RUTHFULLY YOURS

Abrahamic monotheism as represented in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, precedes and stands apart from politics as an ethical vision that transcends history. It was a vision which invited people to embrace their common humanity as created and gifted by one omnipotent deity, and to follow a revealed code of ethics for righteous living, holding the promise of peace with an end to interminable conflicts that divided people into warring tribes.

Thoughtful Muslims, for nearly a century before the demise of the Ottoman Empire and the abolition of the Caliphate, had been writing about the need for an Islamic reform. Europe’s cultural advancement following the Reformation and Enlightenment held up a mirror for the Islamic world to follow in similar direction to similar ends. There was a consensus among Muslims that Islam was not intrinsically opposed to the modern world, and a readiness to follow in the footsteps of the West.

This is the “other” Islam. This is submission to truth, whose most righteous exemplar was Abraham when his faith was tested by his Deity, according to the Hebrew Bible, to sacrifice his son. And this is the faith of Sufis who took Muhammad’s message to people in places far removed from the desert confines of Arabia. It is simply, as the Qur’an reminds (30:30), deen al-fitrah, the natural religion, or inclination, of man to know his Creator. There is no return of this “other” Islam; it never went missing.

The cover of the January 1976 issue of Commentary magazine announced its main story, “The Return of Islam,” by Bernard Lewis. The year of publication coincided with the coming end of the fourteenth century of Islam, and the anticipation of a new Islamic century beginning in 1979. Forty years later this essay by Lewis, widely recognized and respected as the most eminent scholar on the Middle East and Islam alive today, came to be celebrated as the first warning of the coming upheaval inside the world of Islam.

Lewis’s essay was a corrective to viewing the Middle East and its people, Arabs and Muslims, in terms of Western values. “Modern Western man,” wrote Lewis, “being unable for the most part to assign a dominant and central place to religion in his own affairs, found himself unable to conceive that any other peoples in any other place could have done so… [or to] admit that an entire civilization can have religion as its primary loyalty.” This meant, Lewis continued, the “inability, political, journalistic, and scholarly alike, to recognize the importance of the factor of religion in the current affairs of the Muslim world”.

It was on July 4, 1976, that Yonatan Netanyahu was killed while rescuing hostages in Uganda. I did not know it then, but the bold Israeli mission would serve as a sharp turning point in my own personal history.

The Entebbe raid, as Operation Thunderbolt came to be called, not only had the entire world in awe of Israeli daring; it caused me to put the Israeli officer I met while he was visiting New York that summer on a pedestal. Exactly one year later, I was on a plane to the Jewish state with fantasies of raising lots of gorgeous babies who would grow into super-heroes whom I and everybody else would view with amazement, if not worship.

Ironically, the news of the Hollywood-like commando raid upstaged the bicentennial celebrations in the United States. Indeed, it was as though the extravagant fireworks set off in honor of America’s 200th birthday were sharing the limelight with Israel, the state that had been in existence for a mere 28 years.

The Entebbe story began exactly a week before that, on June 27, when an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris via a stopover in Greece was hijacked just after takeoff from Athens by four terrorists, two Palestinian and two German. The hijackers diverted the flight, with more than 300 passengers and 12 crew members on board, to Benghazi, Libya, and then to Entebbe Airport in Uganda, where they were joined by members of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin’s military forces.

The hostages were taken into an area of the terminal, where the Jews were separated from the others — a process reminiscent of Nazi “selection.” The hijackers demanded $5 million and the release of 53 Palestinian and pro-Palestinian terrorists, the bulk of whom were being held in Israeli jails. If their demands were not met, they said, they would begin killing hostages on July 1.

On June 30, the hijackers released 48 non-Israeli, non-Jewish hostages.

Brexit proponent Nigel Farage has been branded a liar by the European Parliament (EUP) – but PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas can lie compulsively without the slightest EUP remonstration or rebuke.

Such hypocrisy and double standards surfaced during addresses by Abbas and Farage to the EUP within the last week. Farage told those assembled:

“The biggest problem you’ve got and the main reason the UK voted the way it did is because you have by stealth and deception, and without telling the truth to the rest of the peoples of Europe, you have imposed upon them a political union. When the people in 2005 in the Netherlands and France voted against that political union and rejected the constitution you simply ignored them and brought the Lisbon treaty in through the back door.

