In New York, Yet

Way To Go, Italy!!

Italy Expels Muslim Cleric Who Called to 'Kill Jews'

Fabrizio Quattrocchi would be proud.

Vive la France!

French Prime Minister Denounces Anti-Zionism as Anti-Semitism

"Against the backdrop of large anti-Semitic riots in Paris, and the murder of four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels by a French Muslim killer (Emphasis mine), Mehdi Nemmouche, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls made a resoundingly firm connection between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism that other world leaders—and many Jews—are afraid to make. As is his style, he went straight to the point: “Anti-semitism, this old European disease,” he said in a speech, has taken “a new form. It spreads on the Internet, in our popular neighborhoods, with a youth that has lost its points of reference, has no conscience of history, and who hides itself behind a fake anti-Zionism.”

The occasion was the 72th anniversary of the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup—the arrest of 13.000 Jews in Paris, by the French police under German authorities during World War II on the 16th and 17th of July, 1942. Valls’ strong, clear words are a breakthrough that separates him from the general complacency on the subject among most European politicians—and separates France from its growing reputation as a beacon of hate.

The Prime Minister justified his decision to forbid last Saturday’s “anti-israeli” demonstration by stating that the recent acts of violence against Jews “justify the choice to forbid,” and not the other way around, as so many critics had claimed. And without naming Dieudonné, the minister attacked the rancid French performer when he pleaded that “the historical reality of the Shoah should not be denied, or diminished.(…) To laugh at the Shoah is to insult the dead.”

Before those words, Valls reminded his countrymen of the responsibility of the French state, under Pétain’s government, for the fate of France’s Jews during the fatal years of the Occupation. “The honor of a Nation is to recognize what once was his disgrace.” he said hinting at France’s long-time denial of its responsibility during the Holocaust. “The disgrace of France is to have been a accomplice of the occupier when it sent to a sure death women, men and children, because they were Jews.” He also praised the (right wing) ex-president Jacques Chirac for being the first to officially recognize France’s responsibility in his address at the 1995 commemoration. That day, said Valls, Chirac “had the courage to free us from ourselves.”

It was a strong speech and, given the context, it took real courage for Valls to stand up and say words that other European politicians have been too cowardly to speak. Friends of France who have been nauseated by the growing wave of violence against Jews, and appalled by the even more common mainstreaming of anti-Zionism as the socially and intellectually acceptable mask for the crude anti-Semitism of the streets, can take heart from Valls’ words."

"It's The JOOOZ"

With the recent flair-up between Hamas and Israel, and the UN recognition of Mahmoud Abbas and Palestine, whatever it means (it's not full nationhood), the creepy crawlies have come out from under the rocks and are posting comments on Sun News Network's website. I am both amazed and amused at how shallow, in terms of time, at the very least, their knowledge of this conflict seems to be.

Soooo, I turn to a website called the Jewish Virtual Library and other sources, all of which are more balanced, and which show the very long history of terror and Jew hatred in that area of the world. Information, therein, on Palestinian violence, goes back at least to 1956. One could easily extend that with references to the Ottoman Empire, the Balfour Declaration, the Sykes-Pecot Agreement, the British Palestine Mandate and the establishment of the Muslim Brotherhood, among countless other critical and relevant events in history, which the Jewish Virtual Library also does a good job of covering. And why shouldn't they? There is so much disinformation out there and, sad to say, anti-Semitism is on the rise again. And the number of "plans" put forward for peace between the Arabs and Israel is astonishing. All of them have failed.

The use of terror, of course, is not unique to the Arab-Israeli conflict. But Palestinian terror is certainly very long-lived and its practitioners are seemingly not the least bit interested in any sort of settlement, as other terror groups have been. I have long ago come to the conclusion that Palestinian Arabs, their "leadership" at least, are not the least bit interested in a peace settlement. The destruction of the State of Israel is their founding and steadfast aim. Moreover, the rate at which these groups splinter and morph into new groups is not just astounding, but is indicative of the nature of the hot-headed-zealot personality types that make up their numbers. To quote (more or less) an impressive line from a play (written by Maria Campbell) I once attended, about the Metis people in Saskatchewan and their political factions: "They couldn't organize a bowel movement, let alone a political movement."

So, history continues to unfold, and if it isn't one damn "steaming pile" thing, it's another.  

Oh. And good for Stephen Harper for standing on principle, rather than folding and going along to get along.  Here we have statesmanship, not "bowel movement" organizing, as the CBC and the NDP would like to have it.

Say What You Like...

