Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler
Here's Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler for Wednesday, June 13.
1) 4+ IDF rescues
The IDF Spokesperson recalls 4 Daring Rescue Operations. These were: Home Front Command soldiers rescue Shiran Franco - who had been trapped for four days after an earthquake in Turkey - Operation Solomon, The 669 Unit’s Historical Operations and The 2010 Haiti Earthquake.
IsraAid has a long list here.
After the Haiti earthquake, I put together a long list of international emergencies that Israel had responded to. One was the embassy bombing in Nairobi Kenya. The following exchange was recorded there:
"You are heroes," a Red Cross volunteer shouted at the Israelis on Sunday.
"We are not heroes. We are only working," Maj. Ofer Pomeranz answered with a modest shrug.
"Yes, but you know what you are doing," she said.
2) So sue me
Yasser Abbas is suing Foreign Policy magazine for the article The Brothers Abbas (h/t IMRA):
The June 5 Foreign Policy report examined Yasser and his brother Tariq's leadership of a number of Palestinian companies in light of recent corruption allegations by Muhammad Rashid, former adviser to late President Yasser Arafat.
Rashid, who was convicted by a PA court of embezzlement last week, has threatened to reveal financial corruption within the current Palestinian leadership.
Yasser Abbas said the Foreign Policy report was "dependent on lies, because it did not make its own investigations, but instead depended on other sources, of which the main source seems entirely unreliable."
Apparently, one of the pastimes of the Abbas family is to sue news organizations that report on them. They've sued Al-Jazeera, Reuters, and Israel's Channel 1. (Thanks to In Context for the research.) I guess when you can't jail the journalists, you sue them.
Among other things Yasser Abbas objects to having his company described as a monopoly.
I found this interview with Yasser Abbas and here's part of it:
A: Falcon, Falcon Tobacco Company – we are the importers of British-American tobacco. We have negotiated this, and it is one company, and it is not the monopoly of the importation of cigarettes in the world. I hope you understand this. British-American is one company. Philip Morris is another company. Gauloise is another company. And all the other importation from Israel is another company. So. it’s a big, broad market. BAT – British-American Tobacco – happens to be one of the largest in the world. We are their importers since nine years. Hamas went into my stores and robbed all my stores, and our loss was greater than any other.
It's an interesting argument. Because there are multinational companies selling cigarettes, he doesn't have a monopoly. Of course, the charge is that he's the exclusive seller in the Palestinian territories.
I'm sure it's related, though not sure how, but Yasser Abbas's biography disappeared!
3) Social science vs. terror
While the Israeli government denies that the it was snubbed by not being invited to the Global Counterterrorism Forum meeting, FresnoZionism points out that, at least superficially, the non-invitation fits into a disturbing pattern.
Considering that the Mavi Marmara affair was orchestrated by the Turkish regime, following other provocations — a visit by Hamas leader Haniyeh to Turkey in 2006 (and this year), and a theatrical display by Erdoğan in 2009 at the Davos economic forum, this behavior is not surprising. Turkey under Erdoğan’s AKP has made enmity with Israel a fundamental part of its program to become the major power in the Middle East, as US influence there fades.
However, how important is this Global Counterterrorism Forum? The State Department has the archives of relevant documents. In the forum's political declaration there is this:
6. We support efforts to develop and implement, comprehensive, long-term, counterterrorism strategies that focus on, inter alia,
a) identifying and addressing the social, political, and economic conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and violent extremism which can lead to terrorism, while recognizing that none of these conditions can excuse or justify acts of terrorism;
b) building the necessary institutional and other capacities of states to combat terrorism and to address the conditions conducive to its spread and counter violent extremism while respecting human rights and the rule of law,
c) strengthening existing and building new public-private partnerships, including between governments, multilateral bodies and civil society;
If social, political and economic conditions are identified as being the root causes of terrorism this can't be a very robust counterterror effort. The word "ideology" does not appear anywhere in the document. There is no reference to using force to defeat terrorists or defending nations against terror.
This is all about marshaling the forces of the social sciences to overcome the root causes of terror rather than employing all the necessary means - including the military - to defeat the forces of terror.
Maybe Israel really wasn't interested in this forum.
