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Ruth King

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The Brexit Crisis

By on November 18th, 2018

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/11/theresa-may-brexit-deal-negotiations-crisis/

After what seem like years of a phony war, British and European Union negotiators finally agreed on the terms of Britain’s departure from the EU earlier this week, and Theresa May announced it in the House of Commons. The deal covers more than 500 pages of legal and bureaucratic prose, and few but the negotiators have read it in full. But those who have say that it confirms the earlier leaks: After leaving, Britain will continue to be subject to EU rules and regulations more or less indefinitely but, as a non-EU-member state after March, the country will have no say or vote in designing them.

It doesn’t sound like a very attractive package, but May argues that this deal fully achieves the Brexit that the voters chose two years ago. It’s hard to square this claim with the “red lines” she vowed a year ago to never cross:

Red Line: Britain will leave the single market and its regulations.

Deal: Britain will sign on to a “common rulebook” of regulations that will in fact be the EU single-market rulebook.

Red Line: Britain will leave the Customs Union in order to sign free-trade deals with non-EU countries such as the U.S.

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Palestinian Settler-Colonialism By Dr. Alex Joffe (2017)

By on November 18th, 2018

Thanks to Janet Levy for sending this column….rsk

https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/palestinians-settlers-colonialism/

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The concept of “settler colonialism” has been applied with almost unique vehemence against Israel. But the fact that Jews are the indigenous population of the Southern Levant can be proved with ease. In contrast, historical and genealogical evidence shows Palestinians descend primarily from three primary groups: Muslim invaders, Arab immigrants, and local converts to Islam. The Muslim conquest of Byzantine Palestine in the 7th century CE is a textbook example of settler-colonialism, as is subsequent immigration, particularly during the 19th and 20th centuries under the Ottoman and British Empires. The application of the concept to Jews and Zionism by Palestinians is both ironic and unhelpful.

One of the mainstays of the modern university is the idea of settler-colonialism. This argues that certain societies are birthed by settlers implanted in a foreign territory, either directly by or with the consent of an imperial power. These colonists then dominate and eradicate the indigenous population. They develop bellicose cultures that eliminate the natives from historical, literary, and other narratives. Primary examples often cited are the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa and Rhodesia, and Israel.

The settler-colonial argument against Israel posits that Zionism was an imperial tool of Britain (or, alternatively, that Zionism manipulated the British Empire); that Jews represent an alien population implanted into Palestine to usurp the land and displace the people; and that Israel has subjected Palestinians to “genocide,” real, figurative, and cultural.

According to this argument, Israel’s “settler colonialism” is a “structure, not an event,” and is accompanied by a “legacy of foundational violence” that extends back to the First Zionist Congress in 1897 or even before. With Zionism thus imbued with two forms of ineradicable original sin, violent opposition to Israel is legitimized and any forms of compromise, even negotiation, are “misguided and disingenuous because ‘dialogue’ does not tackle the asymmetrical status quo.”

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Blaming the Victim in the Digital Age by Linda Goudsmit

By on November 18th, 2018

http://goudsmit.pundicity.com
http://lindagoudsmit.com
http://goudsmit.pundicity.com/21799/blaming-the-victim-in-the-digital-age

Consider the following scenario:

A murder investigation is underway to determine the identity of the shooter. The detective questioning the suspect accuses him of shooting the woman he robbed. The suspect indignantly retorts, “BUT SHE WOULDN’T GIVE ME HER PURSE!!”

WHAT? The robber is blaming the victim because she refused to give him what he wanted! The victimizer is rationalizing his behavior and misrepresents himself as the victim.

The facts of this case are not in dispute – the suspect admits he shot the woman he was robbing. It is the interpretation of those facts that are being disputed – WHO is to blame – victim or victimizer?

In a sane society the shooter is blamed for the murder and is held criminally responsible. In today’s upside down world of Leftist Democrat identity politics, society accepts the shooter’s interpretation and the victim is being blamed for not surrendering to the demands of the victimizer. The perpetrator has been allowed to frame the argument.

The escalating anti-semitism in Europe and America illustrates the same operating principle of blaming the victim where the perpetrators are being allowed to frame the argument. This is how it works.

Tabitha Korol’s recent article, “Paradise Long-lost,” documents the blatant falsehoods and misrepresentations in Randa Siniora’s October 25, 2018 anti-semitic address to the UN Security Council. So, let’s investigate Ms. Siniora’s odious “blame the victim” presentation.

Ms. Siniora begins her address with a lofty self-aggrandizing introduction to frame the argument:

“Mr. President, Excellencies, Civil Society colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning. Today, I speak in my capacity as the General Director of the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC). I also speak on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security. I speak to you as a peace leader and as a human rights defender who has witnessed, documented, and spoken out about violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for three decades.”

