NEW ON FACEBOOK ~~ WAYS TO ABUSE PALESTINIAN CHILDREN

March 25, 2013 at 13:34 (Collective Punishment, FaceBook, Hasbara, Israel, Just Plain Disgusting, Palestine, Rights of The Child, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

Simple advice for how to deal with a Palestinian child:
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I’d break every one of his bones
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More violence is needed. Where are the clubs to break their legs?
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Put him on his knees and shoot a bullet into his mouth.
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Israeli corporal Ari Ben Reuven says: “break every bone” of crying Palestinian boy seized on way to school

by Ali Abunimah
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The Electronic Intifada has captured even more horrifyingly racist and violent statements by Israeli soldiers on Facebook targeting Palestinian children as part of our effort to document this widespread phenomenon.

On the day US President Barack Obama arrived for his Israel visit last week, Israeli occupation forces in Hebron violently seized and detained dozens of Palestinian children, some aged as young as eight, on their way to school.

The harrowing video, above, of the Israeli army attack on the children went viral on YouTube.

B’Tselem, the Israeli organization that documents and criticizes some of Israel’s human rights abuses and which posted the video, condemned the mass arrest of the children as “unlawful” and said that some of the children had been taken to interrogation centers wheresevere and systematic abuses, including holding children in solitary confinement and harsh interrogation without parents or lawyers present is the norm.

In previous cases, Palestinian children have testified that under such conditions they have been forced to confess by Israeli interrogators to false charges of throwing rocks or molotov cocktails and pressed to inform on friends and family.

“A bullet in his mouth”

Givati Brigade’s Yoni Gordon thinks Palestinian child should be put on his knees and shot in the mouth (Source).

When the video of the children’s arrest was posted on the popular Israeli Facebook page “We are all in favor of death to terrorists,” a hotbed of racist incitement, it provided an opportunity for dozens of Israelis, once again, to express horrifyingly violent views (Screenshot of all the comments in context).

Some of those posting comments were Israeli soldiers. Here are a few that indicate the mindset of these soldiers:

Kfir Brigade’s Oren Degani, seen with a child, thinks Palestinian children are “little shits” (Source).

Oren Degani whose Facebook profile contains information suggesting he is a member of the “Black Scorpions” unit of the Israeli army’s Kfir Brigade, clearly believes the Palestinian children deserve such treatment and that they are all presumed guilty. He wrote under the video:

They pretend to be innocent saints who did nothing. I know this from my reserve duty. They throw a firebomb and when you catch them they cry and swear on Muhammad that they didn’t do anything … little shits.

Corporal Ari Ben Reuven’s profile image includes the motto “The road to peace is paved with telescopic gunsights” and “Let the army mow [them] down! (Source).

Ari Ben Reuven, whose Facebook profile indicates he is a corporal in the Israeli army was even more blunt:

I’d break every one of his bones

Ron Shwartz had a similar reaction and observed:

More violence is needed. Where are the clubs to break their legs?

Yoni Gordon, a member of the Givati Brigade had simple advice for how to deal with a Palestinian child:

Put him on his knees and shoot a bullet into his mouth.

 

Avisaf Hillel (center) misses his army days of abusing Palestinian children (Source).

Avisaf Hillel, whose Facebook profile says he attends “Ariel University,” a settler institution in the occupied West Bank, and is a die-hard supporter of Israel’s Beitar Jerusalemfootball club whose fans are notorious for their racist mob rampages, looked back fondly and with a touch of sarcasm on his time in the army when he was mistreating Palestinian children:

How I miss those days!!! But during my time in regular military service, they couldn’t get a peep out of their mouth!! We took care of them real well!!

Jewish Agency’s social media propagandist Avi Mayer also defends child abuse

Another of those defending and justifying the soldiers’ brutality seen in the video was the Jewish Agency’s social media propandist Avi Mayer – himself an American volunteer in the Israeli army.

In a series of tweets, Mayer, a former Israeli army spokesman, suggested that accusations leveled against the children by the Israeli occupation army should be taken as incontrovertible truth that the children were criminals who deserved such shocking treatment and that Palestinian children should be viewed as guilty until proven innocent of whatever the Israeli army accuses them.

Not surprisingly, Mayer has absolutely refused to criticize the Israeli army’s routine, documented abuses of children or the horrifying statements of his comrades in arms.

With thanks to Dena Shunra for additional research.

 

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ISRAELI HATE REACHES NEW HEIGHTS ON FACEBOOK

March 23, 2013 at 17:17 (Extremism, FaceBook, Israel, Just Plain Disgusting, Palestine, Racism, zionist harassment)

“May you die garbage Arabs, amen!”

This is only a small selection of therepresentative and typical comments posted under the picture of the three boys in the tent.

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“Castrate them!” “Burn them!” “Bullet in the head!”: Facebook Israelis react to photo of Palestinian kids

 Ali Abunimah 
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An image of three Palestinian boys sparked an outpouring of violent and sadistic fantasies after it was reposted to an Israeli Facebook page (Original source and screenshot of context).

 (Shadi Hatem)

Having regularly documented the horrifying racism and violent fantasies frequently expressed by Israelis on Facebook or Instagram, I thought I had seen everything.

But this may be the worst yet. On Wednesday, the picture above of three Palestinian boys in a tent was posted on a popular Facebook page titled in Hebrew “We are all in favor of death to terrorists.” Under the picture is the following caption:

Arab boys in the illegal Arab outpost established near Maale Adumim. What should the Israeli army do to them?

This is an apparent reference to the peaceful “Bab al-Shams” encampment established by Palestinians near Jerusalem to protest Israel’s plans to seize more land for settlements. The protest was timed to coincide with the visit of US President Barack Obama.

“Run the tent over with a truck/Merkava tank/a bus/ whatever it takes to crush and kill these children,” suggested Facebook user Lidor Swisa.

As of Friday there were almost 200 comments under the post offering suggestions of what the Israeli army should do – the vast majority fantasizing extreme sadistic violence and murder.

What makes this even more than usually disturbing is many of the Israeli commentators appear to be high school students themselves – perhaps only a year or two from mandatory army service when they will be empowered to carry out their fantasies.

Soldiers and adults join in the virtual pogrom

Kfir Brigade sergeant Ohad Halevy believes Palestinian children peacefully protesting should be “slaughtered” (Source).

But others, such as Shlomo Levi, are clearly already army-age adults. His suggestion?

“I’d have thrown nerve gas into the tent and closed it and made them breath it until the end”

Kfir Infantry Brigade member David Kozolovski justifies violence against Palestinian children (Source).

David Kozolovski wrote, “To all those comparing Jews to Nazis, Jews did not try to kill German civilians,” thereby justifying the orgy of violent fantasies against the children.

Kozolovski’s profile pictures on Facebook include images of him in his Israeli army uniform bearing the insignia of the Kfir Infantry Brigade.

Ohad Halevy, another soldier in the Kfir Brigade simply wrote “Slaughter them!” of the three children in the photo.

“May you die garbage Arabs, amen!”

This is only a small selection of therepresentative and typical comments posted under the picture of the three boys in the tent.

A minority of users objected to these pervasive comments. Lilach Lilush, said, “Excuse me … I disagree… what do you mean ‘eliminate?’ What are we, an arm of Hamas or Hizballah? We are more enlightened. We should just return them safely where they came from.”

Even in her objection Lilush could not but stereotype Arabs as monsters compared to “enlightened” Israelis. But still, hers was a very rare sentiment amid the frenzy of bloodlust that sees the three Palestinian boys in the picture as legitimate targets for extreme violence.

Widespread incitement and racism

Again, I stress as in my previous posts, that this horrifying racism and sadism towards Arabs seems to be pervasive among Israelis who use social media and reflects the much broader phenomenon of escalating racism in Israel against Palestinians and Africans.

Haaretz noted, for instance, in a recent article that racist incitement by Israeli public figures doubled in 2012. It also reported on how the kind of crude and shocking racism seen in these comments is common among Israeli schoolchildren in Jerusalem.

Nurit Peled-Elhanan has also documented in her recent book the pervasive anti-Arab racism and stereotypes that Israeli children are exposed to at school which may contribute to this horrifying phenomenon.

It is also notable that the “We are all in favor of death to terrorists” Facebook group has more than 41,000 “Likes” and images of Palestinians, Arabs and Israelis deemed traitorous “leftists” are frequently posted attracting similarly vile comments.

In his speech in Jerusalem this week, President Obama also observed that “Israelis are so active on social media that every day seemed to bring a different Facebook campaign about where I should give this speech.”

The violence is not just virtual

In at least one case we know of, an Israeli soldier, Maxim Vinogradov, announced on Facebook his intention to assist in the “annihilation” of Arabs just days before he went out and shot father of two Ziad Jilani at a checkpoint in Jerusalem for no known reason in 2010.

