Aliyah Surges During COVID-19 Pandemic

 Video Of The Week - Covid Not Stopping Immigration to Israel. https://tinyurl.com/2p84ad53

For the full article from JNS by Eliana Rudee go to - https://tinyurl.com/2p8dd8pa

Valerie Greenfeld, 58, immigrated to Israel just before Passover 2021 from Washington D.C., amid widespread travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. She began her quarantine immediately after arriving in Israel, which coincided with the first night of Passover. She had her own one-woman Passover seder and though it was a different way to celebrate the holiday than most years, she told JNS that she “felt very connected.”

Beginning the aliyah process in 2019, Greenfeld’s immigration was delayed because of the pandemic. “It took two years before I had the approval to make aliyah. All the documents I had prepared early in the process expired because of COVID-related delays and I had to submit them all over again.”

Finally making it to Israel, Greenfeld was one of the 27,057 new immigrants to become Israeli citizens in 2021, an increase of 30% compared to the prior year. Despite travel restrictions, 2021 also saw a record-breaking year for American immigration to Israel.

The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, with The Jewish Agency and Nefesh B’Nefesh, recently released this year’s official aliyah data — noting the rise in total immigrants compared to last year’s 21,120 new immigrants. In 2019, before the pandemic, 35,651 people immigrated to Israel.

The figures also showed a dramatic increase in aliyah from South Africa (a rise of 72%), Argentina (an increase of 55% and the highest number since 2003), Mexico (a 55% increase), France (a 40% jump and the highest number of arrivals in the last four years), and the continued trend of rising aliyah among younger generations. This year, 55% of olim were under 35 years old. Further, 16.5% of olim were ages 36-50; 13.6% were 51-64; and 14.7% were 65 and older.

Greenfeld believes that the rise in aliyah may be a result of both “people who care about Israel wanting to feel close to the country, as well as fear.”

“A terrible rise in anti-Semitism in the U.S. and all over the world, in synagogues, universities, schools, and social media, as well as its re-emergence in a different form called anti-Zionism… people who care about Israel feel close to the country and at the same time, they are realizing that history repeats itself,” she said.

“Regarding COVID-19, the fact that numerous workplaces are now virtual enabled individuals who had been wanting to make aliyah to maintain their careers while also living in the Jewish state. For others, our advanced healthcare system perhaps was an incentive.

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BBC ‘Inexcusable’ Anti-Semitism

Video Of The Week - Peace Brings Benefits- https://tinyurl.com/ytb46ahc

“I simply don’t see how I or in fact any Jew who has any pride in that name can be associated with the Corporation anymore.”

For the full Article from “United With Israel”  by Pesach Benson, https://tinyurl.com/58d3yjhp

After 30 years of contributing to BBC programming, Rabbi YY Rubinstein resigned over what he called “inexcusable” anti-Semitism. The rabbi posted his resignation letter on Facebook on Tuesday.,

Rabbi Rubinstein, a sought-after writer and international lecturer, was a regular on BBC shows such as “Thought for the Day,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” other TV and radio programs. On some occasions, he even appeared on the BBC’s World Service.

In a letter addressed to a BBC staffer identified only as Gabby, the rabbi wrote, “The current crisis over anti-Semitism at the Corporation and its attempts to turn the victims of the recent anti-Semitic attack on Jewish children in London and claim that the victims were actually the perpetrators, was and is inexcusable. The obfuscation, denial that followed, was and is utterly damning.”

Rabbi Rubinstein noted that the BBC was ranked number three on the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s list of top anti-Semites of 2021, but stressed that this wasn’t a reflection of Gabby or the production people that he worked with during his 30 years with the broadcaster.

But the rabbi concluded, “I simply don’t see how I or in fact any Jew who has any pride in that name can be associated with the Corporation anymore.”

Jews have long been frustrated by the BBC’s coverage of Israel, but anger absolutely boiled over during Chanukah.