The body of Siniora’s 1500 word speech typifies the deliberate worldwide effort to demonize Israel. The incessant repetition of lies, distortions, and blaming Jews for Arab violence defines the current echo chamber that is propagandizing adults on the Internet and indoctrinating children in schools worldwide.

It is Hitler’s old tried and true political strategy – if you tell a lie big enough and long enough it will be believed as the truth.

Propaganda is a far more powerful tool than bullets in Western societies. Ever since oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia the greedy West has allowed itself to be propagandized by the anti-semitic Jew hatred of the Arab world. Politicians were bribed, university chairs were bought, Internet behemoths began curating/censoring content, and pro-Arab policies became normative resulting in sharia compliant anti-semites serving in public office.

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GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

By on November 18th, 2018

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

Implants made from patient’s own cells. Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed the first fully personalized tissue implant, made from of a patient’s own fat cells. It means that eventually there will be no risk of an immune response to any organ implant, whether heart tissue, brain tissue or spinal cord.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-team-makes-implants-using-patients-own-stomach-cells-biomaterials/

ALS treatment gets FDA boost. The US FDA has just given Orphan status to the ALS treatment being developed by Israel’s Kadimastem (see here). The designation qualifies the company for various development incentives and less rigorous bureaucracy. Kadimastem expects results of its Israeli clinical trials in mid-2019.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3749031,00.html

Bio-artificial pancreas to fight diabetes. Israel’s Kadimastem is also partnering with France’s Defymed to develop a stem cell-based bio-artificial pancreas for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. They received NIS 5.4 million from the European Commission and the intergovernmental research organization EUREKA.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3749642,00.html

Targeting liver and metabolic disorders. Israeli biotech 89Bio has just raised $60 million to advance its pipeline of biologic and small molecule treatments for liver and metabolic disorders. 89Bio’s BIO89-100 is in a phase 1 clinical trial for treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a type of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3748585,00.html

Halting the growth of Mesothelioma. (TY Grace) Scientists in the labs of Israel’s Technion and in the US have stopped the growth of mesothelioma – a cancer of the mesothelium membrane protecting the internal organs of the chest and abdomen. They found heparanase inhibitors PG545 and defibrotide slowed tumor growth. https://www.israel21c.org/cure-may-be-on-the-horizon-for-mesothelioma/
https://mesothelioma.net/mesothelioma-news/israeli-and-american-researchers-halt-growth-of-mesothelioma/

Repairing hearts again in Tanzania. Since 1999 (see here) surgeons from Israel’s Save a Child’s Heart have saved the lives of over 750 children from Tanzania. SACH doctors recently flew again to Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to conduct life-saving heart surgeries.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-heart-surgeons-save-childrens-lives-in-tanzania/

ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

In their shoes. (TY Zissie) The Israeli charity In Their Shoes (ITS) trains caregivers to better serve patients with compassion. ITS’ Virtual Dementia Tour allows participants to feel the effects of dementia – hence “In Their Shoes”. ITS also conducts the Music and Memory Program for residents in nursing homes.
http://www.intheirshoes.org.il/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fAcE1Hjr20
https://il.musicandmemory.org/

Recycling fair funds special needs program. Israeli mum Ayelet Sanens launched the Ashdod Environmental Preservation and Recycling Fair. Toys, cosmetics, costume jewelry, clothing, household items etc. were sold to raise funds for Israeli charity Ezer Mizion’s special summer program for special needs children in Ashdod.
http://www.ezermizion.org/blog/special-childrenspecial-parents/

New Israeli town to support special needs kids. I reported previously (19th Aug) about the new community named “Daniel” being built in the Negev that will provide home care for children (mainly Bedouin) with severe medical and therapeutic needs. Here is a much more detailed article on the new town and its aims.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-town-aids-families-of-children-with-special-needs/

Israeli-Arab captain of women’s basketball team. (TY Hazel) Shahd Abboud, who plays for the Hapoel Petah Tikvah women’s basketball team in Israel, opened the 2018/19 season as their new captain, making history as the first female Arab captain of a professional Israeli basketball team.
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-israels-1st-female-arab-israeli-basketball-captain/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QWYd4-ZSqI

Friendship born on the soccer field. Nice story about Motke (“Berko”) Berkowitz and Mohammed Einan who have been friends for over sixty years, having played on Hapoel Nahariya’s soccer team in the 1950s and 1960s. Each week, Berko drives from Shavei Zion to the coastal village of Mazra’a to have coffee with Einan.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-sixty-year-friendship-of-muslim-and-jew-born-on-the-soccer-pitch/

Bahrain invites Startup Nation Minister. Israel’s Economy Minister Eli Cohen has received an invitation from Bahrain to participate in its “Startup Nations Ministerial” – an international high-tech conference. Cohen will join global leaders aiming to boost bilateral technology initiatives and partner on policy initiatives.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/188308-181109-israel-s-economy-minister-invited-to-high-tech-conference-in-bahrain

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“A Pure Genocide”: Extremist Persecution of Christians, June 2018 by Raymond Ibrahim

By on November 18th, 2018

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13312/pure-genocide

The majority of those 6,000 Christians massacred this year were “mostly children, women and the aged… What is happening in … Nigeria is pure genocide and must be stopped immediately.” — Christian Association of Nigeria.

