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Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Links - 23rd October 2024 (2 - Hamas Attack Oct 2023)

Vladimir Schumacher's answer to Is it common for Palestinians to express gratitude towards Israelis for their help and support throughout history? - Quora - "Yeah, that’s for sure. I’ll tell you the story of kibbutz Be’eri near Gaza border:
Most of the members of this kibbutz are secular left, including many peace activists. They helped their Gazan neighbors with food and medicine. They gave them jobs. They invited them into their houses, trying to be good neighbors. One of these activists, Vivian Silver, worked within the kibbutz to organize programs to help Gazans, such as job trainings, and ensured that Gazan construction workers at the kibbutz were paid fairly. Silver and Amal Elsana Alh'jooj co-founded the Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation, which organized projects in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. Silver also volunteered with “Road to Recovery” and “Project Rozana” to transport Gazan patients to Jerusalem for treatment.
On 07/10 their Arab neighbors tortured, raped and killed about 130 people in this kibbutz, including 74 years old Vivian Silver. Her home was found burned and gutted. Silver's remains, which had been found in Be'eri, were identified five weeks after the attack, and she was confirmed dead on November 13, 2023. This is how the Palestinian Arabs expressed their gratitude:"

David Reaboi, Late Republic Nonsense on X - "When I see these videos, I’m still furious. And I’m sure I’ll be for the rest of my life. But, after a year, I’m even more sure of something else:  In an orgy of blood and slaughter, live-streamed to the world, the Palestinians lived up to their nihilistic calling—it was the greatest day in their history, the magnum opus of their national accomplishment, and the distilled essence of their identity.   For a day, they roamed southern Israel like an ancient brigand army, killing, raping, abducting, and sowing terror in a country they want fervently to destroy, but could never build. It could only recede from there. And it has.  None of them care there will never be a Palestinian state; it’s just Western elite psychopaths and morons who still cling to that absurdity. But, after a year, the smarter Palestinians should understand that their plan to destroy Israel is going nowhere. Honestly, I don’t care whether or not they understand; the result will be the same.   The genocidal fever-dream that’s always been in lieu of their national aspirations will never succeed, but they will continue to ground themselves to dust chasing after it."