What happened last Thursday was a remarkable result – it was a seismic result. Not just for British politics, for European politics, but perhaps even for global politics too.”

Farage taunted the EUP Parliamentarians:

“What I’d like to see is a grownup and sensible attitude to how we negotiate a different relationship. I know that virtually none of you have never done a proper job in your lives, or worked in business, or worked in trade, or indeed ever created a job. But listen, just listen.”

Amid shouts of protest, the President of the EUP, Martin Schulz, interrupted Farage in full-flight with this rebuke:

“Mr Farage – I would say one thing to you. The fact that you’re claiming that no one has done a decent job in their life – you can’t really say that”.

Jean-Claude Juncker – President of the European Commission – put the boot into Farage amidst thunderous applause:

“You lied. You didn’t tell the truth. You fabricated reality.”

http://edgar1981.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/palestinian-terrorism-why-not.html
Following the brutal murder of 13-year-old Jewish Israeli girl Hallel Yafi Ariel while she slept yesterday, today yet another Jewish family was destroyed when their car was attacked by a Palestinian terrorist.

The EU and USA could stop the terrorism immediately by simply cutting off their multi-billion dollar payments to the PA (which are used not just for incitement but also to pay the salaries of terrorists and their families). They won’t of course*. But while they refuse to provide any deterrents, I don’t understand why, for all his strong words, Netanyahu doesn’t either. All I can see – as far as the Palestinians are concerned – are incentives to keep it up.

Israel has recently decided to allocate millions of dollars to the construction of settlements in Judea and Samaria. Of course, this has produced anger among those who believe in the “two-state fantasy” of an Arab state and a Jewish state peacefully and cooperatively living side by side. As the fantasists see it, those darned Israelis are always such a nuisance — building homes in their ancestral land, shattering the dreams of a people who are not a people, and throwing the Middle East into chaos once again. If the Israeli right wing that governs the country was not so closeminded and would just give peace a chance and the Jews and the Palestinians could be the best of friends.

However, in the real world, people know, or should know, that none of these things are true. The Palestinians have been offered their own state at least three times, in 2000, 2001, and 2008, and each time it was the Palestinians who refused to take the offer of most of the land they claimed they wanted, and live in peace with Israel. Further, it is not Israel that has thrown the Middle East into chaos, but Islamist extremism in the region, especially from the Shia Islamists in Iran. Also, the much-vilified Israeli settlements are not an impediment to peace in the region, but are a necessity for Israel to provide security and protect its Jewish heritage and identity.

The idea that building homes is the cause of this conflict is ridiculous, because there was conflict even before there was any Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria. When the Arabs refer to “occupation,” most often they mean Jewish “occupation” of the entire land of Israel. The evidence lies in not just their words and chants of “from the river to the sea,” but also in their actions, especially pre-1967, before Israel took Judea and Samaria from the invading Jordanians. History has demonstrated that the Palestinian Arab population has never been willing to agree to peace as long as there would be a Jewish state next to the Arab state. When Israel was first created and allotted a sliver of land, it was attacked by five Arab armies vowing to drive its residents into the Mediterranean. And since then, whenever Israel offered generous peace proposals, meeting almost all of the Palestinian Arab demands, the offers were still rejected because they required recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

Settlements in Judea and Samaria actually are vital to Israeli national security. If “Palestine” were created in Judea and Samaria, it would likely become another hotbed for terrorists, like in Gaza. This is incredibly dangerous, as there would be parts of Israel only nine miles wide but still containing the vast majority of the Israeli population which would be trapped between Arab terrorists and the sea. The settlements in Judea and Samaria were established to widen Israel’s narrowest width, which ensures Israel will have a route to the Jordan Valley if Israel is forced to fight a war to the east. Further, Judea and Samaria are positioned on a formidable mountain range, towering over central Israel. Without Israeli control or presence there the IDF would not be able to prevent Arab Katyusha rocket fire that has in range over 70% of Israel’s population and 80% of her industrial base.

