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	<title>FrontPage Magazine &#187; Fern Sidman</title>
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		<title>&#8216;The New Anti-Semitism&#8217; Comes of Age a Decade Later</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/fern-sidman/the-new-anti-semitism-comes-of-age-a-decade-later/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-new-anti-semitism-comes-of-age-a-decade-later</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/fern-sidman/the-new-anti-semitism-comes-of-age-a-decade-later/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2014 05:02:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Anti-Semitism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jihad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zionism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=246140</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The re-release of a prescient book comes at precisely the right time. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/newanti-semitism.png"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-246361" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/newanti-semitism-240x350.png" alt="newanti-semitism" width="222" height="324" /></a><i><strong>To order a copy of &#8220;The New Anti-Semitism,&#8221; click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Anti-Semitism-Phyllis-Chesler-ebook/dp/B00PWL472E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1416514415&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=the+new+anti-semitism">here</a>.</strong><br />
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<p>As one holds a copy of Dr. Phyllis Chesler&#8217;s updated book &#8220;The New Anti-Semitism&#8221; in their hands, we can all breathe a collective sigh and exclaim &#8220;this tome hasn&#8217;t come a minute too soon.&#8221;  Thanks to the excellent research and prophetic analysis conducted by this acclaimed author, lecturer and activist, the reader is afforded the necessary context and perspective with which to understand the invidious phenomenon of contemporary Jew hatred.</p>
<p>Written over a decade ago in a compelling, easy to read and free flowing style, Dr. Chesler&#8217;s premise was and still is that classical anti-Semitism as espoused by such nihilists and evil madmen as Hitler and the scores that preceded him has now been deemed to be &#8220;politically correct&#8221; by the trendy denizens of the Western academy and the &#8220;intellectual&#8221; crowds.  Chesler was among the first to have seen and denounced the suicidal alliance between the Western intelligentsia and fundamental Islam. The anti-Semite needed a new and more acceptable veneer and the little place on the globe known as Israel would serve as the perfect subterfuge. Thus, Zionism does not equal racism but anti-Zionism does. In fact, it is part of what makes the new anti-Semitism &#8220;new.&#8221;</p>
<p>There is no doubt that the al Aqsa intifada and the traumatic events of 9/11 served as an impetus for Dr. Chesler to pen this book as she naturally drew a correlation between the kind of terrorism that had become endemic to the state of Israel and the Jihadic terrorism that was let loose upon the world.  &#8220;War and a new kind of anti-Semitism had been declared,&#8221; she writes.</p>
<p>In the decades prior to the 9/11 and the advent of al Qaeda, Chesler is acutely aware of the festering anti-Semitism that appears to be increasingly more ubiquitous with each passing moment.  She details major events  that she personally encountered during her years as part of the vanguard of the second wave feminist movement and the reader can easily connect the proverbial dots to see and feel the palpable resentment of those who championed the politically correct cause against Israel, now known as liberalism.</p>
<p>Always sensing a strong undercurrent of such bigotry in the various human rights movements that came to define her raison d&#8217;etre, Chesler is most disheartened when women&#8217;s conferences and forums such as Copenhagen and a pre-Durban one were hijacked by Jew hating agendas. She justifiably laments the fact that some important conferences are cancelled because of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel bias. &#8220;Women, you see, cannot be accused of racism &#8211; unless, of course, they are Jewish women,&#8221; she sardonically writes.</p>
<p>Because she is keenly aware that anti-Semitism may start with the Jews but never ends with the Jews, she makes the logical connection between the opprobrium that is harbored for both America and Israel by those who assign blame to all forms of human oppression in terms of colonialism, capitalism, and imperialism.  &#8220;The Palestinian uprising has increasingly been seen as the uprising of all oppressed peoples against their colonial oppressors, that is,  Jews, Zionists and Americans,&#8221; she ruefully observes. And, she notes, few understand that Muslim history is one of imperialism, colonialism, conversion by the sword, gender and religious apartheid, and slavery. Only the post enlightenment Judeo-Christian West are seen as mighty sinners.</p>
<p>Unlike other authors who have offered works of this genre, Chesler&#8217;s meticulous research is beyond impeccable as she explores the genesis of post 9/11 Islamic terrorism specifically directed against the West and their global interests. Israel, of course is viewed as the little Satan by the retinue of pro-Palestinian apologists and their Western lackeys and Chesler takes the Big Lies and bold propaganda to task by exposing their motives. Case in point: The unfortunate Muhammed Dura incident and the use of &#8220;fauxtography&#8221; are given more than an ample dose of good old fashioned sunlight as she reveals one of the most egregious anti-Israel hoaxes ever sold to the public; however deceptively.</p>
<p>While reading this book, one is in retrospective mode as we imbibe a seemingly endless litany of horrifying anti-Israel and anti-Jewish events at university campuses that took place in the first decade of the new century and compare them to how much worse they are today.  It should come as no surprise that the BDS movement and physical and verbal violence against pro-Israel Jewish students has gained a dangerous degree of momentum, power and economic viability in institutions of higher learning.</p>
<p>Chesler cites the palpable but surreal bellicosity that has become an endemic part of campus life for Jews who wish to express pro-Israel sentiments. Physical  attacks, heckling of speakers, academic boycotts, incendiary street theater predicated on distortions,  the lies being promulgated at the annual Jew roasting, better known as Israel apartheid week and the infinite amount of Orwellian rhetoric being circulated in every facet of academic life to just name a few. &#8220;The New McCarthyism on campus consists of the anti-Israeli  and pro-Palestinian point of view. No other view will be tolerated,&#8221; she writes.</p>
