Israel Matzav

'You drop yours'

In case any of you actually believe that Boston police murdered an 'innocent Muslim' earlier this week and that the terrorist's last words were 'I can't breathe,' watch this video from Howie Carr starting at the 3:45 mark.

Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Sunlight).

Labels: Boston, Islamic terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:17 PM 1 comments

They did their job

I missed the Super Bowl parade in Boston on Wednesday - way too much work to do on the day I was returning back to Israel. But here's a brief highlight film.

Let's go to the videotape.



By the way, appearances to the contrary, Wednesday was the warmest day of the entire time I was in Boston this trip.

And yes, I did manage to get a Super Bowl Champions T-Shirt (although the kiddie sizes weren't available yet - that will wait for next trip). 

Labels: Boston, New England Patriots, Super Bowl XLIX

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:04 AM 0 comments

Greetings from Boston

For those who were wondering, I made it.

My flight was supposed to land at 5:55, and after circling to get the most weather-favorable approach, it landed around 6:15. We were one of four international flights that came in at the same time. The international flight after ours, which was scheduled to land at 6:35, was canceled. I have been told that the airport was officially closing at 7:00. I cannot confirm that one. There were signs on the Massachusetts Turnpike (which I took to get to where I was going - probably a good idea, although I considered taking Storah Drive) that said there's a travel ban from Midnight. Skidded once (turning onto Hahvahd Street) and got stuck on ice trying to park in the parking lot (half a dozen people pushed the car into a parking space).

I figure this is my penance because during the Great Blizzard of '78, I was a college senior in New York, and did not come up to Boston until I took the overnight train (the only thing running) on Thursday night. That storm hit on a Monday (Great pictures at that link by the way - beats any Jerusalem snow storm).

If I can stay awake for a while, I will try to post a little more....

Labels: Boston, personal stuff, snow

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:07 AM 0 comments

Snowed in?

By the time you see this, hopefully my flight will have taken off.

Have to run now.

Labels: Boston, snow

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:54 PM 1 comments

More than I bargained for?

So yes, I am in London, and yes, I am heading to Boston and there's a warning for an 'epic snow.'

Will this make up for the fact that I spent the 'Great Blizzard of '78' in school in New York and just took the overnight train up on Friday? (That storm started on Tuesday and by Friday the streets still were not open).

Labels: Boston, snow

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:53 PM 0 comments

Anyone in Boston today?

They got the name of the synagogue wrong (it's called Kehillat Bnei Torah) but here are the details of Sunday's vigil in Boston.

Young Israel of Brookline	Kehillath Israel
Maimonides School	Temple Reyim
Boston Israel Action Committee	Congregation Beth El Atereth Israel
Temple Emeth	Congregation Shaarei Tefillah

Three of the four victims of Tuesday's terror attack were Americans (the fourth was British), and one of them was a Bostonian.

UPDATE 2:53 PM

There's a similar event in Toronto on Tuesday. But this one isn't only Jews.

Labels: Boston, Jerusalem, terror victims

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:34 PM 1 comments

El Al to fly to Boston

I arrived in Boston today to the news that El Al will be starting direct flights from Israel to Boston in June. This is from two separate emails (Hat Tip: Lance K).

The Consulate General of Israel to New England is pleased to announce that an agreement was reached between El Al and Massport for direct flights to Tel Aviv. Consul General of Israel, Mr. Yehuda Yaakov, remarked on this achievement, "Direct flights pave the way for a further strengthening of Israel-US ties, both economically and culturally. We look forward to seeing many more of our New England friends exploring firsthand our diverse society and rich history." El Al will conduct direct flights from Boston's Logan Airport to Ben Gurion Airport beginning this summer.

Israeli airline El Al will begin nonstop flights between Boston and Israel in June 2015, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announced Monday.

El Al will fly the route using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with 218 seats, including 22 business class seats, thrice weekly.