An example of the Israeli army’s routine brutality against children was on display on the very day Obama landed when dozens of children as young as eight were abused and kidnapped by Israeli soldiers as they were on their way to school in Hebron  a harrowing scene caught on video.

 

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FACEBOOK OR ‘HATEBOOK’?

March 16, 2013 at 18:24 (Extremism, FaceBook, Hasbara, Israel, Palestine, Racism, zionism)

 FaceBook has become the zionists’ newest forum for spreading their hatred as can be seen in the following …
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Golani Brigade soldier: “May all Arabs die … I am a proud racist.”
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“May all Arabs die!” Israelis on Facebook express joy at Jordan bus crash that killed Palestinian pilgrims

 by Ali Abunima
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Israelis, including at least one person identifying himself as a soldier, reacted with genocidal joy on Facebook to the horrifying news this morning that 17 Palestinians returning from a pilgrimage had been killed in a bus accident in Jordan and dozens more injured. Early reports had put the number of dead at 14.

According to The Jordan Times, the accident occurred as the bus descended toward the Jordan Valley “and slammed into a passenger vehicle causing it to overturn. The bus then slammed into a truck and the two vehicles crashed resulting in the deaths and the high number of injuries.”

Israelis overjoyed at horrifying deaths

“I couldn’t ask for a better morning than this,” wrote Facebook user Kobi Yaacov Saroussiunder an item about the accident on the Facebook page of Israel’s Channel 2, “Shame there isn’t another zero at the end [of the number of victims].”

Kobi Yaacov Saroussi is disappointed there weren’t ten times as many deaths.

There were dozens more similar comments. Facebook user Demri Alice wrote “Finally it’s possible to ‘Like’ something,” to which she added a smiley face.

In horrifying deaths of Palestinians, Demri Alice finally find something to “Like” on Facebook.

Many were brief. Tomer Reuven simply commented “Very good.”

“Great! Let’s hope everyone on the bus was an Arab!” said Eitan Wolfer Eifergan.

“I’ve never tolerated Arabs,” wrote Kobi Noga, “I’m an extreme rightist. We should kill them all.”

Kobi Noga, self-described “extreme rightist,” thinks all Arabs should be killed.

Shenhav Sharbit, using the perjorative term “arboushim” – roughly the equivalent of the N-word – said Arabs could “all die” and that was “all good.”

Shenhav Sharbit uses a racist epithet for Arabs to express her joy at their deaths.

Golani Brigade soldier: “May all Arabs die … I am a proud racist.”

In a screenshot from his Facebook page, Chen Shaptiban is seen in a uniform bearing the tree symbol indicating that he is a member of the Israeli army’s Golani Brigade.

Among the most horrifying of the many horrifying comments were those of Chen Shaptiban who, based on a photo on his Facebook page, appears to be a member of the Israeli army’s notorious “Golani brigade” which was recently in the news because some of its members have posted shocking photographs on Instagram. One of Shaptiban’s reactions to the road accident was this:

May all Arabs die. There is no place for Arabs in the land of Israel. Maybe it sounds terrible to some people in north Tel Aviv, but they too do not deserve to live in this state, and yes, I am a proud racist, proud of my state and the soldiers guarding it!

Objections to racism shut down with more racist abuse

Some Palestinian citizens of Israel and Israeli Jews objected to the pervasive racism. Facebook user Marwan Momo, for example, wrote, “You keep crying Holocaust Holocaust but look how you talk!”

Gilad Kapeliuk wrote, “The sickening racism does not surprise me …. I’m ashamed to be part of this nation.”

But Avigail Mishaiv replied to Kapeliuk, “Gaza is waiting for you with open arms. You can go and be proud over there.

Golani soldier Shaptiban also retorted, “Gilad, you leftists are the cancer in the state, traitors to the state, the garbage of Israeli society.”

Regev Cohen, responding to another Facebook user, whom he addressed with a homophobic epithet, wrote, “All the terrorists in the world, all the fucking martyrs, who are they? Arabs and Muslims” before referring to Arabs as “barbarians” and “human waste.”

Ori Avraham reacted to criticism of the racist statements from a user called “Irit” by telling her, “Do you know what the biggest dream of the Muslims is? To exterminate all the Jews by any means, so be quiet.”

Not an isolated incident

It is important to emphasize that the racist comments in this incident were not rare or exceptional, but numerous and pervasive.

While the comments above were collected from the Facebook page of Israel’s Channel 2, many similar racist comments could be seen just as frequently under the news item about the crash on the Facebook page of Walla! News, another major Israeli media outlet.

At Walla! for example, Elior Mizrahi commented, “Sabbath morning, a beautiful day!” and added a smiley face. Shai Hadad expressed the sentiment, “14 is too few, shame it wasn’t more.”

Nor is this an isolated incident. The Electronic Intifada has previously documented numerous examples of Israelis expressing shocking racism and calls for racist and genocidal violence on Facebook.

Today’s disgusting comments are also reminiscent of what happened when some Israelis expressed delight after a number of Palestinian children were killed in a bus accident in February last year.

It is also notable that while the habitual expressions of joy by Israelis at the deaths and suffering of Palestinians go largely unremarked, an Egyptian activist, Samira Ibrahim, was the focus of worldwide condemnation recently after her nomination for a White House award was withdrawn when it came to light that she had expressed joy on Twitter at the deaths of Israelis in the July 2012 bombing of a bus in the Bulgarian resort town of Burgas among other objectionable and racist comments.

Words lead to killing

This shocking and pervasive racism is not harmless. Many of those expressing it are members of Israeli occupation forces who hold immense power over the Palestinian population.

In at least one case we know about, an Israeli occupation “border policeman,” Maxim Vinogradov, had expressed a desire on Facebook to assist in “annihilating” Arabs just one week before he shot dead Palestinian father Ziad Jilani at a checkpoint in eastern occupied Jerusalem, a killing for which Jilani’s family continues to seek justice.

 

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13 Comments

FACEBOOK UNFRIENDING TRUTH ACTIVISTS

December 28, 2012 at 09:53 (Activism, Censorship, Civil Liberties, DesertPeace Editorial, FaceBook, zionist harassment)

 unfriend
FaceBook has literally launched a cyberwar against Truth Activists. They are obviously succumbing to zionist pressure to do this as most of those ‘unfriended’ are friends of Palestine.
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I just received the following from Michael Rivero of What Really Happened;
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Social Fixer is telling me I am no longer FB friends with the following people:You are no longer friends with:
Michael F Rivero 11 min ago (account inactive)
Anthony J Hilder 11 min ago (account inactive)
William Lewis 11 min ago (account inactive)
Richard Gage 11 min ago (account inactive)
William Rodriguez 11 min ago (account inactive)
Infowar Artist 11 min ago (account inactive)
Weare Change 11 min ago (account inactive)
Wacboston At Twitterr 11 min ago (account inactive)
Michael Murphy Tmp 11 min ago (account inactive)
Robert M Bowman 11 min ago (account inactive)
Peter Dale Scott 11 min ago (account inactive)
Jason Infowars 11 min ago (account inactive)
Mike Skuthan 11 min ago (account inactive)
Packy Savvenas 11 min ago (account inactive)

Some of these people, like Rivero, Gage, Bowman, Peter Dale Scott, William Rodriguez are prominent 9/11 truthers and bloggers.

Click HERE to see the comments.
My name is not on the list as I am not on FaceBook. I have given my reasons for this many times…
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Our message will continue to ring out for Peace and Justice VERY LOUDLY!
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As I said when banned from Blogger and Kos; “They can ban us, but they cannot silence us!”
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Kudos to Rivero and his site for doing this daily … He is an inspiration to all of us!

2 Comments

FACEBOOK AS A VEHICLE OF HATE

December 20, 2012 at 11:46 (FaceBook, Hasbara, Israel, Racism, zionist harassment)

 Evil Facebook

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Israeli celebrity who called on Facebook for Palestinian children to “suffer” quits UNICEF post

Submitted by Ali Abunimah 

 

Israeli TV personality Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes has quit as Chair of the Israeli Fund for UNICEF after just months, stating that UNICEF officials wanted to vet her Facebook postings which notoriously included expressing a desire for Palestinian children to “suffer.”

Shalom Nir-Mozes, who is also wife of Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, has claimed that Palestinians “have it as part of their DNA to hate us” and publicly urged against a ceasefire during Israel’s November assault on Gaza which killed more than 170 people including three dozen children.

Over several months, Israeli activist Ari Remez organized a Facebook group with more than 200 members whose Hebrew name translates as “Sack Judy from UNICEF” to document, translate and inform UNICEF affiliates around the world of Shalom Nir-Mozes’ hate speech. Remez also used his Twitter feed (@AriRemez) to document Shalom Nir-Mozes’ inflammatory postings.