<p>Chesler is under no illusions and does not even attempt to sugarcoat the obvious. European anti-Semitism is at pre-World War II levels and the flames of destruction are being consistently fanned not only by the &#8220;usual suspects&#8221; but by the formidable fourth estate. The European press she writes &#8220;have continuously held Israel accountable for Palestinian terrorism, and justified human homicide bombing as a function of Palestinian &#8220;despair.&#8221;</p>
<p>This book is easy to read yet it is filled with a voluminous amount of facts and is definitely driven by concrete and verifiable data. What causes the words to leap off the pages, however, and to embed themselves in our collective psyches  are the nuanced and urbane analyses proffered both by Chesler and by an extensive array of  experts. Frightening as it may be, they provide us with the kind of perspective we need to tackle anti-Semitic diatribes.</p>
<p>Yes, Dr. Chesler cautions us to grant this matter the gravitas it deserves and not to dismiss it as mere blather.  In the expanded last chapters of the book she prodigiously confronts the Big Lies and blood libels as she challenges the sheer mendacity of pseudo and rather lethal Palestinian narratives in ways that are both comprehensible and thought provoking. On an uplifting note she provides us with ways in which each of us can support Israel and Judaism, either through economic empowerment against boycotts of Israeli made products and development of community and college based pro-Israel programs connecting with individual Israelis as part of our families.</p>
<p>In one of her final exhortations, Dr. Chesler has stumbled upon what may be the most important component in staying afloat as a people as we navigate the turbulent tide of anti-Semitism. She writes: &#8220;Dare I say it? I must. I implore Jews to stop fighting with each other. Even if we disagree, we must try to do so respectfully, soulfully&#8230;.We are an eternal people engaged in an eternal struggle with evil.&#8221;</p>
<p>Definitely words to heed.</p>
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		<title>An American Bride in Kabul</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/fern-sidman/an-american-bride-in-kabul/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=an-american-bride-in-kabul</link>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 05 Oct 2013 04:08:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Bride]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chesler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kabul]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=206375</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Phyllis Chesler's new memoir tells the harrowing tale of how her search for rebellion ended in Islamic captivity. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>
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<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/ch.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-206379" alt="ch" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/ch-450x337.jpg" width="315" height="236" /></a>&#8220;This is the story of a young and naive Jewish American woman who meant to rebel against tradition—but who found herself trapped in the past, stuck in the Middle Ages, without a passport back,&#8221; declared the redoubtable Dr. Phyllis Chesler to the mesmerized audience before her at the 92nd Street Y on Tuesday evening, October 1. The occasion was the debut of Dr. Chesler&#8217;s 15th book entitled, &#8220;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/An-American-Bride-Kabul-Memoir/dp/0230342213/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1381025569&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=phyllis+chesler">An American Bride in Afghanistan</a>&#8221; (Palgrave MacMillan).</p>
<p>As part of the vanguard of the second wave feminist movement, Dr. Chesler is an emerita professor of psychology and women&#8217;s studies at CUNY, psychotherapist and most notably an internationally renowned author and lecturer. Among her best selling books are &#8220;Women and Madness&#8221; (1972), &#8220;Woman&#8217;s Inhumanity to Woman&#8221; (2001), &#8220;The New Anti-Semitism&#8221; (2003) and &#8220;The Death of Feminism&#8221; (2005).</p>
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<p>On this evening, however, Dr. Chesler not only celebrated her 73rd birthday, but she honored the often tortuous trajectory of a dark chapter in her life in her new and enthralling memoir. Over the years she had written intermittently about her horrific experiences as a winsome Jewish woman held in marital captivity in Afghanistan in 1961, but it was only recently that she made the decision to detail these harrowing memories in full-length book form.</p>
<p>In a voice reverberating with a profound passion, Dr. Chesler said in a private interview that the reason that her book was published now is because &#8220;[t]he material is so rich, so irresistible. The 9/11 plot was hatched in a country that I once lived in &#8211; how surreal, how destined is that! How could I remain silent? Wasn&#8217;t I obligated to share what I had seen and now know? &#8221; Momentarily rueful, she added,  &#8220;The Afghan burqa seems to have followed me to America and into the future. I needed to provide an accounting of what I experienced, witnessed, and the lessons learned.&#8221;</p>
<p>Joining Dr. Chesler on stage before a capacity crowd at the Buttenwieser Hall at the storied Y was Mr. Ibn Warraq, celebrated writer and founder of the Institute for the Secularization of Islamic Society and a senior research fellow at the Westminster Institute, focusing on Koranic criticism. Amongst his scholarly exegeses are: &#8220;Why I am Not a Muslim,&#8221; &#8220;Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out&#8221; and most recently, &#8220;Defending the West: A Critique of Edward Said&#8217;s Orientalism.&#8221;</p>
<p>Also standing beside Dr. Chesler was Ms. Raquel Evita Saraswati, a religious Muslim feminist human rights activist who has worked prodigiously with Dr. Zuhdi Jasser of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD).</p>
<p>Introducing Dr. Chesler and the other speakers was the organizer of the evening&#8217;s event, Rabbi Paulette Posner, Acting Director of the Center of Jewish Diversity. The panel was deftly moderated by Rabbi David Kalb.</p>
<p>Commencing with a reading of an excerpt of &#8220;An American Bride in Kabul,&#8221; Dr. Chesler held her book, and with a palpable intensity, read the words that she penned with the help of the indelible memories etched in her mind and her copious diary entries:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;I once lived in a harem in Afghanistan. I am eighteen and I have just met my prince. He is a dark, handsome, charming, sophisticated, and wealthy foreign student. We are in college in America. True, he is a Muslim and I am a Jew. I am very Jewish. But he is the Agha Khan, and I am Rita Hayworth. He is Yul Brynner, and I am Gertrude Lawrence in The King and I.</em><em></em></p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p><em>When we land in Kabul officials smoothly remove my American passport which I never see again. Suddenly, I am the citizen of no country, and have no rights. I have become the property of a polygamous Afghan family and am expected to live with my mother-in-law and other female relatives, wear hijab, and live in purdah. That means that I cannot go out without a male escort, a male driver, and a female relative as chaperones. </em><em>I am also expected to convert to Islam. I am living in a culture where extreme gender apartheid is the norm and where my reactions to it are considered abnormal,  </em></p>