We are Canadian Jewish parents. The Toronto District School Board has failed to protect our kids - " Following 10/7, however, Jews in most Western cities weren’t as shocked by the terrorism itself, as they were by the rapid explosion of antisemitism in its newest guise of anti-Zionism. Perhaps even more shocking was the tepid response by decision-makers, both public and private, who enabled its expansion through their acts of omission.  Before 10/7, antisemitism was, by far, the highest per capita form of recorded hatred in Toronto and Canada. Since 10/7, there has been a massive spike in antisemitic violence. Well before 10/7, we and other Jewish parents at Rawlinson Community School, a Toronto District School Board elementary school in Midtown Toronto, noticed a glaring double standard. While the TDSB addressed many forms of hate, such as anti-Black racism or gender-related discrimination, it was entirely silent about the rapidly rising antisemitism. To foster awareness of the problem, the school’s parent council secured a TDSB innovation grant to hold two antisemitism workshops for our school’s parents. These optional online workshops were to be presented by the TDSB partner organization Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Education (FSWC). They were to be balanced, respectful, and incorporating values of diversity and inclusion. When the first session was announced to the community, a small but loud group of parents vehemently opposed the sessions and began a relentless campaign to cancel the workshops with letters, phone calls and meetings with the principal, parent council chairs, superintendent and our school board trustee. They claimed that while they do not oppose antisemitism education, they were appalled that a “staunchly Zionist organization would be welcomed in our  school. They alleged that FSWC “repeatedly conflated criticism of Israel with antisemitism.” Meanwhile FSWC actually took great care to distinguish legitimate criticism of Israel from speech or writings that demonize, delegitimize or apply double standards to Israel. In an attempt to further delegitimize FSWC, they pointed to their website, which they pointed out states, “Fighting Antisemitism: Standing with Israel” and shows “an Israeli flag clearly displayed” on a young girl.   The oppositional parents also took the liberty to share their deep knowledge of the Middle East conflict by defining anti-Zionism for our Jewish community: “Anti-Zionism is the rejection of colonialist, racist apartheid political sentiment rooted in legitimation of occupation of Palestinian land, which anybody with a lay understanding of anti-racism, anti-oppression and human rights cannot deny.” It was interesting as Jews to be educated by non-Jews as to what hatred towards us actually was. Any other group would be condemned by the TDSB for attempting to define another group’s understanding and definition of racism against themselves.  These parents relied on many specious claims about FSWC: The organization, they said, demonizes Palestinians and their supporters. It applauds Israel’s military actions and advocates for the cutting off of aid to starving families and children. And, of course, it supports genocide. No matter that Joan Donoghue, former president of the International Court of Justice clarified that the court did not rule that Israel was commiting genocide in Gaza. Rather, it ruled that Palestinians had a “plausible right” to be protected from genocide, and that South Africa had the right to present its claim to the court. We believe that all people should be protected from genocide and political violence, and that all civilian casualties of war and terrorism are tragic. But the ICJ rulings are a far cry from the common accusation that Israel is directly and intentionally committing genocide and we must remember that the proximal cause of both Israeli and Gazan suffering in this conflict is Hamas... our community—the Jewish community that called for the workshops in the first place and followed TDSB protocol—were told that we should find a new provider for the workshops. The blowback was immense. The TDSB would have cancelled the workshops if it wasn’t for a group of more than 100 parents who stood up to the double standards, exposed false allegations, and refused to cancel them. Our experience at Rawlinson is merely a microcosm of endemic rot within the Toronto District School Board. In a much more damaging scenario that played out just last month, we witnessed the same fecklessness when “community voices”, made up of parents came to trustee meetings for months to make the political case that the TDSB is silencing the Palestinian narrative and needs to adopt the inchoate concept of “anti-Palestinian racism” or APR. And so it was. Despite vociferous opposition from several hundred TDSB parents and concerned Torontonians, the TDSB trustees voted to adopt APR in their Combating Hate and Racism strategy, which had no definition and presented no data to support their case."
Weird. Left wingers keep claiming that rights are not like cake - more for one doesn't mean less for another
Terrorism supporters have very poor comprehension skills - that's why they keep claiming that the ICJ has found that Israel is committing genocide

Meme - Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias: "It’s sadly not a strawman to say that there are organizations who celebrated 10/7 at the time and who are planning to spend tomorrow celebrating again even though the results have been plainly disastrous for everyone."
Within Our Lifetime @WOLPalestine: "On Monday October 7th Flood New York City For Palestine, stand with Gaza and uplift the Palestinian people resisting genocide by any means necessary since 1948. Call out of work and school, take to the streets and join us throughout the day"
"FLOOD NEW YORK CITY FOR PALESTINE OCTOBER 7TH 2024 1 PM WALL STREET (NYSE)
NO WORK. NO SCHOOL. ALL OUT FOR GAZA."

Meme - Dr. Maalouf ‏ @realMaalouf: "Hamas terrorists: “Our issue is not just Palestine, our mission is to kill every infidel.   We will follow Jews and Christians all over the world. Either they convert to Islam or we’ll kill them!”  Hamas is a terrorist organization and must be destroyed!"
"to continue killing the Jews to the last one"