Earlier this month the Middle East Children’s Alliance issued an action alert urging people to demand that UNICEF remove Shalom Nir-Mozes because of her hateful statements.

UNICEF, which exists to promote the rights and well-being of children, had previously distanced itself from Shalom Nir-Mozes, stating that her lengthy compendium of violent and racist statements “do not reflect the views of UNICEF.” The Israeli Fund for UNICEF is an Israeli nongovernmental organization that raises money for UNICEF and collaborates with the UN body.

Enhancing the prestige of Israel

On Wednesday, Shalom Nir-Mozes announced on her Facebook page that she had quit, bristling at various strictures.

Shalom Nir-Mozes said she had originally accepted the invitation to head the Israeli Fund for UNICEF so she “could contribute even more to the welfare of children in Israel and around the whole world, and to enhance the prestige of Israel around the world.”

Trouble with her Facebook posts

But she felt let down by UNICEF as she explained in her statement:

I was sorry to discover very quickly that this was not how things were. UNICEF is a wondrous organization with a very important agenda, but by force of being an institution affiliated with the UN, it put in place bureaucratic, political, and other obstacles that prevented me from promoting the goals I set for myself upon entering the position. It started with my visit to Sderot, when I organized the donation of thousands of toys and treats for the children of the bombarded South during the recent military confrontation.

The organization was entirely unwilling to allow its name to be involved in this move, for political and diplomatic reasons. They also asked me to have my activities vetted by the UNICEF branch in East Jerusalem. It continued when I was asked to let the organization vet the Facebook entries in which I express my views about various issues. The climax was when I heard that in contrast with the rest of the world, where the organization is called UNICEF Colombia or UNICEF Spain, as the case may be, in Israel the organization wanted to call itself The Israeli Fund for UNICEF.

Shalom Nir-Mozes’ full statement, translated by Dena Shunra, is below.

Apparently adhering to the non-political nature of UNICEF and not making statements about how you want some children to suffer, was simply too much of an imposition on a woman – who by her own account – has dedicated her life to the needy.

UNICEF responds

UNICEF Spokesman Peter Smerdon emailed The Electronic Intifada in response to an inquiry:

We understand that Ms. Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes has tendered her resignation as Honorary Chair of the Annual General Assembly of the Israeli Fund for UNICEF [IFU]. We respect the decision made between the IFU and of Ms Shalom Nir-Mozes. Specific enquiries relating to the resignation of Ms. Shalom Nir-Mozes should be addressed to the Board of the Israeli Fund for UNICEF, a legally independent, non-governmental organization.

Statement by Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes

Facebook status posted on 19 December 2012

About two months ago I, was appointed to head the Israeli branch of UNICEF, an organization affiliated with the U.N., whose goal it is to help the children in the world whose life circumstances have brought upon them misery and difficulties.

Many people were surprised that I accepted the organization’s request to lead it, as anyone who knows me, knows that being direct and forthright is part of who I am, and that when something disturbs or touches me, I express my position directly, without diplomatic niceties. A UN-affiliated organization, I was told, would not allow me such a free hand, and would force me to act in a manner that is diplomatic, and has no bite. Despite these warnings, I accepted the organization’s invitation, as the care for needy children has always been an integral part of my very being. As a mother of five children and as chair of the Chom [warmth] Association for many years, whose goal it is to collect food and medications for needy children in Israel, I felt compelled to accept this invitation, through which I believed that I could contribute even more to the welfare of children in Israel and around the whole world, and to enhance the prestige of Israel around the world.

I was sorry to discover very quickly that this was not how things were. UNICEF is a wondrous organization with a very important agenda, but by force of being an institution affiliated with the U.N., it put in place bureaucratic, political, and other obstacles that prevented me from promoting the goals I set for myself upon entering the position. It started with my visit to Sderot, when I organized the donation of thousands of toys and treats for the children of the bombarded South during the recent military confrontation.

The organization was entirely unwilling to allow its name to be involved in this move, for political and diplomatic reasons. They also asked me to have my activities vetted by the UNICEF branch in East Jerusalem. It continued when I was asked to let the organization vet the Facebook entries in which I express my views about various issues. The climax was when I heard that in contrast with the rest of the world, where the organization is called UNICEF Colombia or UNICEF Spain, as the case may be, in Israel the organization wanted to call itself The Israeli Fund for UNICEF.

In recent days, much information was published about the sad situation of Israel’s children, many of whom live below the poverty line and suffer a severe need for the most basic living conditions that a person needs to maintain an appropriate quality of life. I was raised to think that charity begins in one’s hometown. With all of my empathy for promoting awareness of difficulties of the children of the world, wherever they may be, I am a practical person, who – at the end of the day – wants to care for the severe and immediate needs of the thousands of hungry and needy children who live in Israel today. I am less interested in creating a mere change of awareness, while forestalling practical initiatives for donation to children in Israel and attempting to tiptoe through political landmines, which – at the end of the day – castrate any activity that could make a real change in this difficult situation.

To summarize: I came in order to work and donate my time and capacities for the practical promotion of the children’s distress, and I did not feel that in this framework I was given a real opportunity to do so. I have therefore decided, in full cooperation with the organization’s directorship (which on its part found it difficult to contain my independence and my concern for the interests of Israel, in contrast with the organization’s desire to blur out the national aspect of this activity), to resign form my position as chair of UNICEF Israel (or the Israeli Fund for UNICEF, if you like), with the intent of investing my time for acting for the children of Israel, as I have done in recent years. I wish much success to the organization and invite anyone who would like to reach out to the children of Israel to join the Chom association, which is dedicated entirely to the distribution of food and medications to [Israeli] needy families.

 

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2 Comments

THE NOOSE TIGHTENS AROUND GRETA BERLIN’S NECK

October 9, 2012 at 15:13 (Activism, anti-Semitism, FaceBook, Gaza, Twitter)

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Suicide by hate? I can’t think of a better term for what Greta Berlin has done to herself. My only wish in this matter is that she doesn’t take the entire Free Gaza Movement down with her, we need them!
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I wasn’t aware of the fact that almost the entire group of the Free Gaza board members resigned from their positions in August of this year leaving Greta to lead (actually mislead) the Movement.
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Here is a statment issued by the group, thanks to Ali Abunimah ….
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Statement from former board members of Free Gaza movement

Submitted by Ali Abunimah

I received the following statement from the undersigned former board members of the Free Gaza movement:

As former board members of the Free Gaza movement (our terms ended in August, as outlined in a 22 September statement released by Free Gaza, though this was not immediately reflected in parts of the Free Gaza website), we are disappointed and frustrated by the message and video posted on the Free Gaza Twitter account entitled: “Zionists Ran the Holocaust and the Concentration Camps” and by the subsequent messaging posted by Greta Berlin on behalf of the new board of Free Gaza II. Although the tweet was deleted and Free Gaza II clarified that the posting was a mistake and pertinent context overlooked, we believe that the responses posted by Greta on behalf of Free Gaza II have been inadequate. Consultations and efforts made by some of the former members of the board with the current board members were either rejected or set aside, which has added to our disappointment. We had hoped that Greta would provide evidence of the context in which she says she posted the video, but her failure to do so has led us to now publicly voice our deep concern.

We unequivocally reject and distance ourselves from the tweeted video. Such anti-Semitism was never tolerated by Free Gaza or any of the people or groups with which we have worked.  We condemn all forms of racism and prejudice, including anti-Semitism.

We continue to support initiatives to end Israel’s illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip and its occupation and colonial apartheid practices in Palestine as a whole. It is imperative to be vigilant against racism in all its forms. It is also vital to work for the freedom of all people, and in our efforts to support Palestinians, it is the universal struggle for freedom that has motivated, sustained and guided the efforts of Free Gaza.

  • Huwaida Arraf
  • Caoimhe Butterly
  • Eliza Enshire
  • Alex Harrison
  • Fathi Jaouadi
  • Ewa Jasiewicz
  • Niamh Moloughney
  • Adam Shapiro
Written FOR
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Mondoweiss offers the following update …
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Free Gaza Movement Twitter controversy leads Jewish Voice for Peace to distance itself from group

by Alex Kane
FGM
A Free Gaza movement boat as it approaches a port in Gaza (Photo: Free Gaza Movement/Flickr)
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Greta Berin, a co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) has sparked a raging controversy by publishing Twitter posts linked to anti-Semitic material. The episode has been damaging to the Free Gaza Movement, which came to prominence after it repeatedly sent ships to break the blockade of Gaza.

Yesterday, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) distanced itself strongly from Berlin and the Free Gaza Movement. In its statement, JVP, which had sponsored an October 11 book event featuring Berlin in Los Angeles, said Sunday that “we are disassociating ourselves from sponsorship of Berlin’s current book tour in the U.S. or future endorsements of Free Gaza Movement actions.”

