Zionism

June 30, 2011December 11, 2020

What’s Next for Roberta?

JDL Australia

Roberta Moore has left the extreme right EDL (Jewish Division) complaining about Nazis.

‘Ms Moore had attempted to co-ordinate her efforts with those of the far-right American Jewish Task Force, whose leader Victor Vancier has been imprisoned for terrorism offences. The move, in February, was heavily criticised by the EDL leadership.

In a statement which she posted on Facebook, the Brazilian-born Ms Moore said she had been offered work on “an international level” elsewhere and so had decided to step down from the Jewish Division.’

Ms Moore came into conflict with the EDL recently – the leadership of the English Defence League “has distanced itself from the group’s Jewish Division, because of its partnership with the far-right American group Jewish Task Force”.

In an Australian JDL Facebook group now secret or defunct and assisted by Meir Weinstein from the Canadian JDL (which collaborates with the Canadian EDL), Ms Moore offers Australian JDLers assistance lining up Australian Defence League honcho Martin Brennan with the Australian Jewish Defence League, which is supporting a demonstration against an Islamic Conference early in July. Only 17 people have said they are attending.

The Australian Jewish Defence League has a very spotty history. JDL groups arose from and maintain an association with the Jewish extremist Kahane movement.

FREEDOM FLOTILLA UPDATE

UPDATE: Terrorist saboteurs of the Irish Boat to Gaza did cut the propeller shaft
Irish Gaza aid ship damaged in dock

Dr Fintan Lane, co-ordinator of Irish Ship to Gaza, said the damage to the propeller shaft was a potentially murderous act.

If pressure had been put on the shaft, which was weakened by a piece gouged out, it could have snapped, damaged the engine room and flooded the boat at sea, he said.

“This wasn’t designed to stop the ship from leaving its berth. Instead it was intended that the fatal damage to the ship would occur while she was at sea and would have resulted in the deaths of several of those on board,” he said. “This was a potentially murderous act.”The damage is said to be identical to damage suffered by the Greek/Swedish ship, the Juliano, in recent days.

Dr Lane demanded that the Irish and European governments condemn the attacks despite Taoiseach Enda Kenny warning the Irish human rights activists against trying to break the blockade.

“Israel has no right to interdict the flotilla and even less right to carry out attacks against vessels in Greek and Turkish ports,” he said.

Israel has not commented on the allegations.

We Demand an Independent Investigation into the Sabotage of the MV Saoirse
Irish Ship to Gaza SABOTAGED by Israeli agents: Protest & sit in today
Irish ship will not sail to Gaza after ‘sabotage’

“This was the type of sabotage that endangered human life,” Mr Lane said last night. “They put divers under the boat who cut a piece out of the propeller shaft. That means that the damage would have happened gradually and what would have happened eventually is that the propeller would have come up through the bottom of the boat, caused a flood in the engine room and would have caused the boat to sink.”

Mr Lane said that, due to the extent of the damage, the MV Saoirse would not be in a position to sail, adding that just six of the 20-plus crew who had been due to set sail would be able to take part in the flotilla by joining an Italian-based vessel today.

Those passengers who intend to board the Italian vessel include Mr Lane, former Munster and Ireland rugby player Trevor Hogan, Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy, Libyan-born Irish citizen Hussein Hamed, Derry-based Sinn Féin councillor Gerry MacLochlainn, and Zoe Lawlor, who teaches at the University of Limerick and is a member of the national committee of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Hasbaroids are out in droves – here’s a partial list of propaganda sources and outputs:

Jerusalem Center – looks like they are attempting to cast the Freedom Flotilla 2 as engineered by Khhhhhammmmasssss and IISSSSSMMMM
Stand With Us launches website against new flotilla
Peace Now, which shills for ziolites

Max Blumenthal debunks the IDF ‘sulphur’ propaganda:

Then, watch Ali Abunimah defumigates the hasbara in a lively debate with UNRWA’s Chris Gunness and Jerusalem Post’s Yaacov Katz.

One quarter of the Freedom Flotilla 2 humanitarians are Jewish. By threatening attack of the Flotilla 2 , zionists and their white supremacist allies demonstrate their intrinsic anti-semitism.

