'New Agenda' - Autumn 1986
Sunday 14 January 2018
Wednesday 3 January 2018
Foreign Policy Article from 2010
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| Published October 2010 - Forward - Conservative Way Forward Magazine |
Tuesday 15 September 2015
YACHAD - A TIME FOR REFLECTION
One of the constitutional obligations of the Board of Deputies is to take such appropriate action as lies within its power to advance Israel’s security, welfare and standing.
Last year Yachad UK narrowly achieved the two thirds majority needed for it to be admitted as a member of the Board of Deputies. At the time I, along with the 60 other Deputies that voted against their admission, was concerned that this would lend credibility to an organisation that is outside the mainstream of Jewish life in the UK and that has a well known reputation for demonising and delegitimising the Jewish State of Israel.
Indeed I was aware that Yachad funds numerous “educational” trips to Judea & Samaria, known to them as “the West Bank”. Their guides include a member of the infamous fringe group “Breaking the Silence”. On such radical groups, the reputation of Yachad hangs. Even the liberal Ha’Aretz newspaper called out Breaking the Silence as having “a clear political agenda, and can no longer be classed as a ‘human rights organisation.’’
Yachad is a critic of the security measures that Israel has in place in the territories despite the fact that the checkpoints are an essential security requirement for the citizens of Israel and security is a sine qua non for peace. As far as I am aware there are no such Yachad-funded “educational” visits to Israeli terror victims. Had there been perhaps Yachad would get a different Israeli perspective of the need for security and check posts. Until then their activities in Israel will remain entirely pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel.
However if this was not bad enough, we now know that Yachad’s tours have, in the past, stopped at the Tamimi house for drinks and a briefing from the family themselves. Having already read the post about the Tamimi family; ’Shirley Temper’ and the Reality of Pallywood Hits Mainstream Media http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/08/30/shirley-temper-and-the-reality-of-pallywood-hits-mainstream-media/ I was absolutely shocked to learn that Yachad had gone beyond giving legitimacy to an Israeli political group with an agenda that undermines Israel’s security but is also giving legitimacy to the family of a well known Pallywood “star”. This led me to do further research on the subject and I came across the blog “This Ongoing War" which was cofounded by Frimet and Arnold Roth and inspired by the tragic murder of their daughter, Malki at the age of 15 in a massacre in the centre of Jerusalem carried out by Hamas, the infamous Sbarro massacre. In particular I saw this recent post; Peace, human rights, the sheer joy of killing people http://thisongoingwar.blogspot.co.il/2015/09/07-sep-15-peace-human-rights-sheer-joy.html The post points out that Ahlam Tamimi, who rode with the suicide bomber, helped him and his explosive-filled guitar pass without interference through the Qalandia security crossing and can be seen on video exulting over the murder of the victims is in fact a cousin of Bassem Tamimi, the father of Shirley Temper.
I reached out to Arnold Roth, as I wanted to be absolutely certain about the relationship between the Tamimi family of Pallywood fame and Ahlam Tamimi. The Roth's have provided the definitive post on the subject; It Takes a Village: The Passion for Violence of the Peace Loving Tamimi's http://thisongoingwar.blogspot.co.il/2015/09/10-sep-15-it-takes-village-passion-for.html I invite readers of this post to read the Roth's post in its entirety. It establishes beyond doubt not only the family relationship but also the sheer evil mendacity of the Tamimi propagandists.
The period over Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a time for self-examination. We as Jews reflect on our actions throughout the year, acknowledge mistakes, seek repentance and look to the coming year to better ourselves.
Clearly Yachad which claims to be pro peace and pro Israel needs to reflect on its activities over the past year and the years before. The very least it could do is issue an apology to the Roth family and to all the other Israeli victims of terror who have to suffer the vile propaganda of the Tamimi family. Yachad could then promise never to visit them or the village of the damned again. Perhaps Yachad could go one stage further, and actually be pro peace and pro Israel.
Last year Yachad UK narrowly achieved the two thirds majority needed for it to be admitted as a member of the Board of Deputies. At the time I, along with the 60 other Deputies that voted against their admission, was concerned that this would lend credibility to an organisation that is outside the mainstream of Jewish life in the UK and that has a well known reputation for demonising and delegitimising the Jewish State of Israel.
Indeed I was aware that Yachad funds numerous “educational” trips to Judea & Samaria, known to them as “the West Bank”. Their guides include a member of the infamous fringe group “Breaking the Silence”. On such radical groups, the reputation of Yachad hangs. Even the liberal Ha’Aretz newspaper called out Breaking the Silence as having “a clear political agenda, and can no longer be classed as a ‘human rights organisation.’’