Naomi Klein, who served on the Free Gaza advisory board, tweeted on October 5,“I have resigned from the Advisory Board of the Free Gaza Movement. Still support mission but leadership has changed since I signed up.”

The debacle started when the Free Gaza Twitter account sent a message to thousands of followers that read: “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews.” Berlin controls the account. The same Twitter message linked to a video showing Eustace Mullins, a known anti-Semite.The video shows Mullins saying things like Hitler “allied with the Zionist Party and the mission of the Nazis was to force the anti-Zionist Jews to accept Zionism…So the concentration camps were run by the Zionist Jews in order to punish and get rid of the anti-Zionist Jews, which they did.”

Though FGM deleted the message after it generated attention, Avi Mayer, the head of social media for the Jewish Agency for Israel, saved a copy of the message andcreated a Storify piece on the controversy. The story blew up from there, with media outlets like the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and the Jerusalem Post covering the controversy. 

A series of apologies from Free Gaza followed, with Berlin claiming that she meant to send the video to a private Facebook group of people who “were discussing propaganda and racism.” The apology, from the Free Gaza Movement, continued: “This link was an example of the terrible propaganda that could be spewed on websites. For some reason, Facebook connected our Free Gaza account to [Berlin's] personal Facebook account, and the link was posted.”

While JVP’s statement said they “appreciate Greta Berlin’s statements in response to the furor,” the group also said that “we unfortunately don’t think her responses adequately address our concern about circulating anti-semitic materials…We have been endorsers of the Free Gaza Movement and are proud to have been associated with their non-violent efforts as part of the Palestinian solidarity movement. We do not believe that the Free Gaza Movement is anti-semitic and understand that Greta Berlin’s tweets were her own and not representative of Free Gaza.”

+972 blogger Larry Derfner defended Berlin in a post, and also published an article detailing an interview he conducted with Berlin. In an email to Mondoweiss, Berlin claimed that the anti-Semitic video in question “was never posted in the group. because I didn’t change the settings to send it to that group and ended up posting it on my wall instead.” She pointed to a statement of 37 people published on 972which “verif[ied] that we have a small group and those are the things we talk about.”

The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah has cast doubt on Berlin’s apologies. The context that Berlin refers to “does not exist,” Abunimah writes. He based his claim on his access to a Facebook group that Berlin was the administrator of and where the video was posted.

Another 972 contributor, Tom Pessah, has also strongly criticized Berlin, pointing to a “pattern” of disturbing behavior from Berlin, including endorsing Gilad Atzmon, who has been denounced in numerous quarters, including the Palestine solidarity movement, for anti-Semitism. In her endorsement, Berlin said that Atzmon’s Jewish journey “makes me awfully glad I was raised a Methodist.” 

The Free Gaza Twitter account, which Berlin controls, also sent out a separate post linking to an anti-Semitic film. Adam Holland, a pro-Israel blogger, discovered aSeptember 21 tweet from the Free Gaza account that read: “1943- Im Wald von Katyn,” with a downloadable link. Im Wald von Katyn is a film that was made by the Nazis. It was a propaganda tract that sought to blame Jews for carrying out a 1940 massacre of Polish nationals.

In an interview with Derfner, Berlin says that she doesn’t “recall seeing the movie or sending the tweet.” But a screenshot posted by Holland shows that Berlin shared it on Facebook.

The Free Gaza Twitter account has also tweeted out links to websites that claimed that “Mossad was behind ‘Sam Bacile’”, the name associated with the anti-Islam movie that lately caused such outrage in the Middle East.

10 Comments

HOW TO BECOME A “PALESTINIAN” ACTIVIST ON FACEBOOK

July 15, 2012 at 11:19 (Activism, Blogging, Deception, FaceBook, Palestine, zionism)

Even worse ….. How to con real activists into thinking that you are their ‘friend’ …
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How to become a “Palestinian” activist on Facebook

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1. Come up with a decent enough sounding name.

2. If you are on Timeline, put up a nice banner.  Using the Palestinian flag as your profile picture comes in handy.

3. Post some articles on your wall about Palestine.  This may take a little while, actually not long at all, if you have pro-Palestinian articles on your wall, you must be pro-Palestinian. Everyone with any brains knows that right?

4. To gain credibility choose some high profile activists to send friend requests to. These folks have thousands on their lists, certainly all those folks must be real right?  You know this because you have heard of them other places OR they also have outward appearances of being pro-Palestinian.  This is KEY to getting your foot in the door due to ……….. #5

5. The key is “mutuals”. You know how that one goes. If you have a whole lot of “mutuals” with someone, especially high profile Palestinian activists, then BINGO this person sending you a friend request must be legitimate. (hint hint, that high profile activist has no time for this sort of baloney, it’s “only facebook” and they’re so busy with all their real stuff they don’t have time to check anyone out, if they want to be their friend then that is really REALLY “nice”)

6. Once you get your foot in the door, the sky’s the limit.  The more friends you make, the more friends you are able to make because gee whiz, if someone has that many friends they must be real!

7. Now what can you do once you are “in” as a pro-”Palestinian” FACEBOOK  ”activist”, gee whiz, I can’t think of anything at all harmful can you?

Now that you know the basics of “How to become a pro-”Palestinian” activist on Facebook, HAVE FUN. There’s a whole world out there for you to meander through. On any given day you can make more “friends”, join Facebook groups, hell you might even get made an administrator on some of these groups and then you are REALLY “in”.  This last part is just a perk that may or may not occur.  This may take some patience on your part but ya know that saying, who won the race, the tortoise or the hare?

Stay low, enjoy all your new friends just like they are enjoying you when they don’t even know who the hell you are! But you have Facebook friends and a whole lot of them too so you must really be somebody. Oh, one thing, make sure you at least try to continue to appear pro-Palestinian. Any cracks in your appearance and some of these “activists” may notice, but hey, not necessarily cuz to each their own who they friend on Facebook.

Thus is the land of Facebook activism.  It’s “only Facebook” right?

Posted by Robin AT

8 Comments

ISRAELI MILITARY INDUCTS BIG BROTHER TO MONITOR INTERNET

May 3, 2012 at 12:18 (Blogging, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Dictatorship, FaceBook, Hasbara, Internet Security, Israel, Just Plain Disgusting, Twitter, zionist harassment)

‘Anything you write can and will be held against you in a court of law’ …
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Facebook, Twitter and Blogs will soon be monitored in Israel …  “The censor can only touch things that are likely to harm the security of the state, and these incidents are few.”
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Chief censor says new system will not infringe on personal information nor scrutinize private Facebook accounts.
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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
So why bother? Just to let us know that Big Brother is watching?? We already knew that.
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Looks like we will have a censor that does not censor, and a monitor that does not monitor …. What then will we have? Perhaps the beginnings of a police state? Nah….. that can’t be possible in the ‘Only Democracy In The Middle East’, can it?
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From HaAretz…
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Israel’s military censor to monitor Facebook, Twitter, blogs

Chief censor says new system will not infringe on personal information nor scrutinize private Facebook accounts.

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Israel’s military launched a new system this week to monitor information on the Internet, the chief military censor said on Tuesday.

Col. Sima Vaknin-Gil said that the new system will monitor visual and textual information on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, on blogs and on traditional news sites.

Speaking at the Digit 2012 conference at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Vaknin-Gil explained that the new system will examine information using key words labeled in advance. The system will be able to monitor information that was previously difficult to reach. “I think that you can’t try to catch everything,” she said, “because that will make the censor lose its relevance, and furthermore – its morality.”

Vaknin-Gil added that “as the chief censor, I have no intention of going into people’s personal diaries, and it important for me to note that we do not ‘sit’ on private Facebook accounts.”

Referring to recent incidents of censored information being published on social networks and blogs – notably by Jewish-American blogger Richard Silverstein – Vaknin-Gil said that “the censor is perceived as a body trying to control the Internet, to no avail. This is mistake – we try to operate within the Internet only in terms of elements related to us.”

“The censor cannot reject everything,” she added. “The censor can only touch things that are likely to harm the security of the state, and these incidents are few.”

 

3 Comments

ISRAELIS HEART IRAN ON FACEBOOK

March 21, 2012 at 10:33 (DesertPeace Exclusive, FaceBook, Iran, Israel, Peace)

Most of my readers probably know that I am not a great fan or user of FaceBook ….. BUT if it can become a vehicle to prevent, or better yet end wars I will become its greatest supporter.
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This week they seem to be off to a good start as an Israeli couple professed their love to the Iranian people on its pages…
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Five days after an Israeli couple professed its love for the Iranian people over Facebook, the campaign continued to make waves in the global media.

CNN’s website dedicated a prime spot for the campaign Tuesday, exposing its readers to what was quickly turning into the week’s most heartwarming story.