Momodou Taal, Cornell graduate student, faces deportation for role in anti-Israel protest - "Momodou Taal, a graduate student from the U.K., said he faces deportation back to Britain over his participation in a rowdy anti-Israel protest last week that shut down a career fair attended by defense contractors, including Boeing and L3Harris.  It was the second suspension for Mr. Taal, 30, described as a leader of the pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled the university since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, which prompted Israel to declare war.  “They are doing this to shift the focus away from their complicity in genocide,” Mr. Taal told the Cornell Sun, the student newspaper. “It’s telling that they think it’s more important to suspend me than taking seriously their investment in the slaughter of thousands of innocent civilians.”  Joel Malina, Cornell vice president for university relations, said international students attending U.S. colleges on F-1 visas “are obligated to comply with federal requirements to maintain their visa status.”  “These federal requirements include remaining enrolled as a full-time registered student,” he said in a Tuesday email to The Washington Times. “Universities are required by federal regulation to terminate the F-1 status for any student who is not permitted to be enrolled due to a disciplinary action.”  He stressed that universities “can disallow enrollment and bar a student from campus, but do not have deportation powers.”...   Cornell Interim President Michael I. Kotlikoff did not address Mr. Taal’s situation directly, but said in a statement that protesters “displayed highly disruptive and intentionally menacing behavior in a protest that shut down a career fair at the Statler Hotel.”  “The demonstrators forcibly entered the hotel by pushing aside Cornell Police officers,” he said in the Monday message. “The protesters loudly marched through the hotel lobby and up the stairs, frightening students, staff, and recruiters.”  After forcing their way past officers, “the demonstrators screamed into bullhorns and banged cymbals, pots and pans, resulting in medical complaints of potential hearing loss. The protesters shouted profanity, disrupted display tables, and alarmed students who had been talking with employers,” he said.  “Actions have consequences, on campus and in the criminal justice system,” Mr. Kotlikoff said. “Individuals who entered the Statler and disrupted the career fair face immediate suspension or employment sanctions up to and including dismissal.”   University police said that Mr. Taal refused to comply with orders during the protest, according to an email from Christina Liang, director of the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards... Mr. Taal demonstrated “escalating, egregious behavior and a disregard for the University policies” and called him in for a same-day meeting, during which he was handed a copy of the “no trespass” order... Some students and faculty are rallying behind him, circulating an online petition entitled, “We Demand the Reinstatement of Momodou Taal,” which called it “the first time a Cornell graduate worker is facing immediate deportation without administrative due process.”  Others praised the university for enforcing its “time, place and manner” restrictions when it comes to the pro-Palestinian activism accused of creating a hostile environment for Jewish students.  “This guy is one of the lead protestors at Cornell,” said Steve McGuire, a fellow at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.  “When the student government denied his group’s divestment resolution, he and others vowed to repeatedly disrupt the campus, which they did. He was suspended last year too,” he added.  Mr. McGuire concluded: “Looks like Cornell might be done messing around.”"

Meme - Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig: "Update from the Israel rally in London today:  0 arrests 0 public disorders 0 firecrackers shot at the police 0 police attacked 0 injured 0 calls for genocide 0 racism 0 hateful signs  The police reported the protestors thanked them for their service."
Weird how it's only the "pro-Palestinian" rallies with all the violence

Pro-Palestinian protesters chant "shut it down" outside event commemorating the October 7th massacre | Watch - "At Columbia University, protesters chanted “Shut it down” near an art installation honoring October 7th victims and calling for the release of hostages. The unapproved demonstration was organized by Columbia Apartheid Divest on October 7, 2024"

Andy Ngo 🏳️‍🌈 on X - ""Yes, we ARE here to celebrate the 7th of October!" Canadian Antifa activist Charlotte Kates makes it clear what position she and her comrades hold at the pro-Hamas Masar Badil conference in Madrid. The seven-day conference aims to radicalize attendees."