Hysteria, ‘hasbara’ and the flotilla

Lacking in credibility? You don’t say! I’m still waiting for the IDF to release all the videos confiscated from the Mavi Marmara – not just those that show the people aboard beating the commandos sliding down the ropes, but the stuff that happened before and after, too, especially the footage of the commandos killing those nine people.

Why won’t the IDF let us see that? Why do “senior officials in Jerusalem” make up scare stories about the flotilla? Why does Benny Gantz try to portray Gaza as a horn of plenty? Why does Israel twist and distort and cherrypick its way through the truth about Freedom Flotilla 1, Freedom Flotilla 2, Operation Cast Lead and everything else that has to do with its treatment of Palestinians?

Palestine/ Israel Links

Israel passes draft law requiring Palestinians to pay for their own home demolitions
Jello Biafra cancels his Tel Aviv gig
The State of the Struggle: Revolution and Counter-revolution in the Arab World – on how Middle Eastern and North African civil society movements have initiated, expanded, and given peoples across the region the motivation to rise up to join this “Arab Spring.”
Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar cancels Israel appearance in a slam-dunk for BDS
IOF troops fire at citizens homes south of Gaza
Made before his death, this film follows human rights activist Vittorio Arrigoni as he tries to help the people of Gaza.
An Israeli trap for Britain : In arresting Sheikh Raed Salah, the UK authorities support the persecution of Arab citizens of Israel
From UK prison, Palestinian leader Sheikh Raed Salah says he will fight deportation
Australian surgeons operate in Gaza
‘Listen, I can’t play in Israel when the Palestinians have no access to the same fundamental benefits that the Israelis do.’ I think the best approach is to boycott a government that seems hell-bent on very destructive policies.

Despicable racism: Israel seeking to dump its ‘surplus non-human’ African refugees on Australia.

The new plan was developed by a committee headed by MK Danny Danon (Likud), head of the Absorption Committee, who presented the plan to Australian parliamentarians who were visiting the Knesset. The leading parliamentarian who is leading the efforts from the Australian side is MP Michael Danby, who heads one of the relevant committees there and is considered very close to Israel.

The Australian representatives agreed to push the initiative and are scheduled to return to Australia this weekend to discuss the Israeli proposal. “The place for refugees from Africa is not in Israel,” said MK Danon. “If we don’t deal with this problem, we will find ourselves in a few years with a large Muslim refugeecommunity living among us. The proposal we’ve made would give a humanitarian answer [to the problem] without harming Israel’s fabric of life

Blog Wars: Pamela Geller vs. Gates of Vienna and the EDL?

Other Links

Leaks, sources and passing the salt

June 29, 2011August 24, 2022

Palestinian Political Prisoners, from the Oldest to the Youngest

Nael Barghouti was part of a Fatah squad who killed an Israeli officer in 1978. Although under international law occupying military forces are legitimate targets for resistance to occupation, Nael has been imprisoned since 1978 for life and is the longest-serving political prisoner held by Israel. Nael is regarded by Palestinian people as the dean of Palestinian political prisoners.

Yesterday Nael’s gaolers demanded a strip search. He refused so he was thrown in an isolation cell for two days and beaten.

Fellow detainee, Hilal Jaradat, reportedly rushed to his aid and was subsequently put together in a cell with Nael where they were both beaten by the guards, Al-Ashkar told Ma’an.

The lawyer for Al-Barghouti, Muhammad Al-Shayed, said in a statement that Nael is being punished for the incident and has been banned from receiving visitors for a period of four months, in addition to being fined 500 NIS and prohibited from buying from the prison cafeteria.

More than one third of Palestinian prisoners are denied visitation rights according to prisoner affairs expert Abdul-Nasser Farwana.

Nelson Mandela, now universally honoured, spent 27 years of his life from 1964 to 1982 imprisoned on the evil Robben Island, incarcerated by the apartheid South African regime for resisting its oppression. Current South African President Jacob Zuma who was imprisoned there for ten years. Over 3,000 political prisoners were banished to Robben Island between 1961 and 1991.

In Israel’s dungeons, there are many Palestinian Mandelas and Zumas, who await freedom after years of steadfastness.