<p><em>Why am I writing this book?</em></p>
<p><em>I believe that my American feminism began in Afghanistan. It is a feminism that many Muslim and ex-Muslim feminists and dissidents, both religious and secular, welcome and support. We are all anti-Islamists: We oppose totalitarianism, terrorism, and gender and religious apartheid and support individual, human, gay, and women’s rights.</em></p>
<p><em>This is an accounting of sorts. A young Jewish American woman once came to this wondrous, Asiatic country and fled harem life. She finally uncovered the history of what happened to the Jews of Afghanistan, and she has told their story in order to redeem her soul.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>At the conclusion of her reading a hush fell over the room. It was then that Dr. Chesler and her co-panelists began fielding a veritable potpourri of questions from audience members. She explained why she married in the first place:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;<em>Ah—I was young and I fell in love. My Afghan bridegroom was a Westernized man I had known for nearly three years at college in America. He cooked for me, he was tender and attentive—he just never mentioned that his father had three wives and twenty-one children or that I would be expected to live under a polite form of posh house arrest&#8211;or that I would be expected to convert to Islam</em>.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>She added that, &#8220;I lived as a member of an Afghan family and as such learned about the Afghan people in a way that the great Western travelers could not. Afterward I was often able to see the West with Eastern eyes.&#8221;</p>
<p>When queried as to whether Islam can ever be reformed, Ibn Warraq, an expert in Muslim ideology and the intricacies of the Koran, said that it could not due to the present day extreme influences that guide it.</p>
<p>Eloquently and with great erudition, Raquel Evita Saraswati addressed the paramount issues that swirl around various honor cultures and women’s rights therein. Considered the foremost scholar on the endemic scourge of both Islamic and Hindu honor killings of women, Dr. Chesler also spoke on the same theme, utilizing the plethora of facts she gathered for her articles in The Middle East Quarterly, an academic journal under the aegis of Dr. Daniel Pipes.</p>
<p>Because &#8220;An American Bride in Kabul&#8221; also provides an in-depth look into the history of Jews in Afghanistan and mentions the present day state of affairs in Israel, an audience member asked Dr. Chesler about the “violations of Palestinians” that purportedly take place there. Her response drew enthusiastic applause as she swiftly and passionately spoke truth to power to what she calls, &#8220;The Big Lies,&#8221; better known as blatant propaganda aimed at Israel.</p>
<p>Receiving a standing ovation and a rousing round of applause at the evening&#8217;s conclusion, Dr. Chesler graciously appeared in the hall&#8217;s lobby where she autographed her book for the dozens of people lined up to purchase it.</p>
<p>&#8220;I really didn&#8217;t know what to expect when I came here tonight,&#8221; said audience member Audrey Levinson, 62, of Gramercy Park, as she waited on line to get her copy of the book autographed. &#8220;I certainly knew of Phyllis Chesler and had read &#8216;Women and Madness&#8217; when I was in college, but I must say that my curiosity was piqued when I had read some pre-publication reviews of &#8216;An American Bride in Afghanistan.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
<p>She added that, &#8220;Hearing Dr. Chesler&#8217;s words here this evening really sent a lightning jolt throughout my entire being. To say that it was enlightening and exceptionally informative was an understatement. I know what I&#8217;ll be reading in bed tonight.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank">Click here</a>.  </strong></p>
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		<title>Is Jew Hatred Alive and Well?</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/fern-sidman/is-jew-hatred-alive-and-well/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=is-jew-hatred-alive-and-well</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2012 04:25:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anti-Semitism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gloria Greenfield]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jew-Hate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Left]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unmasked: Judeophobia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=163171</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[An interview with Gloria Greenfield; producer of "Unmasked: Judeophobia."]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2012/fern-sidman/is-jew-hatred-alive-and-well/unmaskedjudeophobia/" rel="attachment wp-att-163276"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-163276" title="UnmaskedJudeophobia" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/UnmaskedJudeophobia.jpg" alt="" width="336" height="446" /></a>For those who have ever pondered the eternal question of why Jew hatred has reared its ugly head in every generation since time immemorial, filmmaker Gloria Greenfield of Doc Emet Productions, enlightens and informs audiences in her riveting, new documentary entitled, <em><a href="http://www.unmaskedthemovie.com/">&#8220;Unmasked: Judeophobia</a>&#8220;. </em>Meticulously researched and brilliantly presented, the film examines the alarming escalation of anti-Jewish animus through the lens of renowned historians, prolific authors and respected voices in the arena of international law.</p>
<p>Covering this egregious phenomenon from key angles, Ms. Greenfield travels the globe as she assiduously seeks to explore historical Christian and contemporary Islamist polemics against Jews. Moreover, such timely and hot-button topics as the proliferation of anti-Israel bias in academia and cultural institutions, misinformation campaigns, and state-sanctioned calls for the destruction of the Jewish state and the murder of Jews throughout the world are treated with the gravitas that they deserve. The film is a clarion call to action and a grim reminder that anti-Semitism is not exclusively a nemesis to Jews, but to the human condition as well.</p>