Islamists in our streets would kill us with our own tolerance: Ivison - "Charlotte Kates, a director of Samidoun, and the wife of Khaled Barakat, identified by Israel’s Shin Bet as a senior figure in the PFLP... recently travelled to Iran to pick up a human rights award — seriously — where she said on state TV that she was arrested in April simply for speaking at a rally. In fact, she was charged under Canada’s hate speech law for chanting “Long live October 7th” on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery, declaring the terror attack was a “beautiful, brave and heroic (act of) resistance.” Have we collectively, as a society, had enough of this exploitation of our tolerance?... If law enforcement does take action on what, at face value, is wilful promotion of hatred, then we are likely to hear from the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, just as we did when Kates was arrested. In that instance, the BCCLA claimed the police were “weaponizing” the Criminal Code to silence particular political statements and misusing hate speech provisions to chill free speech... there are signs that the public’s patience has been stretched to a breaking point. A new Leger poll for the Association of Canadian Studies revealed that three times as many people side with Israel as back Hamas. Canadians are aware that radicalization doesn’t happen overnight and that if you allow extremist groups to flourish, young people become indoctrinated and, potentially, violent. We are already seeing the growth of “settler-colonial” social theory, where those who question Israel’s right to exist also believe Canada and the United States are illegitimate settler states. If violence is a necessary means to an end in one case, why not in both?"
Of course, if you offend a group the left approves of, "civil liberties" associations will condemn you and want you to be jailed for "harming" "minorities"
Most Canadians support Israel over terrorists (so did all sub-groups by occupation except students), and more support Israel than Palestine. So much for terrorism supporters' delusions
Unsurprisingly, the Leger poll found that left wingers are more likely to support Hamas. Ironically, students are the least likely to consider Oct 7 to be one of the worst terror attacks in recent memory, despite their being younger (and thus having less memory). A slight plurality also recognised that a Palestinian state wouldn't lead to peace

Terry Newman: Mélanie Joly's cowardice lets handful of Montreal voters drive Israel policy - "Mulcair reveals why all of the incomprehensible indecipherability might be occurring. After he says he pressed Joly on the South African issue, she replied, “Thomas, have you seen the demographics of my riding”? There you have it. A minister with a higher duty, holding one of the most important cabinet positions in the country, admits to pandering to a specific demographic in order to save her own political skin... While the specific group Joly was referring to isn’t named, we can make an educated guess. Of the 80,359 eligible voters in the riding in 2021, 13.8 per cent identified as Arab, coming from regions including Algeria, Syria, Morocco, and Lebanon, according to census data. That’s 11,089 voters that Joly cannot afford to lose, especially since she won the riding by less than 10,000 votes in 2015"

Carson Jerema: Does Mélanie Joly know she works for Hamas? - "Canada has not issued an export permit for “lethal” military equipment to Israel since 2018, but to appease the large anti-Israel contingent in the Liberal caucus, as well as the NDP, which had been propping the government up, Ottawa banned all non-lethal military exports last winter. That includes equipment like night vision goggles and light armoured vehicles. Then on Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly went even further and said she would block the export of ammunition to the U.S. that would be destined for Israel. “We will not have any form of arms, or parts of arms, be sent to Gaza. Period. How they’re being sent and where they’re being sent is irrelevant,” she said. Therefore, explosive mortar cartridges that were to be manufactured in Quebec by General Dynamics, will not be sent to our American allies, despite longstanding treaties and military cooperation with our southern neighbour. Israel has a right to defend itself, according to Trudeau and Joly, just so long as it isn’t with military equipment, or ammunition, or so long as it doesn’t defend itself in Gaza, where the threat lies. And now, the Liberals want to put our relationship with the U.S. at risk, to show just how much Canada supports Israel’s right to defend itself. And for what? The best guess is that the Liberals are in a tight three-way race in the Montreal riding of Lasalle—Émard—Verdun, and the Gaza war could be the defining issue. The NDP candidate is campaigning explicitly on the war, with a pamphlet that carries an image of his face in front of a Palestinian flag. The pamphlet also carries the nonsensical phrase, in French, “I’m voting for Craig Sauvé to stop the genocide in Gaza.” That statement is nonsense for multiple reasons. For starters, whatever influence the Canadian government, never mind an opposition MP, might have over Israel’s war policy, it is something approximating nil. Why would Jerusalem ever listen to Ottawa, given how the government keeps siding with Hamas? The most outlandish claim, however, is that a “genocide” is happening in Gaza... Joly and Trudeau have already done their utmost to torch what’s left of Canada’s relationship with Israel, and they are putting relations with the U.S. at risk, in order to gain leverage, it would seem, in a byelection that will have no practical effect on how Parliament is run. What other reason could there be? It is certainly not because of any moral reasoning, given how reluctant the government has been to take a stand of any kind on the war... It is also exactly how Hamas wishes western governments to react. The terrorist group has no interest in negotiating for a ceasefire, or in returning hostages to Israel. Its aims in starting the war last year have been to sacrifice civilians to turn global pressure against Israel. Rather than take a moral stand, the Canadian government repeatedly falls for it. It started in October when Canada blamed Israel for an explosion at a hospital that turned out to have have been a misfired Palestinian rocket. More recently, in August, Joly’s department posted on X that “Canada condemns the Israeli strike that killed Palestinian civilians sheltering at a school in Gaza, including children.” However, the evidence from Israel showed that there was no strike on a school, or even on a nearby mosque, but in a part of the complex where Hamas was positioned. Canada supported a motion at the UN last year that called for ceasefire, but which placed no conditions on Hamas. So if Israel has a right to defend itself, when would that right apply precisely? If it doesn’t apply against the threat from Hamas, then it is no right at all. Joly accepts terrorist version of events and modifies Canada’s foreign policy to align with Hamas’s goals. Does she know who she is working for?"
Of course, calls for protectionism regarding military equipment are wrong-headed and ignorant, because there's no way foreign countries would threaten your supply chain