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The CNN article itself was recommended by more than 1,000 readers over various social networks, but was only one indicator of the widespread exposure that the initiative received. The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network put aside its notorious criticism of the Jewish state, publishing its own coverage of the campaign, under the headline “Israel hearts Iran.”

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Al-Jazeera listed examples of posters and comments made by Israelis and Iranians in response to the campaign.

“Wow, I am an Iranian (who lives in Canada), I cannot express my feeling when I read this,” one web surfer wrote in response to a photo of an elderly Israeli couple posing with Edry and Tamir’s slogan. “I promise you (that) Iranians have the same feeling about you too, I have met a couple from your country and we had a great time talking and eating with each other. I wish one day we can all live in peace.”*

The above in parenthesis is taken from THIS report.

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There is also a FaceBook page called Israelis Against the War (in Hebrew)…. you can access it HERE.

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And……

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The Response from Iran….

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Iranians respond to Israeli Facebook initiative: Israel, we love you too

Numerous posts by Iranians start popping up on ‘Israel loves Iran’ Facebook page, in response to Israeli messages of peace.

See the report HERE

3 Comments

RACISM FINDS A HOME ON NETANYAHU’S FACEBOOK PAGE

February 17, 2012 at 12:27 (FaceBook, Israel, Palestine, Racism)

Re: yesterday’s post regarding racist comments after 9 Palestinian children were killed in a bus accident …
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Wallah site editor Gadi Lahav said “we monitor the page every few minutes and delete unworthy comments like these.”
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BUT
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Netanyahu expressed sorrow over the accident, but his aides did not remove the racist comments from his Facebook page or denounce them.
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After Jerusalem crash, racist comments appear on Netanyahu’s Facebook page

Posts include sighs of relief that ‘only Palestinians’ were killed, as well as slogans such as ‘Death to Arabs, Why do we help them?’

Racist comments appeared on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Facebook page after the school bus crash near Jerusalem on Thursday in which 10 children died and more than 40 were injured.

Satisfaction that “only Palestinians” were the victims and slogans such as “Death to Arabs, why do we help them?” were posted on the Facebook pages of Netanyahu, Wallah and the Israel Police.

Other comments included “Can we send another truck?” and “I’d send a double-trailer to wipe out all those shits” after the bus overturned when it crashed into a truck.

Netanyahu expressed sorrow over the accident, but his aides did not remove the racist comments from his Facebook page or denounce them.

“Relax, it’s Palestinian children,” someone wrote on Wallah’s Facebook page. Others wrote “Great! Fewer terrorists” and “May there be such buses every day.” Similar comments were posted on the police’s Facebook page, including “When they grew up they’d be terrorists …. God nipped them in the bud.”

Netanyahu’s aides declined to comment. Wallah site editor Gadi Lahav said “we monitor the page every few minutes and delete unworthy comments like these.”

 

Source

4 Comments

ISRAELI RACISM MUCH WORSE THAN I THOUGHT IT WAS

February 16, 2012 at 14:11 (DesertPeace Editorial, FaceBook, Israel, Palestine, Racism)

SHAMEFUL!
UNBELIEVABLE!!
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See below for the responses to this horrific tragedy that hit this morning…
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10 killed as Palestinian children’s bus, truck collide near Jerusalem

Nine of the 10 fatalities were kindergarten children on their way to a field trip near the West Bank town of Ramallah; dozens reportedly injured. (Full report HERE)

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An Israeli Website carried the following…
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Witnesses to the road accident north of the capital described the difficult scenes. ”The bus was completely crushed, there was nothing from him. God help us”. Others are still searching for relatives in hospitals

These are some of the comments that appeared on the Website, which are being circulated via FaceBook  … (click on image to enlarge). It was sent to me by a Sister Associate in Ireland, it made her sick to see how low so-called humans can fall when such horrors take place.
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Children….
Kindergarten aged children….
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May the families of these poor victims be comforted with the knowledge that some of us do care as if they were our own children… those that don’t can go to hell!

18 Comments

FACEBOOK IS THE ONLY DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

January 26, 2012 at 16:18 (Academic Freedom, Activism, Boycott Israel, Democracy, FaceBook, Israel, Palestine, zionist harassment)

Referring to his interrogation, Gharra said: “An officer from a police station in the Talpiot area in Jerusalem contacted me more than once and asked me to go immediately to the police station to be interrogated in a case that I knew nothing about. I refused to do so as these kind of invitations are illegal. The next day I received a printed invitation to my room in the students’ dorms.”

According to Gharra, the letter stated, “If you do not arrive to the station immediately, we will come and arrest you in the late hours of the night.”

Khalil Gharra (www.arabs48.com)

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“We won’t be silenced,” say students arrested over Peres boycott call

Yara Sa’di*
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Three Palestinian students at the College of Engineering in Jerusalem (JCE) have been put under house arrest for a week and instructed not to contact any of their peers for using the social media website Facebook to urge a boycott of a speech by Israeli President Shimon Peres.

A couple of weeks ago, students received a message from the college authorities, notifying them of a visit by Peres scheduled for 10 January. The message emphasized that attendance during Peres’ speech was “compulsory.”
Three Palestinian students then posted on the college’s Facebook page that they would not attend the speech and asked others to follow suit. In response almost all the Palestinian students of the college boycotted the speech.

Following the event, the three students who urged the boycott were called for an interrogation at an Israeli police station. They were accused of threatening other students, as well as racism. They were then put under house arrest for a week, outside Jerusalem, and were instructed not to contact other students.

“Intense debate”

Khalil Gharra, one of the three targeted students, told The Electronic Intifada, “There was an intense debate on the Facebook page of the college’s first year students between students who rejected the college’s policy regarding the compulsory attendance of Peres’ speech and others who supported it.”

He added, “The debate revolved around the commitment of the students to the decision of the college, and around how the college should not be forcing students to attend a lecture delivered by a ‘political symbol.’ This act contravened the students’ freedom of expression. Within this context, I expressed my opinion, saying that I wouldn’t attend the lecture. And I advised others to do the same.”

Gharra added that another debate is now taking place on Facebook regarding the punishments that the police imposed on him and his friends. He said that many Palestinian students have protested over the case, and have expressed their support for the targeted students.

Referring to his interrogation, Gharra said: “An officer from a police station in the Talpiot area in Jerusalem contacted me more than once and asked me to go immediately to the police station to be interrogated in a case that I knew nothing about. I refused to do so as these kind of invitations are illegal. The next day I received a printed invitation to my room in the students’ dorms.”

According to Gharra, the letter stated, “If you do not arrive to the station immediately, we will come and arrest you in the late hours of the night.”

At the station he was told that he was accused of threatening behavior and of incitement to racism. Ghara said, “I denied all the charges against me. Later the interrogator consulted other interrogators and officers who are in charge of the case, and he decided that I should be deported from Jerusalem and that I’m not allowed to contact any student till 25 January. Moreover, he decided to put me under house arrest until 21 January.”

“Political persecution”

Ghara argued that this specific case should not be viewed separately from other restrictions on Palestinian student activism in Israeli universities. He said, “It’s clear to me from the investigation’s course that the case is about political persecution. However, they won’t stop us from our political activism. I won’t bend to the policy of repression that the police and the intelligence are practicing on Arab students. Our activism is legal and it’s our right to organize and express our opinion.”

Alaa Mahajna, the students’ lawyer, also argued that the case is not criminal but political. He said, “The students are suspected of threatening and incitement to racism following Shimon Peres’ speech. However, Peres is a controversial political figure, some consider him to be responsible for murdering more than a hundred innocent people during the Qana massacre [in Lebanon] in 1996, when he was the prime minister of Israel. The argument about whether to attend or boycott the speech was conducted through the public sphere — Facebook — where everyone could express his or her opinion. As a lawyer, I don’t see any legal basis for the suspicions against the students.”

“These legal actions are part of the whole process of political persecution, which aims to shut down the voice of the Palestinian students in Israeli universities,” he added.

Palestinian students in the college are organizing a petition to express their support for the targeted students, emphasizing their right to protest.

Moreover, the Palestinian students association at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem released a statement condemning the violation of the right to free expression. The association also confirmed the importance of boycotting Israelis who are involved in war crimes, referring to Peres’ role in the Qana massacre.

*Yara Sa’di is a postgraduate student and activist from Haifa.