<p>I sat down with Gloria Greenfield to discuss the genesis of <em>&#8220;Unmasked: Judeophobia&#8221;</em> the subject matter in the film and her personal perspectives on the existential threat that modern anti-Semitism plays in the lives of the Jewish people, both personally and collectively. <em></em></p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> Why did you and Doc Emet Productions decide to make <em>&#8220;Unmasked: Judeophobia&#8221;</em> at this juncture in time? Was this film in the pipeline for years and was it released now as a response to the escalation of radical Islam?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> I have to credit Irwin Cotler for planting the idea in my mind. During the Philadelphia screening of <em>The Case for Israel – Democracy’s Outpost</em> (Doc Emet Productions, 2008) he leaned over and whispered in my ear that the next film should be about the resurgence of a new viral stream of anti-Semitism. While I initially filed his suggestion somewhere in my mind, as I continued to travel extensively throughout North America engaging audiences in post-screening discussions, I observed that too many good and decent people were unaware of the resurgence of lethal Jew-hatred in regions around the world. Many were also unaware of the history of complicity of Islamist leaders with the Nazi regime during the Holocaust, as well as the Islamists’ stated intent after the fall of the Nazi regime to continue Hitler’s work.</p>
<p>Without that context, people mistakenly believed that the virulent hatred being expressed toward Israel related to policies and/or territory held by Israel. They thought that the hatred was Israel’s fault and if only Israel would make itself smaller and weaker, the hatred would dissipate. In offering an examination of the contemporary manifestations of lethal Jew-hatred against the backdrop of history, the view gains better insight into the driving forces behind the calls to wipe the Jewish homeland off the face of the earth and to murder Jews wherever we can be found.</p>
<p>The final impetus for me to launch the making of <em>Unmasked Judeophobia</em> was watching a film in 2010 produced by Israeli filmmaker Yoav Shamir that enraged me. While Shamir stated that his intent was to investigate whether anti-Semitism really existed, the Euro-funded film was actually, as Stella Paul described in <em>American Thinker</em>, “a cinematic rant that accuses Holocaust survivors of exploiting their experiences for financial gain and condemns Israel for committing Nazi-like crimes.”</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> The film opens with Holocaust historian and author Elie Wiesel issuing a frightening warning about the proliferation of anti-Semitism. He states that he thought that Jew hatred had made its final exit from the annals of history after the Holocaust. While making this film, did you come to the conclusion that &#8220;Judeophobia&#8221; is endemic to the Jewish experience?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> Judeophobia has nothing to do with the nature of Jews. Rather, as Ruth Wisse brilliantly articulates in her analysis of the pointed finger, Judeophobia has everything to do with the political needs of those who forged Jew-hatred as a political tool; they need this politics of accusation, grievance, and scape-goating. In my interview with Wisse in August 2010, she warned that “it is high time that people really begin to look at anti-Semitism in terms of its political function and consider the role that it plays in the politics of its users—whether they are autocrats or totalitarian oppressors, or whether they are religious radicals or secular radicals—look at the role that Jew-bating plays in their political scheme.”</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> Today, the &#8220;Protocols of the Elders of Zion&#8221; is still widely read and embraced by Jew haters. In your opinion, why haven&#8217;t more historians boldly stepped up to the plate and exposed it as the fraud that it is? And what has the Ford Foundation done to explain the role that founder Henry Ford had in financing it?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> I haven’t found an official explanation on the part of the Ford Foundation. I don’t know if they had a role in the writing or editing of the questionable Wikipedia article on Henry Ford, which contends that Ford never actually read the articles published in the <em>Dearborn International</em>—which included excerpts from <em>Protocols</em>.</p>
<p>However, the Ford Foundation certainly has a lot of explaining to do about its own complicity and funding of organizations that incite Judeophobia. While Ford Foundation President Susan Berresford in November 2003 made a commitment to cease funding organizations that incite anti-Semitism or challenge Israel’s legitimacy, merely three years later the Ford Foundation funded, along with the Rockefeller Foundation, a three-day conference in Italy’s Lake Como to discuss academic boycotts and their relation to academic freedom, in which more than a third of the participants publicly supported boycotting Israeli universities.</p>
<p>I find it most telling that most historians outside of the field of anti-Semitism, as well as non-Jewish NGOs with the mission of fighting hatred, ignore the continued popularity of <em>Protocols of the Elders of Zion</em> in regions around the world. In <em>Unmasked Judeophobia</em>, Yisrael Ne’eman points to the direct connection between <em>Protocols of the Elders of Zion</em> and the Hamas Covenant. Chapter 22 of <em>Protocols</em> accuses the Jews of trying to buy the entire world through their acquisition of gold. And that’s how Chapter 22 of the Hamas Covenant begins. They do not say gold but they speak of money, they speak of controlling the media, they speak of Jews controlling money throughout the world, causing all the revolutions that exist; Jews are accused of being behind all the evil that anyone could imagine. The Jews in the Hamas Covenant, Article 22, are accused of destroying the Islamic Caliphate, just like in the Protocols, the Jews are seen as trying to undermine the Pope, religion, and aristocracy.</p>
<p>The <em>Protocols of the Elders of Zion</em> is so popular that it’s been adapted into film. In Egypt in 2002, <em>Protocols of the Elders of Zion</em> was made into a 41-part television series, which was broadcast during Ramadan on Egyptian television and then sold to at least 17 other Islamic television channels. In 2003, Syria and Hezbollah produced a 29-part television series based on <em>Protocols</em>.</p>
<p>In 2005, Iranian booksellers displayed copies of <em>Protocols</em> and <em>The International Jew</em> at the Frankfurt Book Fair. <em>Protocols </em>is still accepted as truthful in large parts of Latin America and Asia and continues to be a bestseller in Turkey.</p>
<p>And it’s been present in the United States. In 2002, the Arabic-language newspaper <em>The Arab Voice</em> (Paterson, New Jersey) published excerpts from Protocols. Walid Rabah, the paper’s editor and publisher, defended himself from criticism with the argument that “some major writers in the Arab nation accept the truth of the book.”</p>
<p>The American retail chain Wal-Mart sold <em>The Protocols of the Elders of Zion</em> on its website with a description that suggested it might be genuine: &#8220;If &#8230; The Protocols are genuine (which can never be proven conclusively), it might cause some of us to keep a wary eye on world affairs. We neither support nor deny its message. We simply make it available for those who wish a copy.&#8221;</p>