Flight 015 will depart Tel Aviv at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and arrive in Boston at 5:45 a.m.

Flight 016 will depart Boston the same day at 9 p.m. and arrive in Tel Aviv the next day at 3:05 p.m.

So will I give up my puddle hopping and start flying El Al non-stop to Boston? I suspect that most of you know the answer to that question.

Labels: American Airlines, Boston, El Al, One World, personal stuff

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:32 AM 0 comments

And yes, I am on my way to Boston again....

Should be there by mid-afternoon Boston time.

Labels: Boston, personal stuff

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:07 PM 1 comments

Not shocking at all

Over the weekend, anti-Israel rallies became anti-Semitic hatefests in Seattle and Boston. But while the Seattle article called it shocking, I find it anything but. Both Seattle and Boston are known as bastions of the Democratic party and the American Left - blue cities - in which the only way for a Republican to be elected dog catcher is to act like a Democrat. And acting like a Democrat these days pretty much requires being anti-Israel. Don't tell that to the 78% of American Jews who voted Obama not once, but twice.

The first link (Seattle) includes many pictures, and I urge all of you to have a look at it.

The truth was in short supply.  Many posters asserted that Israel had halted food and medicine to Gaza during the current Hamas provoked conflagration.

While supplying one’s enemy in a time of war seems to The Mike Report to border on insanity,  according to Ynet “Israel has allowed some 200 trucks to cross into the strip, including some 200,000 liters of fuel daily, in an attempt to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Gaza”. Israel continues to provide medical services to Gaza residents. “Over 20 Palestinians, including eight Gazan children were treated at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center, as part of Israel’s longstanding cooperation with the Palestinian Authority”.

...

While you may have thought that  blood libel accusations are a relic of the past, in fact the slander was alive and well in downtown Seattle this past Saturday. The [above picture] depicts a Jew eating a gentile child along with a cup of blood to wash it all down.

...

[The sign in the picture] accuses Israel of Genocide “Genocide is not justice” and then promotes genocide  “From the River to the Sea Palestine will be free“. The river is the Jordan, the sea is the Mediterranean and the goal is a Jew free Middle East. 

Meanwhile, Boston, which I left a week ago tonight, was no better. This post also has many pictures and should be viewed by one and all.

A group of pro-Israel demonstrators were attacked and verbally and physically assaulted by anti-Israel extremists outside the Israeli consulate in Boston on Friday.

Anti-Israel groups, led by the radical Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), organized a demonstration outside the consulate against Operation Protective Edge - Israel's military operation to stamp out rocket fire from Gaza. In 2013 the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) anti-hate watchdog listed JVP as one of the top ten most active and influential anti-Israel groups in the US.

Upon hearing about the demo, a small group of about a dozen pro-Israel activists quickly mobilized for a counter-demonstration. But upon being spotted by the anti-Israel group things soon turned ugly.

In a video taken by staff inside the consulate, a roughly 100-strong crowd of anti-Zionists can be see swarming around the pro-Israel group.

Pro-Israel activists said demonstrators' chants included calls for Israel's destruction and the establishment of an Arab state in its stead ("From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free"), and that some hurled anti-Semitic insults like "Jesus-killers" at them.

But the abuse also turned physical.

Chloe Valdary, a senior at the University of New Orleans and founder of the Declare Your Freedom Initiative, is pressing charges after an attack by a female protester who told her that "Jews will go to hell Inshallah [G-d-willing in Arabic - ed.]" and then proceeded to physically assault her. (See video below)

Valdary, who is not Jewish, said she heard other demonstrators call for Jews to "burn in hell" and to "go back to the Dead Sea (sic)".

There is very little difference today between being anti-Israel and being an anti-Semite. Unless you're a Jew. there is no difference.

Labels: American Left, anti-Israel obsession, anti-Semitism, Boston, Seattle

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:06 PM 0 comments

MBTA approves anti-Israel ads

Straphangers going to work in Boston on Monday are going to be confronted by the ad above and two others against 'Israeli apartheid.' The ads are sponsored by a group co-founded by a purported self-hating Jew.