According to B’tSelem, at the end of April 2011 there were around 5,380 Palestinian political prisoners, 4,381 are serving sentences and 1,002 are detained. These prisoners include 217 Palestinians children, 37 of whom are under the age of 16. 121 imprisoned children are detainees. Some prisoners haven’t seen their families for years.

The Israeli Occupation Forces take particular delight in disrupting the education of Palestinian children. During the present round of final year Tawjihi examinations, several children were detained near Bethlehem on the way home and told to report to the Israeli intelligence office. Often when children report, they are detained for hours or days, miss their exams and fail their final year.

According to Prisoners rights organisation Addameer,

Since the beginning of this Intifada in September 2000, over 2500 children have been arrested. Currently there are at least 340 Palestinian children being held in Israeli Prisons.

According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted on 20 November 1989 and entered into force on 2 September1990 (to which Israel is a signatory), and to relevant Israeli law, a child is defined as every human being under the age of 18 years. This is reiterated in the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, adopted by General Assembly Resolution 45/113 of 14 December 1990. However, Palestinian children from the age of 16 years are considered adults under Israeli military regulations governing the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

As is the case with adult prisoners, child detainees are transferred to prisons located within Israel. The primary prisons in which Palestinian child male detainees are held are Hasharon (Telmond), near Netanya, and Megiddo, near Haifa. Girl child prisoners are transferred to Neve Tertza Prison (Ramleh). Interrogation of child detainees takes place at Beit El and Huwarra Interrogation Centers, and occasionally other interrogation centers, and Palestinian child administrative detainees are held with adult administrative detainees at both Ofer and Negev Military Prison Camps. Palestinian children are primarily arrested at Israeli military checkpoints, from their homes, or from the street.

Since children 16 years and older are regarded by Israel as adults, they are not offered an education whilst in detainment or prison, are subject to medical negligence and are in many cases placed in the general criminal prison population where they are subject to harassment.

According to Addameer, Israel fails UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty.

Palestinian child prisoners are held in inhumane conditions of detention, made to live in overcrowded and filthy cells. Often, children are placed in small solitary confinement cells, measuring 1.5 square meters, that are extremely humid and have no windows for natural light, or with bright artificial light that is continuously kept on. This forces prisoners to remain awake at all times, depriving the prisoner of sleep for days in some cases. Prisoners do not receive sufficient food to meet the daily nutrition requirements for children, are prevented from going to the toilet at their will, and are not allowed a change of clothing.

Palestine / Israel Links

Raed Salah arrested after UK appearance
The elitist TED forums are viralised in TedX events. In Israel TedX is being spun to rebrand, sanitise and normalise oppression
Israel passes draft law requiring Palestinians to pay for their own home demolitions
Ethiopian children make up 1% of the education system’s student body. The report suggests that the concentration of Ethiopian immigrants in certain communities has resulted in some schools becoming “ghettos” for the community’s children.
AP Interview: PM Fayyad skeptical of UN bid, says declarations don’t change reality

Other Links

Climate sceptic Willie Soon received $1m from oil companies, papers show

June 29, 2011

Slavoj Zizek in Palestine

June 28, 2011December 11, 2020

Scuttlebutt Downunder: Australia Betrays Its Citizens on Israel’s Directive

Australian flotilla participants ‘have been told by DFAT that Israel will deny and restrict consular assistance to them should Israel board their boats and detain them and the Government is accepting this without any protest. The Australian delegates are angry at the failure of the Australian Government to stand up for their rights or Australian sovereignty.’

Sylvia Hale, former Greens NSW MP and on board the Gaza Freedom Flotilla 2, said via satellite phone:

“I find it … perturbing that the Israeli Government should propose to deny consular access, not only to Australian nationals but also to nationals of other countries.

“….[C]ould you please explain why the Australian Government has remained silent in the face of the possible injury, imprisonment or deportation of Australian citizens from Israel, especially as they have absolutely no desire to set foot, willingly or unwillingly, on Israeli territory,” Ms Hale said.?
Audio recordings of Ms Hale’s comments are available on request.

Jake Lynch, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at University of Sydney, said:
“The Australian government has a responsibility to protect its citizens against illegal military aggression, especially with prior knowledge of Israel’s plans.