<p>After intense campaigning by the Simon Weisenthal Center and ADL, <em>Protocols</em> was withdrawn from sale in September 2004. Offering no explanation why it plugged The Protocols to begin with, Wal-Mart quietly yanked it off its website the next day. In an email to the Reuters news agency, a Wal-Mart official would only say, &#8220;Based on significant customer feedback regarding the book titled &#8216;The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,&#8217; we have made a business decision to remove this book.&#8221;</p>
<p>Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam distributed Protocols in the United States, and released this year <em>The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews,</em> an anti-Semitic screed masquerading as history. In 2011, Texe Marrs, an American writer who runs the Christian ministry, Power of Prophecy Ministries, published an edition of the <em>Protocols</em>, with his own foreword and additional notes by Henry Ford.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> Your film addresses the issue of virulent anti-Zionism being tantamount to anti-Semitism. Critics of your film say it is a &#8220;white-washing&#8221; of Israel. Do you believe that one can be critical of Israeli policy and not harbor anti-Semitic beliefs?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> First, let’s clarify terms. Criticism of policies and/or issues related to territory is not in itself anti-Zionist. To be anti-Zionist is to be against the right for the nation-state of the Jewish people to exist, regardless of policies or territories. Unless an anti-Zionist was opposed to the existence of every nation-state in the world, including a Palestinian state, there would be no way to understand the anti-Zionist stance as anything other than racism against the Jewish people.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> Many renowned scholars were interviewed in the film and provided a sophisticated analysis of the subject of Judeophobia. How did you select these scholars and how do you feel they affected the outcome of the film?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> Judeophobia is a complicated, heterogeneous phenomenon and I invested a significant amount of time researching current analyses by leading experts in the field. Several scholars and analysts, including Canadian MP Irwin Cotler, Professors Alvin Rosenfeld of Indiana University and Elchanan Yakira of Hebrew University, Philippe Karsenty and Nidra Poller of Paris, and Emanuele Ottolenghi of Brussels were very generous in their willingness to refer me to specific experts and in many cases to make the introductions. I interviewed 70 leading experts—who happened to be Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and Muslim—from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Rumania, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, the United States, and Venezuela in the fields of history, law, literature, media, philosophy political science, psychology, and sociology. I also engaged a prominent scholar not associated with the project to vet the script after it was completed to verify accuracy.</p>
<p>The time that I spent in Paris, London, and Brussels interviewing scholars, analysts, and security experts was incredibly enlightening. I was both inspired by their courage and determination, and shocked by the reality and dimensions of the Jew-hatred being expressed—physically and verbally—in Europe. As important, having had the privilege of engaging in a three-hour interview with Professor Robert Wistrich, who is without a doubt the leading scholar of the history of Jew-hatred, afforded me an invaluable context. Much can be said for every scholar, analyst, and expert that I interviewed. The caliber of expertise of the commentators in <em>Unmasked Judeophobia</em> is outstanding, and the overall experience of making this film was personally transformative.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> Currently in such European countries as France and other places, incidents of anti-Semitism have reached an alarming rate. Could you comment on what factors you think are contributing to such venomous hatred?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> It would be dishonest to ignore the direct connection between the significant influx of Muslim immigrants into European countries—along with their radicalization by Islamist ideologues in European mosques and the public square&#8211;with the resurgence of lethal Judeophobia. Having said that, it is equally important to recognize that the manifestations of Jew-hatred that emanate from Muslim communities in Europe would not be possible without the complicity and empowerment by the non-Muslim hard-Left and hard-Right.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> Has your film been shown in countries other than the US and Canada and will you be bringing the film to other parts of the world such as Australia and Asia?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> A week after <em>Unmasked Judeophobia’s</em> world premiere on October 24, 2011 at the Paris Theater in New York, it screened to full houses in theaters in South Africa in Johannesburg and Cape Town; it has also screened several times in Israel, the United Kingdom and Australia. The film is having its Latin American premiere in Argentina on November 15th and then will tour throughout Latin America. I will be doing a UK tour of <em>Unmasked Judeophobia</em> in London, Birmingham, and Liverpool in early December; and a South Africa tour in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and Durban in January. We’ve just completed translations of Unmasked Judeophobia into Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish and as soon as the DVD with multi-language subtitles is completed, the world tour will begin.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> Clearly, the state of Israel is under siege by the international community. Recently, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said that he does not think there will be a Jewish state in 10 years time. Do you feel that your film confirms this speculation and if not, do you feel that the film will serve as a wake-up call for vigilance on this subject?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> <em>Unmasked Judeophobia</em> is meant as a clarion call, as a <em>tekiah gedolah</em> blast. In Biblical times, <em>tekiah </em>was sounded on the shofar to raise awareness, to sound the alarm, to assemble all good people to action. We live in historic times, a time of inversion and a time when state-sanctioned calls for killing Jews and wiping the Jewish state off the map is regarded as unremarkable; when racists at anti-Israel demonstrations on the streets of North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa can chant “Send the Jews back to the ovens” and “Hitler was right” without repercussion.</p>