"The ads simply state the facts and are backed up with citations from credible human rights and international organizations, including the United Nations," said Chadi Salamoun, the president of Ads Against Apartheid, who added that "if the ads are shocking, that’s because the reality on the ground is shocking."

Richard Colbath-Hess, a Jewish-American faculty member at the University of Massachusetts, and the co-founder of Ads Against Apartheid, noted that "American tax dollars help the Israeli government maintain an incredibly brutal military occupation, which has denied the Palestinian people their basic rights for decades. These ads show what Israel’s occupation and apartheid really look like, and it is important for Americans to see that."

The NGO plans to expand its campaign both in Boston and in other cities across the US, and promised to introduce more ads.

Similar ads were posted on the MBTA in November 2013.  Calling Pamela Geller....

Labels: anti-Israel obsession, Boston, bus advertisements, Israeli apartheid

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:10 AM 2 comments

#BostonStrong

It's been a year since the Boston Marathon terror attack, and every one of my hometown teams posted this on Facebook.

In case you're wondering, the Marathon is next Monday, the third Monday in April.

Labels: Boston, Boston Marathon, Islamic terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:18 AM 0 comments

So what if he apologized?

I trust that many of you have been following the saga of the Harvard students who visited Yasser Arafat's grave, and had a smiley group picture taken there, as part of a trip to Israel funded by the Boston Combined Jewish Philanthropies (that's the picture above). For those who have not followed the story, a web site called Truth Revolt broke it here. Barry Schrage, the President of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston, attacked Truth Revolt as a bunch of 'extreme' bloggers with an agenda, and as being on the 'fringes' of the pro-Israel community here. When the issue wouldn't go away, Schrage apologized and said he was 'shocked' by the visit here. Ronn Torossian says that apology is not good enough.

Imagine if a black leader led a group of students in a trip where they took a picture in front of the grave of a KKK leader who had lynched African-Americans?

Instead, try to imagine that an American Jewish leader (who is paid $482,000 by a Jewish philanthropy) took a pilgrimage to the grave of Baruch Goldstein and explained Goldstein’s “narrative.” When challenged, imagine said leader defended his action. 

Do you think in either scenario said leader would remain employed?

Now, stop imagining. Barry Shrage, the president of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies - Greater Boston's Jewish Federation - chose to defend a visit by a group of Harvard students to pay tribute at Palestinian Arab leader Yasser Arafat's grave. Arafat was an arch-terrorist, a mass murderer - of course, much revered by the PA - and despite it, Shrage apparently had no problem with participating in the glorification of his memory, opting instead to attack those who called out the visit.  Awful and despicable behavior.

...

The extremist is Shrage, whose actions and behavior are well beyond the pale. Even those Jews and Israelis who support the peace process do not believe that Arafat was someone whose grave they can visit, let alone someone to admire.

While students blog on the Harvard College Israel Trek blog that “Our intention was not to honor Arafat, but rather to learn about the Palestinian narrative, of which Arafat is an important part,” donors to the Federation and Hillel are paying for young people to smile in front of the grave of a mass murderer. What, exactly, did they learn? Just what Aunt Annie must have in mind when writing her annual check to the UJA.

I'll go a step further. In the aftermath of Oslo, the Israeli government spent a fortune trying to teach Israelis to 'understand the 'Palestinian' viewpoint.' The 'Palestinians' spent zero on trying to teach 'Palestinians' to understand the Israeli viewpoint. Instead, the 'Palestinians' did just the opposite: They incited their population to believe that if they murdered Jews they would reach a paradise.

