tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54486572024-03-15T00:03:48.544-04:00Mystical PoliticsPolitics, Israel, Jews, antisemitismRebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.comBlogger2042125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-3788837438147053222024-03-15T00:02:00.003-04:002024-03-15T00:02:55.320-04:00Today's Vertex - Jurassic Beginnings<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-Y09lN5sTj9hl9yk0WkPB2yocdQGf3Kgvds3a_JI7fCD3ot6LNxNV5DUrs-Hn9X3NSq8ho5UMtow1HjP2PpPrRkOky5uZaJjAHxwCgdHzL0n36VnUzF-ScEJ0Hw3f9VmvRYNZWfhe2LwENYvnOR8SEoW3muyEGaJ1gm9-Tm3d0wUZJoJYcDaFA/s874/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%2012.01.23%E2%80%AFAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="700" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-Y09lN5sTj9hl9yk0WkPB2yocdQGf3Kgvds3a_JI7fCD3ot6LNxNV5DUrs-Hn9X3NSq8ho5UMtow1HjP2PpPrRkOky5uZaJjAHxwCgdHzL0n36VnUzF-ScEJ0Hw3f9VmvRYNZWfhe2LwENYvnOR8SEoW3muyEGaJ1gm9-Tm3d0wUZJoJYcDaFA/w512-h640/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%2012.01.23%E2%80%AFAM.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-56691467996368436632024-03-13T20:52:00.002-04:002024-03-13T20:52:23.459-04:00J. K. Rowling's increasing anti-trans extremism<p>Erin Reed, a transgender rights activist and author of the invaluable blog, Erin in the Morning, just posted a story today on J. K. Rowling's continued <a href="https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/jk-rowling-holocaust-denialism-author" target="_blank">descent</a> into the rabbit hole of anti-trans bigotry.</p><blockquote>On Wednesday, J.K. Rowling <a href="https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1767912990366388735?s=20">implicitly denied</a> that transgender individuals were targeted and that books about them were burned in Nazi Germany. This assertion contradicts abundant evidence that transgender people were among the first <a href="https://mjhnyc.org/events/transgender-experiences-in-weimar-and-nazi-germany/">targeted by the Nazis' rise to power</a> in Germany. This culminated in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_f%C3%BCr_Sexualwissenschaft#Raids_and_book_burnings">looting of the Magnus Hirschfeld Institute of Sexology</a> and the infamous burning of the initial decades of transgender healthcare research, as well as the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/central-european-history/article/transgender-life-and-persecution-under-the-nazi-state-gutachten-on-the-vollbrecht-case/0779A24B130C4F0CA64DB639FA6DBF46#article">internment</a>, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/past/article/260/1/123/6711458">forced detransition</a>, and <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/new-research-reveals-how-the-nazis-targeted-transgender-people-180982931/">murder</a> of transgender citizens. When confronted with <a href="https://x.com/Esqueer_/status/1767952608604365269?s=20">numerous scholarly sources</a>, she instead <a href="https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1767928717538644460?s=20">linked to another thread</a> that labeled the first transgender patient a "troubled male.”....</blockquote><blockquote>The exchange promoting a denial that transgender people were targeted in the Holocaust was triggered by a tweet questioning why individuals like Rowling increasingly find themselves aligned with Nazis, who burned books on transgender healthcare and research in 1933. Rather than defending her position, Rowling seemed to dismiss the notion altogether that transgender individuals were targeted, <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1767912990366388735">asking</a>, "How did you type this out and press send without thinking ‘I should maybe check my source for this, because it might’ve been a fever dream’?" When others <a href="https://twitter.com/Esqueer_/status/1767914998808953316">provided her with sources</a>, she responded by <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1767928717538644460">linking to an anti-trans account</a> calling the first transgender woman to undergo gender reassignment surgery in Germany to a "troubled male.” The thread in question also denied that transgender people were targeted by the Holocaust.</blockquote><p>This is the tweet that Rowland <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1767912990366388735" target="_blank">posted</a>:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtbaNFTbJEmVLfr7Q3la8XyXMJb54mOxF5S6AiWlLrwuwAEJMIq8idIjfBXxAxDzJfhzLL5kFhuUFECjJDTFPBnBKpWqkR17ovxmC242OTPs5J1E70z_3j4iRVcEbbAdazj9TlBmB0nj84wpOS6H8S71vIeqvDa1kw4Ukg_4zaRv_v23c0b4U_A/s1360/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.10.34%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="1360" height="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtbaNFTbJEmVLfr7Q3la8XyXMJb54mOxF5S6AiWlLrwuwAEJMIq8idIjfBXxAxDzJfhzLL5kFhuUFECjJDTFPBnBKpWqkR17ovxmC242OTPs5J1E70z_3j4iRVcEbbAdazj9TlBmB0nj84wpOS6H8S71vIeqvDa1kw4Ukg_4zaRv_v23c0b4U_A/w640-h560/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.10.34%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /> Alejandra Caraballo's response (<a href="https://twitter.com/Esqueer_/status/1767914998808953316">https://twitter.com/Esqueer_/status/1767914998808953316</a>):<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjFf5BXstPNvpi6WJZPnDC3T6LM-XMHpCshpo2QA0_vB6RRMbC769jQP0Zapk2QfKojpn_D5TVoZlEbP4gAna9-5nmfJbgwQbB2Vd1DcvfkAgvN-IoVQiYFhQLKMXoy7wr1x0x7j5-T3lkFq-uF81DV6P_TpvIpX2XcXvrotB1SQfhrGKQQAyKA/s1350/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.11.34%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1350" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjFf5BXstPNvpi6WJZPnDC3T6LM-XMHpCshpo2QA0_vB6RRMbC769jQP0Zapk2QfKojpn_D5TVoZlEbP4gAna9-5nmfJbgwQbB2Vd1DcvfkAgvN-IoVQiYFhQLKMXoy7wr1x0x7j5-T3lkFq-uF81DV6P_TpvIpX2XcXvrotB1SQfhrGKQQAyKA/w640-h516/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.11.34%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Caraballo's links: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Smithsonian article: <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/new-research-reveals-how-the-nazis-targeted-transgender-people-180982931/">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/new-research-reveals-how-the-nazis-targeted-transgender-people-180982931/</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Article on Magnus Hirschfeld in the Holocaust Encyclopedia at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's website: <a href="https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/magnus-hirschfeld-2">https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/magnus-hirschfeld-2</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">See also this article in Scientific American about the Institute for Sexology: <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-forgotten-history-of-the-worlds-first-trans-clinic/">https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-forgotten-history-of-the-worlds-first-trans-clinic/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rowling's <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1767925285008064592" target="_blank">response</a> (clue: she's wrong):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rCBaJ2rTluuWu0zb4lPFlvMyX4M3FMAOoDF5uPRWhw2-5cLaoFf8loixkAprhXCmBpU2ILv5oZ1D8W58IrnJsPqc-z7U9E3f0yHgiCxAMqKhNBBHq2dbrYae2cnqt7DGEiIXJ6Ze3YDqm_hWQzdELVzbcPELZdZhKNfLe9Kdj7toye6CelRkow/s1350/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.13.45%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="1350" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rCBaJ2rTluuWu0zb4lPFlvMyX4M3FMAOoDF5uPRWhw2-5cLaoFf8loixkAprhXCmBpU2ILv5oZ1D8W58IrnJsPqc-z7U9E3f0yHgiCxAMqKhNBBHq2dbrYae2cnqt7DGEiIXJ6Ze3YDqm_hWQzdELVzbcPELZdZhKNfLe9Kdj7toye6CelRkow/w640-h132/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.13.45%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/Esqueer_/status/1767931718558736454" target="_blank">Caraballo</a>:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nwHb7-_eIOERBWuyZCgQk0Qne3MzXs4lrRYo82GyeAjnukkgocWpVqwYYGBmgKasWFfdYYPv4ZshzsBgRyIzPem0llYMw27NbYYQRzwWEFdiOiSkR5ZtqX2MceYovm8UOVXKL7P8eIqvooA0HWlXw82AqiKAxCF6DlBzYh6xOdbIFV19jLZUJw/s1348/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.14.47%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="1348" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nwHb7-_eIOERBWuyZCgQk0Qne3MzXs4lrRYo82GyeAjnukkgocWpVqwYYGBmgKasWFfdYYPv4ZshzsBgRyIzPem0llYMw27NbYYQRzwWEFdiOiSkR5ZtqX2MceYovm8UOVXKL7P8eIqvooA0HWlXw82AqiKAxCF6DlBzYh6xOdbIFV19jLZUJw/w640-h492/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.14.47%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Article on the looting of Hirschfeld's Institute of Sexology on the website of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (UK): <a href="https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/6-may-1933-looting-of-the-institute-of-sexology/">https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/6-may-1933-looting-of-the-institute-of-sexology/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Continuing the exchange:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZVuHO2qesIXEzr_dW8in8hW-7wOola5hX03HywFcjfcKh_0ACcydms_Cor266hoPZdcHXwaxZkwGgX4pFCCW843SaFj5t8GNSQhGYcq0Ldk_Ok9yG_5NW6Y-LFKP6rzMIF9ZFwhbMbwYU93XS_L6kVnderpkfFxY0cnzj5b8eaJYfsPUF-ea10A/s1344/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.20.50%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="1344" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZVuHO2qesIXEzr_dW8in8hW-7wOola5hX03HywFcjfcKh_0ACcydms_Cor266hoPZdcHXwaxZkwGgX4pFCCW843SaFj5t8GNSQhGYcq0Ldk_Ok9yG_5NW6Y-LFKP6rzMIF9ZFwhbMbwYU93XS_L6kVnderpkfFxY0cnzj5b8eaJYfsPUF-ea10A/w640-h414/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.20.50%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>FigarOh: <a href="https://twitter.com/figar0h/status/1767913252141322748">https://twitter.com/figar0h/status/1767913252141322748</a></div><div>Rowling: <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1767928896454836646">https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1767928896454836646</a></div><div>Gorski: <a href="https://twitter.com/gorskon/status/1767980280160432337">https://twitter.com/gorskon/status/1767980280160432337</a></div>Thank you Dr. Gorski!<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/ErinInTheMorn/status/1767931008014283181" target="_blank">Erin Reed</a>:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKwEQge_PrwlJQ19s2xL_x4nSNrg85x_PqjddCULoBPyZbdByi0JBpNLwhVX75ddOJFu6aSEb_SFGL4y-lnfzQ6Qcw6QrlcQKVRRrcfV8ZIxUPTKYmbr9RdM-FdsVgbhlfxTlegZbIE_0KWlpLQJxL-fMLRNOrna7HsJ_6-nGvbb9zg8V2B81KQ/s1308/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.22.46%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="1216" height="697" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKwEQge_PrwlJQ19s2xL_x4nSNrg85x_PqjddCULoBPyZbdByi0JBpNLwhVX75ddOJFu6aSEb_SFGL4y-lnfzQ6Qcw6QrlcQKVRRrcfV8ZIxUPTKYmbr9RdM-FdsVgbhlfxTlegZbIE_0KWlpLQJxL-fMLRNOrna7HsJ_6-nGvbb9zg8V2B81KQ/w647-h697/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%207.22.46%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="647" /></a></div><br /><div>The issue of Der Stürmer is from February 1929. The slogan at the bottom translates as: "The Jews are our misfortune." Source of the page from Der Stürmer: <a href="https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/photo/front-page-of-the-nazi-newspaper-der-stuermer">https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/photo/front-page-of-the-nazi-newspaper-der-stuermer</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>As Erin Reed writes, Rowling's anti-trans rhetoric and demands are getting more and more extreme.