<p>My hope is that viewers will have their individual and collective consciousness raised. The lights must get turned on. It is imperative for good, decent people to recognize and acknowledge what is happening. Only then can action effect change. We may never totally eradicate Jew-hatred, but at the barest minimum, it is imperative that Jew-hatred be diminished to non-lethal levels. Genocidal Jew-hatred—whether manifested against individual Jews, the Jewish collective, or both—must be scorned, prosecuted and eradicated. And that is what we will accomplish. If anything is endemic to the Jewish people it is our determination, will, hope, and faith. We affirmed our future by declaring the State of Israel. We need to reaffirm our future by facing reality, standing tall, and doing what needs to be done.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> As depicted in your film, the scourge of radical Islam has far reaching tentacles. Do you think your film might serve to galvanize other groups such as Western-style feminists, Coptic Christians, and Hindus to assume a more vocal posture on the perilous consequences of this kind of unchecked radicalism?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> If honor killings, stonings, female genital mutilation, arranged child marriages, and gang rapes of women under Islamist tyranny don’t galvanize Western-style feminists, then I’m not sure what will. Coptic Christians are galvanized—they are being murdered, forced into conversion, and terrorized; it is their Christian brethren in the West that needs to be galvanized into action on their behalf, and <em>Unmasked Judeophobia</em> is having an impact with Christian audiences.</p>
<p>The Hindu leaders that I have spoken with need no galvanizing from us. Their analyses and responses are quite intense though on the mark, and regrettably I had to make the decision against including their interviews in the film for fear of offending Western sensibilities.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> It would appear to some that radical Islam has not been sufficiently condemned by the democratically elected governments in the Western world. Would you attribute that reluctance to speak out in opposition to this, a fear of being considered &#8220;politically incorrect&#8221; or &#8220;racist&#8221; and what role do you think multicultural relativism plays in this?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his administration are the quintessential role models for real leaders. Canada is standing with integrity, dignity, courage, and principles. I don’t think the reluctance on the part of political leadership is related to multicultural relativism or fears of being labeled racist or politically incorrect. That kind of reluctance is found among students, intellectuals, and in the public square. The reluctance on the part of political leadership comes from ineptness and lack of strategic thinking: too many Western leaders refuse to learn the harsh lesson from Chamberlain’s experience: appeasement of totalitarian despots and terrorists not only fails, but it empowers the totalitarians and disempowers the moderates.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> What has been the general reaction to your film from the major North American Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, The American Jewish Committee, the Zionist Organization of America, etc? Have they encouraged their members to see this film and have they initiated debates and dialogues about it?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> The number of Jewish organizations and institutions that have been sponsoring screenings is encouraging in terms of willingness and courage to stand up for truth. Many Jewish federations, Community Relations Councils, Jewish Community Centers, and Jewish film festivals as well as chapters of the Anti-Defamation League, Aish Hatorah, American Jewish Committee, B’nai Brith, CAMERA, David Horowitz Freedom Center, Hadassah, Jewish National Fund, MERCAZ, National Council for Jewish Women, StandWithUs, and Zionists of America are sponsoring screenings and filling auditoriums around the country. Within the United States, the film has already been screened in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> Any reaction to your film from The Vatican or major Christian organizations?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> I haven’t heard from the Vatican, but I’ve received very positive and enthusiastic responses from Christians United for Israel, Yad B’yad/HaShomer of Texas, Davis Interfaith Coalition for Peace and Justice in the Middle East of California, VISION of New Hampshire, Christians and Jews United for Israel, Christ Episcopal Church and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Poughkeepsie, We Stand With Israel and Christian Action Ministry of Vermont</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> And what about pulpit rabbis, synagogue boards, Jewish day schools? Have they offered to place this film in their educational curriculum?</p>
<p><strong>GG:</strong> There has been a rise in the number of pulpit rabbis, largely within “progressive” denomination, that challenge the belief of Jews as the “chosen people,” diminish the centrality of the Land of Israel to Jewish identity, and promote the notion of “moral equivalency” when it comes to issues of Judeophobia. In other words, there is a strong tendency among progressive rabbinic leaders to diminish or rationalize the abuse of human rights and calls for annihilation of Jews and the destruction of Israel on the part of Israel’s enemies, and quickly point the finger at the nation-state of the Jewish people and her supporters.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there are clear-thinking, intelligent rabbis who do understand that, as Daniel Gordis articulates in his groundbreaking article “Are Young Rabbis Turning on Israel,” (Commentary, June 2011), “to love all humanity equally is ultimately to love no one. To care about one’s enemies as much as one cares about oneself is to be no one.” And there are many synagogues that incorporate the centrality of the Land of Israel to Jewish identity in their sermons and religious school curriculum, and fund programming to educate their members about the genocidal threats facing Israel and the Jewish people. And these are the rabbis that are bringing in the film.</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank">Click here</a>.  </strong></p>
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		<title>A Personal Face to the Father of Modern Zionism</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/fern-sidman/a-personal-face-to-the-father-of-modern-zionism/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=a-personal-face-to-the-father-of-modern-zionism</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Aug 2012 04:10:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Film]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[It Is No Dream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[theodore herzl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zionism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=141596</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[New film presents a captivating account of a man who changed the course of Jewish history, Theodor Herzl. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Picture-8.gif"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-141798" title="Picture-8" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Picture-8.gif" alt="" width="375" height="280" /></a>In this seminal biodoc on the life and arduous struggles of the progenitor of the establishment of the modern Jewish state of Israel, Academy Award-winning director Richard Trank (&#8220;The Long Way Home&#8221;) presents a compelling and spellbinding portrait of Theodor Herzl; a man who was often shunted aside or patently misunderstood in the annals of history. Produced by Moriah Films, in association with the Simon Wiesenthal Center film department, &#8220;It Is No Dream: The Life of Theodor Herzl&#8221; puts a personal face, hitherto unknown, on the vicissitudes that Herzl endured in his relatively short, but historically impactful life.</p>