Jewish children traveling on a bus in London, on their way to a holiday celebration, were viciously harassed by a group of Muslim anti-Semites in downtown London. The young men shouted “Free Palestine,” made Nazi salutes and other profane gestures, and spat and banged on windows. The attack was caught on video, but police have not found the suspects.

BBC coverage falsely claimed that Islamophobic slurs could be heard from inside the bus, though none were heard in the video. A linguist and forensic audio experts commissioned by the Board of Jewish Deputies concluded that the words in question were somebody saying in Hebrew, “tikra lemishehu, ze dachuf,” which in English means, “Call someone, it’s urgent.”

Former BBC chairman Michael Grade called on the news service to provide the evidence to support their defense or rethink and issue an urgent correction and apology.”

British Jews and lawmakers are demanding the BBC adopt a working definition of anti-Semitism developed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and pledge to keep to fair standards of coverage of Israel and the Jews.

In a statement to the Jewish Chronicle, a BBC spokesman said, “We are sorry to hear of Rabbi YY Rubinstein’s decision as he has always provided thoughtful and compassionate contributions to our programmes, which have been deeply appreciated by our listeners. Anti-Semitism is abhorrent and we strive to serve the Jewish community, and all communities across the UK, fairly.”

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BBC only just behind Hamas in SWC "List Of Shame"

 Video Of The Week - Dershowitz on Tutu: "A Special Place in Hell" https://tinyurl.com/ujupk4ph

For the full article go to DailyMail https://tinyurl.com/2rernn5y

The head of The Simon Wiesenthal Center said the BBC had repeatedly been guilty of anti-Semitism

Rabbi Marvin Hier highlighted reporting of an anti-Semitic attack in London

By CAROLINE GRAHAM IN LOS ANGELES and JONATHAN BUCKS FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

The BBC has been branded anti-Semitic by one of the world’s most respected Jewish organisations. 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center –named after the famed Nazi-hunter – has placed the BBC at No 3 on its annual ‘Global Antisemitism Top Ten’ list.

Last night, Rabbi Marvin Hier, head of the centre, told The Mail On Sunday: ‘People might be surprised to see the BBC on our list but the decision to place the BBC at No 3 came after months of intense debate and discussion.

‘We believe the BBC has been guilty of several incidences of anti-Semitism during the past year.

‘People might assume we would put neo-Nazi groups on our list but the BBC is there because when a globally recognised organisation allows antisemitism to creep into its reporting, it makes it all the more insidious and dangerous. 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center –named after the famed Nazi-hunter – has placed the BBC at No 3 on its annual ‘Global Antisemitism Top Ten’ list

‘People around the world trust the BBC and rely on it for truthful reporting of world events.’

The Rabbi singled out the Corporation’s reporting of an attack on a busload of Jewish teenagers by a group of men who chanted anti-Israel slogans.

The incident took place in London’s Oxford Street last month as the teens celebrated the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

‘The BBC falsely reported that a victim on the bus used an anti-Muslim slur. But what was heard on tape was a distressed Jewish man speaking in Hebrew appealing for help,’ Rabbi Hier said.

The Mail on Sunday understands the BBC has investigated the reporting and maintains the alleged slur was included to ensure the fullest account of the incident.

The BBC issued a statement earlier this month saying the story was a ‘factual report’ that ‘overwhelmingly focused on the individuals the police want to identify; those who directed abuse at the bus’.

The Wiesenthal Center report, which will be released on Tuesday, lists Iran – whose leaders deny the Holocaust and have pledged to ‘annihilate Israel’ – at No 1 on the list and the Palestinian terror group Hamas at No 2.

The report condemned former BBC reporter Tala Halawa who posted a series of tweets including ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘Zionists can’t get enough of our blood’ in 2014. Ms Halawa no longer works for the BBC.

Rabbi Marvin Hier highlighted BBC News reporting of an anti-Semitic attack in London in his defense of the list.