</div><blockquote>The statements, while part of an ongoing history of escalating anti-trans rhetoric from the author, signify a shift towards extremist views against transgender individuals. Leading anti-trans voices worldwide echo these viewpoints. Meanwhile, conservative activists are advocating for transgender eradication and the cessation of all related care. Rowling's recent engagement with Holocaust denial concerning transgender individuals only fuels the same fires that incinerated books about transgender people a century ago.</blockquote>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-2404245188465344182024-03-09T23:49:00.004-05:002024-03-09T23:49:42.939-05:00Vegetable interlude from Vertex<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVraHV1GUJDQ_J2ZqRaikel3-LC3cxSksyD_IIirP-NdbmPgtikSUPFsY9AN3PIZz8AvaH5atNKxpe535cOtGq2w1RD-Mf-nVgJT36nxa4nidctze_0sjT0Jo108-MMDkVK87fxSZIlRpr1AniCWZihyYK2NA31pWCx1DdufMw23NeOb4hoObeJg/s1204/Screenshot%202024-03-09%20at%2011.48.29%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="874" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVraHV1GUJDQ_J2ZqRaikel3-LC3cxSksyD_IIirP-NdbmPgtikSUPFsY9AN3PIZz8AvaH5atNKxpe535cOtGq2w1RD-Mf-nVgJT36nxa4nidctze_0sjT0Jo108-MMDkVK87fxSZIlRpr1AniCWZihyYK2NA31pWCx1DdufMw23NeOb4hoObeJg/w464-h640/Screenshot%202024-03-09%20at%2011.48.29%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="464" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-15525991721559875312024-03-02T23:53:00.003-05:002024-03-03T00:01:38.129-05:00CUNY Jewish Law Students Association - supporters of the Hamas attack upon Israel on October 7, 2023<p>The Jewish Law Students Association at CUNY issued a viciously anti-Israel statement only three days after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. (If you would like to read it yourself, go to the <a href="https://twitter.com/cunyjlsa" target="_blank">Twitter account</a> for the group and download it, or check this link: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSORL3FuDTW_AmUYK3N6AgK4lmwk9M9-cHfL-TqKKg7YBzIJa1VoJ8RBIzErRPBTcShI70UsJN5vulc/pub">CUNY JLSA statement</a>). It reads like so many of the other anti-Israel statements rushed out immediately after the attack, especially the one signed by thirty student groups at Harvard that blamed Israel for the Hamas attack upon it. Although the JLSA statement doesn't mention Hamas explicitly, it implies support for them. This is how the statement begins, with a pious reference to the Jewish New Year:</p><p></p><blockquote>In this season of renewal and self-reflection, and as we begin the year 5784, the Jewish students at the CUNY School of Law wish to express our uncompromising solidarity with the Palestinian people in their righteous struggle for self-determination. This feeling is accompanied by a profound sense of grief over the lives that have been lost. We are steadfast in our belief that Zionism – as a political ideology predicated on theft and destruction – serves to imperil both Jews and Palestinians, even though its proponents only target the latter. </blockquote><p>The only possible reference to the Israelis killed on October 7 is the sentence that mentions "the lives that have been lost," but of course "Zionism" is at fault for the deaths of those Israelis.</p><p>Later on, the statement denounces the CUNY administration in these words: "Since no form of Palestinian resistance is ever justified in the eyes of Zionists, it is no surprise that CUNY’s administration has once again chosen to malign student-organizers who are demanding an end to Israel’s illegal occupation."</p><p>Who is it that the administration "maligned"? The link in the original statement goes to an <a href="https://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2023/10/09/statement-from-cuny-chancellor-felix-v-matos-rodriguez-2/" target="_blank">announcement</a> by the Chancellor of CUNY, <span style="font-family: inherit;">Félix V. Matos Rodríguez:</span></p><blockquote>October 9, 2023<br /><br />“CUNY is devastated by the scope of death and destruction in Israel, still being assessed in the aftermath of Saturday’s violent attacks by Hamas militants. The University is putting in place counseling and related supports to our impacted students, faculty and staff. We are especially concerned about members of our community who have families, colleagues and friends in the Middle East.<div><br />“We want to be clear that we don’t condone the activities of any internal organizations that are sponsoring rallies to celebrate or support Hamas’ cowardly actions. Such efforts do not in any way represent the University and its campuses.”</div></blockquote><p>The CUNY administration accurately portrays the rallies that were held immediately after the attack upon Israel as "celebrating or supporting" Hamas' actions, something which is anathema to the JLSA, which appears to think that attacking civilians is a valid form of "righteous struggle for self-determination." </p><p>This is confirmed by a <a href="https://twitter.com/cunyjlsa/status/1710700674139217948?s=20" target="_blank">statement</a> on their Twitter account that was posted on October 7:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKM2ntbjto-qsXHKQoN_8RczF258cGTVA3oWdRsyzrpbvNlnSy0gtkdiWvS-KM7NjxNw54LBK58AkKA65kF7fku_OKFsvzvsKIhgFwtsFgjRCP4fF3xLH_yqSmkM49RDZfwS5H_PtC8VoAxC24DHzRELrGx69YivhwmQRoFADSZ9nxoX9GSyadw/s1308/Screenshot%202024-03-02%20at%2011.43.36%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="1308" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKM2ntbjto-qsXHKQoN_8RczF258cGTVA3oWdRsyzrpbvNlnSy0gtkdiWvS-KM7NjxNw54LBK58AkKA65kF7fku_OKFsvzvsKIhgFwtsFgjRCP4fF3xLH_yqSmkM49RDZfwS5H_PtC8VoAxC24DHzRELrGx69YivhwmQRoFADSZ9nxoX9GSyadw/w640-h198/Screenshot%202024-03-02%20at%2011.43.36%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>For more information and links, see article from the Algemeiner, published on October 12, 2023: <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/10/12/new-york-jewish-student-group-condemns-israel-stands-with-palestinian-resistance/">New York ‘Jewish’ Student Group Condemns Israel, Stands With Palestinian ‘Resistance’</a><span style="color: #a4a4a4; font-family: pt sans caption, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; text-transform: uppercase;">.</span></span></p><div><p></p></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-46499541303256285952024-03-02T20:23:00.003-05:002024-03-02T20:23:35.606-05:00Vertex - Spider and its web<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66cfV93bprIS_gz7Uc_PE9Lm13KoiePfn0Dc4qXJpy8PwTcozDWTgU9056WdT3JXuax_cytewf4aMRDhdCcsqszcZ1Uq2v4vMc5CI-bpDLD6E-YdjudxbNhmn_3CxFP8KMlfiX998gcaLKeKWGqOs5dEWLfvEoUc6zyuvjQWzlR_aCqPcV1Qujw/s1354/Screenshot%202024-03-02%20at%204.57.37%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1354" data-original-width="1160" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66cfV93bprIS_gz7Uc_PE9Lm13KoiePfn0Dc4qXJpy8PwTcozDWTgU9056WdT3JXuax_cytewf4aMRDhdCcsqszcZ1Uq2v4vMc5CI-bpDLD6E-YdjudxbNhmn_3CxFP8KMlfiX998gcaLKeKWGqOs5dEWLfvEoUc6zyuvjQWzlR_aCqPcV1Qujw/w548-h640/Screenshot%202024-03-02%20at%204.57.37%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="548" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-45500970828061853842024-03-01T20:39:00.003-05:002024-03-01T22:18:37.617-05:00PERPETRATORS OF VIOLENCE AT UC BERKELEY THAT SHUT DOWN ISRAELI SPEAKER MUST BE PUNISHED<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="col-font-reset ee_element ee_textelement" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; caret-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); color: #212121; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.2; min-width: 100%; table-layout: auto; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="element-pad element-bord root-element-pad" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><div class="ee_editable" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><h1 dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-88872016-7fff-45d1-ffc7-68d781597e23" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 24px; line-height: 34px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="ee_editable" src="https://i.emlfiles4.com/cmpimg/4/8/8/0/8/files/13453368_aaflogo.png" style="border: medium; display: inline-block; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: auto; vertical-align: bottom; width: 202.98px;" tabindex="0" width="203" /></h1><h1 dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-88872016-7fff-45d1-ffc7-68d781597e23" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 24px; line-height: 34px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">PERPETRATORS OF VIOLENCE AT UC BERKELEY THAT SHUT DOWN ISRAELI SPEAKER MUST BE PUNISHED</h1><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-d32eaf3a-7fff-aabb-edc8-80323313d6a3" style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">On February 26, 2024, a violent mob of roughly 200 people, apparently organized by the University of California, Berkeley student group Bears for Palestine, used force and the threat of force to prevent a talk by Israeli attorney and policy analyst Ran Bar-Yoshafat. According to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: #0c0ff3; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><span style="line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><a data-outlook-id="a16a29f4-1f78-4ba0-8c1a-3c30c9411cc3" href="https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/student-life/protests-shut-down-event-with-israeli-attorney-ran-bar-yoshafat/article_3107e976-d52e-11ee-bec1-1f866f1b32b7.html" originalsrc="https://ourmailer.com/c/AQj09wQQo6XtBhiLvqu3BCDxtNabAeuvbo5dYt4DvX29lHzIr_fuCcpW2pDdepnRr1hdICDX" shash="uLvDULMltSjmE4LHcEUHM9uh/GRDs0Ib9FuxA8batSLcahafKApPV/3Y8ug1Bvm6vpOwPpG0fKsdXKwcvdAFjYTqw2f44fg1nDXGbT8E2BxvUu/4ouWn8bCgmK7VgxGeVHS9BVkqS1u7UtluJgLhy3EO007GpsnCvsELuVD43Pk=" style="color: #0c0ff3; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;" title="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fourmailer.com%2Fc%2FAQj09wQQo6XtBhiLvqu3BCDxtNabAeuvbo5dYt4DvX29lHzIr_fuCcpW2pDdepnRr1hdICDX&data=05%7C02%7Crlesses%40ithaca.edu%7C04106b3b7f224be2a54708dc39fce4be%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C638449005531165736%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=GUjRSaSkDl7sjBdWe25OCDDeE1lY%2B03KrjXlrrMLRG4%3D&reserved=0">news reports</a> </span></span>and the office of the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-outlook-id="fbb5716e-0da0-44de-b143-6b9ffcb6fd76" href="https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/02/27/upholding-our-values" originalsrc="https://ourmailer.com/c/AQj09wQQo6XtBhiLvqu3BCDytNabAa6NYlpYoVWClQV-yRgPAKAW_HuECUFaHuXRBH5aCgIv" shash="qWBNH9lH2qY/vhpqcA3QGVTyljaQ7D6OJxG5ZutP7WWyN8aiIhtDcMxSntyNB9+ylcWusYvt8uLXOkGFOZHRpaG3RJD5fcSG6HYwFeXaBfqrJIRTyWQE6jUOgse3YW+YR6xS5/xBTq3TTLsNs1uzO5uFSvMz9izv9fbnUSnKRc0=" style="color: #0c0ff3; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;" title="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fourmailer.com%2Fc%2FAQj09wQQo6XtBhiLvqu3BCDytNabAa6NYlpYoVWClQV-yRgPAKAW_HuECUFaHuXRBH5aCgIv&data=05%7C02%7Crlesses%40ithaca.edu%7C04106b3b7f224be2a54708dc39fce4be%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C638449005531170622%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=B%2FEUij6aE8Q9xz7O%2B6Ry79ffZsBPs93ILrUf7nb%2FyxM%3D&reserved=0"><span style="line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">Berkeley chancellor</span></a>, Bears for Palestine had announced its plans to shut down the talk on Instagram the previous day and called for people to join the action.