“Both Australia and Israel are signatories to the Vienna convention, under which consular access must be allowed to detained persons. For Australia to waive this right at Israel’s behest shows our government places greater importance on supporting Israel’s flouting of international law than it does on the safety of Australians.

“With this decision, DFAT legitimises both the siege and naval blockade, both of which contravene Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, forbidding collective punishments.

“Australian diplomacy places our government on the extreme pro-Israeli fringe of world political opinion. The international community opposes the illegal siege of Gaza, the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and the ongoing expulsion of the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem. On all these issues, Australia is one of a tiny minority of countries which routinely provide diplomatic cover”, Associate Professor Lynch said.

Our muppet politicians seem to have forgotten that even drug runners, rapists, murderers and ‘terrorists’ like David Hicks are supplied consular assistance. The four Australians participating in the flotilla are peaceful humanitarians engaged in a principled action to break the villainous Israeli blockade, collective punishment of a civilian population of 1.6 million people, half of whom are children. The blockade of Gaza is illegal under international law.

If Australian politicians want to put the wishes of Israel first before the welfare and lives of Australian citizens, then they should go live there.

UPDATE 30/6/11

Kate Ausburn: No Diplomats For Gaza Flotilla

Australians taking part in the second Freedom Flotilla to Gaza have been told not to expect consular assistance should they be detained by Israeli authorities.
…
The Australian contingent of the Flotilla has been told through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) that Israel intends to deny or limit consular access to foreign nationals if they are detained during the Flotilla.
…
DFAT said that Israeli authorities had told the meeting that, “if it appears that a vessel intends to breach the blockade, it will be seized and escorted to Ashdod Port.”

Further, DFAT said that the meeting was told:

“Ashdod Port will be declared a closed military zone and no consular access will be possible. Participants will either be deported or transferred to one of three prisons. Limited consular access will be afforded to Australian consular officials to participants at the prison and no consular access will be permitted to participants at the airport prior to deportation. Journalists will be considered to be participating in the Flotilla and will not receive special treatment.”

DFAT told Hale that the Australian Government felt “concerned” about the apparent lack of consular access, however concluded, “the extent to which we will be able to help you will ultimately be determined by the Israeli government.”

Dear Aunty ABC comes good :))

DFAT warns of limited consular assistance for Australian activists

PM has seen emails from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which say the department has contacted Israel but can’t do any more.
…
STATEMENT FROM DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE (Voiceover): Australia will not be denying consular assistance to any of its citizens involved in the flotilla. On the contrary, Australia has made it clear to Israel that we expect that consular access will be made available in the event that any Australians are detained.

If any Australians are detained, consular officials will endeavour to provide appropriate consular assistance. However, access to those detained by Israeli authorities will ultimately be determined by the Israeli government.

CONNIE AGIUS: DFAT also advised PM that the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv has written to Israeli authorities expressing concern following the briefing.

But that’s not good enough for Sylvia Hale.

SYLVIA HALE: The Australian Government says that it will do what it can but it’s inhibited by Israeli local laws. But I expect my government to at least, if it cannot physically intervene to ensure our safety, to issue a public statement saying that it finds the Israeli attitude offensive and one that is worthy of condemnation.

Australians in Gaza flotilla fear limited consular help

Australian activists sailing in a flotilla to Gaza have been told they will have little or no consular assistance if Israel detains them.

Four Australians will be aboard one of the vessels which aims to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has contacted former NSW Greens Upper House member Sylvia Hale, who is one of the four Australians making the voyage.

She says she was told the department had been briefed by the Israeli government earlier in the month about plans to intercept the flotilla and limit consular access to the activists.

“I gather the Israelis more or less said what they were proposing to do, namely to intercept the flotilla, to force it to divert to the port of Ashdod, which would be declared a closed military zone, at which there would be no possibility of consular access,” she said.

“Then participants would either be deported immediately or they would be taken to one of three prisons, at which there might be the possibility of consular access.”

Last year a similar flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli Defence Force.

Nine people were killed and hundreds arrested.

Ms Hale and legal experts say they are critical of DFAT’s response to Israel’s plans.

ABC Radio’s PM program asked the department to clarify what it would do if Australians were detained.

A statement in response said Australia would not deny consular assistance to any Australians involved in the flotilla.