 

 

Source

1 Comment

THE STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMEL’S BACK

June 27, 2011 at 10:31 (Activism, Corrupt Politics, Deception, FaceBook, Gaza, Hasbara, Israel, Palestine)

Trying to kill two birds with one stone; the LGBT Rights Movement and the Gaza bound Flotilla…
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Israel is taking advantage of a new phenomenon by engaging in an on-line ‘Pinkwashing‘ campaign. As was reported on this site earlier today, ISRAEL GRASPING AT STRAWS TO STOP THE FLOTILLAS, the following just might be the straw needed to ‘break the camel’s back.’
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Israeli actor in anti-Gaza Flotilla pinkwashing video identified

Submitted by Benjamin Doherty

The disillusioned “gay activist” called “Marc” who appeared in a YouTube video condemning the Gaza Freedom Flotilla for alleged homophobia, that was tweeted by the Israeli Government Press Office, has been identified as an Israeli called Omer Gershon.

This definitely proves that the video is either a hoax or a piece of propaganda designed to discredit the flotilla and use a mask of concern for gay rights to pinkwash Israel and justify the persecution of Palestinians in Gaza.

Last night The Electronic Intifada confirmed that one of the first people to tweet the video was Guy Seemann, a staffer in the office of the Israeli prime minister.

The following images clearly identify Gershon by his face and tattoos.

Gershon, as an Israeli, could not possibly have been so naive as “Marc” claimed to be in the video about either the flotilla or the situation in Gaza. It is puzzling that a piece of propaganda that was meant to pass as the genuine work of an activist previously uninformed about the situation in Palestine would use a figure who is fairly well-known in the Israeli gay scene.

Gershon has been profiled in leading Israeli publications such as Haaretz, Maariv and Ynet (here and here).

A 2008 report gave his age as 33 and said he lived in Tel Aviv. Gershon was described as a “producer, entrepreneur, and PR manager for clubs.” Gershon says he went to school in New York where he got a degree in marketing and advertising at the age of 25 and lived there for almost four years. He also said he had volunteered for IGY (the youth LGBT organization in Israel) and a women’s rights org called “Ladies Circle.”

In 2011, he appeared in a promotional video for XL Energy Drink featuring a man beating a Muslim woman.

Questions still remain about who commissioned the “Marc” video and the role of the Israeli government in disseminating it. Is this official Israeli government propaganda?

Postscript

We thought it was important to debunk this project for a few reasons. The message of the video—however clumsy, transparent and fradulent—attacked Palestine solidarity actions and tried to undermine the relationships the Palestine solidarity movement has with other movements and activists such as LGBT rights. It may have also had intelligence gathering objectives. In the YouTube video description, “Marc” explicitly asked people to write to him. “Let me know if you’ve had similar experiences- marc3pax@gmail.com.” It is hard to believe anyone might have written to “Marc” sincerely offering information about LGBT and Palestine solidarity activists and organizations, but the creators of this video clearly invited such contacts.

Written FOR

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Max Blumenthal adds the following…
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Israel Law Center behind harassment of flotilla funded by homophobic End Timer Pastor John Hagee

Pastor John Hagee is a major financial supporter of Shurat Hadin, the Israel Law Center behind the legal campaign against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla

Pastor John Hagee is a major financial supporter of Shurat Hadin, the Israel Law Center behind the legal campaign against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla

On June 24, Joseph Dana, a journalist who will traveling aboard the US boat to Gaza, discovered that an anonymous private legal complaint had been filed against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. The complaint alleged that US boat, “The Audacity of Hope,” was not sea worthy and therefore was unfit to sail. In response, the harbor master in Athens, Greece, where the boat was docked, told the crew that he could not allow them to leave until the complaint was resolved.

Two days later, the Israel Law Center, Shurat Hadin, accepted responsibility for the complaint, which was essentially a baseless but startlingly successful exercise in legal harassment. 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.”

Darshan-Leitner began her harassment of the US boat to Gaza began weeks ago when it filed a civil action against “perceived supporters of Hamas” on behalf of Alan Bauer, an American doctor who was injured along with his son in a 2002 Jerusalem bombing attack. The action also threatened maritime insurance companies with legal consequences if they insured any of the boats involved in the flotilla.

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.

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Read the rest HERE

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Despite all of the above, PASSENGERS ON THE AUDACITY OF HOPE NOW CONFIDENT GREEK AUTHORITIES WILL ALLOW U.S. BOAT TO SAIL

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U.S. BOAT TO GAZA RESPONDS TO REPORTS THAT ISRAELI “LAWFARE” GROUP FILED COMPLAINT DELAYING DEPARTURE OF BOAT 

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Athens – Passengers on the U.S. Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope, said news reports that an Israeli “lawfare” group, Shurat HaDin, is behind the complaint delaying the departure of the U.S. boat from Greece substantiate the Americans’ assertions that the complaint is frivolous. The passengers expressed confidence that Greek authorities will now quickly dispense with the complaint and allow The Audacity of Hope to sail.

On Sunday, June 26, the Jerusalem Post reported: “Sources in the Shurat HaDin (Israel Law Center) on Sunday took responsibility for lodging an anonymous civil complaint against the American-flagged ship, The Audacity of Hope, which is a part of the flotilla expected to sail towards Gaza later this week, Army Radio reported.” The Israeli group is known for making frivolous legal complaints against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.

“We reiterate that the boat we are leasing for this journey, after its refitting for the voyage to Gaza, was surveyed by a professional surveyor and successfully completed its sea trials,” said Ann Wright, an organizer and passenger on the U.S. boat. “There is no reason for any further delays on this matter, we are ready to sail.”

 

2 Comments

ISRAEL DECLARES WEB WAR

June 23, 2011 at 15:32 (Censorship, FaceBook, Hasbara, Internet, Palestine, zionist harassment)

Computer giant Apple removed an application called the “The Third Palestinian Intifada” from its App Store for iPads and iPhones, CNN reported Thursday.
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Earlier this week the company had authorized an application, which updates users on upcoming protests, features articles critical of Israel and pictures of martyrs.

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Apple removes ‘Third Palestinian Intifada’ app at Israel’s request

Israeli minister demanded computer giant cancel application alerting users of upcoming events and features pictures of martyrs.

Computer giant Apple removed an application called the “The Third Palestinian Intifada” from its App Store for iPads and iPhones, CNN reported Thursday.

Earlier this week the company had authorized an application, which updates users on upcoming protests, features articles critical of Israel and pictures of martyrs.

“We removed this app from the App Store because it violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people,” Apple spokesman was quoted in a statement.

The Arabic-language application, developed by a Dubai-based company, was released on June 15, and was still available Wednesday for free download from iTunes.

Yuli Edelstein, Minister of Public Affairs and the Diaspora, who recently successfully lobbied to remove a Facebook page of the same name, sent a letter to Apple founder Steve Jobs called on Apple to carry out the “immediate removal” of the application, “and thus continue the tradition of Apple applications dedicated to purely entertainment and informative purposes and not serve as an instrument for incitement to violence.”

“From browsing through the articles, stories and photographs that appear in the app, it is clear that this is an anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist application that in fact, as its name suggests, calls for an uprising against Israel,” Edelstein wrote.

Edelstein went on to describe the Facebook page that he said was created by the same group behind the new application. “The Facebook page called for an uprising against Israel through a violent struggle, and included severe incitement.”

Gal Ilan, a spokesman for the Public Affairs Ministry which sent the letter Tuesday, said Wednesday that the ministry believed the letter would have the desired effect.

Facebook confirmed last March it removed the “Third Intifada” page. The company’s European and Middle Eastern policy director wrote Edelstein that it was Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg who asked him to take down the page.

Source

1 Comment

‘SOCIAL NETWORKING’ HAS TURNED US INTO AN ANTI-SOCIAL SPECIES

June 1, 2011 at 07:53 (Blogging, DesertPeace Editorial, FaceBook, Internet, Ramblings...)