It also criticised the Corporation for ‘often’ referring to Israelis as ‘settlers’ and cited a video tweeted by senior BBC producer Alaa Daraghme captioned: ‘An Israeli settler ramming a Palestinian man near the Lions’ Gate.’

Rabbi Hier said: ‘In fact, the car drove on to the pavement after an attempt by Palestinians to lynch the Jewish driver who lost control of the vehicle.’

A BBC source said the original tweet had been posted when there was ‘some confusion’ over the incident. Mr Daraghme later published another tweet clarifying what had happened. 

The US-based Simon Wiesenthal Center’s top ten also includes ‘social media giants’ (for allowing hate to spread online) and the Unilever corporation, which owns Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream. Ben & Jerry’s board boycotted East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

A BBC spokesman said last night: ‘Anti-Semitism is abhorrent. The BBC strives to serve the Jewish community, and all communities across our country, fairly with accurate and impartial reporting.’

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The Newest Anti-Israel UN Action

 Video Of The Week- PM. Bennett wishes all Christians a Merry Christmas! https://tinyurl.com/2p8vjs2n

For the full article from JCPA go to - https://tinyurl.com/28962nyh

·        The UN Human Rights Council has launched the most hostile anti-Israel “inquiry” in UN history, headed by the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, South African Navi Pillay, known for her direct involvement and support of the infamous Goldstone Report. Her two deputies have years of experience pillorying Israel.

·        The Human Rights Council’s resolution in May 2021 created an “ongoing independent, international commission of inquiry” with a sweeping mandate to investigate “all alleged violations of international humanitarian law and all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law leading up to and since April 13, 2021, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and all underlying root causes of recurrent tensions, instability, and protraction of conflict, including systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity.”

·        The Human Rights Council resolution failed to refer to Hamas at all. It did not mention – let alone condemn – the launch of thousands of rockets by Hamas into Israel. Indeed, the Israeli civilian population was omitted from the resolution. The only civilians mentioned are the “Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” Nor did the resolution condemn the use by Palestinian terror groups of Palestinian civilians as human shields, a war crime.

·        The “inquiry” will have the mandate to ferret out “discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity” and to find discrimination and repression at the hands of Jews. This is full-frontal anti-Semitism, an inversion of the truth, such that the Jewish victims of racism and religious hatred become its perpetrators.

·        This attack on Israel is unprecedented in the history of the United Nations human rights system in terms of the “inquiry’s” funding, staffing, and permanence.

·        The Commission has invited “individuals, groups, and organizations to submit information and documentation relevant to its mandate. In particular, the Commission has asked to receive information concerning the “underlying root causes of recurrent tensions, instability, and protraction of conflict in and between the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, including systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial, or religious identity.”

·        Efforts must be made to encourage governments to condemn the Human Rights Council’s “inquiry.” More than 30 nations boycotted the biased and antisemitic Durban hate fest in September 2021. Their condemnation of the anti-Israel inquisition will underscore that the HRC undermines the promotion of international human rights and erodes the standing of the United Nations.

·        The verdict of this kangaroo court is a foregone conclusion. The urgent need arises, therefore, to challenge its veracity and legitimacy. Answering the “Call for Submissions” en masse – and ensuring alternative voices reach the court of public opinion – provides just such an opportunity for all those committed to combating modern anti-Semitism and defending the human rights of Israelis.

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Just imagine

Video Of The Week - "Pay-for-Slay" Explained - https://tinyurl.com/4myku3kw

For the full Article by Maurice Hirsch, Itamar Marcus go to the JP.  https://tinyurl.com/3ta3sjvu

Over the last decade, foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority has plummeted by more than 90%. According to financial reports published by the PA, in the first 10 months of 2011, the PA had already received 2.605 billion shekels in international aid. By the end of October 2017, the aid had dropped by almost 50% to 1.335 billion shekels. As of the end of October 2021, foreign aid to the PA had dropped to just 224 million shekels.