“There is no doubt that the sole purpose of these attacks is aimed at ethnic cleansing, land grabbing and forceful ejection of the Christian natives from their ancestral land and heritage.” — Christian Association of Nigeria.

“Realistically speaking, Christianity is on the brink of extinction in Nigeria. The ascendancy of Sharia ideology in Nigeria rings the death toll for the Nigerian Church.” — Christian Association of Nigeria.

“Just one in 400 Syrian refugees given asylum in the UK last year were Christians despite them being subjected to ‘horrendous persecution.'” — Express, UK.

The Jihad on Nigerian Christians

In what the Christian Association of Nigeria called a “pure genocide,” 238 more Christians were killed and churches desecrated by Muslims throughout the month of June. This brings the death toll of Christians to more than 6,000 between January and June of 2018 alone. According to a joint statement by the Christian Association, an umbrella group of various Christian denominations, “There is no doubt that the sole purpose of these attacks is aimed at ethnic cleansing, land grabbing and forceful ejection of the Christian natives from their ancestral land and heritage.” In one of the attacks, “over 200 persons were brutally killed and our churches destroyed without any intervention from security agencies in spite of several distress calls made to them.”

The majority of those 6,000 Christians massacred this year were “mostly children, women and the aged… What is happening in … Nigeria is pure genocide and must be stopped immediately.” The details of the murder of these thousands, though seldom reported, are often grisly; many were either hacked to death or beheaded with machetes; others were burned alive (including inside locked churches or homes); and women are often sexually assaulted or raped before being slaughtered.

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THE CARAVAN…..VIDEO

By on November 18th, 2018

WATCH: Stunning Footage Reveals the ‘Truth Behind the Caravan’
saraacarter.com ^

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3706672/posts

Stunning new footage from deep inside the ‘migrant caravan’ slowly making its way towards the United States’ southern border reveals the shocking truth behind the impending crisis, according to filmmaker Ami Horowitz.

Horowitz took to the streets alongside the Central American migrants to speak with those hoping to enter the United States as asylum seekers, hearing first-hand accounts of their journey north.

“We’ve been hearing a lot about the ‘migrant caravan’ in the news… A lot has been said about this caravan, so I’ve decided to go down and find out for myself,” says Horowitz.

“Despite the framing of the caravan being full of women and children, the reality on the ground is quite different. Approximately 90% to 95% are male,” he adds.

Watch ‘The Truth Behind the Caravan’ above.

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Andrew Gillum Concedes Florida Governor Race By Mairead McArdle

By on November 18th, 2018

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/gillum-concedes-florida-governor-race/

Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum conceded Florida’s gubernatorial race Saturday to Republican Ron DeSantis.

“R.J. and I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Mr. DeSantis on becoming the next governor of the great state of Florida,” Gillum said in a video posted to Facebook. “This has been the journey of our lives.”

The Tallahassee mayor conceded the race to DeSantis, a former Florida representative, on election night but backtracked as more votes were counted and the race appeared closer than originally thought.

However, DeSantis was still about 30,000 votes ahead after a machine recount.

President Trump appeared to anticipate Gillum’s loss, saying earlier on Twitter than the candidate is a “strong Democrat warrior” and will be a “force to reckon with.”

The sometimes acrimonious race was one of several high-profile midterm races in Florida and saw the two opponents trade barbs over the Parkland shooting and even veer into racial controversies.

“Stay tuned,” Gillum said. “The fight for Florida continues.”

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TERRORISM STUDIES: KEITH WINDSCHUTTLE

By on November 17th, 2018

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/terrorism-studies/

The murder and attempted murder in Bourke Street, Melbourne, last month by the Somali-born terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali produced one positive outcome. It prompted Prime Minister Scott Morrison to break the mold of over-cautious political statements that has so far determined responses to acts of this kind. Morrison declared radical Islam a threat to the Australian way of life. “We would be kidding ourselves if we did not call out the fact that the greatest threat of religious extremism in this country is the radical and dangerous ideology of extremist Islam.” He called on Islamic religious leaders to use their unique position to prevent the radicalisation of youth, “to ensure that dangerous teachings and ideologies do not take root here.”