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Modern technology came into my home about 25 years ago when I purchased my first telephone answering machine. It was when I was on one of my many trips to New York.  I will never forget my mother’s reaction to it…. she simply asked, “what is that”? I told her it was a recording device in case someone called me when I was not at home. She responded, ” that’s stupid! If you are not at home they will call back later”! Her old world logic didn’t make much sense to me at the time, but it does now.. we have become too dependent on gadgets to communicate with each other.
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It started with the answering machine and has now branched out to umpteen ways for us to communicate with each other without looking into each others’ eyes. We used to sit down and write letters to friends…. that has been replaced with email, no paper or pen required. We used to talk to each other, touch each other, do things with each other, now we send text messages on our mobile phones. We no longer even have to talk to people on the phone.
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We had friends, REAL friends, today they are merely a name and a photo on FaceBook. We get requests every day to become ‘friends’ with people we do not even know. Worse yet, we get those same requests to become friends with someone that has been our friend for over fifty years. What have we become?
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Some of us have become ‘virtual stalkers’ as we ‘follow’ people on Pages such as Twitter. No longer do we have to wonder what someone is doing or where they are doing it …. it’s all there on the Net. Frightening!
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Needless to say, the Internet has its advantages. It is the quickest way to research anything we might need information about. It is the vehicle we use to get our points of view across on the Blogesphere. As a ‘social’ outlet,  all it has done is create the most anti-social generation in the history of mankind. We see dating on line, we can shop on line, we can have our old fashioned garage sales on line…. no need to ever leave your home or interact in any way with another human being… it’s all done via the keyboard. We even do our banking on line today and pay our bills that way as well.
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When I look at this ‘monster’ that has been created I cringe. Yes, there are advantages to technology, it is supposed to make life easier for us, but it is not meant to destroy our lives completely.
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Let’s get off FaceBook, let’s walk to the supermarket and the bank, lets meet our neighbours in the street and TALK to them. Let’s become human again…. not an extension of some electronic demon.
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BUT, DO check in on my Blog daily for updated info on the Palestinian situation. Just DON’T spend the whole day looking at your screen…. GO OUT AND CHANGE THE WORLD! It too needs a good rebooting!
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Just keep this in mind…. every time you log onto your FaceBook Page, some fat assed geek makes money from the advertising revenues it generates …. he’s laughing all the way to the bank… AT YOU!
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4 Comments

STILL ANOTHER ‘FACEBOOK REVOLUTION’

June 1, 2011 at 06:31 (FaceBook, Israel, Middle East, Palestine, Revolution)

Facebook pages affiliated with Syrian pro-Palestinian groups, called on the masses to “unite and turn June 5 into a day commemorating the fallen and right of return.”

How did the Russians do it? How did the Cubans do it?? We can go even further back in history and ask how the Americans, themselves’ did it…

How did change take place in the world without FaceBook?

Something called PEOPLE POWER…. the very same power that will bring change to Palestine. Don’t wait for FaceBook…. JUST DO IT!

Pro-Palestinian pages on social media websites buzzing with calls to rush to all borders on day marking 44th anniversary of Six Day War

‘Youth of June 5′ Facebook Page

Palestinians gear for Sunday march on Israel’s borders

Fatah representative in Lebanon, Munir Maqdah, said Tuesday that Palestinians residing in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Gaza were planning to march towards their respective borders with Israel on Sunday, the 44th anniversary of the Six Day War.

“We want our lands in Palestine back,” Maqdah said, noting that the processions aim to remain non-violent. He also urged UNIFIL forces in south Lebanon to “ensure the march’s safety.”

The Fatah official’s statement is the last in a myriad of activities calling on pro-Palestinian activists to march on Israel’s borders.

The highest flurry of activities is noted on Facebook, where various pro-Palestinian group have issued a similar call: “Our Palestinian countrymen, as part of our just pursuit of statehood… and in response to Netanyahu’s speech   in Congress and Obama’s hesitant speech, we emphasize that Palestine is our land and the land of our forefathers and that will not accept any division or compromise.

“On this day, June 5, we urge you to take active part in actions meant to empathize with our prisoners,” the “Youth of June 5″ page read.

Facebook pages affiliated with Syrian pro-Palestinian groups, called on the masses to “unite and turn June 5 into a day commemorating the fallen and right of return.”

Another group urges masses to “march on Israel’s border this Saturday and free the Golan Heights.”

Still, at this time no concrete plans for any march have been posted on social media websites.

Source

2 Comments

ARAB UPRISINGS NOT A FACEBOOK REVOLUTION

May 27, 2011 at 09:13 (FaceBook, Ignorance, Internet, Middle East, Revolution)

Is this Dork saying there would have not been an ‘Arab Spring’ without the Internet?
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Some call the uprisings in the Arab world “the Facebook revolution.” Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the world’s biggest social network site, doesn’t seem to agree. Playing down his site’s role in revolutions from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya, Zuckerberg said Wednesday at the e-G8 Internet forum in Paris, “It’s not a Facebook thing, it’s an Internet thing.”
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Might it be a PEOPLE THING?
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Arab uprising an Internet thing, not a Facebook thing, says Zuckerberg

The social networking site founder says the Internet at large, not Facebook, made the Arab Spring possible: ‘If it weren’t Facebook, it would be something else.’

Some call the uprisings in the Arab world “the Facebook revolution.” Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the world’s biggest social network site, doesn’t seem to agree. Playing down his site’s role in revolutions from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya, Zuckerberg said Wednesday at the e-G8 Internet forum in Paris, “It’s not a Facebook thing, it’s an Internet thing.”

“I think Facebook was neither necessary nor sufficient for any of those things to happen,” he said, answering a reporter’s question about its role in the “Arab Spring.” “If it weren’t Facebook, it would be something else.” That said, millions of users in the Middle East have used Facebook and Twitter to organize protests in recent months.

Zuckerberg also said that Facebook does not plan to open up to children under the age of 13 in the short term, despite some reports indicating otherwise. Facebook, which has more than half a billion active users, operates policies around the world not to register children under a certain age. The age varies by country but is typically around 13.

Comments he made last week at an education conference, when he said regulations made it difficult for children to sign up for Facebook, had been taken out of context, he explained. He said the complexity of protecting children online meant the question was not a priority for the company.

Zuckerberg began the interview by batting away a question about Facebook’s plans to go public: “Not yet.” The company is expected tofloat next year.

Source

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ABBAS ‘WON’T ALLOW’ FACEBOOK’S THIRD INTIFADA

April 22, 2011 at 07:26 (FaceBook, Intifada, Palestine)

Despite call after call on FaceBook and other Internet sites for a Third Intifada to start on the 15th of May, The defunct ‘President’ of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas will not allow it to happen.

“I won’t allow any security or military flare-up in the West Bank or any other Palestinian area,” he said, adding that he wants to preserve the life of the Palestinians. “Those who speak about resistance or armed intifada let them do that away from the Palestinian people,” he said.

“Preserve the life of the Palestinians” ….. where is this guy living??? One thing he is right about is that most of the calls are from places away from the Palestinian people. Freedom WILL come to Palestine, from within…. NOT from FaceBook, and definitely NOT from Abbas.

Third intifada website bypasses Facebook closure

WASHINGTON, Palestinian youths in the United States have launched a website similar to Facebook to support calls for a third intifada (uprising) against Israel on May 15 timed to commemorate the Palestinian Nakba.

The organizers said the site, dubbed Al-Quds Moon, was launched to support the ”struggle of the Palestinians to restore their full legitimate rights as stipulated by United Nations resolutions”.

They confirmed the site does not follow the agendas of any political parties, but only the Palestinians in the occupied territories, according to the introduction page.

They added that the site is not subject to the control as was the case for a popular similar websites hosted by Facebook; and it cannot be blocked by U.S. authorities because it supports a peaceful uprising.

The organizers also clarified that the page is not a substitute for the multiple Facebook pages serving the same cause. ”It is complementary to these efforts,” they said, ”and it could serve as a substitute if the Facebook administration shuts the pages down.”

The site has many of the same features as Facebook and allows members to create groups, upload photos and post videos as well as to write blogs and chat using voice and image.

Source

Abbas: I won’t allow a new intifada

TUNIS, De facto Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said that he would not allow the outbreak of a new intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation.

Abbas, speaking to Tunisian journalists on Wednesday during his current visit to Tunisia, said that as long as he remained president of the Palestinian Authority he would not allow the eruption of a new intifada.

“I won’t allow any security or military flare-up in the West Bank or any other Palestinian area,” he said, adding that he wants to preserve the life of the Palestinians. “Those who speak about resistance or armed intifada let them do that away from the Palestinian people,” he said.

Abbas also said that the PA was interested in resuming serious negotiations with Israel over “key issues”.

Source

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BENEFITS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IN GAZA

April 5, 2011 at 18:52 (Academic Freedom, Blogging, FaceBook, Gaza, Palestine)

©Ayman Qwaider

With the help of a go-between – an Israeli friend he had met online, who benefited from greater mobility than he – Ayman obtained a Spanish student visa.  Once his papers were in order, he booked a flight for 1 February 2010. However, like several hundred other scholarship students, he was prevented from leaving Gaza. The Master’s degree programme began without him.

Having tried and failed to get support from official channels (embassies, NGOs such as Amnesty International, even the European Parliament), he turned to social networking. The week before he was due to start his studies, Ayman posted an article on his blog called “I have a dream” recounting his difficulties with the Israeli authorities in trying to leave Gaza. “It was non-accusatory,” he explains”. I was just asking for the basic right to pursue an education.” He ended the article with the sentence: “I am appealing and calling lawyers, politicians, journalists and all activists for human rights to join the fight for me and my right to the education that I have always dreamed of.”

The response was overwhelming: Ayman’s online friends translated his appeal into English, Spanish, French, Catalan and Hebrew. It was picked up by bloggers everywhere. A Facebook campaign was launched and acquired 1000 followers while an online petition gathered almost 2000 signatures in the first week, many from Israel. Ayman had become a cause célèbre.

“Social networking helped me realize my right to education.”

