan whose humble and quiet leadership continues to build and sustain important Jewish organizations and schools.
Shahar Azani, SWU Northeast Executive Director took the stage to introduce Captain Elgen Long who at 91, is the the last surviving member of Alaska Airlines “Iron Men” crew.  A then-navigator, he was part of the daring, clandestine rescue mission that brought nearly 2,000 Jews from Yemen to the newly-formed state of Israel during 1949.  They flew “On Eagle’s Wings” back and forth for seven days, removing seats to fit more refugees, barely sleeping or eating.  When Roz asked Elgen why they did this, he replied modestly that, “they were starving, homeless and they needed our help.  It had to be done.”  Their flights were the precursor to “Operation Magic Carpet,” which led to the rescue of approximately 45,000 Yemenite Jews. Azani is from Yemenite heritage and many attendees related that their parents and grandparents were rescued by these operations.  Everyone received a copy of Elgen Long’s book, “On Eagle’s Wings, An Untold Story of the Magic Carpet.”
SWU showed horrifying vidoes of protesters calling for the destruction of the state of Israel and death to Jews.  It then offered how its programs on campuses and high schools are educating young adults and changing the narrative and introduced its newest initiative for middle schools, “LINK: Discovering your Israel Connection.”
LINK is a six-unit interactive curriculum that allows students to form their own personal connection to Israel and four middle school students expressed how LINK helped them form a life-long love for Israel.  They are: Jonathan Stoff, Pressman Academy; Miley Puente, Lashon Academy; Shalva Kaplan – Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy and Bella Yadegar, Brawerman School of Wilshire Boulevard Temple.
 “Leaders of Tomorrow” honorees Sarah Tagger and Justin Feldman expressed how StandWithUs came to their aid.  Justin, president of Students Supporting Israel (SSI) at UCLA approached the SWU Saidoff Legal department when his university did not take action against students who disrupted an “Indigenous People’s”  lecture and tore down flags.  He explained that as a SWU High School Intern, he learned the tools of effectively documenting events and taking the necessary steps.  Sarah Tagger was the StandWithUs Emerson Fellow at UCSB.  The resources that SWU provided her in successfully confronting BDS campaigns on her campus led Sarah to take a full-time position as SWU Campus Strategist and Campaign Manager, mentoring others.
Pollster and political consultant Dr. Frank Luntz was the keynote speaker.  He displayed language that – following five years of research – has proven to be more effective in discussing Israel.  He was introduced by “Festival of Lights” co-host Bruce Lederman.
Canadian move producer Robert Lantos, owner of Serendipity Point Films spoke of the rise of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign he now sees at his Alma mater, McGill University. He emphasized that the campaign is a mix of lies that are attempting to deceive the entire world and that it is imperative to recognize this and expose it for what it truly is.  He was filming a movie in Budapest when he received the call to present at SWU Canada’s gala in November and felt it was vital that he attend.  Part of the movie was filmed in Treblinka – the only movie every shot at the death camp. Lantos picked up a flower there and has kept it a reminder that we must never forget.
Israeli singer Hagit Yaso, who won the ninth season of Kohav Nolad, sang a touching rendition of “Jerusalem of Gold” against a backdrop of Israel’s enduring and eternal city.
Los Angeles acting Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles Eitan Weiss opened the gala by stressing that in the current climate of rising anti-Semitism including the Pittsburgh shooting, StandWithUs’ work was more needed than ever.
Comedian Elon Gold once again, regaled the audience with his take on “all things Jewish.”  Alon Miller sang Israel’s national anthem and Rabbi Cantor Allison Wissot sang the American national anthem.  The David Kates orchestra performed at the candle lighting and during the presentations.  — From StandWithUs

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Preceding culled from news releases. Please send yours to editor@sdjewishworld.com