</p><p style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">On Monday night, a crowd chanting “Long live the intifada” and “Killers on campus” marched to Zellerbach Playhouse, where Bar-Yoshafat was to speak. They surrounded the building, banging noisily on doors and chanting with bullhorns. Some protesters did battle with the campus police, stormed the building, broke windows and a door, and entered without authorization. At least two students report having been assaulted and others report being spat upon and called antisemitic slurs. In the building, Jewish students had to use internal stairs and an underground tunnel to sneak away to a secret location for their physical safety. The university and the police decided that under those conditions the event could not go forward safely.</p><p style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">The Alliance for Academic Freedom, which supports free speech and open debate on campus surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, unequivocally condemns the student rioters and calls on the university to punish both Bears for Palestine and the individual students who were involved in shutting down the event.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">We uphold the right to protest peacefully, even in ways that may be deemed offensive. But the resort to physical force, or to the use of overwhelming numbers of protesters to stop an event, is never permissible. It violates not only the free speech rights of the speaker but also the rights of all those who wished to hear him. Further, it is inimical to the spirit of open inquiry that is at the heart of the university’s educational mission. Moreover, it appears that Bar-Yoshafat was targeted on the basis of national origin. The University of California, Berkeley has an obligation to investigate and take action against the perpetrators, both as a matter of justice and to affirm that violent mob action will not be tolerated as a form of political protest.</p><p style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">Since the Hamas massacres of October 7, 2023, there have been numerous incidents on campuses in which one party has tried to limit the free expression of the other. Indiana University canceled a retrospective of the Palestinian artist Samia Halaby. External organizations have doxed pro-Palestinian students on some campuses. Those actions have been surpassed by frequent, almost commonplace disruptions of Jewish or pro-Israel speakers or events on numerous campuses. Antisemitic speech by students, faculty, and others has also soared. The AAF criticizes all of those efforts as inimical to free speech and academic freedom.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">Mob violence on campus amounts to a threat of an even more severe kind. In mid-February, at San Jose State University, a student protest that turned violent forced the police to escort away Jeffrey Blutinger, the director of Jewish studies at Cal State Long Beach, who was speaking about a two-state solution to the conflict. Other campuses have also seen anti-Israel incidents marked by violence or threats of violence.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">The siege at Berkeley, which marks a dangerous escalation in anti-Zionist and antisemitic campus politics, constitutes a warning to the entire higher education community. In the coming months, tensions around the Israel-Hamas war are likely to remain high. Protests of various kinds will continue. It is essential that university presidents and leaders everywhere take strong steps to convey that a range of voices are welcome on campus and that mob action to silence speakers will be met with serious punishment.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="col-font-reset ee_element ee_textelement" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; caret-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); color: #212121; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.2; min-width: 100%; table-layout: auto; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="element-pad element-bord root-element-pad" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><div class="ee_editable" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><p style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><i>By members of the Alliance for Academic Freedom Executive Committee: Cary Nelson (Chair), Susana Cavallo, David Greenberg, Rebecca Lesses, Jeffry Mallow, Stan Nadel, Ken Stern.</i></p></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#195b8d" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="ee_element ee_spacer col-font-reset" role="presentation" style="background-color: #195b8d; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; caret-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); color: #212121; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.2; min-width: 100%; table-layout: auto; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-size: 1px; line-height: 1px;"><img alt="" border="0" height="10" src="https://i.emlfiles4.com/cmpimg/t/s.gif" style="border: medium; display: block; height: 10px; max-width: 100%; width: 1px;" tabindex="0" width="1" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="col-font-reset ee_element ee_textelement" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; caret-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); color: #212121; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.2; min-width: 100%; table-layout: auto; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="element-pad element-bord root-element-pad" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><div class="ee_editable" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">The<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://thirdnarrative.org/alliance-for-academic-freedom/" target="_blank">Alliance for Academic Freedom</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is a national organization of scholars and academics who believe in empathy for the suffering and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians, and respect for their national narratives. Its members insist on the importance of academic freedom and open intellectual exchange, and so reject calls for academic boycotts and blacklists, as well as efforts to punish academics for their political speech, including those who support the academic boycotts that we oppose.</p><p style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"> </p><p style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background: white; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">For more information about the statement or to add your organization’s endorsement, please<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #0c0ff3; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><a data-outlook-id="ec9addc7-dc16-4bd6-b95b-c2d25457c8ce" href="mailto:crnelson@illinois.edu" style="color: #0c0ff3; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;" title="mailto:crnelson@illinois.edu">contact Cary Nelson</a></span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background: white; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">, Chair of AAF’s Executive Committee.</span></p></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-67460041111477510672024-02-18T23:05:00.003-05:002024-02-18T23:05:25.606-05:00Streaker<p> New Vertex image for today.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8pFwd0sq_Nd2FRPDVRlyK0K33Yn9CEzNKKgXZy9iJFFa4xt1bwE93ggqdwxUHmV51KA5Ib2v2-AV6dwpI-lPD61VOwlvhjiFdenX9gMkeIkZi2JypGsPtXBzHjakPXrjd3KY_6U7DjfYelxFYWbJ64VXYlpgUVkh9dYwLQAWkBXcgbgi_RH3ag/s966/Streaker.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="966" height="606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8pFwd0sq_Nd2FRPDVRlyK0K33Yn9CEzNKKgXZy9iJFFa4xt1bwE93ggqdwxUHmV51KA5Ib2v2-AV6dwpI-lPD61VOwlvhjiFdenX9gMkeIkZi2JypGsPtXBzHjakPXrjd3KY_6U7DjfYelxFYWbJ64VXYlpgUVkh9dYwLQAWkBXcgbgi_RH3ag/w640-h606/Streaker.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-60175886044396320842024-02-05T20:31:00.000-05:002024-02-05T20:31:06.046-05:00Wildpeace - the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizN182zraab32O6QtramKM7DRXU85PUh-YqZyQgfzaH9WGQErJLuOYgpilJPmlNjUwH8-GfEtK16vkaMyxB6NFzajTqpvw4orQAA6dqthfeJKJM62LMmTdfWKCnVqjwFfm_eecUechciqLbXT_xxa3-bWgjfjHGP1Pa7H07rKtKczJHpJ3KygYNA/s4106/Wood_duck_drake_vocalizing_in_Central_Park_(86815).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2951" data-original-width="4106" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizN182zraab32O6QtramKM7DRXU85PUh-YqZyQgfzaH9WGQErJLuOYgpilJPmlNjUwH8-GfEtK16vkaMyxB6NFzajTqpvw4orQAA6dqthfeJKJM62LMmTdfWKCnVqjwFfm_eecUechciqLbXT_xxa3-bWgjfjHGP1Pa7H07rKtKczJHpJ3KygYNA/w640-h460/Wood_duck_drake_vocalizing_in_Central_Park_(86815).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wood duck drake vocalizing in Central Park<br />Source: <a href="Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons">Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br /></b></div><div><b></b><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span><blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Wildpeace</span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Wendell Berry</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />When despair for the world grows in me<br />and I wake in the night at the least sound<br />in fear of what my life and my children’s lives might be, </span></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">I go and lie down where the wood drake<br />rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. </span></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">I come into the peace of wild things<br />who do not tax their lives with forethought<br />of grief. I come into the presence of still water. </span></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">And I feel above me the day-blind stars<br />waiting with their light. For a time<br />I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.</span></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;"></div></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-42191166619425014022024-02-01T23:00:00.007-05:002024-02-01T23:00:55.837-05:00"Side By Side" - Conflict, Hope, & Change in Israel & Palestine - Ithaca College, February 6, 5:00-6:30 pm<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEXT6rryDKniXrHhY0_JhAEgN5EHK53VVSgRQ0ycsPoiB9_eQOL9P-lYWmnoabCW23MEN2eJEEUc6lu50hy5g8KhZDt9FK7y0j4_TNa1G1qrhEZ23SxexhIwJLcMsafk7RTMr3paosRJ-n6QRk8l2A1kxCskISYwx_eRRGW3FlASC_n2KqdctyCQ/s7200/Side%20By%20Side%5B3%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7200" data-original-width="5400" height="723" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEXT6rryDKniXrHhY0_JhAEgN5EHK53VVSgRQ0ycsPoiB9_eQOL9P-lYWmnoabCW23MEN2eJEEUc6lu50hy5g8KhZDt9FK7y0j4_TNa1G1qrhEZ23SxexhIwJLcMsafk7RTMr3paosRJ-n6QRk8l2A1kxCskISYwx_eRRGW3FlASC_n2KqdctyCQ/w543-h723/Side%20By%20Side%5B3%5D.jpg" width="543" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="description" style="background-color: white; color: #073b71; font-family: "Lato Extended", Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p style="margin: 12px 0px;">Witness a riveting “dual narrative” of Israeli and Palestinian history through the interwoven personal & familial stories of two individuals --one Israeli (Uriel Abulof) and one Palestinian (Nizar Farsakh) - who have become scholars, political advisors, professors, and activists for peace.