While Morrison’s comments appeared well-received in the wider electorate, Islamic religious leaders did not like the advice to take a more proactive stand against terrorists. Instead, they reacted as they have in the past. They not only rejected Morrison’s appeal but demanded an apology for his statement which, in their view, insulted the whole Muslim community. At the same time, they absolved the terrorist of any moral responsibility for his actions. The Forum on Australia’s Islamic Relations (FAIR) said:

The Muslim community will not be scapegoated and we will endeavour to keep Australia safe where we can, but the actions of a mentally ill person suffering from a psychotic episode, is not the fault of a whole religious community … We demand the withdrawal of his comments and an apology to the Muslim community.

An even more belligerent response came from Labor’s Anne Aly, the first Muslim woman elected the Australian Parliament. She mocked the idea that Islamic terrorism was a major threat to Australia and also absolved the Bourke Street terrorist of moral responsibility. “The biggest victims of violence in Australia aren’t victims of violent terrorism,” she said, “they are victims of domestic violence.” She said violence by jihadists “pales in comparison to the number of women who are being killed every week in domestic and partner violence.”

Some readers will recall this last statement reprises an argument made on the ABC’s Q&A program in May last year when Aly shared a platform with the American physicist Laurence Krauss. To downplay the threat of Islamic terrorism, Krauss claimed that in the United States “you’re more likely to be killed by a refrigerator falling on you”. Aly’s comparison of domestic violence with terrorism deploys the same kind of moral contortion.

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Australia, Malaysia trade barbs amid Israel embassy move spat

By on November 17th, 2018

http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/11/16/australia-malaysia-trade-words-over-possible-israel-embassy-move/

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad warns moving embassy to Jerusalem could increase terrorism threat • Citing Mohamed’s history of anti-Semitic remarks, Australian treasurer insists Canberra will make its own decisions • Move makes sense, he says.

Australia’s treasurer on Friday said Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had a history of anti-Jewish statements, in an escalating war of words over the possibility Australia might move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison proposed the embassy move during a local election campaign last month, sparking concern from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad raised the potential embassy switch in a meeting with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison at a regional summit in Singapore on Thursday, later telling reporters such a move could increase the threat of terrorism.

“I pointed out that in dealing with terrorism, one has to know the causes,” Mahathir said. “Adding to the cause for terrorism is not going to be helpful.”

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg responded Friday, saying Canberra would make its own decisions. Frydenberg, the son of a Holocaust survivor, also pointed out past comments that the leader of Muslim-majority Malaysia has made about Jewish people.

“He has called Jews ‘hooked-nosed people.’ He has questioned the number of people that have been killed in the Holocaust. He banned ‘Schindler’s List’ as a movie being shown,” Frydenberg told reporters in Melbourne.

Malaysia’s film board rejected the movie as Zionist propaganda at the time.

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That one little thing the caravan organizers got caught flatfooted on… By Monica Showalter

By on November 17th, 2018

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/11/that_one_little_thing_the_caravan_organizers_got_caught_flatfooted_on.html
Pueblo Sin Fronteras, the open-borders group that organized the migrant caravan, has had an easy time of it, racking up propaganda victory after propaganda victory as its group snaked through Mexico.

They put the tiny number of women and children in the group up front for the news cameras with the media obliging them to create the perception that the entire group was just women and children fleeing gangs instead of largely military-aged unemployed young men.

They brazenly waved the Honduran, Guatemalan, Mexican and Salvadoran flags in a bid to signal they aren’t looking for ‘mercy’ from the U.S., they consider entering the U.S. a matter of right as nationals of those countries.

They busted down the gates of Mexico’s southern border to signal to the world that Mexico’s efforts to enforce its own border are utterly useless.

They kept the group together when there were signs it was splitting apart, the better to retain their power of numbers in order to make demands.

They got the Mexican authorities to feed, house, bed, medicate, and escort them throughout their journey to the U.S. border, signalling their clout over that sovereign nation. And it helped that like revolutionaries swimming among fishes, as Mao used to say, they got the Mexican locals to offer aid as well in the hopes that the group would continue on their way away from them.

The list goes on. Arriving in Tijuana, they hopped the border fence and danced around in plain view of U.S. lawmen, daring them to stop them, presumably through opening fire, and then when they didn’t, they racked up another propaganda victory by exposing U.S. powerlessness to stop them. After that, they hopped back into Mexico with no consequences.

There’s just one thing they didn’t calculate for: The rage of Tijuana’s locals, whose anger is growing at the prospect of migrants camping out all over their city streets and neighborhoods, bringing crime, garbage, homeless encampments and disorder. Here’s a screengrab from KGTV and you can see the whole confrontation at this link here:

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