<p>Narrated by actors Ben Kingsley and Christoph Waltz (of &#8220;Inglorious Bastards&#8221;) Herzl&#8217;s angst and unadulterated passion leaps forth from the screen and punctuates our psyches. Director Trank liberally utilizes rarely seen black and white photos, archival articles, and somewhat eerie-sounding music, in this meticulously researched film, which would impress even the foremost scholars of Jewish history.</p>
<p>Born in Hungary in 1860 to Orthodox Jewish parents, Herzl was the archetypal cosmopolitan Jew; a victim of rampant assimilation that marked this era in history. A child prodigy of sorts, at the tender age of eight, Herzl mastered the works of Schiller and Goethe in the original German when his parents moved to Austria where he was raised. It was highly improbable that this young man, a Jew in name only, who was &#8220;confirmed&#8221; rather than being bar mitzvahed at 13 and who held aspirations for a career in law, would ever entertain the notion of leading a one-man crusade for independent Jewish statehood that captured the imagination of the world.</p>
<p>Focusing his creative energies on writing, Herzl found his niche as a talented playwright, author of novellas and short stories, and soon assumed the role as a full-time journalist for the Austrian newspaper <em>Neue Freie Presse</em>. Assigned to their Paris bureau as a foreign correspondent in 1894, it was there that Herzl&#8217;s prescience ignited when he covered the infamous trial of Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jewish military officer, who was brought to trial on trumped up charges of treason.</p>
<p>The age-old strains of virulent anti-Semitism that had occasionally erupted but always simmered under the surface in France and throughout Europe exploded exponentially during the duration of the trial. Witnessing the French populace, united in hatred, and screaming, &#8220;Death to the Jew,&#8221; Herzl quickly came to the horrifying realization that Dreyfus&#8217;s trial, conviction, degradation and humiliation would translate into existential perils for the Jews of Europe. Intensely pondering the Jewish question, Herzl&#8217;s epiphany took shape when he became a fiery advocate for a Jewish return to their ancestral homeland of Palestine in order to flee an endemic anti-Semitism that would have catastrophic consequences.</p>
<p>Enlisting the help of Jewish intellectuals throughout Europe, including Max Nordau and Sigmund Freud, the lion&#8217;s share of support for Herzl&#8217;s dream came from the grassroots movement of Jews from Poland, Russia and other places in Eastern Europe, who had personally felt the brutal lash of anti-Semitism. Outlining his plan in the 1895 work titled &#8220;The Jewish State,&#8221; Herzl&#8217;s trajectory was clear as this transformative process ultimately led him to devote himself exclusively to the completion of his quest.</p>
<p>Offering unique insights into Herzl&#8217;s life is Robert S. Wistrich, the Neuberger Chair in Modern Jewish History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a world expert in the field of anti-Semitism. Others, such as Israeli president Shimon Peres and Swiss producer Arthur Cohn, are also featured as they articulate Herzl&#8217;s critical role in the founding of the modern Jewish state. Buttressing the undulating narrative of Herzl&#8217;s complicated mission is the poignant narration of Christoph Waltz as the voice of the father of Zionism. The viewer cannot help but to be exceptionally moved by Herzl&#8217;s pain, frustration, anger, and eventual hope, as his words sear our soul. Herzl&#8217;s own wife vehemently resented her husband&#8217;s cause célèbre and asked, &#8220;What happened to the man about town?&#8221;</p>
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		<title>A Former Prisoner of Zion Speaks</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/fern-sidman/a-former-prisoner-of-zion-speaks/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=a-former-prisoner-of-zion-speaks</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jun 2012 04:00:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=135453</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A Rabbi's story of revitalized faith after a decade in the Soviet Gulag. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/IMGP0089.gif"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-135454" title="IMGP0089" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/IMGP0089.gif" alt="" width="375" height="260" /></a>In his new English language memoir titled &#8220;Unbroken Spirit: A Heroic Story of Faith, Courage and Survival&#8221; (Gefen Publishing), internationally renowned former Soviet refusenik, Rabbi Yosef Mendelevitch, takes his readers on a compelling trajectory of his life in this deeply poignant narrative. As a young boy growing up as an atheist in the Stalinist era, Rabbi Mendelevitch soon embarked on a journey to his Jewish heritage and emerged as a dynamic leader in the Jewish underground movement in the former Soviet Union. After 11 grueling years in the Gulag of Siberian forced labor camps, his dream was realized when he immigrated to Israel in 1981. Today, he is a noted Orthodox educator in the religious Zionist movement. Rabbi Mendelevitch was recently on a book tour in the United States and took time out of his schedule for this interview.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> <em>You had already published your memoir in Hebrew many years ago. Why did you decide to come out with an English version at this particular juncture in time?</em></p>
<p><strong>RYM:</strong> A group of American Jews who were formerly involved in the struggle to free Sovet Jewry, came up with this idea about a year ago. Pamela Cohen, the President of the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews from 1986 through 1996, called me from Chicago and asked me why I never published my book in English. She and others like her saw my life as way more than a simple story. It is the story of a young boy struggling to find his Jewish identity in a spiritual wasteland and of a young man challenging the draconian dictates of the Communist monolith in a struggle for freedom. She came to the conclusion that my story published in English would inspire young and often alienated Jews who are searching for their own identity. The Jewish Book Council is representing this English version and it is our hope that the lessons learned here will assist others in their own personal growth as Jews.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> <em>You were born in 1947. Can you describe your life as a young child in Stalinist Russia?</em></p>