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Nanomedicine targets stomach cancer. (TY Dan) Researchers at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed a nanomedicine technology for the targeted treatment of gastric tumors. The platform combines anti-cancer and anti-resistance compounds, packaged orally in beta-casein – a constituent of mother’s milk.
http://www.technion.ac.il/en/2016/06/nanomedicine-targets-gastric-tumors/

Artificial Intelligence to aid patient care. Israeli startup MedyMatch is developing an artificial intelligence (AI) platform using proprietary algorithms to process CT image data in the Cloud. Fast analysis of data will help physicians make accurate critical clinical decisions – e.g. with stroke diagnosis.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/medymatch-aims-to-offer-second-opinion-in-stroke-diagnosis/

An app to beat acne. Israeli startup MDAlgorithms has built MDacne – the world’s first app to provide mobile acne analysis with customized treatment plans. Users complete a questionnaire and take a selfie. An algorithm then processes the data and offers food and hygiene tips and recommended medications.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/phone-app-seeks-to-bust-acne-using-selfies-and-algorithms/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo3joCLxfAw

ReWalk inventor can now stand up. Israel’s Amit Goffer invented the ReWalk for paraplegics, but as a quadriplegic he couldn’t use it. So he invented UPnRIDE (see Aug 2014) which allows wheelchair-bound quadriplegics to get vertical. Watch Amit use the latest version of UPnRIDE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boSTQX2w1i8
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2016/06/israeli-invention-allows-quadriplegics.html

Device to treat overactive bladder. (TY Dan) Israeli startup BlueWind Medical has won a CE mark for its miniature neuro-stimulation device to treat overactive bladder. The OAB-1000 system is wireless, has no battery, is 90% smaller than existing devices and is minimally invasive, being implanted in the leg.
http://www.fiercemedicaldevices.com/story/israeli-startup-bluewind-wins-ce-mark-tiny-batteryless-overactive-bladder-n/2016-06-15

Robotic surgery in New York. (TY Dan) Dr. Ronald Lehman is first in NYC to perform PROlat(TM) spinal surgery using technology from Israel’s Mazor Robotics. He praised the time saved (one hour), the absence of having to flip over the patient and the reduced radiation that the patient and operating staff were exposed to. In addition, Mazor’s platform has now been approved by the medical authorities in (South) Korea.
http://www.orthospinenews.com/dr-ronald-lehman-is-first-in-nyc-to-perform-prolattm-procedure-with-mazor-robotics-technology/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=650Yoyiw-6Y
http://www.mazorrobotics.com/korean-fda-clears-mazor-robotics-renaissance-robotic-platform/

Find an Israeli doctor. The Israel Medical Association has launched a database (in Hebrew) of Israeli public and private doctors. Currently containing 1500 doctors (and growing) one can search by name, specialty and subspecialty, location, gender, professional status, languages they speak and age group that they treat.
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Find-a-doctor-easily-and-quickly-with-IMAs-new-app-and-website-457920 www.ima.org.il/doctorsindex

Israeli soldiers revive Palestinian Arab baby. A Palestinian Arab baby without a pulse was brought to where IDF soldiers were stationed and they immediately began emergency treatment. They were able to restore the baby’s breathing before the Red Crescent arrived to take him to hospital. The baby is now in stable condition.
http://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-idf-medics-revive-unconscious-palestinian-baby/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZPCOm3tMOQ

After supporters of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement failed to pressure rock superstar Carlos Santana into cancelling his upcoming concert in Tel Aivv, the guitarist said in a video message on Thursday that he is excited to return to Israel and promote a “musical message of peace, love and an end to conflict.”

“The band and I will bring our open hearts and musical energy that will resonate with your soul long after the last song has been played,” Santana, 68, said in the clip, which was re-posted onFacebook by Israel advocacy group StandWithUs. “We look forward to seeing you at Park HaYarkon. Shalom and salam alaykum. Peace.”

Santana’s concert in Tel Aviv, scheduled to take place on July 30, was first announced in March. Since then, BDS activists have attempted to bully the Grammy Award winner into cancelling the show. Anti-Israel campaigners took to social media and demanded the Mexico-born musician stop “supporting the oppressor” and “endorsing occupation.” Open letters were also published, such as one by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) which called on Santana “to respect our picket line.”

Garik Ruiz, the North America Advocacy Advisor for the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) National Committee, said earlier in June that his organization is “working very hard to be in communication with [Santana] about the international picket line and telling him not to cross it. We have had many campaigns targeting artists but Santana is the most high profile.”

On Tuesday, BDS supporters attempted to deliver a petition with 25,000 signatures to the headquarters of The Milagro Foundation, established by Santana and his family to help underprivileged children around the world. The petition delivery was live streamed by the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace, but workers at the foundation “refused to open the door … and closed the blinds,” according to the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA).