</p><p style="margin: 12px 0px;">Dialogue & Question and Answer to Follow.</p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #073b71; font-family: "Lato Extended", Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 12px 0px; text-align: start;">Muller Chapel, 5:00-6:30 pm</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #073b71; font-family: "Lato Extended", Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 12px 0px; text-align: start;">Sponsored by Hillel at Ithaca College and Office of Spiritual and Religious Life</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #073b71; font-family: "Lato Extended", Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 12px 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">More on the speakers</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #073b71; font-family: "Lato Extended", Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 12px 0px; text-align: start;"><strong>Uriel Abulof</strong> is an associate professor at <a class="external" href="https://en-social-sciences.tau.ac.il/profile/uriel" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Tel-Aviv University<span class="external_link_icon" role="presentation" style="display: inline-block; margin-inline-start: 5px; text-indent: initial;"><svg style="fill: currentColor; height: 1em; vertical-align: middle; width: 1em;" viewbox="0 0 1920 1920" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M1226.667 267c88.213 0 160 71.787 160 160v426.667H1280v-160H106.667v800C106.667 1523 130.56 1547 160 1547h1066.667c29.44 0 53.333-24 53.333-53.333v-213.334h106.667v213.334c0 88.213-71.787 160-160 160H160c-88.213 0-160-71.787-160-160V427c0-88.213 71.787-160 160-160Zm357.706 442.293 320 320c20.8 20.8 20.8 54.614 0 75.414l-320 320-75.413-75.414 228.907-228.906H906.613V1013.72h831.254L1508.96 784.707l75.413-75.414Zm-357.706-335.626H160c-29.44 0-53.333 24-53.333 53.333v160H1280V427c0-29.333-23.893-53.333-53.333-53.333Z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><span class="screenreader-only" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; transform: translateZ(0px); width: 1px;">Links to an external site.</span></span></a>’s School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs. Abulof studies the politics of fear, happiness and hope, legitimation, social movements, nationalism, and ethnic conflicts. He has written extensively on the Middle East and Israel and is the recipient of the Young Scholar Award in Israel Studies. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #073b71; font-family: "Lato Extended", Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 12px 0px; text-align: start;"><strong>Nizar Farsakh</strong> is a trainer on leadership, negotiations, and advocacy with over 20 years of experience across the Middle East and North Africa. Before joining George Washington University, Farsakh was head of Civil Society Partnerships at the Project On Middle East Democracy (<a class="external" href="https://pomed.org/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">POMED<span class="external_link_icon" role="presentation" style="display: inline-block; margin-inline-start: 5px; text-indent: initial;"><svg style="fill: currentColor; height: 1em; vertical-align: middle; width: 1em;" viewbox="0 0 1920 1920" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M1226.667 267c88.213 0 160 71.787 160 160v426.667H1280v-160H106.667v800C106.667 1523 130.56 1547 160 1547h1066.667c29.44 0 53.333-24 53.333-53.333v-213.334h106.667v213.334c0 88.213-71.787 160-160 160H160c-88.213 0-160-71.787-160-160V427c0-88.213 71.787-160 160-160Zm357.706 442.293 320 320c20.8 20.8 20.8 54.614 0 75.414l-320 320-75.413-75.414 228.907-228.906H906.613V1013.72h831.254L1508.96 784.707l75.413-75.414Zm-357.706-335.626H160c-29.44 0-53.333 24-53.333 53.333v160H1280V427c0-29.333-23.893-53.333-53.333-53.333Z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><span class="screenreader-only" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; transform: translateZ(0px); width: 1px;">Links to an external site.</span></span></a>) where he built the advocacy capacity of Arab civil society organizations. Before that, he directed the Palestinian Delegation in Washington D.C. Between 2003 and 2008 Nizar advised senior Palestinian leaders including the President, the Prime Minister and various ministries in their negotiations with Israel. Currently, and in addition to teaching negotiations at the Elliot School of International Affairs, Nizar co-founded an online leadership training platform <a class="external" href="https://www.inspireleadershipschool.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Inspire Leadership School<span class="external_link_icon" role="presentation" style="display: inline-block; margin-inline-start: 5px; text-indent: initial;"><svg style="fill: currentColor; height: 1em; vertical-align: middle; width: 1em;" viewbox="0 0 1920 1920" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M1226.667 267c88.213 0 160 71.787 160 160v426.667H1280v-160H106.667v800C106.667 1523 130.56 1547 160 1547h1066.667c29.44 0 53.333-24 53.333-53.333v-213.334h106.667v213.334c0 88.213-71.787 160-160 160H160c-88.213 0-160-71.787-160-160V427c0-88.213 71.787-160 160-160Zm357.706 442.293 320 320c20.8 20.8 20.8 54.614 0 75.414l-320 320-75.413-75.414 228.907-228.906H906.613V1013.72h831.254L1508.96 784.707l75.413-75.414Zm-357.706-335.626H160c-29.44 0-53.333 24-53.333 53.333v160H1280V427c0-29.333-23.893-53.333-53.333-53.333Z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><span class="screenreader-only" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; transform: translateZ(0px); width: 1px;">Links to an external site.</span></span></a>, and is frequently invited by think tanks and the media (<a class="external" href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlZ7lbyjck5gFfY1cPWzkEX4Gy4a3oKWK" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Arabic<span class="external_link_icon" role="presentation" style="display: inline-block; margin-inline-start: 5px; text-indent: initial;"><svg style="fill: currentColor; height: 1em; vertical-align: middle; width: 1em;" viewbox="0 0 1920 1920" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M1226.667 267c88.213 0 160 71.787 160 160v426.667H1280v-160H106.667v800C106.667 1523 130.56 1547 160 1547h1066.667c29.44 0 53.333-24 53.333-53.333v-213.334h106.667v213.334c0 88.213-71.787 160-160 160H160c-88.213 0-160-71.787-160-160V427c0-88.213 71.787-160 160-160Zm357.706 442.293 320 320c20.8 20.8 20.8 54.614 0 75.414l-320 320-75.413-75.414 228.907-228.906H906.613V1013.72h831.254L1508.96 784.707l75.413-75.414Zm-357.706-335.626H160c-29.44 0-53.333 24-53.333 53.333v160H1280V427c0-29.333-23.893-53.333-53.333-53.333Z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><span class="screenreader-only" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; transform: translateZ(0px); width: 1px;">Links to an external site.</span></span></a>, <a class="external" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcSHJ3YtHmK0bjJoXw90zZg/videos?view=0&sort=dd&flow=grid" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">English<span class="external_link_icon" role="presentation" style="display: inline-block; margin-inline-start: 5px; text-indent: initial;"><svg style="fill: currentColor; height: 1em; vertical-align: middle; width: 1em;" viewbox="0 0 1920 1920" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M1226.667 267c88.213 0 160 71.787 160 160v426.667H1280v-160H106.667v800C106.667 1523 130.56 1547 160 1547h1066.667c29.44 0 53.333-24 53.333-53.333v-213.334h106.667v213.334c0 88.213-71.787 160-160 160H160c-88.213 0-160-71.787-160-160V427c0-88.213 71.787-160 160-160Zm357.706 442.293 320 320c20.8 20.8 20.8 54.614 0 75.414l-320 320-75.413-75.414 228.907-228.906H906.613V1013.72h831.254L1508.96 784.707l75.413-75.414Zm-357.706-335.626H160c-29.44 0-53.333 24-53.333 53.333v160H1280V427c0-29.333-23.893-53.333-53.333-53.333Z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><span class="screenreader-only" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; transform: translateZ(0px); width: 1px;">Links to an external site.</span></span></a>) to comment on Middle East affairs. He is also on the board of the <a class="external" href="http://www.mpp-dc.org/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Museum of the Palestinian People<span class="external_link_icon" role="presentation" style="display: inline-block; margin-inline-start: 5px; text-indent: initial;"><svg style="fill: currentColor; height: 1em; vertical-align: middle; width: 1em;" viewbox="0 0 1920 1920" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M1226.667 267c88.213 0 160 71.787 160 160v426.667H1280v-160H106.667v800C106.667 1523 130.56 1547 160 1547h1066.667c29.44 0 53.333-24 53.333-53.333v-213.334h106.667v213.334c0 88.213-71.787 160-160 160H160c-88.213 0-160-71.787-160-160V427c0-88.213 71.787-160 160-160Zm357.706 442.293 320 320c20.8 20.8 20.8 54.614 0 75.414l-320 320-75.413-75.414 228.907-228.906H906.613V1013.72h831.254L1508.96 784.707l75.413-75.414Zm-357.706-335.626H160c-29.44 0-53.333 24-53.333 53.333v160H1280V427c0-29.333-23.893-53.333-53.333-53.333Z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><span class="screenreader-only" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; transform: translateZ(0px); width: 1px;">Links to an external site.</span></span></a> in Washington D.C.</p></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-84035218340389788582024-01-12T22:49:00.003-05:002024-01-12T22:49:42.383-05:00Circles - Tiles/Soho<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmwkl91JGPpaURm1VK1gI0PV3FWET_mblJ3bJMi3xCgiZtY0tF_BXCxzwZ5gK0zN74qn2Lv3j_UyKgBi5i37nR79R92VMEs-jJHh4H-0MOHRgnE12nh5AGdcRTeyj48TZA4vgPELhR1J6uRR1YMwfGUVA2Nlkdc7VcMfgU_l3zqtN1PEmhU3VOg/s1114/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-12%20at%2010.48.25%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="932" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmwkl91JGPpaURm1VK1gI0PV3FWET_mblJ3bJMi3xCgiZtY0tF_BXCxzwZ5gK0zN74qn2Lv3j_UyKgBi5i37nR79R92VMEs-jJHh4H-0MOHRgnE12nh5AGdcRTeyj48TZA4vgPELhR1J6uRR1YMwfGUVA2Nlkdc7VcMfgU_l3zqtN1PEmhU3VOg/w536-h640/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-12%20at%2010.48.25%20PM.png" width="536" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-71964581619960441282024-01-12T22:47:00.001-05:002024-01-12T22:47:11.943-05:00Little House - Vertex<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieP21v_hyphenhyphenZWNit4rcezxL2cGjxuHiYYDaztQQ0fIqae5dlT8QSVS_h3PKCLxfOu5TzHqEsfXpNwHPrrWmnJpNX90tYH6x-COCLDHqS75LQUxsnSAmsZ8kGxZjMaysshcIiJ7F3vuP-d7OXFysclqUVMiUSa2SjlAmAV9tHGzXExP2mzpCDBskL0Q/s1106/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-12%20at%2010.45.25%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1106" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieP21v_hyphenhyphenZWNit4rcezxL2cGjxuHiYYDaztQQ0fIqae5dlT8QSVS_h3PKCLxfOu5TzHqEsfXpNwHPrrWmnJpNX90tYH6x-COCLDHqS75LQUxsnSAmsZ8kGxZjMaysshcIiJ7F3vuP-d7OXFysclqUVMiUSa2SjlAmAV9tHGzXExP2mzpCDBskL0Q/w640-h628/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-12%20at%2010.45.25%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-83698485373981419422024-01-04T12:14:00.005-05:002024-01-04T12:14:46.339-05:00Timothy Snyder - "The Neighbor's House is on Fire," and we are letting Russia defeat