Buenos Aires teacher caught defending Hitler and justifying anti-Semitism
BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — A teacher in a Catholic high school in Buenos Aires repeated anti-Semitic stereotypes and said Hitler did “good things” in a lesson caught on camera.
History teacher Denise Yanet Evequoz told her students that Hitler was demonized when the United States entered World War II and seemed to justify why Europe was “always anti-Semitic.”
“Jews took advantage of the people who needed money, they loaned the money and then they chased them to get their money back, always with interest. They had the money but they did not help Germany improve. They did not help the people to generate employment nor to create industries. This generated a certain hatred towards Jews,” Evequoz said in a lesson recorded in 2015, which was posted on social media this week.
Evequoz is a teacher at the Jesus Maestro high school in Castelar, a neighborhood in the western area of Greater Buenos Aires. The class was recorded by a student and the video since Monday has gone viral. Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Guatemala moves Israel embassy to Jerusalem, 2 days after US
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, left, meets at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem with Benjamin Netanyahu on May 16, 2018, after the dedication of his country’s embassy in the city. (Mark Neiman/GPO)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Guatemala inaugurated its embassy in Jerusalem, the second country to move its main diplomatic mission from Tel Aviv.
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales attended the opening Wednesday morning of the embassy in the Technological Park of southern Jerusalem’s Malha neighborhood.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Morales and his delegation in Spanish with “Buenas Dias,” which means good day in Spanish, before switching to English. Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Most Israelis supported their army in the 2014 Gaza conflict. Do they feel the same about this week?
Israeli security forces during demonstrations near the Hawara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, May 15, 2018. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)
(JTA) — This week has been a tough one for Israel in terms of public relations.
Palestinians have been protesting for weeks on the Gaza border, but the situation heated up on Monday, when the Israeli military shot at protesters, killing at least 60 people and wounding 2,000.
The actions drew wide criticism from world leaders, human rights organization and some within the American Jewish community, though the U.S. blamed the escalation and deaths on Hamas. Israel said it was acting in self-defense and showed evidence that many of those killed were Hamas operatives.
But how does the Israeli public feel about the violence and their military’s response? Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
A CNN panel talked about the Israeli rabbi who compared black children to monkeys. It got weird.
(JTA) — On CNN on Tuesday, Don Lemon asked an all-black panel to comment on how they felt about Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner receiving a blessing from Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, during their visit to Israel to dedicate the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
Yosef is under criminal investigation for making a bizarre analogy that compared a hypothetical black child born to white parents with a monkey born to human parents. He also repeatedly referred to blacks as “Kushim,” a pejorative term.
The CNN segment, however, devolved from monkeys into a weird discussion about manhood.
Lemon showed the panel a photo posted on Twitter on Sunday, a day ahead of the embassy festivities, by Jewish Insider reporter Jacob Kornbluh.
Jared and Ivanka also received a blessing from Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzchok Yosef (photo by Shloimy Cohen) pic.twitter.com/PEvyE9pTM7
Sen. Dianne Feinstein speaking to members of the media in Washington, D.C., Feb. 15, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D- Calif., strongly criticized America’s United Nations ambassador Wednesday for blocking a Security Council proposal to investigate Israeli military shootings that left over 60 Palestinians dead on Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip.
“I’m deeply disappointed,” said Feinstein referring to Ambassador Nikki Haley’s moves to prevent a U.N. inquiry into Israel’s firing on mostly unarmed protesters as they massed in the thousands along the border and sought to storm Israel’s security fence there. “Without question there should be an independent investigation when the lives of so many are lost.”
The violence, which also left over 2,500 wounded, took place Monday, the same day that the United States dedicated its new embassy in Jerusalem. Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
David Friedman chose the ‘controversial’ pastor who gave embassy prayer, State Department says
Pastor Robert Jeffress, left, at a rally with President Donald Trump at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., July 1, 2017. (Olivier Douliery-Pool via Getty Images)
(JTA) — A Dallas pastor who has disparaged Jews, Mormons and Muslims was invited to deliver a prayer at the Jerusalem embassy dedication by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, the State Department said.
Robert Jeffress, the pastor of a Southern Baptist megachurch, is a Fox News contributor, a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump and host of radio and television shows broadcast throughout the United States.
He has said “you can’t be saved by being a Jew” and “Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.” Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Campaign robocall refers to Sen. Dianne Feinstein as ‘traitorous’ Jew
Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Capitol Hill, Jan. 11, 2018. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
(JTA) —A robocall against California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein used anti-Semitic slurs and urged listeners to support the campaign of her neo-Nazi challenger.