Yachad is a critic of the security measures that Israel has in place in the territories despite the fact that the checkpoints are an essential security requirement for the citizens of Israel and security is a sine qua non for peace. As far as I am aware there are no such Yachad-funded “educational” visits to Israeli terror victims. Had there been perhaps Yachad would get a different Israeli perspective of the need for security and check posts. Until then their activities in Israel will remain entirely pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel.
However if this was not bad enough, we now know that Yachad’s tours have, in the past, stopped at the Tamimi house for drinks and a briefing from the family themselves. Having already read the post about the Tamimi family; ’Shirley Temper’ and the Reality of Pallywood Hits Mainstream Media http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/08/30/shirley-temper-and-the-reality-of-pallywood-hits-mainstream-media/ I was absolutely shocked to learn that Yachad had gone beyond giving legitimacy to an Israeli political group with an agenda that undermines Israel’s security but is also giving legitimacy to the family of a well known Pallywood “star”. This led me to do further research on the subject and I came across the blog “This Ongoing War" which was cofounded by Frimet and Arnold Roth and inspired by the tragic murder of their daughter, Malki at the age of 15 in a massacre in the centre of Jerusalem carried out by Hamas, the infamous Sbarro massacre. In particular I saw this recent post; Peace, human rights, the sheer joy of killing people http://thisongoingwar.blogspot.co.il/2015/09/07-sep-15-peace-human-rights-sheer-joy.html The post points out that Ahlam Tamimi, who rode with the suicide bomber, helped him and his explosive-filled guitar pass without interference through the Qalandia security crossing and can be seen on video exulting over the murder of the victims is in fact a cousin of Bassem Tamimi, the father of Shirley Temper.
I reached out to Arnold Roth, as I wanted to be absolutely certain about the relationship between the Tamimi family of Pallywood fame and Ahlam Tamimi. The Roth's have provided the definitive post on the subject; It Takes a Village: The Passion for Violence of the Peace Loving Tamimi's http://thisongoingwar.blogspot.co.il/2015/09/10-sep-15-it-takes-village-passion-for.html I invite readers of this post to read the Roth's post in its entirety. It establishes beyond doubt not only the family relationship but also the sheer evil mendacity of the Tamimi propagandists.
The period over Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a time for self-examination. We as Jews reflect on our actions throughout the year, acknowledge mistakes, seek repentance and look to the coming year to better ourselves.
Clearly Yachad which claims to be pro peace and pro Israel needs to reflect on its activities over the past year and the years before. The very least it could do is issue an apology to the Roth family and to all the other Israeli victims of terror who have to suffer the vile propaganda of the Tamimi family. Yachad could then promise never to visit them or the village of the damned again. Perhaps Yachad could go one stage further, and actually be pro peace and pro Israel.
Saturday 15 November 2014
LESS THAN 12 HOURS TO
SAY NO TO YACHAD
SAY NO TO YACHAD
In the last few days Deputies have been lobbied on the forthcoming vote to admit Yachad to the Board of Deputies.
Before Deputies cast their votes they should consider the following:
Before Deputies cast their votes they should consider the following:
BDS
Hannah Weisfeld's remarks on the 2012 SOAS panel discussion have not been quoted selectively or taken out of context .
Hannah Weisfeld's remarks on the 2012 SOAS panel discussion have not been quoted selectively or taken out of context .
I would urge you to listen to the entire YouTube clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wDlSAtDNi8
Indeed Ms Weisfeld condemns herself out of her own mouth by refusing to unequivocally condemn BDS:
‘I don’t think the BDS movement is racist, I think there are elements in it which are highly questionable and I think there are parts of its aims that are highly questionable in terms of whether you think Israel has a right to exist or not …The BDS movement does not acknowledge in any way shape or form that there are two parties in the conflict….There is agency on both sides and this conversation doesn’t recognise that.’
How mealy mouthed when Ms Weisfeld should not have appeared on a platform with Ilan Pappe at all. His latest vile accusations against Israel can be seen here:
http://mondoweiss.net/2014/11/reminder-implicates-history
Yachad's Funding
Yachad's supporters claim that it has never received a gift of more than £15,000.
Please see for yourself in Note 13 to the Accounts of The Blue Thread which is a charity whose Trustees are Stephen Grabiner and other members of his family. This charity gave to Yachad £53,000 in 2013 and £55,278 in 2012.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/slql7d1q3oqd1ae/0001130704_AC_20130405_E_C.pdf?dl=0
Indeed Ms Weisfeld condemns herself out of her own mouth by refusing to unequivocally condemn BDS:
‘I don’t think the BDS movement is racist, I think there are elements in it which are highly questionable and I think there are parts of its aims that are highly questionable in terms of whether you think Israel has a right to exist or not …The BDS movement does not acknowledge in any way shape or form that there are two parties in the conflict….There is agency on both sides and this conversation doesn’t recognise that.’