Ukraine<a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fapp-link%2Fpost%3Fpublication_id%3D310897%26post_id%3D140355486%26utm_source%3Dpost-email-title%26utm_campaign%3Demail-post-title%26isFreemail%3Dtrue%26r%3D159g3%26token%3DeyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxOTI1MTM5LCJwb3N0X2lkIjoxNDAzNTU0ODYsImlhdCI6MTcwNDM4MTM0NiwiZXhwIjoxNzA2OTczMzQ2LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMzEwODk3Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.d532q2cbY0WL6kH-X5KbXDwF4SKnq33bo3P9k6OXApU&data=05%7C02%7Crlesses%40ithaca.edu%7Cf1ed653ddd434667b7c008dc0d380b39%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C638399781596109097%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=q6EEM8%2FI0qyN2MlntkjPSm%2BlggnAlOeycc0kpCZq8%2BM%3D&reserved=0">The Neighbor's House is on Fire</a><br /><br />And We Are Watching it Burn<br /><br /><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2F525c7b25-4530-4a1f-bcc7-1c03f38022b6%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiMTU5ZzMifQ.aqhjk5LE1iTmfET3mTyNeYGAaJD-fk3gktH6OqIQy28&data=05%7C02%7Crlesses%40ithaca.edu%7Cf1ed653ddd434667b7c008dc0d380b39%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C638399781596109097%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xwhVsWErHAwXFKnuySRh6At8GpPTbV32cDju%2Fin3YDM%3D&reserved=0">TIMOTHY SNYDER</a><br /><br />JAN 4, 2023<br /><br />You have a good neighbor. He does a lot for you. He keeps the street clean around your house. He mows your lawn when you are away. He signs for your packages and brings them to you later. Your kids go and play with his kids in the backyard. He has an alarm on his house with a camera, which you don't, and he once ran burglars away from your house. He's done a thing or two for you that you haven't noticed. Like the time he stopped a crew from mistakenly taking down a tree in your front yard. And the time he found your cat outside, on the street, and gave it to your kid.<br /><br />And now your neighbor's house has caught fire. The flames are just now visible. There's plenty of time to react. In fact, you happen to be standing nearby, at exactly the right place, watering your garden, with a hose in your hand. The flames are in easy reach. Your neighbor runs to you and asks you to just turn the water in the direction of the flame. <br /><br />You refuse. You turn off the water and walk away. And then you hurry down to your basement and shut off the valve, just to make sure your neighbor can't be helped. <br /><br />All you had do was flick your wrist, turn the hose in the right direction. But you didn't. It wouldn't have cost you anything. A nickel on your water bill that you wouldn't notice. <br /><br />And if you had helped, you'd have been a hero. Your neighbor would remember you, as would the press, as would your kids, as would everyone. But you chose not to help. Your neighbor's house burns down. <br /><br />And then yours does, too.<br /><br />This is, currently, our Ukraine policy. We are choosing to let a good neighbor burn. Ukraine does things for us that we need, and often that we neglect to do ourselves, or cannot do ourselves. It does things for us that we do not notice. <br /><br />These are <a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2F72a17319-54ae-4385-9007-42434529fe18%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiMTU5ZzMifQ.aqhjk5LE1iTmfET3mTyNeYGAaJD-fk3gktH6OqIQy28&data=05%7C02%7Crlesses%40ithaca.edu%7Cf1ed653ddd434667b7c008dc0d380b39%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C638399781596109097%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=sk759XdQJdWdhxvbYvaqK%2BsvqSV5l9gVDbuY2QgTGVc%3D&reserved=0">not small things</a>. By resisting Russia, Ukraine shows the world that there are people who care about democracy enough to take risks for it. It reduces the risk of nuclear proliferation and nuclear war by showing that nuclear blackmail does not work. It maintains the international legal order. It fulfills the NATO mission by absorbing and reversing a Russian attack, making war elsewhere in Europe very unlikely. It deters China from risky action in the Pacific by showing how difficult offensive operations are. <br /><br />These are all hugely important American interests, most of which we cannot fulfill ourselves. Ukraine can fulfill them, if we help, just a little, in ways we would not even notice.<br /><br />Ukraine is on fire. In the past few days, Russia has launched something like five hundred rockets and drones at Ukrainian civilians, including nearly a hundred drones on New Year's Eve. Russia continues to undertake offensive operations in Ukraine. Russian propagandists and Russian leaders continue to announce the same genocidal war aims now as at the beginning of the war: the end of the Ukrainian state and the end of the Ukrainian nation. Ukrainian citizens under Russian occupation continue to be tortured and deported. <br /><br />Ukraine resists, very effectively, with the weapons it has. It has opened the Black Sea to trade, something that no one expected. It is holding back the Russian advance, inflicting huge casualties. It is shooting down missiles and drones. (If you want to help detect the drones, which is a matter of urgency, please make a contribution to my <a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2Fe3eb5c24-633a-4b18-968d-1d73c8084887%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiMTU5ZzMifQ.aqhjk5LE1iTmfET3mTyNeYGAaJD-fk3gktH6OqIQy28&data=05%7C02%7Crlesses%40ithaca.edu%7Cf1ed653ddd434667b7c008dc0d380b39%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C638399781596265347%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WsiboXfrzyKgKgNQmfsDIraKWlG93F%2B822FXzL5XdyU%3D&reserved=0">Safe Skies</a> campaign <a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2F42434194-829e-46f8-b1a1-c06c6a233cca%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiMTU5ZzMifQ.aqhjk5LE1iTmfET3mTyNeYGAaJD-fk3gktH6OqIQy28&data=05%7C02%7Crlesses%40ithaca.edu%7Cf1ed653ddd434667b7c008dc0d380b39%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C638399781596265347%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kBbtwy5gPJN14lbR2Wtu2D5cyf4tO7pQOlwzkQA5zOE%3D&reserved=0">here</a>).<br /><br />So we are standing here with easy access to water. It would be so easy to help. And yet we are turning away from our neighbor in need. Ukraine needs our support, and some of our Congressional representatives are blocking it.<br /><br />The amount in question is not meaningful, given what we spend on national security. It is <a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2Fc2b31848-4eb4-4aee-a470-e49e1f2e941f%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiMTU5ZzMifQ.aqhjk5LE1iTmfET3mTyNeYGAaJD-fk3gktH6OqIQy28&data=05%7C02%7Crlesses%40ithaca.edu%7Cf1ed653ddd434667b7c008dc0d380b39%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C638399781596265347%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=3ZtPsTOqXDUejVvn3xEFSSvJnYF673ruyJi4yzbnfLU%3D&reserved=0">about a nickel</a> on the defense budget dollar. <br /><br />And that nickel is extremely well spent! The defense department budget, after all, is meant to keep us safe. That nickel on the dollar brings us security in the Atlantic and the Pacific, it brings us a reduced risk of nuclear war and a greatest international respect for law, it brings us the sense that we have friends who take risks for good things. There is no other nickel on the defense department dollar that is nearly so important as this one. <br /><br />And, in fact, we don't even really spend that nickel on Ukraine. Most of the defense money we nominally spend on Ukraine actually stays in the United States. The arms Ukraine needs are in large measure weapons that your tax dollars would otherwise be spent to decommission -- to destroy and throw away. For example, we have about a thousand long-range missiles that we will soon pay tax money to take apart and drop in landfills. <a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2Fd30e9318-571b-4047-9674-de367d7d8a67%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiMTU5ZzMifQ.aqhjk5LE1iTmfET3mTyNeYGAaJD-fk3gktH6OqIQy28&data=05%7C02%7Crlesses%40ithaca.edu%7Cf1ed653ddd434667b7c008dc0d380b39%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C638399781596265347%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=gXNyu9eGPpQY9Od0Yu4tZMBayDdejq3q3n1XH6XXhPo%3D&reserved=0">Those missiles</a>, given instead to Ukraine, would seriously hinder Russian attacks, and put Ukraine in a position to win the war.<br /><br />We are turning off the water. Running down to then basement, caught in some strange self-destructive fit of self-absorption, we are putting our own house at risk. Ignoring our neighbor is the worst thing we can do, even if all we care about is ourselves. <br /><br />Everything that the Ukrainians are doing for us can be undone this year. Russia can win, and be encouraged to start other wars, where our participation is likely to be much more direct. China can be encouraged, and we can find ourselves in a cataclysm over Taiwan. International order can break down, and we can confront confusing, difficult, and painful conflicts all over the world. Russia can halt food deliveries to Asia and Africa, leading to starvation and further war. Everyone can be demoralized by the realization that those who risked their lives for democracy were sold out, just because Americans lacked the wherewithal to what is obviously the right thing.<br /><br />It doesn't have to be that way. It's easy to help a good neighbor. This is a conflagration that we can stop with a flick of the wrist. A bit of legislation to support Ukraine, and we all have a safer year, and safer lives.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-62497071801064588932023-12-29T17:38:00.004-05:002024-01-02T15:47:30.200-05:00Magdi Jacobs on the Hamas sexual violence on October 7, 2023<blockquote><p><a href="https://twitter.com/magi_jay" target="_blank">Magdi Jacobs</a> on Twitter, on the massive <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html?mwgrp=a-dbar&unlocked_article_code=1.JU0.2EhP.1v47e9JrpCzb&hpgrp=k-abar&smid=url-share" target="_blank">NYTimes report</a> ("'Screams Without Words': How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7") on the rape of women by Hamas on October 7, December 29, 2023 (link to her thread: <a href="https://twitter.com/magi_jay/status/1740815012271149478">https://twitter.com/magi_jay/status/1740815012271149478</a>).</p>
<p></p><blockquote><p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes" target="_blank">@nytimes</a> just published the most comprehensive report on the sexual violence of 10/7 that I have seen. It confirms what many have already suspected: that sexual violence against Israeli civilians did not only occur, but was used as a method of war.</p>
<p>Before I continue: This conversation is not about Israeli's military strategy/goals. Or its history. This is a conversation about an event that will have historical ramifications. It is not a conversation about justification, past or present. It is only a conversation about truth.</p></blockquote><p> <i>Hand-to-hand combat against civilians is a rare kind of "first strike" in warfare.</i> </p><blockquote>
<p>Something that has gotten terribly elided--if we care about history or truth--has been the overall nature of the attack by Hamas on 10/7. It was an attack where the primary victims were civilians. Hand-to-hand combat against civilians is a rare kind of "first strike" in warfare.</p></blockquote><p><i>The swift violence of such an event. . . it is not something seen frequently outside the context of genocide </i> </p><blockquote>