The 90-second call refers to Feinstein as a “traitorous” Jew and “an Israeli citizen pretending to be an American.”
Patrick Little, who is running as a Republican, is polling at 18 percent behind Feinstein, a Democrat who has served more than four terms in the Senate. Feinstein is polling at 39 percent in the race, which will pit the top two vote-getters in the June 5 primary against each other in the general election in November. Mainstream Republicans have not put up a serious challenge in what is considered a safe seat for a Democrat. Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Israel defends Gaza crackdown as self-defense: ‘We are saving human life’
People running from tear gas at the border fence with Israel in Gaza City, May 15, 2018. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Despite growing condemnation for the deaths of 60 Palestinians on the Gaza border yesterday, Israel defended its military’s actions as an act of self-defense in the face of a mass attack.
“We didn’t want it to happen, but we understood these were Hamas’ intentions,” Dani Dayan, Israel’s consul general in New York, told reporters Tuesday. “We are not going away. We will defend our border. We will defend our population. If they invade Israeli communities, we will have to take much harsher measures. By doing what we did we are saving human life.”
On Monday morning, tens of thousands of Palestinians rushed Gaza’s border with Israel as part of a string of protests called the March of Return. The protesters say they’re opposing Israel’s blockade of the coastal strip, and pushing for Palestinians’ return to their ancestors’ homes within Israel. Israel says the protest is an invasion by Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza, and that it endangers Israeli lives and communal security.
On Monday, Palestinians charged the border fence en masse, some carrying weapons. Israel responded with tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets and live fire. Over sixty Palestinians were killed and thousands were injured. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Israeli fighter jets target multiple positions in northern Gaza
Thu May 17, 2018 01:20AM
This file picture shows an Israeli F-16 fighter jet taking off from an airbase in the occupied territories.
Israeli fighter planes have carried out bombing raids on several locations in northern Gaza, just days after the Tel Aviv regime massacres over 60 people there.
The latest attacks took place early on Thursday on multiple targets spread out through the Palestinian town of Beit Lahia.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least one person was injured in the attack.
Following the strikes, the Israeli military claimed that it had targeted positions belong to the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement in response to “heavy machine gun fire.”
Israeli forces killed at least 62 Palestinians during protests near the Gaza fence on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the occupied city of Jerusalem al-Quds.
The Israeli military frequently bombs the Gaza Strip, with civilians being the main target of such attacks. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Lavrov slams Israeli designation of Gaza protesters
Wed May 16, 2018 05:58PM
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (AFP photo)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has criticized Israel for its propaganda against the people of the Gaza Strip who have been protesting against Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow on Wednesday that Israel’s statement about dozens of “peaceful” protesters killed on the Gaza border by Israeli forces on Monday was an act of blasphemy.
“I cannot agree with the fact that dozens of peaceful civilians, including children and infants, who were killed in these incidents were terrorists. This is a blasphemous statement,” Lavrov said.
Israeli forces killed at least 62 Palestinians during protests near the Gaza fence on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the occupied city of Jerusalem al-Quds.
More than 2,700 Palestinians were also wounded as the Israeli forces used snipers, airstrikes, tank fire and tear gas to target the demonstrators.
Palestinian authorities on Wednesday urged United Nations to condemn the killings of the protesters at the Gaza border was war crimes. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Around the world: Anti-Israel protests held against Israel’s massacre in Gaza
Tue May 15, 2018 09:42PM
Protesters throw stones at the Israeli embassy during a demonstration in central Athens on May 15, 2018, to denounce the bloodshed along the Gaza border and the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem. (AFP)
Pro-Palestine protesters around the World react with anger at Israel’s killing of at least 60 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Greece: Israel flag burned at pro-Palestine protest in Athens
Scores of protesters gathered in front of the US and Israeli embassies in Athens on Tuesday, to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people on ‘Nakba Day.’
Protesters climbed atop riot police vans and waved Palestinian flags while chanting slogans such as ‘Free Palestine’. A group of protesters were seen burning the Israeli flag at the demo.
Protesters gathered in front of the US embassy and marched towards the Israeli embassy where the demonstration concluded.
Sixty Palestinians were killed during Monday protests over the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem, one day ahead of ‘Nakba Day,’ according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
UN rights body calls for probe into Israeli carnage in Gaza
Tue May 15, 2018 02:50PM
Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
The UN human rights body has called for an independent investigation into the recent Israeli massacre of Palestinian protesters in Gaza Strip after the US blocked the same bid at the Security Council.