How mealy mouthed when Ms Weisfeld should not have appeared on a platform with Ilan Pappe at all. His latest vile accusations against Israel can be seen here:
http://mondoweiss.net/2014/11/reminder-implicates-history
Yachad's Funding
Yachad's supporters claim that it has never received a gift of more than £15,000.
Please see for yourself in Note 13 to the Accounts of The Blue Thread which is a charity whose Trustees are Stephen Grabiner and other members of his family. This charity gave to Yachad £53,000 in 2013 and £55,278 in 2012.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/slql7d1q3oqd1ae/0001130704_AC_20130405_E_C.pdf?dl=0
Undermining the Board's own Policy on Israel
This is not a debate about whether you support a two state solution or about left and right. There are many Jewish organisations that are not represented on the the Board and not admitting them does not silence them. However there are red lines that should not be crossed.
The Board would not admit Jews for Justice for Palestinians and yet a Yachad Board member Daniel Reisel has signed a statement supporting them.
http://jfjfp.com/?page_id=9
This is not a debate about whether you support a two state solution or about left and right. There are many Jewish organisations that are not represented on the the Board and not admitting them does not silence them. However there are red lines that should not be crossed.
The Board would not admit Jews for Justice for Palestinians and yet a Yachad Board member Daniel Reisel has signed a statement supporting them.
http://jfjfp.com/?page_id=9
Yachad supports the immediate creation of a Palestinian State. It would be folly to admit such an organisation only weeks after we were asked by the Board to lobby our MPs to vote AGAINST recognition of a Palestinian State.
Yachad clearly fails to meet the Board's constitutional obligation to "Take such appropriate action as lies within its power to advance Israel's security, welfare and standing."
David Berens
14th November 2014
Wednesday 12 November 2014
SAY NO TO YACHAD
There are many reasons why Yachad's application to join the Board of Deputies should be rejected.
I will just concentrate on two of them.
BDS
The very fact that Yachad's Director Hannah Weisfeld was prepared to appear on a platform discussing BDS with the notorious BDS campaigner Ilan Pappe should be enough to condemn Yachad but if not the following mealy mouthed statements at the 2012 SOAS panel discussion is.
Hannah Weisfeld: "I didn't tell anyone here not to support BDS". "I agree with you entirely that a unified Palestinian strategy is hugely important." Weisfeld went on to refer to a "level of criminality that exists over the Green Line."
Hannah Weisfeld: "I didn't tell anyone here not to support BDS". "I agree with you entirely that a unified Palestinian strategy is hugely important." Weisfeld went on to refer to a "level of criminality that exists over the Green Line."
War Crimes Accusation
Last Yom Hazikaron and Independence Day, whilst Israelis and
Jews worldwide were honouring the sacrifice of Israel’s fallen IDF soldiers, Yachad was holding a
conference that hosted a group of individuals that call soldiers of Israel’s Defence Forces “war criminals.” This is the type of anti-Israel activity that Yachad
embraces.
Last 20th July was a significantly sad day in Israel’s war against Hamas terror in Gaza. It was the day that four
brave soldiers who died in defence of Israel were buried. It was the day that
another seven, all members of the elite Golani Brigade, were killed in action.
The 20th July was also the day when thousands of British Jews were
rallying outside the Israeli Embassy in London in support of an Israel under
attack from Palestinian rockets and terrorists.
Absent from this rally was the leader of the so-called “pro-Israel”
Yachad.
Yachad heads its campaign manifesto with
slogans like “We believe all
people should have the right to live free from fear and violence” and “We believe in Israel’s right not just to exist but to flourish
and we stand against those who defame it.” Yet, Yachad is not only a group that
regularly defames Israel. It actively promotes anti-Israel tours to the
territories, as well as organising events that call Israel’s finest sons “war criminals.”
Yachad funds numerous “educational” trips to Judea & Samaria, known to them
as “the West Bank”. Their guides include a member of the
infamous fringe group “Breaking the Silence”. On consorting with such radical groups should the reputation of Yachad hang. Even the left-wing Haaretz newspaper called Breaking the Silence
as having “a clear political
agenda, and can no longer be classed as a ‘human rights organisation.’
If you still have any doubts then please see Jonathan Hoffman’s piece in last years Jewish
Chronicle at the time Yachad was rejected by the Zionist Federation.
http://www.thejc.com/blogs/jonathan-hoffman/yachads-zf-application-a-cynical-publicity-stunt-0
David Berens
12th November 2014
David Berens
12th November 2014
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