<p>This attack also happened very quickly, something people don't seem to have noticed. In the space of a few hours, over a thousand people were butchered. The swift violence of such an event. . .it is not something seen frequently outside the context of genocide.</p></blockquote><blockquote>
<p>It is important to sit with all of this--the true nature of 10/7--b/c so much truth has being lost, here. 10/7 was one of the most brutal--and swiftest--attacks on civilians in our modern history. Now, within this context, we must consider the sexual violence that was committed.</p>
<p>The primary question since 10/7 has not been whether or not sexual violence occurred, but whether sexual violence was used as a method of war. The preponderance of evidence has long weighed in favor of the latter. The Times' article makes it even clearer.</p></blockquote><p><i>Every indicator is that the violence was systematic </i> </p><blockquote>
<p>When determining whether sexual violence has been used as a method of war, investigators will look at the scale & scope: was the violence limited to one area & one group of men or was it much broader in its scope? The answer is: every indicator is that the violence was systematic.</p></blockquote><blockquote>
<p>The Times interviewed witnesses and reviewed visual evidence--photo and video--from at least 7 sites on 10/7. This entails that Hamas militants, in the space of a few hours, are alleged to have committed several *separate* acts of sexual violence across multiple sites.</p>
<p>This single fact would be of great interest to the International Criminal Court or to other bodies interested in war crimes. Several militants committing assaults across several different sites in a short time entails some level of planning/permission to engage in sexual violence.</p>
<p>To believe otherwise would entail asserting that, within the space of 6-12 hours, different men came to music festival, to a military base, & then to different kibbutzim & other sites & decided, independently of one another, to commit these crimes against women.</p>
<p>Trigger warning: I am trying to not be graphic, but here I do have to give some detail: Both genital mutilation & gang rape are alleged to have occurred at different sites. Different weapons were used for the mutilation. There are also accounts of broken bones across sites.</p>
<p>I'm not a war crimes investigator or expert in international humanitarian law. But, broadly speaking, this is how people answer the Q: "was sexual violence used as a method of war?" Was there planning? Was it systematic? Are only the soldiers culpable or are others culpable too?</p>
<p>I have many thoughts on this story and our reaction to it, but I am taking a break now. I encourage everyone to be faithful to the truth first & foremost. No justice has ever come from denying the truth.</p></blockquote><p></p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><p>The last paragraphs of the New York Times article are on the children of Gal Abdush, who was raped and murdered by Hamas terrorists, and her husband Nagi, also murdered by Hamas.</p><blockquote>The couple had been together since they were teenagers. To the family, it seems only yesterday that Mr. Abdush was heading off to work to fix water heaters, a bag of tools slung over his shoulder, and Ms. Abdush was cooking up mashed potatoes and schnitzel for their two sons, Eliav, 10, and Refael, 7.<br /><br />The boys are now orphans. They were sleeping over at an aunt’s the night their parents were killed. Ms. Abdush’s mother and father have applied for permanent custody, and everyone is chipping in to help.<br /><br />Night after night, Ms. Abdush’s mother, Eti Bracha, lies in bed with the boys until they drift off. A few weeks ago, she said she tried to quietly leave their bedroom when the younger boy stopped her.<br /><br />“Grandma,” he said, “I want to ask you a question.”<br /><br />“Honey,” she said, “you can ask anything.”<br /><br />“Grandma, how did mom die?” </blockquote></blockquote><p></p>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-25320854449113150952023-12-28T01:56:00.003-05:002023-12-29T17:23:18.913-05:00Pro-Palestinian group "Within Our Lifetime" supported the Hamas attack from the beginning on October 7, 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLSgG47k_o1Qcl75jAS0L2udYVSB9pGn5Fg2Bztciy6mDk1hLm4PYdpIHn5ZZfafuvVOBWTwK6fXgTwZx-7khztMdd7AKr4Dkk3P2-DY4uLIP7HXTDFzwUeJ4DqO3aFMjeyhiL-DTQhTZg03XYmxkGAzk2Czp_eDoA4dBLKlKW6fA11J9VR0Xtg/s1902/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-28%20at%201.19.06%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1238" data-original-width="1902" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLSgG47k_o1Qcl75jAS0L2udYVSB9pGn5Fg2Bztciy6mDk1hLm4PYdpIHn5ZZfafuvVOBWTwK6fXgTwZx-7khztMdd7AKr4Dkk3P2-DY4uLIP7HXTDFzwUeJ4DqO3aFMjeyhiL-DTQhTZg03XYmxkGAzk2Czp_eDoA4dBLKlKW6fA11J9VR0Xtg/w640-h416/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-28%20at%201.19.06%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On October 7, 2023, the very day of the Hamas attack on Israel, the pro-Palestinian group "Within our Lifetime" posted this statement on their Instagram page, and it's still there: "By any means necessary. With no exceptions and no fine print." From the very beginning they supported murder, rape, torture, and kidnapping of Israeli and foreign civilians. I hadn't realized how vile this group was. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And they're planning another rally for tomorrow in New York City, with a slogan that echoes the name that Hamas gave to their terrorist attack - "Flood New York for Palestine." One of the cosponsors is "Jews Against White Supremacy" - in this case a more accurate name might be "Jews against Jewish existence."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrrvgu1KFH-AQP1fiMPTjBHYq5VfzxdjM4GQ3PEenpmTaoRSKWzG5mOOJYuGxJol2Hv7K9LpWApc08QvajNL5_-CWbpWcAhFECn_EZMEe6g_K69dm4xk9O6LOhHBe4D58098cCVFU7kP-__-I_uytw5ABA0k3voWEmAxxl8BqTonOVgqOHQX6rjg/s1640/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-28%20at%201.27.08%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1640" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrrvgu1KFH-AQP1fiMPTjBHYq5VfzxdjM4GQ3PEenpmTaoRSKWzG5mOOJYuGxJol2Hv7K9LpWApc08QvajNL5_-CWbpWcAhFECn_EZMEe6g_K69dm4xk9O6LOhHBe4D58098cCVFU7kP-__-I_uytw5ABA0k3voWEmAxxl8BqTonOVgqOHQX6rjg/w640-h478/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-28%20at%201.27.08%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They are calling to "end all attacks on our people." Well, if their heroes, Hamas, had not attacked Israel on October 7, Israeli soldiers would have remained on the Israeli side of the border, and there would be no Israeli planes bombing Gaza. (This is not an endorsement of the Israeli tactics in Gaza, which have now killed over 21,000 people, most of them civilians just as innocent as the people murdered by Hamas).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On October 7, this is what "Jews Against White Supremacy" posted on Instagram:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44OhqAFjk_JGK7XPQNYnP5HX5Z2aIyFnTf_0XJg88HMX24dbIcK1VPxoiP_8rU4wQNij2eTvmVCu8ixOH-o-ajkf73k4Mzecjr0d-2KUHIQN-RfxXQtnjxXp0Fmvn-Qif3CZGg_TXYgy25Gl6Va5ZE99T9InmxnZrxy-KXHwus69WeYtgIPhpCQ/s2280/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-28%20at%201.42.35%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="2280" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44OhqAFjk_JGK7XPQNYnP5HX5Z2aIyFnTf_0XJg88HMX24dbIcK1VPxoiP_8rU4wQNij2eTvmVCu8ixOH-o-ajkf73k4Mzecjr0d-2KUHIQN-RfxXQtnjxXp0Fmvn-Qif3CZGg_TXYgy25Gl6Va5ZE99T9InmxnZrxy-KXHwus69WeYtgIPhpCQ/w640-h368/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-28%20at%201.42.35%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">According to them, the Hamas terrorist attack was "decolonisation in action."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD42la11CY9wy_CAVqYfsNZ-uwTP72wyTu-zDs1boF0AxJcXQIEiEUoNPINz2_8pSvqgWxXJFR6Y_-B46stAmc-kSu3F9nk5zspBSiSbEsQtBNVj7HvV0JDuM_-bsf-_dihUSaja_XYoTFuRQD9Q6Z3zVYbnvf0z_uwp8NqxhnSM0JUwAo1hWSyw/s2028/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-28%20at%201.45.49%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="2028" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD42la11CY9wy_CAVqYfsNZ-uwTP72wyTu-zDs1boF0AxJcXQIEiEUoNPINz2_8pSvqgWxXJFR6Y_-B46stAmc-kSu3F9nk5zspBSiSbEsQtBNVj7HvV0JDuM_-bsf-_dihUSaja_XYoTFuRQD9Q6Z3zVYbnvf0z_uwp8NqxhnSM0JUwAo1hWSyw/w640-h412/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-28%20at%201.45.49%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Hamas attack was "Land Back" and decolonisation in action. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">No, it was rape, murder, torture, and kidnapping in action. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And then, three days later, on October 10, they post that "There are absolutely devastating scenes in Gaza right now as Israel is annihilating the Palestinian people." And they supported, and continued to support, the Hamas attack on Israel, they urged "by any means necessary" from their safe places in the US, Canada, and other western countries - knowing that they would not suffer from the utterly devastating Israeli attacks on Gaza. When will it occur to them that the unconscionable course of action they supported and still support would do nothing but lead to death and destruction? This is "performative activism" at its worst.</div><p></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-38131142046606674562023-12-15T23:21:00.007-05:002023-12-15T23:31:55.178-05:00Trying to find hope - Psalm 121<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="429" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Frebecca.lesses%2Fvideos%2F359039970045252%2F&show_text=true&width=560&t=0" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Psalm 121 in Hebrew</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimnTRu6cLBloESXaXshBWfFNRPIlaIlGRFeZ6O1bQLm5n4Z5ij1gFV5P2C2GuGtkyXissTPRmc698fRQ2wd6bojxbiW755wLwpx3XD7ilnoD5a309y6MGctx3PrFl1gb-lFU9RPDTRizGBPY13Sb0ydzdtElBkwd-uKMokVjSIMEbSb9y9jomUfw/s960/386093422_711803440981473_4083016910291805185_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="960" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimnTRu6cLBloESXaXshBWfFNRPIlaIlGRFeZ6O1bQLm5n4Z5ij1gFV5P2C2GuGtkyXissTPRmc698fRQ2wd6bojxbiW755wLwpx3XD7ilnoD5a309y6MGctx3PrFl1gb-lFU9RPDTRizGBPY13Sb0ydzdtElBkwd-uKMokVjSIMEbSb9y9jomUfw/w400-h374/386093422_711803440981473_4083016910291805185_n.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>English translation</b></div><br />Psalm 121<br /><br />A Song of Ascents.<br /><br />1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—<br /> <span> <span> </span></span>from where will my help come?<br />2 My help comes from the Lord,<br /> <span> <span> </span></span>who made heaven and earth.<br /><br />3 He will not let your foot be moved;<br /> <span> <span> </span></span>he who keeps you will not slumber.<br />4 He who keeps Israel<br /> <span> <span> </span></span>will neither slumber nor sleep.<br /><br />5 The Lord is your keeper;<br /> <span> <span> </span></span>the Lord is your shade at your right hand.<br />6 The sun shall not strike you by day<br /> <span> </span><span> </span>nor the moon by night.<br /><br />7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;<br /> <span> </span><span> </span>he will keep your life.<br />8 The Lord will keep<br /> <span> </span><span> </span>your going out and your coming in<br /> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>from this time on and forevermore.