“We call for independent, transparent investigations in all cases of death and injury since 30 March. Since 30 March, 112 Palestinians, including 14 children, have lost their lives at the fence and thousands have been injured,” Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.
“We stress, again, that lethal force may only be used as a measure of last – not first – resort, and only when there is an immediate threat to life or serious injury,” he noted
“An attempt to approach or crossing or damaging the fence does not amount to a threat to life or serious injury and are not sufficient grounds for the use of live ammunition. This is also the case with regards to stones and Molotov cocktails being thrown from a distance at well-protected security forces located behind defensive positions,” the UN official added.
Colville noted that six children and one health worker were among the fatalities and 10 journalists sustained injuries from gunshot wounds.
The UN rights official warned of lack resources for treatment of the injured inside Gaza Strip due to destruction of healthcare infrastructure of the coastal enclave and noted that Israel is effectively preventing the wounded from exiting Gaza for treatment. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
US embassy opened in Jerusalem al-Quds amid Palestinian protests
Mon May 14, 2018 02:43PM
US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and US President’s daughter Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds on May 14, 2018. (Photo by AFP)
The United States has officially announced the opening of its new embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds amid deadly Israeli crackdown on peaceful protests by Palestinians in the occupied territories.
“Today we open the United States embassy in Jerusalem [al-Quds], Israel,” US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said at the beginning of the inaugural ceremony on Monday, attended by a US delegation from Washington and officials of the Israeli regime.
Among the participants were US President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband Jared Kushner, who has been tasked by Washington to negotiate an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd L), his wife Sara (1st-L), Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner (3rd L), US President’s daughter, Ivanka Trump (C), US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (1st-R) and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman (2nd R) attend the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds on May 14, 2018. (Photo by AFP)
In a recorded message at the ceremony, Trump said he remained committed to peace between Israelis and the Palestinians, also expressing strong support for the Tel Aviv regime.
“The United States remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement,” he said. “The United States will always be a great friend of Israel and a partner in the cause of freedom and peace.”
Trump recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel in December last year, promising to relocate the US diplomatic mission from Tel Aviv to the city. Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Turkey and Israel embarrass each other’s diplomats with strict airport searches
Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Eitan Naeh was subjected to a strict security screening at the Istanbul airport before he could board a flight for Israel. (Screenshot from TRT Haber)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s ambassador to Turkey, who was ordered expelled from the country in response to the violence on Israel’s border with Gaza, was subjected to a strict security screening while boarding a flight home.
In response, Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned a Turkish diplomat and subjected him to an inspection of his diplomatic papers and a hearing.
Both Wednesday incidents, considered humiliating by diplomats, were filmed by journalists who were invited in advance to cover the dressing-downs. Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
US envoy Jason Greenblatt meets with leaders in Qatar to discuss Gaza relief
WASHINGTON (JTA) — U.S. Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt met Wednesday in Qatar with its foreign minister and discussed relief for Gaza, a notable meeting with one of Hamas’ only allies at a time when the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel is exploding with violence.
“Met today in Doha, Qatar with Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Than,” Greenblatt said Wednesday on his Twitter feed. “We discussed the urgent need for humanitarian relief for Gaza & the Trump Administration’s developing peace plan.”
Greenblatt has said in the past has said that relief for Gazans would be key to any path to peace.
Met today in Doha, Qatar with Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani @MBA_AlThani_. We discussed the urgent need for humanitarian relief for Gaza & the Trump Administration’s developing peace plan. pic.twitter.com/78YDFwDr6V
Over 1,000 religious leaders urge Mike Pompeo to name anti-Semitism monitor
WASHINGTON (JTA) — More than a thousand lay and clergy leaders across a range of faiths signed a petition urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to name an anti-Semitism monitor.
“Around the world, violent and even lethal attacks have been made on Jews and Jewish institutions; physical harassment of Jews who wear a kippah in public is all too common,” says the petition addressed to Pompeo, organized by the American Jewish Committee and released Tuesday to media.
There has been no anti-Semitism monitor since President Donald Trump assumed office in January 2017, and Rex Tillerson, Pompeo’s predecessor, emptied the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism of staff last summer.