What happened in 2011 that caused this plunge in financial support for the Palestinian Authority?

As the steadily rising foreign aid to the PA reached its peak in 2011, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas took advantage of the surplus in foreign revenue in the PA coffers to give a huge salary hike to the Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons, raising the salaries by hundreds of percent. Proud of his achievement, Abbas’ official PA media provided extensive details of the soaring terrorist salaries, which reached as high as 12,000 shekels a month, more than three times the average Palestinian salary.

Palestinian Media Watch immediately recognized this as PA abuse of donor funding and released a series of reports to the international community, first in the US Congress and then in European parliaments, exposing the full scope of what would later be known as the PA’s “Pay-for-Slay” policy.

The international donors were livid. PMW’s documentation showed them that the taxes paid by their citizens and given to the PA in foreign aid were being misappropriated by the PA to reward terror. Donor countries condemned the PA and demanded that it cancel its salary rewards to terrorists, and when the PA refused, donors one by one started to reduce their aid to the PA, while some cut all aid.

The years 2017-2018 were a threshold. In the US, the Taylor Force Act (TFA) raised the stakes, conditioning the vast majority of US aid to the PA on abolishing the PA’s terror reward payments. Following the US, the  Netherlands and Australia cut off all funding to the PA. In parallel, the Israeli parliament passed legislation deducting the amount the PA paid to terrorists from the taxes Israel collects and gives to the PA.

As a result of TFA, the PA has lost over $600 million of potential aid from the US alone. Information recently provided to PMW by the Finance Ministry shows that the implementation of the Israeli law has so far cost the Palestinians over 1.4 billion shekels. 

Now imagine if the PA would stop incentivizing terror by rewarding terrorists: the PA and the Palestinian economy would enjoy a four-fold windfall. First, the PA would save the estimated 700 million to a billion shekels it pays annually to terrorists and their families.

 Next, the US, the Netherlands, Australia and others who cut funding would be able to renew their aid to the PA, Israel could stop implementing its law, thereby inflating the PA coffers by another 600 million shekels annually. Finally, if the PA also stopped promoting terror, investment activity in the PA could potentially boom. 

With the additional income, the PA could build new hospitals and provide better care for the Palestinian needy, reform its school curricula by removing the hatred of Israel and the terror promotion, to name just a few worthy causes. 

Sadly, the PA and Abbas have repeatedly shown that they are not interested in peace or prosperity for the Palestinians. They prefer to stick to the path of aspiring to destroy Israel and rewarding terror. As Abbas has repeated, even if the PA is left with “just one penny,” it will be paid to the terrorists.

Just imagine: if the PA would stop paying salaries to terrorists and promoting terror, instead of begging the world to donate money so it could have resources to reward terrorists, the PA could be on the way to growth and prosperity for its people. Instead of the PA pleading for aid from the EU, the PA could be the one buying vaccines for the EU countries collapsing under the strain of the corona Omicron variant. Just imagine.

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Terror Attacks still a Daily Threat in Israel

 Video Of The Week -Iran unveils New City of Missiles -  https://tinyurl.com/9tvr66cx

For the full Article go to JPost - https://tinyurl.com/3zt722y2

Thirty-four years after the First Intifada broke out with Palestinian youth at the forefront of the fight against Israeli troops, Palestinian youths have not stopped trying to attack Israeli soldiers and civilians.

Recently, a 14-year-old Palestinian girl stabbed a 26-year-old Israeli woman who was walking with her children in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The victim was rushed to a hospital with stab wounds in her back.

About an hour after the attack, the minor was arrested at the al-Ruda girl’s school.

The attack carried out by a teenage girl, whose family is one of several Palestinian families facing eviction from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, was the sixth attack in or around Jerusalem in the past month.