It also said the Australian embassy in Tel Aviv had written to Israeli authorities expressing concern over the flotilla briefing.

In emails from DFAT seen by PM the department said it had contacted Israel but could not do any more.

Ms Hale says that is not good enough.

“The Australian Government says that it will do what it can but it’s inhibited by Israeli local laws, but I expect my government to at least, if it cannot physically intervene to ensure our safety, to issue a public statement saying that it finds the Israeli attitude offensive and one that is worthy of condemnation,” she said.

Lawyer’s concern

Legal experts are also concerned about the Australian Government’s position.

Australian Lawyers’ Alliance director Greg Barns says activists may be subjected to abuse in the time it takes the Australian embassy to reach them.

“People could be held incommunicado for a number of days before seeing anybody from the Australian embassy,” he said.

“It could mean that people are subjected to physical and mental abuse; it could mean that people are subjected to interrogation which wouldn’t be allowed if they had access to lawyers or to consular access.

“And it could mean that those people then are forced to make false statements or seek to cut some form of deal so they can just get out of the detention they’re being held in.”

Mr Barns says DFAT should take a tougher stance.

“What we have here is Israel – which is a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which is the international instrument that governs the way in which diplomatic relations are to be conducted between countries, and including it looks at the issue of consular access,” he said.

“Australia should not tolerate Israel simply saying, ‘well we will drag people into a closed military zone and have no consular access’.”

Israel has signed the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations but it has not been ratified.

The flotilla is scheduled to depart in the next few days.

What you can do

Contact your Australian Federal MP and demand they ask a question in Parliament regarding Australia’s abandonment of its citizens on directives from Israel.
Contact your local media and ask that they highlight the issue.
Viralise the issue through through your choice of social media.
Phone DFAT and your local Consulate and complain on behalf of the Australian flotilla participants.
Insist that the peaceful humanitarian activists must be protected from Israeli violence and piracy.

Sylvia Hale: “But whoever asks us ‘what about the Aborigines,’ are not the ones who are interested in their rights, and not the ones fighting for those rights. They are using this as a diversionary tactic for evading the debate over Israel’s policy, or to delegitimize criticism of Israel.”

No Turkish boat to Gaza as Ankara, Tel Aviv mend fences
What does fraudulent “anti-gay flotilla” video tells us about Israeli hasbara strategy?
Gaza flotilla organizers demand Greek police provide security for ships
Freedom Flotilla doing what government won’t: supporting Palestinian human rights
If any Australian MPs support the Gaza flotilla, the press here isn’t reporting them
Freedom Flotilla Ready to Sail Despite Threats and Sabotage
Harper Should Support Canadians Safe Passage to the Gaza Strip on Freedom Flotilla Two
Socialist Party Member of European Parliament joins Palestine “Freedom Flotilla II” — Aim of Flotilla to break siege and highlight blockade impact on Gaza population
Gaza Freedom Flotilla organizers dismiss Israeli lies they plan to “attack” Israeli hijackers as they board ship “The organizer of the Gaza-bound flotilla dismissed Tuesday Israeli allegations that extremists aboard the ships plan to harm Israeli soldiers who would be dispatched to stop them. ”
The deep reach of Zionist lobby in the Australian Parliament and society

We now have, thanks to Greens leader Bob Brown, the list of politicians and journalists who took the junket last year. The fact that so many were willing to be taken on a propaganda tour (and how many even thought of visiting the West Bank for longer than five minutes, let alone Gaza?) shows the level of obedience to the Zionist agenda in Australian elite circles. Thankfully, studies prove that the general public are increasingly supportive of the occupied Palestinians.

Israeli Hasbara Alert

Last night, the propeller of the Swedish ship with the Freedom Flotilla was sabotaged in Greece. This morning, Israel has obscured this crime with a barrage of propaganda alleging that some participants on the flotilla are intending to use chemical weapons against the Israeli military if (when) they attempt to board.