...as far as I'm concerned, Tony Blair is still a hero in my books:

The Enigmatic Mr. Blair

"Maybe he has acted for no more noble a motive than consideration for his American royalties and lecture fees, but anyway he has stood up and unequivocally opposed Mahmoud Abbas's bid for full recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN.

"You can pass whatever resolution you like at the United Nations or the Security Council, it doesn't actually deliver you a state on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza, and if you don't have a negotiation, whatever you do at the UN is going to be deeply confrontational," Blair, who is the international community's official Middle East representative, was quoted as saying."

[---]

"Blair has supported the US and Israeli position that a real peace settlement can only come about from face-to-face negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Given the whole history of the conflict, this seems the only feasible position. A UN resolution recognizing a Palestinian state, as matters are at present, would have only one point: it would contribute to the delegitimization of Israel."

And that IS the point. And for that matter, the delegitimization of the UN, as if there's anything left to delegitimize.

Also, from the same source, The UN House of Lies

"In tones that ranged from combative to conciliatory to exasperated, the Israeli leader challenged the members of the UN to, for once, impose the same standards by which they judge Israel on the Palestinians. Why not, he argued, hold the Palestinians and Israelis to the same standards of conduct, and morality?

Netanyahu recited a brief version of the United Nations' abuses of Israel. The 1975 "Zionism is racism" resolution. The 1980 peace agreement with Egypt that was denounced in the UN. He said, "And it's here year after year that Israel is unjustly singled out for condemnation. It's singled out for condemnation more often than all the nations of the world combined. Twenty-one out of the 27 General Assembly resolutions condemn Israel -- the one true democracy in the Middle East."

Not only is Israel condemned routinely, Netanyahu said, some of the worst despots, dictators and terrorists are elevated to prominence in the UN: Saddam Hussein's Iraq as leader of the UN disarmament conference, Gaddafi's Libya chairing the Commission on Human Rights, and now Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon presiding over the Security Council.

It is a blindness to morality, an abandonment of epistemological standards that distinguish between freedom and slavery, between terrorism and democracy, that Netanyahu argued against. It is the same moral blindness that Jeane Kirkpatrick condemned as "the sin of moral equivalence.""

Check It Out!!

While the sham that is the Durban Conference was underway, there was an alternate conference focusing on the sham. Check it out:

Durban Watch

There's a great lineup of speakers, whose words I have been listening to over the past couple of days, including: Jason Kenney, Khaled Toameh, Abu Simon Deng, Zuhdi Jasser, Douglas Murray, Wafa Sultan, Elie Weisel and many others.

Right now I'm listening to Khaled Toameh, a Palestinian journalist, who has some harsh, well deserved criticism for members of his profession and their so-called "coverage" of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. There is also some pretty strong criticism and condemnation of the United Nations, and, especially, the farce that the Durban anti-racism conferences quickly became.

No Shit, Sherlock!

Anti-Semitism on the rise at Canadian universities, committee says

"The committee recommends that police forces across Canada be better trained to deal with anti-Semitism; that universities host conferences to counter events such as “Israeli Apartheid Week”; and that there should be a clear definition of what anti-Semitism entails.

But critics have said the committee, with a couple of exceptions, shut out the voices of those who disagree with the its premise that there is a “new anti-Semitism” expressed by those who label Israel a racist state and who compare the policies of the Israeli government with those of South Africa under apartheid.

The CPCCA countered that it did not want to limit reasonable criticism of Israel. But it also explained that “anti-Semitism is being manifested in a manner which has never been dealt with before. … This problem is especially prevalent on campuses where Jewish students are ridiculed and intimidated for any deemed support for the ‘Nazi’ and ‘apartheid’ State of Israel, which is claimed to have no right to exist.” "

But mark my words. Nothing will come of it, just like nothing has come of the fight against section 13.1 of the Human Rights Act.

More here:

"Just last month, Statistics Canada released a study documenting a 42 per cent increase in hate crimes in 2009 compared to 2008, with 71 per cent of the crimes motivated by religion targeting the Jewish community."

[---]

"“Not only did the number of hate crimes rise in general, but the role of religion as a motivating factor has become more pronounced, which is a threat to all religious minorities. This is a direct challenge to the values of our multicultural society,” Dimant said referring, to the StatsCan report.

“The 71 per cent increase in religiously-motivated hate crimes that specifically target the Jewish community should be a cause for alarm.”"

Now, how about a study of the phony issue - Islamophobia. It would be interesting to know if this committee had any observations about the source or wellspring of the 71 per cent increase. It seems to me anti-semitism and "Islamophobia" are the flip side of the same coin. The second is simply a ruse designed to cover the first with a thick fog.