Though she is not affiliated with any terrorist group, Hamas praised the attack and pointed to it as the continuation of the First Intifada that broke out on the same day 34 years ago.

The “Stone Intifada” which started in 1987 has spread across the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Israel, and in the following six years, some 1,900 Palestinians had been killed, including 241 minors. Some 277 Israelis were killed during the six years of violence.

With the signing of the Oslo Accords, the violence waned. But seven years later, the Second Intifada broke out.

The Second Intifada, from September 2000 to mid-2005, saw close to 1,000 Israelis killed and thousands more wounded, as hundreds of Palestinian terrorists staged deadly attacks, including suicide bombings, across the country.

There is no set date or event for when the Second Intifada ended, with some saying the unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip was the “end date” while others say that the death of Yasser Arafat led Palestinians to stop the violence.

Ten years later, the 2015 “Stabbing Intifada” began with Palestinians – mainly youth – stabbing, running over and shooting Israeli soldiers, civilians and even tourists in a wave of violence in the West Bank and Israel. There were almost daily attacks in the winter of 2015-16 before the violence decreased.

There have been sporadic waves of violence since, and most of the attacks were carried out by lone-wolf Palestinian youths.

Unlike during the first two intifadas, the challenges that the army faces during the current wave of violence in the West Bank and Israel are completely different.

The Palestinians who were involved in the violence during the first and second intifadas were much older than the average attacker whom the army currently faces. The IDF’s intelligence-gathering capabilities have also increased dramatically since the prior two intifadas.

Another change that’s less apparent but just as important is the increased communication between the two sides which did not exist before.

But while the IDF does not consider the recent attacks as a significant rise in violence, or another “wave” of attacks, the military must admit that the lone-wolf attacker is a threat that they have yet to control.

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YESTERDAY’S 3 RESOLUTIONS TARGETING ISRAEL

 Video Of The Week - Israel TARGETED by UN Resolutions - https://tinyurl.com/5d3bvfvd

For the full article go to UN.WATCH - https://tinyurl.com/2p834fb7

Following are the three resolutions adopted yesterday that target Israel:

1. “Jerusalem”

Excerpt: “Expressing grave concern over the continued closure of Palestinian institutions in the City as well as acts of provocation and incitement, including by Israeli settlers, including against holy sites.”

Analysis: Implies that Israeli administration of Jerusalem hinders freedom of religion when in fact the opposite is true—before 1967, Jordan destroyed Jewish holy sites and denied access to Jews, while under Israel all faiths have access to the city and enjoy full freedoms. Uses of uniformly harsh language against Israel that is not used even against regimes like Iran. Repeated passage of annual resolution to address acts from 1980, or matters already covered in other similar resolutions, serve no purpose other than demonization. Uses only the Islamic term “Haram al-Sharif” to describe Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, ignoring Jewish and Christian religion and history.

2. “Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine”

Excerpt: “Reaffirming the illegality of Israeli settlement activities and all other unilateral measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the City of Jerusalem and of the Occupied Palestinian Territory as a whole, including the wall and its associated regime, and demanding their immediate cessation, and condemning any use of force against Palestinian civilians in violation of international law, notably children.”

Analysis: Blames Israel only for lack of peace. Text is redundant to several other resolutions and serves no effect other than demonization. References to terror fail to name its perpetrators, whereas Israel is named and blamed throughout.

3. “The Syrian Golan”

Excerpt: “Deeply concerned that Israel has not withdrawn from the Syrian Golan, which has been under occupation since 1967…”

Analysis: Redundant to an existing resolution on “the Occupied Syrian Golan.” Oblivious to genocidal massacres taking place now in Syria and its security implications for Israel and the civilians of the Golan Heights. Ignores Syria’s history of shelling Israeli communities, its leaders’ prior calls for a “war of annihilation” against Israel, and Syria’s 1967 aggression that led to its loss of the territory. Calls on Israel to negotiate with Syria and Lebanon while not making the same demand of those countries.

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