Michael Higgins: Trudeau fiddles as Canadian flags burn - "The antisemitic, anti-Canadian and hate-filled protests over the weekend and into Monday — in places like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — weren’t aberrations. It wasn’t a mistake when the masked ranks of chanting thugs burnt the Canadian flag; when they shouted, “We are Hezbollah and we are Hamas”; when protesters smashed the windows of a building at McGill University because it was to be named after an Israeli-Canadian; when they shouted , “Long live intefadeh” (referring to armed resistance against Israel); or when they celebrated the Al-Aqsa Flood (the name Hamas uses for the horrors of October 7)... Thankfully, most Canadians are happy to condemn this behaviour, unless, of course, you happen to be the minister of foreign affairs. Mélanie Joly found herself on Monday unable to condemn the protests despite being pressed to do so by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in Parliament... We have been living in an Orwellian world for some time, but we are now at a place where our foreign affairs minister is unable to bring herself to condemn protests that include people burning Canadian flags and shouting, “Death to Canada.” And anyone asking the minister to denounce them would — in her view — make that person ineligible to become the prime minister of Canada. Joly’s worldview appears to be that the prime minister of Canada shouldn’t condemn anti-Canadian protests, which at least explains her being a member of the Liberal party under Justin Trudeau... Trudeau and his government have done nothing over the past year to reverse this rising tide of hate, and it appears as though they’re still unwilling to take action. For his part, Poilievre laid out some firm proposals to combat antisemitism. He pledged to stop giving federal funds to universities that fail to combat antisemitism (Canadian universities have been allowed by weak, sympathetic administrators to become hotbeds of Jew-hatred.) He promised to defund the controversial United Nations Relief and Works Agency, whose members are believed to have taken part in October 7. (The Liberals temporarily stopped funding the agency but have since resumed sending it money.)... For the vast majority of peace-loving Canadians who know they are living through dark times, this simply means that the light at the end of the tunnel is probably just another Canadian flag, or a church, being set ablaze."

Geoff Russ: How Hamas supporters could help pick the next Liberal leader - "If you thought the Freedom Convoy types played a role in the last federal Conservative leadership race, just wait and see what the Hamas and Hezbollah types will do when the Liberals try to find a new leader... Activists like Charlotte Kates of Samidoun, an NGO whose leaders openly support both Hamas and Hezbollah, were completely open about their specific celebration of the terror attack by organizing their demonstration for Oct. 7, rather than the anniversary of the Israeli campaign’s launch on Oct. 28. Also on Monday, in the House of Commons, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre accused Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly of pandering to Hamas. She had refused to explicitly condemn chants like “Israel will soon be gone” and “There is only one solution! Intifada, revolution!” when pushed by Poilievre... Why the commercial lawyer and failed Montreal mayoral candidate was thought to be a good pick for foreign affairs, let alone the front bench, is rather bewildering. Then again, this is a government that thinks rapprochement with China is a good thing, and cannot figure out how they managed to invite a former Nazi soldier to the House of Commons... the Liberal Party’s post-Trudeau era is being openly discussed, and Joly is a prime candidate among his likely successors. Who else would still be energetically drawn to the Liberal banner in a future leadership race? Grassroots Liberals? There are fewer of them every month. The most motivated voices might just be the hordes of university students, activists and foreign agents who have filled the streets chanting for death and revolution... Condemning Hamas and Hezbollah, or anything that comes off as too pro-Israel, will alienate a vast swathe of the progressive movement. If you are on the left in 2024, you have to break bread with people who effectively support terrorism, laundered as part of a liberation movement. Especially if you have ambitions beyond being a card-carrying party member. Much of the NDP understands this well, and the Liberals are close behind. For over a decade, the Liberals have made their bed for diaspora politics, and they’ve been sleeping with its practitioners since 2015. Getting away from it risks the wrath of a jilted lover."