Notwithstanding that it is illegal for Israel to board vessels without permission in international waters and vessels under attack in such a manner have a right to defend themselves, this shameless rubbish, quoting the usual unnamed ‘defence sources’ that signify the mouthing of Israeli hasbara, projects Israel’s own persistent chemical crimes – its use of skunkwater and CS gas against non-violent protestors against Israel’s illegal apartheid wall in demonstrations held weekly in the West Bank, and its criminal use of white phosphorus in its Operation Cast Lead massacre in January, 2009. Israel also denies the people of Gaza access to clean water – an insidious form of chemical poisoning.

according to the Jerusalem Post today, Israel is preparing to commit more crimes against the peaceful Freedom Flotilla..

Navy commandos have developed new techniques on how to fast-rope down onto the ships’ upper decks quickly. They also have new equipment such as water cannons, attack dogs from Oketz and riot-control specialists from the Prisons Service’s elite Masada Unit.

Above: Video of the damage to the Swedish flotilla boat’s propeller.

Swedish author Henning Mankell, who took part in last year’s flotilla and is joining the currently planned one, said that the flotilla was not a declaration of war, but a declaration of peace.

Fact-checking the State Department on Gaza aid channels
Spirits of Justice Going to Gaza

Palestine / Israel Links

Israel’s draconian anti-boycott bill targeting individuals, corporations and NGOs who support BDS is approved for its final reading.

This bill is politically motivated and unfortunately it is not the only bill promoted in Knesset these days that stands in contrast to democratic values. A boycott by consumers is a legitimate tool of protest and falls within the protection of freedom of expression. It is ironic that this bill will further enhance the criticism voiced against Israel”. A representative of Coalition of Women for Peace, who was present in the committee debate, quoted Rotem as saying “international law is not of my interest.”

The Israel lobby playbook – rewritten by J Street
Israel refuses citizenship for gay man married to Jewish immigrant – so Israel is a welcoming, gay-friendly place?
Israel’s chief clergy decries arrest of top rabbi who called for killing gentiles – rabbis in Israel are employees of the state.
Glenn Beck to address Knesset panel in July – Israel uses anti-semites to legitimise itself? what a joke.

Israel using phone spam promising rewards to recruit spies in southern Lebanon
How Israel nobbles Palestinian students’ education : Israeli Army Detains Tawjihi Students in Bethlehem
The Palestine Entries: Today I saw Hamas for what it’s worth
UNESCO censures Israel over Mughrabi Bridge : UNESCO’s censure calls for the immediate cessation of all renovation work done on the Mughrabi Gate bridge, which leads from the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem to the to the al-Aqsa Mosque and Temple Mount.
Pinkwashed : Solidarity between liberation movements is essential
BOYCOTT! Issue 59
Australian denies being Hamas recruit
Israel remains a Tier 2 country for Human Trafficking in US report [pdf]

inadequate at identifying and protecting labor trafficking victims, prosecuting and convicting labor trafficking offenders … Some agencies for migrant workers require recruitment fees from $4,000-20,000 : these migrants are vulnerable to debt bondage and sex slavery.

Australia Links

Human rights complaint: moral victory the only hope – the current Australian government stance on David Hicks’ case is deplorable

June 27, 2011December 11, 2020

Exposure of Israeli Scuttlebutt Continues

Outrageously, over the weekend apartheid Israel threatened journalists on board the Freedom Flotilla boats, who include two Israeli journalists, Amira Hass and Joseph Dana. However, apparently Nutanyahoo is backpedalling Israel has now dropped this threat.

The Israeli government has dropped a threat to issue lengthy deportation orders against journalists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he ordered authorities to find a formula for the reporters if they are on a flotilla that violates Israel’s entry laws.
…
The Foreign Press Association, which represents hundreds of journalists working for international news organizations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, condemned the Israeli decision and urged the government to cancel the order.

“The government’s threat to punish journalists covering the Gaza flotilla sends a chilling message to the international media and raises serious questions about Israel’s commitment to freedom of the press,” the FPA said in a statement.

The association’s lawyer, Gilead Sher, sent a letter to Helman demanding that the threat be rescinded.

“The state of Israel must make a clear distinction between those who carry out an action and those who cover it (as journalists),” Sher said in his note. Israel’s local journalists association also condemned the government’s letter.

In another brilliant scoop, Max Blumenthal reveals that the anti-semitic crazed rightwing Christian Zionist Hagee and his loony minions are funding the Israel Law Center’s effort to stymy the flotilla.