We don't have to go that far. But I don't believe that Jewish federation money ought to be spent on understand the 'Palestinian' viewpoint at all - let alone on visits to the grave of a mass murderer - at least until such time as aid money to the 'Palestinians' from the international community (and not just from Israel) is specifically earmarked and used for understanding the Jewish narrative - the bible, the Holocaust and everything in between. Until then, all we are doing is making ourselves vulnerable while strengthening our enemies. And yes, the 'Palestinians' are our enemies.
Read the whole thing.

Labels: Boston, Harvard University, Jewish Federations of North America, Jewish philanthropy, liberal Jews, Palestinian incitement, Palestinians, Yasser Arafat

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:25 AM 0 comments

Jews rally for housing in E1 (between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim)

Today is a (short) travel day, but it's snowing here in Boston and I have to work for a few hours so posting may be light. Or if I get stuck in an airport or use the WiFi on the plane it may not be so light....

For weeks now, I've been seeing signs about a rally in E1 - the area between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim in which the Obama administration prevented Israeli construction several months ago. The rally is on Thursday, and Deputy Defense Minister and MK Danny Danon (Likud) says Washington is watching.

There is no doubt that Washington will be watching, Danon told Arutz Sheva. “It is important that the Americans observe the events, and that they realize that there are limits to what a government led by the national camp can do,” he said.

“I think that in the situation we are in today, there is great significance to an event like this,” he said. Senior political leaders from the Knesset and the coalition will be present, he said, “and will tell the Prime Minister that there are things we cannot agree to, and one of those things is [dividing] Jerusalem.”

“I’m sure they will follow this event in Jerusalem and in Washington, and it’s a good thing, too. The message needs to be heard loud and clear,“ he said.

“The Prime Minister, too, who will sit down with President Obama next month, needs to make it clear that he represents a certain population, with certain values,” Danon continued. “With all due respect to the pressure Obama applies, when it comes to matters like compromising on Jerusalem and evacuating Jews, that is something that [Netanyahu] cannot do even if he were to agree.

“I hope he doesn’t agree,” Danon added. “But even if he does, he needs to realize that politically speaking, there are things that can’t be done.”

I hope a lot of people show up. According to my weather report, it's a warm and beautiful day in Jerusalem. The temperature is about 40 degrees warmer than here (which is 10 degrees warmer than it was here last night)....

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Boston, Danny Danon, E-1, East Jerusalem, Maaleh Adumim, snow

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:51 PM 1 comments

Hmmm... Bat Yam bus bomb just like Boston Marathon bomb

The bomb that was used to blow up a Dan bus in Bat Yam last month was remarkably similar to the bomb that was used in the Boston Marathon terror attack in April of last year.

The bomb that exploded last month on an evacuated public bus in central Israel closely resembled the type used in the Boston Marathon attack.

The explosive in Bat Yam was enclosed in a pressure cooker and was activated by a cell phone, according to the Shin Bet security service. 

...

The bomb, which was placed in a black backpack with wires sticking out, detonated on December 22. The passengers were evacuated from the bus before the bomb was detonated after alerting the driver to a suspicious package left on the vehicle, which was traveling from Bnei Brak to Bat Yam.

The pressure-cooker bomb included more than four pounds of explosives and was surrounded by bails and screws.

At the Boston Marathon in April, three people were killed and more than 250 were injured by a bomb allegedly made by brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, possibly using an Al-Qaida manual online.

I saw online a while ago that the bomb was a pressure cooker and that it was activated by a cell phone. But until now, I thought that the only connection between the two bombings might have been the use of the al-Qaeda manual if that.

The fact that the Shin Bet has chosen to highlight the connection makes me think that there's more to it than the manual. Hmmm.

Labels: al-Qaeda, Bat Yam, Boston, Boston Marathon, Palestinian terrorism, Shin Bet

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:07 PM 0 comments

No, I won't explain this

Heh.

Labels: Boston

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:58 PM 2 comments

Massachusetts federal court agrees with MBTA (Boston) rejection of pro-Israel subway ad

A Massachusetts federal court has agreed with a decision by the Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority to reject the ad pictured above, calling it "demeaning or disparaging" to Muslims.