Labels: Abu Mazen, freedom of the press, Haiti, IDF, Islamic terrorism, Middle East Media Sampler, SLAPP lawsuit, Soccer Dad
Minnesota lawsuit tries to force divestment from Israel Bonds
A lawsuit in Minnesota is trying to force the State to
divest from Israel Bonds.
In order to settle that many people in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, infrastructure must be built. Many of the settlers live in the West Bank and work inside of Israel, and roads were built to facilitate their commute. Electricity was brought out to the settlements; water distribution networks were constructed; and the more than 430-mile apartheid wall was constructed, all of which is equally as illegal as the transferred civilian population itself. All of the land on which these construction projects were built is confiscated Palestinian property, and in the projects have left thousands of Palestinians homeless and destitute, devastated the Palestinian economy and violated Palestinians' human rights.
The settlements, their infrastructure, and the separation wall are paid for through Israel's Ministry of Finance, which sells Government of Israel Bonds to finance these projects. Israel Bonds can be purchased by individuals, organizations and states. Currently 22 U.S. states and the District of Columbia invest in these Israel Bonds, often as part of state pension and retirement funds. Minnesota currently holds over $18 million in Israel Bonds, an amount that is small compared to the overall state investments, but is a significant amount given that the money isused for illegal projects.
Holding investments in illegal projects that violate human rights and international law exposes Minnesota taxpayers to potential lawsuits from aggrieved individuals under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), an 18th century law allowing foreigners the ability to sue entities in the United States for aiding and abetting in the commission of crimes against those individuals.
It goes on in a similar vein.
Here's the key: Not only must this frivolous lawsuit be dismissed, but the court has to impose heavy costs. Otherwise these kind of harassment suits will continue to be filed.
Labels: Israel Bonds, SLAPP lawsuit
The ultimate SLAPP suit?
A group of Jewish lawyers is filing a
class action lawsuit in the US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York (lower Manhattan) against Richard Goldstone. The lawsuit will charge Goldstone with having made thousands of Israelis into victims of libel and slander through his pernicious 'Goldstone Report.'
MK Danny Danon (Likud), who is visiting the United States, initiated the push for the lawsuit. During his US visit, he met with a group of attorneys who are interested in pursuing the case on a voluntary basis.
According to the Danon’s office, the suit will be submitted to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan by attorney Steve Goldberg.
In the civil suit, filed as a class action complaint, the plaintiff says that he and others were “victims of libel by and through allegations and distortions publicly stated in the report on the State of Israel’s military actions during” the IDF’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip during the winter of 2008–2009.
Both Danon and MK Ronit Tirosh (Kadima) are listed as parties to the suit, which asks that the case be heard by a jury, and demands both an official apology as well as symbolic compensation to be paid to the State of Israel.
Danon said he plans to file a similar suit in Israel against Goldstone, which would go into effect should the judge visit Israel.
“The Goldstone Report was a 2010 model of the blood libel,” said Danon, who is the chairman of the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee.
“The distorted picture of the State of Israel that Goldstone generated harmed, harms and will continue to harm Israel and her citizens for decades. A public apology in any state may help to reduce the damage that was caused,” Danon said.
The damages may be nominal, but the costs of defending it - unless he too finds volunteer lawyers - will be enormous. And regardless of the outcome, the embarrassment will be immense.
Heh.
Labels: Goldstone Report, Richard Goldstone, SLAPP lawsuit
Zuckerberg sued for not removing Third Intifada page fast enough
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been
sued for $1 billion for taking his sweet time to remove a Facebook page calling for a third intifadeh (Hat Tip:
David R).
Larry Klayman, a renowned American activist, former Justice Department prosecutor, former U.S. Senate candidate and book author, says he has sued both Facebook and founder Mark Zuckerberg for over $1 billion after the social networking giant failed to remove a page calling for a third intifada against Israel’s Jewish population swiftly enough.
The suit was filed yesterday in Washington by Klayman, himself of Jewish origin. The complaint is embedded below.
Klayman, who founded controversial law firm Judicial Watch as well as political advocacy group Freedom Watch, alleges that Zuckerberg and Facebook willfully kept a page calling for a third Palestinian intifada against Jews online to “further their revenues and the net worth” of the company. The page, which was removed on March 29 because, according to Facebook, it indeed made “direct calls for violence” in violation of its policies.
...
The removal of the page, which according to Klayman was “begrudgingly” ordered after increased pressure was exerted by himself, the Israeli government and organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, did not stop him from filing suit against the company.