Who is Shurat Hadin, and what is their agenda? According to the group’s website, Shurat Hadin is a Tel Aviv-based law center that specializes in lawsuits against “terrorists.” Its founder, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, describes herself in her bio as a “human rights activist.”
….
I have discovered that a major donor to Shurat Hadin is the homophobic far-right Pastor John Hagee. In March 2010, I reported that Hagee appeared beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a major rally in Jerusalem to denounce the two state solution and announce the financial contributions he and his supporters were making to Israeli organizations. Among the organizations Hagee said he had bankrolled was Shurat Hadin.
…
As the researcher and reporter Bruce Wilson has documented, Hagee preaches that the Jewish Rothschild family controls the US economy through the Federal Reserve and conspires to attack the American middle class by devaluing the dollar. In his 2006 book Jerusalem Countdown, Hagee claimed that a lineage of “half-breed Jews,” descended from Esau and which included Adolf Hitler, have persecuted full-blooded Jews throughout history. Hagee prophesied that God intended to exterminate that “half-breed Jew” line.

Scuttlebutt Updates

Gaza-bound ship “Juliano” found sabotaged in Greek port

It’s one thing for a foreign power to press the Greek government to delay our voyage with red tape. It is quite another thing for enemy agents to operate on Greek territory. It is high time for the international community to put their foot down and say: Enough!”

On Saturday, 25 June, the French boat, Dignity / Karama, left the port of l’ile Rousse in Corsica, France, to meet up with at least nine other vessels sailing to Gaza to challenge Israel’s illegal blockade. Israel’s best efforts to stop our boats at port, including pressure on governments, threats against insurance and communications companies, intimidation of human rights defenders, frivolous lawsuits and other underhanded tactics, have thusfar failed. The Freedom Flotilla has set sail.

Former Bush Speechwriter Says He’s ‘Cool’ With Israel Shooting Americans On Gaza Flotilla
U.S., Israel escalate threats against flotilla, including U.S. citizens
Israeli officials contradict each other over Gaza flotilla “extremism” claims
Antony Loewenstein on ABC The Drum explaining the reasons behind the Freedom Flotilla 2
Tell Hillary to Ensure Safe Passage for US Boat to Gaza
Anxious activists prepare for Gaza flotilla launch
On delegitimization – A ‘Jerusalem Post’ roundtable
Israel Law Center behind harassment of flotilla funded by homophobic End Timer Pastor John Hagee
Netanyahu’s cabinet orders IDF to be firm in stopping Gaza flotilla
‘Israel, Egypt agree flotilla can unload cargo in El-Arish’ – possible propaganda
Twitter / @IsraelMFA: RT @DavidSaranga: Video …
According to Ynet, gutless wonder Nutanyahoo backed out of apologies for Israel’s murder of flotilla participants last year three times.
Israel reviews warning to Gaza flotilla reporters
Former Bush Speechwriter Says He’s ‘Cool’ With Israel Shooting Americans On Gaza Flotilla

Palestine / Israel Links
Jerusalem court indicts four border policemen for assaulting Palestinian boy
A society is judged by the way it treats its prisoners
We’re Here, We’re Queer—And We Support Palestine!
Dutch MP calls to slash funding of anti-Israel NGOs
Rightwing shill for apartheid Israel Ron Boswell attempts to wedge Greens over BDS
Egypt to boycott Shakira over Israel?
‘Anti-boycott bill has fragile foundations’
They MUST Stop Teaching Their Kids To Hate
Non-violent Palestinian activist Nagi Tamimi sentenced to 12 months prison for disrespecting the Occupation & the IOF.
The ADC vs the Arab-American community
Criminalising Palestinian solidarity
Challenging Racism by Israelis on Every Front
UNISON Rejects Executive Report and Maintains Suspension of Links with Israel’s Apartheid Union Histadrut
Interview Janan Abdu-Makhoul: “What cows are to India, security is to Israel: when they call in security, human rights vanish”

Australia Wealth Inequality

Inequalities of wealth in Australia analysed Among the Melbourne Institute’s findings is that the ‘bottom half’ of Australia’s population owns less than 10 per cent of total household net worth, while the wealthiest 10 per cent owns 45 per cent. (This was in 2005, before the crash).
15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America