“In far left and far-right political parties in Europe and elsewhere, anti-Jewish rhetoric is on the rise as is the demonization of Israel and intimidation of its supporters,” the petition says. “New campaigns of Holocaust distortion have been waged and there are proposals in some countries to ban central Jewish religious practices. Mr. Secretary, anti-Semitism starts with Jews, but doesn’t end there: when any minority is threatened, everyone is less safe.” Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Lieberman urges Israel to pull out of UN rights body, asks US to follow suit
Thu May 17, 2018 09:36AM
Israeli minister of military affairs, Avigdor Lieberman (Photo by Reuters)
The Israeli minister of military affairs has lashed out at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for its condemnation of the recent Gaza carnage, saying Tel Aviv and the US should immediately withdraw from the Geneva-based body.
In a post on his Twitter account, Avigdor Lieberman claimed that “Israel is under a double attack,” one from Gaza and another campaign of “hypocrisy headed by the United Nations Human Rights Council.”
“We must stop permitting this celebration of hypocrisy and immediately withdraw from the Human Rights Council, and work diligently so that the United States joins us in this step,” he added.
Lieberman’s comments came two days after the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Right condemned “the appalling, deadly violence in Gaza.”
“The rules on the use of force under international law have been repeated many times but appear to have been ignored again and again. It seems anyone is liable to be shot dead or injured: women, children, press personnel, first responders, bystanders, and at almost any point up to 700m from the fence,” it noted.
The 47-member UNHRC is also scheduled to hold a special session on Friday to discuss “the deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem [al-Quds].” Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Turkish president says Gaza deaths show UN has collapsed
Wed May 16, 2018 08:52PM
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan answers questions after giving a speech at Chatham House in central London on May 14, 2018. (Photo by AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the recent violence in the Gaza Strip shows that the United Nations has “collapsed”.
“If the silence on Israel’s tyranny continues, the world will rapidly be dragged into chaos where banditry prevails,” said Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Erdogan accused the Tel Aviv regime of “state terror” and “genocide” over the Palestinian deaths.
“What Israel has done is genocide,” the Turkish president said, adding, “I condemn this humanitarian drama, the genocide, from whichever side it comes, Israel or America.”
“We will continue to stand with Palestinian people with determination,” he added.
Ankara has withdrawn its ambassador to Israel for consultations and called on Israel’s ambassador to Ankara to leave. Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
South Africa’s ruling party says Israel’s actions on Gaza border are ‘Nazi-like’
(JTA) — The African National Congress, South Africa’s ruling political party, compared Israel’s actions on the Gaza border to Nazi Germany’s actions against the Jews.
The ANC in a statement said it “views with complete shock and dismay the Israeli armed forces’ massacre of peaceful Palestinian protesters.”
“We watched in complete disbelief as a people, who continuously remind us all about the hate and prejudice Jews went through during Hitler’s anti-Semitism reign, will exhibit the same cruelty less than a century later,” the statement said, adding that the ANC once was the “target of a Nazi-like Apartheid regime.” It said it would never accept another county’s government that “regards other human beings as insignificant.”
South Africa on Monday announced its ambassador will leave Israel “until further notice.” Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
They just got married in Australia’s first same-sex Jewish wedding, but they’ve been together for 47 years
SYDNEY (JTA) — Two men who have been in a relationship for 47 years became the first Jewish same-sex couple to be married in an Australian synagogue.
Australia legalized same-sex marriage five months ago.
At their wedding ceremony earlier this month, Ilan Buchman, 70, and Oscar Shub, 71, stood under a huppah. Sticking to Jewish tradition, each groom circled the other three times and on the seventh revolution they simulated a figure eight. Each man broke a separate glass simultaneously.
Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins, the spiritual leader of Sydney’s Emanuel Synagogue, told JTA: “It was an incredible honor and privilege, on behalf of Emanuel Synagogue, to officiate at the first same-sex ceremony under the legislation.” Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
These Jewish groups are fighting — even physically, according to some — behind the scenes
Jonathan Greenblatt, left, is the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. Morton Klein, right, is the head of the Zionist Organization of America. (Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Last year, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations updated its secret rules to ban “insults, ad hominem attacks, and name-calling” among member organizations and instituted a special committee to consider complaints in strictest confidence.
On May 2, the committee met, in strictest confidence, to hear three complaints. The session, all parties agree, soon devolved into insults, ad hominem attacks and name-calling — and without a decision or definitive plans for what happens next.
Three Jewish organizations — the National Council of Jewish Women, the Anti-Defamation League and HIAS — accused the Zionist Organization of America of inappropriately criticizing them; in turn, the ZOA filed complaints against member groups that have yet to be scheduled for hearings. (The ZOA says it was not told that the meeting was off the record.)
The complaints range from differences as picayune as who is responsible for anti-Zionist signs at a mass rally to intimations of corrupt intent to allegations of violence. Click here for the full story