<br /><br />Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-78762979071687406842023-12-14T00:13:00.003-05:002023-12-15T23:35:59.459-05:00"Go back to Europe, they said."<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfsKNtTfTkd-gP5in298u9zW7mr-xUWmn4Utnt3Tu7vQ4zIRTUU_mHbOdto2_EJwG50WNHm_C18VrdqhqPi03-CuQWGu30GClYZwyyI8AFdFXLuJkEyCSNMyPByggBjNVkmHTzOxszyNuukB_4p5m0GguSL8WaGs2rjkryq14OTUeAsBV3IIiYQ/s1348/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-15%20at%2011.35.10%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="1348" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfsKNtTfTkd-gP5in298u9zW7mr-xUWmn4Utnt3Tu7vQ4zIRTUU_mHbOdto2_EJwG50WNHm_C18VrdqhqPi03-CuQWGu30GClYZwyyI8AFdFXLuJkEyCSNMyPByggBjNVkmHTzOxszyNuukB_4p5m0GguSL8WaGs2rjkryq14OTUeAsBV3IIiYQ/w640-h524/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-15%20at%2011.35.10%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p> </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Out there, in the world, all the walls were covered with graffiti: 'Yids, go back to Palestine,' so we came back to Palestine, and now the world at large shouts at us: 'Yids, get out of Palestine.'<br />—Amos Oz, A Tale of Love and Darkness<a href="https://twitter.com/faniaoz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@faniaoz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JewishWonk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JewishWonk</a></p>— Gershom Gorenberg 🟣 (@GershomG) <a href="https://twitter.com/GershomG/status/1734630456635650051?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-3029337971669224682023-12-14T00:10:00.000-05:002023-12-14T00:10:00.820-05:00Antisemitism in Oakland, California<p> </p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is all that remains of the Chabad of Oakland’s Hanukkiah (menorah). The level of Antisemitism in Oakland is unbelievable. <a href="https://twitter.com/SFJCRC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SFJCRC</a> <a href="https://t.co/Op67LNgsJ0">pic.twitter.com/Op67LNgsJ0</a></p>— Tye Gregory 🇮🇱🏳️🌈🌉 (@TyeGregory) <a href="https://twitter.com/TyeGregory/status/1735022277350281451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-3799740120871163352023-12-13T23:46:00.002-05:002023-12-13T23:46:31.053-05:00Shoshkhe Engelmayer - "How do you explain 'hostages' to a child of four?"<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PowcNl2KB-_kXn8KKsZQQaa_Vq0S717GKaM4ybsnFekx673iUt43z67lE3vLLm1Cye6mRRTQZH2IMBGpMCruJl41qklZHKg5fIGk6rrFU4UnN7pU9QTkjnoQ5YRrDMuDbgb3dpCTgWmWbrerd45vy-tqC7XRFUOm3d0ZhUEqk0_65whNLNK2IA/s2048/Shoshke%20Englemayer%20-%20how%20do%20you%20explain%20kidnapping%20to%20a%20child%20of%20four.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1599" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PowcNl2KB-_kXn8KKsZQQaa_Vq0S717GKaM4ybsnFekx673iUt43z67lE3vLLm1Cye6mRRTQZH2IMBGpMCruJl41qklZHKg5fIGk6rrFU4UnN7pU9QTkjnoQ5YRrDMuDbgb3dpCTgWmWbrerd45vy-tqC7XRFUOm3d0ZhUEqk0_65whNLNK2IA/w500-h640/Shoshke%20Englemayer%20-%20how%20do%20you%20explain%20kidnapping%20to%20a%20child%20of%20four.jpeg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Israeli artist Shoshke Engelmayer has been producing at least one image a day about the war, usually about the hostages. She made this one yesterday and posted it to her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1790487591389519&set=a.124273861344242" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>.</div><br /> <p></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-14167701100463391412023-12-12T22:38:00.000-05:002023-12-12T22:38:11.475-05:00Rutgers University suspends SJP chapter<p>Rutgers University has just <a href="https://www.jta.org/2023/12/12/united-states/rutgers-u-suspends-students-for-justice-in-palestine-amid-further-campus-uproar-over-israel " target="_blank">suspended</a> its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. </p><p>From the JTA article:</p><blockquote>A dean’s letter to the group stated that it had violated several university policies, including those forbidding “disruptive or disorderly conduct,” failure to comply with university directives, improper behavior by campus guests, and “inappropriate use of space.” It referenced student complaints that members of SJP had disrupted “classes, a program, meals, and students studying.”<br /><br />The letter also noted “allegations of vandalism” at the business school that corresponded with the group’s programming; <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C0PsUW6Oy6y/?hl=en">a recent Instagram post from the group</a> stated that SJP was “occupying the business school.” Neither the letter nor a university spokesperson elaborated further on the particulars of the incidents that led to the group’s suspension, but <a href="https://www.jfedgmw.org/rutgers-university-call-to-action/">a Nov. 30 open letter from local Jewish federation CEO Dov Ben-Shimon</a> said that Rutgers SJP and other student groups “have called Hamas’ massacre of Jews in Israel ‘justified'” and added, “Their actions against Jewish students on campus have moved far beyond microaggressions.”...</blockquote><blockquote>Michelle Jefferson, associate dean of students and director of student conduct at Rutgers’ New Brunswick campus, wrote in her letter to SJP that “there is a reasonable basis to conclude that the continued activities by the student organization pose a substantial and immediate threat to the safety and well-being of others, or the suspension of organizational activities is needed to maintain preservation of the University.”</blockquote><p>On October 12, the Rutgers SJP chapter issued a <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/letters/hold-the-rutgers-administration-accountable/" target="_blank">statement</a> decrying the participation of the President of Rutgers in a vigil organized by Hillel to mourn the Israelis and citizens of other countries murdered by the Hamas terrorists, using these words: "His statement endorses Rutgers Hillel’s vigil mourning Israeli <b>settler deaths</b>." This is, of course, a lie and a smear. Those killed by Hamas were Israelis and citizens of other countries living within the borders of sovereign Israel, not in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, or the Golan Heights. SJP makes clear with this statement that they consider all of Israel to be "occupied" and therefore illegitimate. </p><p>I'm glad that Rutgers suspended SJP, and hope that this becomes a permanent ban.</p><p><br /></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-54165121898178649272023-12-12T00:01:00.000-05:002023-12-12T00:01:18.983-05:00"While we abhor any targeting of civilians...." On October 26, 2023, the "faculty of the Cornell Coalition for Justice in Palestine" published a <a href="https://cornellsun.com/2023/10/26/letter-to-the-editor-we-must-end-racist-discrimination-on-campus-and-beyond/" target="_blank">letter</a> in the Cornell Daily Sun. The letter began, "The faculty of the Cornell Coalition for Justice in Palestine stand for Palestinian human rights, sovereignty, liberation and the right to resist." What does the "right to resist" consist of?<div><br /></div><div>The third paragraph reads: "While we abhor any targeting of civilians, our collective represents a diversity of views about the tactics of the Palestinian struggle. Yet we unite in unwavering opposition to apartheid and to the ongoing occupation, displacement, degradation, collective punishment and slaughter of Palestinians." </div><div><br /></div><div>"While we abhor any targeting of civilians...." This is apparently as far as they can go to indicate any displeasure at the murder of over 1,200 people on October 7 by the Hamas terrorists. They don't mention the taking of hostages, much less murder or rape. </div><div><br /></div><div>What are the "diversity of views about the tactics of the Palestinian struggle"? No details are given, but I suspect that the diversity includes those who don't care about deliberate attacks on Israeli civilians, or perhaps even applaud it. (Remember Russell Rickford's words a week after October 7 at an anti-Israel rally in Ithaca). </div><div><br /></div><div>The letter has no signatories - none of the faculty concerned revealed their names. </div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-75350221843220452322023-12-08T00:29:00.003-05:002023-12-08T00:30:20.180-05:00November 18: Hadash demonstrates in Tel Aviv for a ceasefireHadash, the leftist Arab-Jewish party in Israel, held a protest calling for a ceasefire on November 18. The demonstration was very small, according to the <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/dozens-gather-in-tel-aviv-for-anti-war-protest-calling-for-ceasefire/" target="_blank">Times of Israel</a>:<blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>Dozens of people gather in Tel Aviv for an anti-war protest calling for a ceasefire and diplomatic solution to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.<br /><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote></blockquote>The protest, organized by the mostly Arab Hadash party, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-agree-to-tel-aviv-protest-calling-for-ceasefire-following-high-court-hearing/">was allowed by police</a> after several similar gatherings were refused permits over the past few weeks.<br /><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote>Protesters carry signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English calling for an end to the war, with slogans reading “In Gaza and Sderot, children want to live”; “An eye for an eye and everyone is blind”; “No to occupation and siege, yes to peace” and others. <br />No Palestinian flags can be seen in photos online of the event.</blockquote><p>Here's a photo of some people in the demonstration:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0G0sQ6E6YonBVdS9GNHN9hI11ReQl7_GwNh5aLnKa2n1zS8egZXOLtuyREo5_tVGgSJ6SGnztRPxudRJPK0jeN23B2GamlKo7g2cDvQyG7KcXMzsLb9JaLwlWQTC9WaghsRGqAjArz4yzybPkKf2nq2rzg9DNLMuyq7zn3kvOvdJ5PCQbWwF6w/s2048/F231118AVS03.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0G0sQ6E6YonBVdS9GNHN9hI11ReQl7_GwNh5aLnKa2n1zS8egZXOLtuyREo5_tVGgSJ6SGnztRPxudRJPK0jeN23B2GamlKo7g2cDvQyG7KcXMzsLb9JaLwlWQTC9WaghsRGqAjArz4yzybPkKf2nq2rzg9DNLMuyq7zn3kvOvdJ5PCQbWwF6w/w640-h426/F231118AVS03.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: start;">People demonstrate against the Israel-Hamas war in Tel Aviv, November 18, 2023. <br />(Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)</span></span>Hundreds gather in Tel Aviv to protest for immediate ceasefire</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>The Ha'aretz article on the protest says that several hundred attended.</div><div><div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.16667em; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;"><blockquote><b><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-18/ty-article-live/five-palestinians-killed-in-west-bank-strike-rocket-sirens-sound-in-northern-israel/0000018b-e094-dffa-adef-e6942ae00000?liveBlogItemId=1631463197#1631463197" style="background-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">Hundreds gather in Tel Aviv to protest for immediate ceasefire</a></b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"> </span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="background-color: transparent;">Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv's Charles Clore Park in central Israel for a Jewish-Arab demonstration led by Israel's Hadash party. The protest calls for the immediate ceasefire and an end to the war. Protesters say they support an "all-for-all" hostage deal where all Israeli hostages are brought back in exchange for "Palestinian political prisoners unlawfully held in Israel."