The ad was funded by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which seeks to combat what it calls the spread of radical Islam in the United States. It read: ‘‘In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel; defeat Jihad.’’

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials rejected the ad on the basis that it violated agency advertising guidelines because it is ‘‘demeaning or disparaging.’’

The judge last week agreed with the transit agency that it was plausible ‘‘to conclude that the ... pro-Israel advertisement demeans or disparages Muslims or Palestinians.’’

A lawyer for the group that proposed the ad tells The Boston Globe (http://b.globe.com/1c3bbO1 ) an appeal will be filed.

I wonder if they'd reject an ad against cannibals too.

Labels: Boston, bus advertisements, Islamophobia

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:27 PM 2 comments

How to make sure your country's/state's economy doesn't grow

If you want to make sure that your country's or state's economy doesn't grow, one of the best ways to accomplish that is to boycott Israel. The Jewish state can have a huge positive impact on your economy. Take Massachusetts, for instance....

More than 200 Israeli-founded businesses in Massachusetts booked $6.2 billion in revenue in 2012 and employed about 6,700 people in the state, according to a study released Thursday by the New England-Israel Business Council.

The employees supported more than 23,000 jobs statewide, and the total economic impact that year was $11.9 billion according to the study, conducted by Boston-based global strategic consulting and research firm Stax Inc.

The study also found that Israeli-founded businesses secured almost $700 million in venture capital funding fro 2010 to 2012 across 73 deals, representing more than 6 percent of all venture capital funding in the state. Those businesses returned almost $2 billion to investors in mergers and acquisitions from 2010 to 2012, across 14 deals.

There's more - read the whole thing.  And by the way, I'm a Boston-born high tech lawyer, living and practicing in Israel and the US....

Labels: BDS, Boston, Israeli high tech, Massachusetts

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:25 PM 0 comments

This is for you, Boston

I got goose bumps when I read this. You can see it as a web page here.

Labels: Boston, Boston Marathon, Boston Red Sox, terror attacks, terror victims, World Series

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:49 PM 0 comments

Anti-Israel ads planned on Boston's MBTA

The Boston subway system may soon have perfidious anti-Israel ads like the ones above. The email below was sent to Boston-area pro-Israel activists (Hat Tip: Lance K).

As you probably have heard, the MBTA is planning to put the anti-Israel ads back up in 80 stations throughout the transit system. (Pictures of these ads can be seen at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/13/pro-palestine-ads-on-metronorth-platform-henry-clifford-anti-defamation-league_n_1671557.html) They had been taken down briefly after "a rash of complaints," says the Boston Globe. Henry Clifford, of the "Committee for Peace in Israel and Palestine," responsible for the New York ads,  has paid $40,000 for the Boston ad campaign as well.

 

The New England ADL has been called and e-mailed. I will continue to contact them, and you should, too.  Meanwhile, the great Pamela Geller has entered the fray: She has submitted her counter-ad to the MBTA's ad agency, Titan. We will know soon whether that ad is accepted. If you know anyone at Titan and/or high up in the MBTA, please get after them today. They should be reminded that if they turn it down, there will likely be a law suit.

 

In the meantime, we should be ready a.) to mount protests, and b.) create a Boston-based pro-Israel ad, which we must pony up and pay for ourselves. This outrage goes far beyond the usual First Amendment vs. censorship argument. Please stay in touch.

 

BTW, does anybody ride the T? If so, please take a picture of the ad if you see it, and circulate it to all.

 

Janet Tassel

 If you're in Boston....

Labels: anti-Israel obsession, Boston, bus advertisements

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:52 PM 1 comments

See you at the 2013 ALCS

They were just starting the bottom of the 9th when I had to board my plane....

Can anyone get me a ticket for Game 2? I will be in Boston....

Labels: Boston, Boston Red Sox

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:24 PM 1 comments