The activist argues that damage has already been done, and that he fears for his life since he’s been “called a Zionist publicly by radical Palestinians and other such Arabic interests” and is “thus a target of this call to kill Jews” along with other prominent public figures. The complaint alleges assault and negligence, gross negligence and recklessness on Facebook’s part. It reserves the right to be amended into a class action suit and prays for damages in excess of $1 billion, plus an award of attorneys fees and costs.
Can we call this the mother of all SLAPP suits? Heh.
Labels: Facebook, intifadeh, SLAPP lawsuit
Pallywood hero files lawsuit
Remember Jamal al-Dura, the father of the original Pallywood video in which Mohamed al-Dura is supposedly killed by Israeli troops? Remember the story of how Jamal's injuries turned out to have been
inflicted by Hamas and not by Israeli bullets? Well, I got this in an email over the weekend.
Makor Rishon (Hebrew paper, no web site) had an article on Friday about a lawsuit filed by Jamal al Dura against Dr. Yehuda David. David said that Jamal's "wound" from Sept 30 2000 was actually from a 1992 incident in which Jamal was apparently attacked by Hamas members, and that David had treated this. Jamal A, Dura sued him for libel in France. According to the article, the French court is supposed to issue its decision this week.
Here's a
Google translation of an
article in French confirming the lawsuit's existence. If anyone on here speaks French and can read the original and confirm this, it sounds like they're saying that France 2 Israel correspondent Charles Enderlin solicited the lawsuit, and that al-Dura has yet to show his face in the French court. Hmmm.
Labels: Jamal al-Dura, Mohamed al-Dura, Pallywood, SLAPP lawsuit
JCC Watch rips JCC of the Upper West Side
At a press conference in New York on Sunday, JCC Watch
ripped the JCC of the Upper West Side of Manhattan for cooperating with organizations that promote boycott, divestiture and sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
The JCC of the Upper West Side, notes the watchdog group, is a beneficiary agency of the UJA-Federation. BDS was launched in 2005 by various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which seek to demonize, delegitimize, and ultimately destroy Israel by the spread of misinformation, incitement, and promotion of various boycotts.
In a news conference held Sunday afternoon in front of the JCC offices, JCC Watch reported that the organization is partnering with a number of pro-BDS organizations.
Among those listed were the leftist organizations New Israel Fund, B'Tselem, Human Rights Watch, and J Street.
JCC Watch founder Richard Allen called on the JCC board of directors to establish public and transparent guidelines regarding BDS.
“It’s time that the board of directors of the JCC in Manhattan take action. It’s simple: all they have to do is stop supporting groups that partner with, fund, or support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel,” Allen said.
...
Irwin Hochberg, former Chairman of the Board of the UJA-Federation of New York and former National Campaign Chairman of Israel Bonds spoke of "the golden days" of the United Jewish Appeal, prior to the hijacking of the organization by liberal elements of the Jewish community. He was joined by Helen Freedman, executive director of Americans For A Safe Israel.
Expressing outrage at the indifference of the agency to the suffering of Jews in Judea and Samaria, Freedman said, "The JCC should have its members out in the street protesting this massacre at Itamar. Instead, they go on with business as usual, ignoring the brutality waged against Israel and blaming Israel for the ills of the Arab world."
She added that "by partnering with organizations like J Street, B’Tzelem, the New Israel Fund and Human Rights Watch, the JCC is exhibiting a state of moral confusion. One boycotts totalitarian regimes, like the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Hizbullah and Iran, the sponsor of these terrorist groups.
“One does not boycott the only democracy in the Middle East."
Has anyone taken this up with UJA-Federation? Just last week,
Federation came out strongly in favor of Brandeis Hillel's excluding Jewish Voice for Peace - a radical Leftist anti-Israel organization - from Hillel sponsorship and funding.
For those of you wondering why the JCC logo has been censored, go
here.
I have little doubt that what I have done at the top of this post is 'fair use' under the copyright law. If the JCC threatens me with another
SLAPP lawsuit over this, I will publicize the name and contact information of the person who is threatening me, and ask each of the 10,000 or so people who red this blog every day to contact her personally.
Labels: BDS, JCC Watch, Manhattan JCC, SLAPP lawsuit
Here's Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler for Wednesday, June 13. 