</span></blockquote></span></div><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hadash MK Aida Touma Suleiman spoke at the protest, saying: "They will not silence us. We won't let the human voice against the war be unheard, so here we say: we are against the war. From the first day, we said that we oppose the atrocities and crimes committed against civilians, and when civilians in Gaza die from bombings - we will condemn these crimes as well. You will not prevail because there is also a voice in Gaza, and there are also citizens and children in Gaza."</span></span></blockquote><p><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;"></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d;">Dana Mills, former Peace Now director, declared, "Enough of the war, enough of the murder and massacre in Gaza. We will not be silent or calm until all the prisoners return home safely.'"</span> </span></p></blockquote><p></p><p></p><p></p></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-76777953082422742192023-11-17T21:45:00.002-05:002023-11-24T14:07:28.484-05:00Ithaca Commons: antisemitic slogans on posters of Israeli hostages and anti-Israel rally in late November<p>Apparently, according to the <a href="https://cornellsun.com/2023/11/15/kidnapped-hostage-posters-vandalized-in-ithaca-commons-then-removed/" target="_blank">Cornell Daily Sun</a>, all of the posters of Israeli hostages were <a href="https://cornellsun.com/2023/11/15/kidnapped-hostage-posters-vandalized-in-ithaca-commons-then-removed/" target="_blank">taken down</a> from the Commons a few days ago. (Although I had noticed a few were still left up on light poles outside of the Commons). Before they were taken down, antisemitic graffiti was drawn on some of them, including "Free Palestine," "Still free" and "Israel is Hitler." </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctEok-sTxT7zJGbn_O5ixS2bFg6pCiSCn41GLsrRbdfP5boTk5foUfoMzoq7e4ZJJyhngJMw4JKkzBEWvibPICiOQfo42y0gTbUlX2k8OdsbcKa2DA433HmqcpptwhBHm8VyQ0PruavWmVi6T1AhKowXRrf_BqFbnTqIhTudqvN3UcbCDViIu_A/s1086/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-17%20at%209.27.33%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="784" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctEok-sTxT7zJGbn_O5ixS2bFg6pCiSCn41GLsrRbdfP5boTk5foUfoMzoq7e4ZJJyhngJMw4JKkzBEWvibPICiOQfo42y0gTbUlX2k8OdsbcKa2DA433HmqcpptwhBHm8VyQ0PruavWmVi6T1AhKowXRrf_BqFbnTqIhTudqvN3UcbCDViIu_A/w462-h640/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-17%20at%209.27.33%20PM.png" width="462" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">An anti-Israel rally is planned for tomorrow afternoon on the Commons, sponsored by a variety of organizations including the "Ithaca Communist Party" (Who knew? There's also a nifty little graphic from them on the poster, sporting an updated hammer and sickle). The poster for the rally accuses Israel of intentionally killing Palestinian children. No notice, of course, of the Hamas massacre of civilians on October 7, or of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. Other sponsors include Cornell SJP, Tompkins County SURJ, Ithaca Jewish Voice for Peace, Ithaca DSA, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation - in short, the far left in Ithaca. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">National SJP lauded the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(The PSL supported the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, supported Bashar Assad in Syria, denies that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against its own citizens, and thinks that the North Korean regime has been unfairly targeted - see the Wikipedia article about it: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_for_Socialism_and_Liberation">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_for_Socialism_and_Liberation</a>).</div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-6175696109056946602023-11-14T16:41:00.001-05:002023-11-14T16:41:13.369-05:00National Students for Justice Palestine approved of the Hamas massacre of civilians and calls it "resistance"<p>I just saw the statement that National Students for Justice in Palestine issued as part of their "tool-kit" right after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. They entirely approved of the Hamas terrorist attack on civilians that left over 1200 dead and hundreds taken hostage. I'd been looking for this statement in order to prove that SJP supports Hamas and wants Israel to be destroyed. Anyone who supports SJP should know that this is their position.</p><p>Here's the statement:</p><blockquote>National Students for Justice in Palestine is calling for a national day of resistance on college campuses across occupied Turtle Island and internationally this Thursday, October 12th, 2023. On the 50th anniversary of the 1973 war, the resistance in Gaza launched a surprise operation against the Zionist enemy which disrupted the very foundation of Zionist settler society. On the morning of October 8th (sic, the attack was on October 7), the Palestinian resistance stormed the illegitimate border fence, gaining control of the Gaza checkpoint at Erez, and re-entering 1948 Palestine.<br /><br />Referred to as Operation Towfan Al-Aqsa (Al-Aqsa Flood), the resistance has taken occupation soldiers hostage, fired thousands of rockets, taken over Israeli military vehicles, and gained control over illegal Israeli settlements. In the West Bank, the Palestinian resistance has called for collective action by the Palestinian masses amidst attempts by the Zionist entity to lock-up the West Bank. The Palestinian resistance has called for mass protests in every Palestinian city, and Palestinian workers have called for a general strike. In<br /><br />Gaza, Israel has launched an onslaught of airstrikes. As of Sunday, Oct 8th at 12pm ET, Israel has murdered 320 Palestinians and left over 2200 others injured. Despite this, our people choose resistance over negotiated cages on our homeland. Fearlessly, our people struggle for complete liberation and return.<br /><br />Today, we witness a historic win for the Palestinian resistance: across land, air, and sea, our people have broken down the artificial barriers of the Zionist entity, taking with it the facade of an impenetrable settler colony and reminding each of us that total return and liberation to Palestine is near. As the Palestinian student movement, we have an unshakable responsibility to join the call for mass mobilization.<br /><br />National liberation is near— glory to our resistance, to our martyrs, and to our steadfast people.</blockquote><p>In addition to this statement, and some information about organizing, the toolkit also included templates for two posters - one showing a captured Israeli tank with people holding a Palestinian flag standing on it, and one showing an outline of a hang glider, like the hang gliders that Hamas used on October 7 to attack Israeli civilians. </p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-43935570346738115322023-11-11T23:05:00.006-05:002023-11-11T23:05:37.500-05:00Amazing story of four Bedouin men from Rahat who rescued dozens and evacuated their cousin in Be’eri<p> </p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CrXtTYm_NB8?si=Eg3VebITxPoRkC6b" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><br />Four Bedouin <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/four-bedouin-drove-from-rahat-to-evacuate-their-cousin-in-beeri-they-rescued-dozens/" target="_blank">drove</a> from Rahat to evacuate their cousin in Be’eri; they rescued dozens<blockquote><div>Amazing seven-minute video from coexistence group Have You Seen the Horizon Lately tells the chilling story of how a kibbutznik cyclist was saved from Hamas by a cafeteria worker’s family</div><div><br /></div>Four Bedouin men from Rahat saved dozens of Israeli lives on October 7 while deployed by their uncle to evacuate his son Hisham from Kibbutz Be’eri.<br /><br />As described by Ismail Alqrinawi in an intense 7-minute video produced by the coexistence organization Have You Seen the Horizon Lately, his uncle pointed at his nephews at about 6:45 that Saturday morning and said, “You four, you’re going to bring back my boy.” They immediately got in a jeep and began what normally was a half-hour trip — but this one was amid the Hamas onslaught that killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, throughout the area and decimated the kibbutz’s population.<br /><br />On their way to Be’eri they entered the area in which the Supernova rave was under attack, near Kibbutz Re’im, and found people running from the party in immediate danger.<br /><br />“Our conscience wouldn’t allow us to leave them there, under fire. Before we went to evacuate our cousin, we helped many other people who were at the party… we evacuated at least 30-40 people who were at the party,” Alqrinawi said. Some 260 partygoers were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists; dozens were taken hostage.<br /><br />With each carload of frantic partygoers that they ferried to a safe location, the four men said they hugged them, asked if they were okay, gave them water to calm them down, and washed their faces. One of the cousins made sure that they called their parents.<br /><br />Then they’d go back to rescue more people.<br /><br />Recalling the horrors and crying himself, Alqrinawi says he is hit with flashbacks of the piles of corpses at the party and in the nearby fields.<br /><br />After hours of saving dozens from the party, the four men decided to enter the heaving gunfire near Be’eri and attempt to evacuate their cousin, who was hiding in bushes with a local resident near the kibbutz where he worked in the cafeteria.<div><br /></div>The resident, Aya Meydan, had set out early for her regular Saturday morning bike ride. A triathlete, Meydan was set to meet up with her biking partner Lior Weizman, who was biking in from Sderot. Hearing the massive rocket barrage overhead, she checked in with her husband, Omri, who was at home in the kibbutz with their three children. Omri asked her to return home. He wasn’t clear on the details, but it was dangerous to be outside.</blockquote>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-5234866452282485982023-11-10T00:20:00.001-05:002023-11-10T00:20:13.890-05:00Posters of Kidnapped Israeli Hostages appear on the Ithaca Commons<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijHH0KS7R0ZCwBp01QOboDzkMa0V4Z_HBq0tKJSdLnbOgLfbt1wn8cqSBVvWoC3-HfeXh3vfLJsnNjisDl4mrhy69DOHWyx0ONszrzLnEiogmt9s-zk7epZ-jUs1xR8A5Se814PwVwKbvNHRuji38PnP7Tv1WiYITUffgJ3_UufWq0YiBLsbVR5A/s4000/20231109_113402.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijHH0KS7R0ZCwBp01QOboDzkMa0V4Z_HBq0tKJSdLnbOgLfbt1wn8cqSBVvWoC3-HfeXh3vfLJsnNjisDl4mrhy69DOHWyx0ONszrzLnEiogmt9s-zk7epZ-jUs1xR8A5Se814PwVwKbvNHRuji38PnP7Tv1WiYITUffgJ3_UufWq0YiBLsbVR5A/w360-h640/20231109_113402.jpeg" width="360" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today I was driving past the Ithaca Commons and saw some of the posters of kidnapped Israelis put up on light poles and other surfaces, so I stopped to take pictures of some of them. You can see that these posters were pasted over an earlier set that had been torn down by people who don't appreciate being confronted by the actions of Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.</div><br /><p></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0