Santana’s upcoming concert in Israel is part of the musician’s world Luminosity Tour and will mark 29 years since he last performed in the Jewish state. The guitarist was set to perform in 2010 in Jaffa but pulled out due to reported scheduling difficulties.

The musician promised that portions of the proceeds from the upcoming Israel concert will be donated to the Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel, an organization that unites Jews and Arabs in schools across Israel. The Milagro Foundation has provided funding to Hand in Hand since 2003.

Watch Carlos Santana’s message in the video below:

The argument that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the world took another blow this month when—for the first time in the history of the United Nations and of Israel—the Israeli ambassador was elected to head one of the U.N.’s permanent committees.

The General Assembly’s Legal Committee, also called the “Sixth Committee,” covers the United Nations’s international law operations, which include matters related to terrorism and to the Geneva Conventions.

There was a tough diplomatic fight over this, so it is worth handing out kudos.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, addresses a Security Council meeting on the Middle East on January 26. Elliott Abrams writes that it has been reported in the Arab press, though impossible to prove because there was a secret ballot, that several Arab countries voted for the Israeli ambassador to head one of the U.N.’s permanent committees. Mike Segar/reuters

First, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, who was mocked by many on the Israeli left and in the Israeli media (and yes, there is a large overlap) when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed him, showed that he is a very competent diplomat.

He was a member of the Knesset and a minister when appointed but had no diplomatic experience. He has obviously learned the job, and fast.

Second, kudos to the United States Mission to the U.N., which fought very hard to get votes for Israel.

A major new novel features a Jewish activist organizing protests against the Roosevelt administration’s abandonment of European Jewry. A recent off-Broadway play (being made into a movie by an Academy Award-winning actor and director) depicted Jewish activists and leaders clashing over Holocaust rescue.

With his appearance in literature, theater, and film, the once-controversial Peter Bergson is finally entering the popular culture. And the U.S. Jewish community at long last seems to be coming to grips with one of the most painful chapters in its history.

Seventy-five years ago this summer, Bergson (real name: Hillel Kook) and a handful of colleagues launched what would become perhaps the most dramatic political action campaign in American Jewish history.

To advance their demands to rescue Europe’s Jews and create a Jewish state in Palestine, these activists placed hundreds of full-page ads in newspapers, lobbied in Congress, and organized a march by 400 rabbis to the White House. Such tactics were radical steps for Jews in the 1940s. Many immigrants and children of immigrants, still nervous about their place in American society, were uneasy about broadcasting Jewish concerns in the pages of the major newspapers.

Bergson liked to call himself a “nuisance diplomat,” and his group’s activities did prove to be quite a nuisance to the Roosevelt administration, which insisted the rescue of European Jews was impossible. The Bergsonites mobilized enough congressional and public pressure on President Roosevelt to help force him to create a U.S. government agency, the War Refugee Board, in early 1944. During the final fifteen months of World War II, the board played a central role in rescuing some 200,000 Jews from the Nazis.

Originally published under the title “Why Is A San Francisco University Secretly Partnering With An Arab College That Promotes Jihad?”

SFSU President Leslie Wong has come under criticism for failing to take sufficient action against anti-Israel hate groups on campus.

San Francisco State University (SFSU), which has a well-deserved reputation as a breeding ground for anti-Israel radicalism, became national news in April. That’s when campus police stood by as a hate-Israel group, the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS), shouted down and disrupted a lecture by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, prompting much criticism of SFSU’s president, Leslie Wong.

But there’s worse. As revealed by an investigation into SFSU by Campus Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum, SFSU has partnered with a Palestinian university that’s a hotbed of radicalization.

What our investigation turned up:

SFSU signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with An-Najah University of Hebron in 2014 at the behest of Rabab Abdulhadi, director of SFSU’s Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative (AMED) and founding member of the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

Najah states on its website that the MOU was signed on September 10, 2014 and Abdulhadi sang its praises at an April 2015 reception:

The memorandum of understanding that President Wong signed with An-Najah National University in Palestine … is the first time that we have any agreement with any university in the Arab or Muslim world and we are very excited about that.

Wong also trumpeted the MOU at the 2015 reception, boasting of his role in helping bring it to fruition:

When I returned from Palestine two years ago, I said I want to be one of the first major universities to sign an agreement with An-Najah or any of the other Palestinian universities, or any of the universities in the Arab world.