I do like the fact that universities have been identified as the locus of much of the rise in this form of bigotry. The Feds do have some clout, in that regard. A good part of the funding for post-secondary institutions comes from the federal government.

And how 'bout this?!!? (Emphasis in italics mine.)

Anti-Semitism panel wants more action from Ottawa

"The report also suggests that Citizenship and Immigration Canada give special consideration to rising international anti-Semitism when making decisions about who is permitted to settle in Canada and from which countries they are coming.

The panel also recommends that education about human rights be made a bigger part of training programs offered to new Canadians.

'Canada should help reform international human rights'

The inquiry panel took a shot at the United Nations in its report and is urging Canada to step up on the international stage to reform the body's human rights council.

Reid said the panel wants the House of Commons' foreign affairs committee to do a study on the UN's "overemphasis of alleged human rights abuses by Israel while ignoring flagrant human rights abuses of other member states.""

Long, long overdue!! How 'bout it Harper! And I'll bet Canada's new Liberal Party,  under Bob Rae's leadership, would even welcome that.

AFTERTHOUGHT: Being a baby-boomer myself, I remember this. The number of universities in Canada expanded as the baby boom came of age, primarily to accommodate the big bulge.  The result seems to have been a decline in the quality of and demand for university graduates.  Too many of them have become little more than incubators of political correctness.  Perhaps it's time to reverse that. Canada has been crying for people with trades and technical skills for a long time. Maybe it's time to quit funding these organizations that simply spit out indoctrinated goons and put our money into programs that pay off - technical and trade schools.

Those Other Aboriginal People

...have rights, too, although you'd never know it.

Muslims Save Jews...

...in Untold WWII Story

An interesting read, until you get to the comments.

h/t Instapundit

Does She Work for the CBC?

h/t Blazing Cat Fur

Related.

Bizarrorama Busted!!

This just gets more bizarre with every passing minute:

Israel using 'pirated' footage to defend raid

How dare the Little Satan contradict the narrative!!

"One of the clips on YouTube, entitled: "Flotilla Passenger: I Want to Be a Shahid (Martyr)" shows a passenger being interviewed on the boat before the raid, by someone holding a microphone with 'Press TV' stamped on it. (Emphasis mine)

The 23-second clip, in which the man talks about wanting to become a martyr, is not credited to any journalist or media outlet, and only described as "footage captured on the Gaza flotilla."

Press TV, huh. Let me see now. Where have we seen that before. Oh ya. Press TV. Iran's official broadcaster.

""The use of this material without permission from the relevant media organisations is a clear violation of journalistic ethics and unacceptable," it said, warning media outlets to treat such material "with caution.""

Busted!!!

I'm thinking a little June 12th "Where's My Vote" Anniversary surprise might be in order.

David Warren Sums It Up

Singling Out Israel is Nothing New

"Consider the level of hypocrisy here. There were no international "peace" demonstrations when a North Korean submarine torpedoed a South Korean vessel that was offering no threat. There is total indignation when Israel acts against a direct threat to her vital interests.

Yes, the Palestinians suffer. But there is a remedy for that: to fully accept that Israel exists, and be willing to live in peace with her, as with any other country. That option has been on the table continuously since 1948, and has been consistently rejected by Palestinian leaders.

Israel remains the "Little Satan" of Islamist and Leftist demonology. We -- America and the West at large -- are the "Big Satan." This is, likewise, an old configuration, that will not change in the foreseeable future. Let us therefore be robust in our support of "Little Satan.""

Another Propaganda Stunt Ends as Intended

Haniyeh: Gaza flotilla a triumph

"If ships reach Gaza - victory, if terrorized by Zionists - victory."

Last time, it was the Rachel Corrie pancake fiesta.

Now it's flotsam, and of course the requisite emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, protest rallies and official Euroweinie indignation.

On cue now, everyone. All together: "Ooooh. Israel is so bad!"

Question: If Turkey was a port of call for the flotilla, why did they attempt to pick up passengers on the (southern) Greek side of Cyprus? Ehud Barak has it right:

"The entire flotilla is a political and media provocation by anti-Israeli activists. They have absolutely nothing to do with humanitarian aid."

Go here for information on the background and the legalities.

UPDATE: Gates of Vienna explores Turkey's role and Gateway Pundit looks at the links to terrorist networks.  Stratfor has a good one. In fact, take a cruise through my American Blogs blogroll for a lot of other tid-bits and links.  Blogs rule!!!!