Leaders condemn B.C. rally where 'death to Canada' cry went up - "Political leaders are condemning what they describe as "hateful rhetoric" from a speaker at a pro-Palestinian rally in Vancouver who told the crowd that "we are Hezbollah and we are Hamas." Both groups are listed by Public Safety Canada as terrorist entities. In videos circulated online, an unidentified masked woman led a crowd of hundreds at the Vancouver Art Gallery Monday night in chants of "death to Canada, death to the United States and death to Israel," while some in the group burned Canadian flags. The protest was organized by the pro-Palestinian group Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, and held on the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people while triggering an Israeli counteroffensive that has left about 41,000 dead in Gaza... Conservative members repeatedly demanded that Samidoun be added to the terrorist list. "If they took action, they would have listed them already," said Thornhill Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman. "So, if burning a Canadian flag, if calling for the death of Canadians, if fomenting hate in this country, and most of all being a front for an already-listed terrorist organization is not enough to put them on the list, then what the hell is it going to take for them to ban them?"... Samidoun director Charlotte Kates was arrested by Vancouver police last year in a hate-crime investigation, then released on an undertaking to appear in court on Tuesday, but no appearance has been scheduled. Kates was arrested after praising the Oct. 7 attack as "heroic and brave" in a speech at a rally. She is the international co-ordinator of Samidoun — an organization that fights to raise awareness about Palestinian prisoners."
We are still told that no one supports terrorism and that left wingers don't hate their countries
Weird how often "pro-Palestinian speech" turns out to be supporting terrorism and calling for the death of their enemies

Terry Glavin: Liberal failure to outlaw pro-terrorist group Samidoun is mind boggling - "Such hateful rhetoric is unacceptable. This has no place in Canada. All options must be considered. This is not who we are. We are treating this with the utmost urgency. And so forth. And so on. For more than four years, this is what we have been hearing from the Liberal government about the bloodcurdling incitements that are the stock in trade of the Vancouver-headquartered Samidoun Network, the overseas agitation and propaganda wing of the terrorist-listed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine... On February 28, 2021, Corporations Canada threw Samidoun a lifeline by allowing the organization to register under the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act . Samidoun’s official Canadian registration came just three days after Israeli Defence Minister Benjamin Gantz signed an order designating Samidoun a terrorist organization, owing to its intimate ties with the PFLP. It’s not as though Samidoun is lacking for friends in Canada. Backing Samidoun in its claim that its troubles are due to Zionists intent on “the criminalization of Palestinian advocacy” are dozens of individuals and organizations, including the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, the Canada-Palestine Support Network, the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, the Canadian Peace Congress, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the anti-Israel lobby group Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. The big question that went unanswered on Tuesday was the question raised in the House by Michael Chong, the Conservatives’ foreign affairs critic: “Samidoun is knowingly acting on behalf of, at the direction of or in association with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a terrorist group under the Criminal Code. This qualifies Samidoun for a terrorism listing. Why hasn’t this happened?” The Trudeau government has never answered that question, either. Proscription under Canada’s anti-terrorism laws is supposed to be an independent process. But as to why that process has never been put into play, or whether the process has simply missed Samidoun, is anybody’s guess."

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