Ayman Qwaider, a 24-year-old Palestinian student from Gaza, has led several parallel lives: student, teacher, humanitarian worker and blogger.

Ayman is currently an intern in UNESCO’s Education Sector, working with and learning about post-conflict post-disaster education as part of a Master’s degree in peace studies. “I believe in the importance of education for transforming societies and resolving conflicts,” he says. “I know this from experience.”

After completing his primary and secondary education in UNRWA schools, and graduating in 2008 from the English programme of the Islamic University of Gaza (Palestinian Authority), Ayman became first a teacher, then a humanitarian worker. “I was Child Welfare Programme Officer with a number of international NGOs,” he explains. “During this time Ayman  started blogging about daily life in Gaza. His main ambition, however, was to travel abroad and pursue peace studies. The blog and his social network ultimately made that possible.

Ayman was interested in the International Master’s degree in Peace, Conflict and Development Studies (or “Peace Master”) which is one of the activities of the UNESCO Chair of Philosophy for Peace at the Jaume I University in Castellón, Spain. He applied for a scholarship financed by the Bancaja-Caja Castellón Foundation and was accepted for the session from February 2010 to May 2012.

With the help of a go-between – an Israeli friend he had met online, who benefited from greater mobility than he – Ayman obtained a Spanish student visa.  Once his papers were in order, he booked a flight for 1 February 2010. However, like several hundred other scholarship students, he was prevented from leaving Gaza. The Master’s degree programme began without him.

Having tried and failed to get support from official channels (embassies, NGOs such as Amnesty International, even the European Parliament), he turned to social networking. The week before he was due to start his studies, Ayman posted an article on his blog called “I have a dream” recounting his difficulties with the Israeli authorities in trying to leave Gaza. “It was non-accusatory,” he explains”. I was just asking for the basic right to pursue an education.” He ended the article with the sentence: “I am appealing and calling lawyers, politicians, journalists and all activists for human rights to join the fight for me and my right to the education that I have always dreamed of.”

The response was overwhelming: Ayman’s online friends translated his appeal into English, Spanish, French, Catalan and Hebrew. It was picked up by bloggers everywhere. A Facebook campaign was launched and acquired 1000 followers while an online petition gathered almost 2000 signatures in the first week, many from Israel. Ayman had become a cause célèbre.

“Social networking helped me realize my right to education,” Ayman claims. Following the international mobilization Ayman finally received his permission to travel. He arrived in Spain one week late for class. At the Jaume I University, he is taking several courses on aspects of human rights education, peace education and conflict transformation.  “It is a very healthy environment where I am also being educated in mulitculturality,” he says. “Thanks to these courses I have became more aware about different conflicts taking place around the world.” Ayman also shared first-hand experience with people who have lived in conflict situations. “It assured me that conflicts are the same everywhere, and that humanity is humanity wherever we are.”

Ayman recently visited Austria to study UN Peacekeeping. This was part of his Master’s degree, as is his current internship in UNESCO. He is frequently invited to give conferences and is now writing a project proposal targeting youth in Arab countries. The title? “How to use social networking to promote human rights education in the Arab world.”

Written FOR

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FACEBOOK TO BECOME ISRAEL’S OFFICIAL ‘PR’ VEHICLE

April 3, 2011 at 07:29 (Corrupt Politics, Cover Up, Deceit, FaceBook, Hasbara, Israel)

After it’s success in raising worldwide controversy over its fabricated Third Intifada Page on FaceBook, Israel now intends to exploit the site to its full extent to promote itself.


Israeli embassies around the world have already begun to manage Facebook pages, but now the Foreign Ministry intends to make more efficient use of the network to improve Israel’s image.

Israel to promote itself on Facebook

Deputy foreign minister meets networking site’s managers to discuss plans for online PR

WASHINGTON – The government intends to turn the social network Facebook into the main platform for Israeli online public relations, investing a lot of resources on creating an efficient strategy to utilize the 600 million-large’ network.

Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon visited the California offices of the network on Friday, and met with company heads including Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and VP of Advertising and Global Operations David Fischer, who is the son of Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer.

The Foreign Ministry is set on turning the famous social network into the main platform for Israeli online public relations both in English and in Arabic. Officials in Jerusalem have expressed their belief that Facebook is a friendly platform for communication with young people around the world, allowing for distribution of messages through video clips and games.

Israeli embassies around the world have already begun to manage Facebook pages, but now the Foreign Ministry intends to make more efficient use of the network to improve Israel’s image.

Ayalon’s meetings are intended to foster a relationship between the Israeli government and Facebook heads. Ayalon has also invited Facebook managers to visit Israel in order to meet with internet entrepreneurs and participate in the Presidential Conference expected to take place in Jerusalem next June.

The deputy foreign minister displayed before them Israel’s high-tech abilities, noting that Intel Company is the biggest private employer in Israel, with more than 7,000 employees.

Following Facebook’s slow response in closing the internet page calling for a “third Intifada” and a violent protest against Israel, Facebook managers clarified that in the future they intend to deactivate any pages preaching violence. They also stated Facebook plans to open a marketing center in Israel.

Face to face with Israel’s critics

The United States’ government is already cooperating with major internet companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter to develop media tools intended to reach citizens around the world, especially in developing communities. Young Egyptians, for example, were part of a program advertised by the State Department online. These youths later organized protests in their country via Facebook.

Ayalon met with California Governor Jerry Brown and told him that due to a travel warning issued by California to Israel there are currently no student exchanges between Israeli and Californian universities.

Ayalon mentioned that these programs, with leading universities such as Stanford and Berkley, are a crucial tool for acknowledging and learning about Israel’s reality. Brown responded that he will act to cancel the orders.

As he left the meeting Ayalon ran into an anti-Israel protest, experiencing first-hand the great objection against Israel and its policies. He approached demonstrators, who were holding posters demanding the US government stop funding Israel “because of the occupation”, and attempted to speak with them. This rare dialogue caught the attention of those passing by, some of whom expressed their support of Ayalon.

Source

Remember Israel’s last PR campaign….. here it is;

In an effort to combat these movements and polish the tarnished image of the Israeli army in light of numerous allegations of war crimes by UN reports, a group named StandWithUs is sponsoring a tour during which six Israeli army soldiers will speak about their experiences.

UN reports including the Goldstone Report about the January 2009 siege on Gaza by Israel that was released in September 2009 and a UN report released this month examining Israel’s attacks on an aid flotilla in international waters against activists in May both alleged numerous war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers. The Israeli army also upholds a blockade and occupation against the Gaza Strip that British Prime  Minister David Cameron called a “prison camp.”

The Michigan tour stops will feature speeches by two soldiers named Omer and Shai. They will visit Michigan State University in Lansing on Oct. 19 and The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor on Oct.  20.

Many in the Arab American and pro-Palestinian communities are concerned that the  tour is not about imparting knowledge, but is instead a glorified PR campaign in response to the BDS movement and an attempt to gain sympathy for Israel at a time when  sentiments are turning against them on college campuses in concert with international movements.

“Such a tour is intended to undermine the growing BDS efforts on American campuses. As you know, the University of Michigan-Dearborn (UM-D) Student Government passed yet another divestment resolution last year, and will likely approve one this year as well,” said Dr. David Skrbina, professor of Philosophy at UM-D.

Michigan-Dearborn was one of numerous universities  that have passed resolutions in support of boycotting companies that allegedly support Israel’s military.

“The Israeli army has not been facing good press within the media regarding the flotilla attacks and with how they treat the Palestinians in occupied Palestine,” said Mahde Abdallah, a senator in the UM-D Student Government. “Them coming to polish their image is just showing that they’re worried about the pro-Palestinian movements on campuses in the US.”

StandWithUs contends they’re simply wishing to impart knowledge, using both this tour and their website Soldiers Speak Out to correct misconceptions.

“We created this website because a few isolated allegations from ‘anti-war’ Israeli soldiers are being used to defame the Israeli Defense Forces  (IDF),” said Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of Stand WithUs.  “Yet the IDF has over 700,000 citizen soldiers and  reservists who try to live up to its high ethical standards. The IDF impartially  judges all alleged violations, and punishes offenders.”

StandWithUs reports that the two soldiers who are visiting the campuses have received honors in the military and have upheld all the moral codes of the Israeli Army.

Skrbina doesn’t think this tour will help the image of the Israeli army much, however, as evidence continues to mount against their declarations of upholding a high moral standard.

“They have an uphill battle, thanks to Israel’s war crimes in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and at sea,“ he said. “They are sponsoring this ‘tour’ by two IDF soldiers to argue that Israel is only ‘defending itself’… and to show that the soldiers are really ‘nice guys’. Any soldiers who are involved with enforcing an illegal occupation are clearly not ‘nice guys’.”

Source Inluding Photos

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