<p><strong>RYM:</strong> I grew up as an atheist. My parents were not interested in me having a Jewish education. My father was involved in the Communist underground in Riga, but both my parents spoke Yiddish and taught me about Jewish history. Back then, in the Soviet Union, Jewish tradition did not exist but Riga was the center of the renaissance of the Jewish movement. Before World War II, books were published in Russian about the great Revisionist Zionist leader, Ze&#8217;ev Jabotinsky.</p>
<p>We had no idea that there were underground minyanim, however in the 1960s an underground movement of Jews supporting Israel began to take hold. One could tell the difference between life under Stalin and life under Nikita Khrushchev.  You could sit in jail forever under the Stalin government for learning about Jewish culture, language and thought. In 1963, the first book on Jewish vocabulary was printed and many books on Hebrew poetry served as a catalyst for Jews to become closer to their identity. It was like a miracle.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> <em>When did you gain an interest in activism for Israel and freedom for your people?</em></p>
<p><strong>RYM:</strong> In 1964, while still a teenager I gravitated towards activism. I attended a technical college for four years and studied electronics and computers. I worked as an engineer in a big plant in Riga and in terms of technology it was advanced. At the time, I felt my studies would prevent me from going to Israel. The moment I became an engineer, I wanted to leave the Soviet Union and go to Israel. I had a big decision to make. If I obtained my degree I would have to stay in the Soviet Union forever, so I sacrificed my career by not getting the degree. It boiled down to either staying in the Soviet Union or living as a free man whose destiny is in his hands.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> <em>Where was your life heading after you finished your studies?</em></p>
<p><strong>RYM:</strong> In 1968, I was fired from my job as an engineer for inquiring about emigrating to Israel. At that juncture, I was also heavily involved in various Zionist organizations and in 1969 I assumed the position of editor of a national journal on Jewish issues. Everything had to be top secret so we met clandestinely in forests or perhaps in someone&#8217;s apartment. I was in charge of deciding what to write; what articles to publicize and it was sent all over the Soviet Union. Because it was a specific Jewish underground journal, we published materials smuggled into Russia. At this pivotal moment, there grew a self-consicousness in our community. We knew what our task was, we knew what we had to do to maintain our identities as Jews and for the battle for our freedom. Before my arrest, we had only published two issues.</p>
<p><strong>FS:</strong> <em>Can you tell us what your motivation was for hijacking of a plane to the West in 1970?</em></p>
<p><strong>RYM:</strong> In the years following the 1967 war in Israel, the hostilities that the Soviets felt for Israel only increased. The IDF were called hooligans in the Soviet press but we in the Jewish underground only yearned for the freedom to go to Israel, study in yeshiva and be part of the Zionist dream. We decided to hijack a plane to the Western world to spotlight our plight, even though we knew how risky it was. While undertaking this action, we dreamed about being in the Golani brigade in Israel. We also wanted to counter the incessant Soviet propaganda that told the world that there was no Jewish issue in Russia and that Jews were very happy to be proud Soviet citizens. We wanted the world to know that there was a growing number of Jews who wanted to connect to their Jewish heritage; to study the Hebrew language and to dedicate themselves to studying Torah.</p>
<p><strong>FS: </strong><em>Who was involved in this operation and what were the events leading up to it?</em></p>
<p><strong>RYM:</strong> In June of 1970, Mark Dymshits who was a former military pilot and a major in the Russian air force, along with Eduard Kuznetsov who was a recognized dissident who had already served a seven-year prison term in the Soviet Union led us in this mission. Originally, we had thought that our goal would be to show the world that this movement was not just composed of a group of young Jewish men but of all Jews, so we were going to try and hijack a big airliner and fill it with Jewish families.</p>
<p>We bought up all the tickets on a small plane under the guise of a trip to a wedding and were going to fly it from Leningrad to Sweden where we had intended on holding a press conference asking world Jewry to help us in our quest for freedom. There were twelve of us aboard. With us was Sylva Zalmanson, who was Kuznetzov&#8217;s wife and two non-Jews, Yuri Federov and Aleksey Murzhenko. We had planned to pick up four more people in the forests. We were then arrested and charged with high treason. It was clear that the KGB knew of our plan as they arrested us as we got close to the airplane. After our arrest the Soviets initiated a crackdown on the Jewish and dissident movement and any centers for studying Hebrew and Torah were closed.</p>
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		<title>Glenn Beck Regales the Zionist Organization of America</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/glenn-beck-regales-the-zionist-organization-of-america/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=glenn-beck-regales-the-zionist-organization-of-america</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:06:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Glenn Beck]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michele bachmann]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zionist organization of america]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=113328</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The window for action is closing.]]></description>
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<p>On Sunday evening November 20th, over 800 ardent supporters of Israel gathered for the Zionist Organization of America&#8217;s 114th Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan. The star-studded gala event paid special tributes to radio talk show host Glenn Beck, Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann and US Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) of Florida.</p>
<p>Presented with the first ever Sheldon and Dr. Miriam Adelson &#8220;Defender of Israel&#8221; award, Mr. Beck was introduced by Mr. Adelson, a gaming industry mogul and a long time devotee of Israel. In his introductory remarks Mr. Adelson described Mr. Beck as a &#8220;very special man. We knew he was a giant even before we met him. I’d never known a Christian Zionist like Glenn Beck.  He tells the truth about the Arab war against Israel.”</p>
<p>Adelson, also the publisher of <em>Israel Hayom</em> (now Israel’s largest daily newspaper), added there is “no greater supporter of Israel in the media today” than Beck.  When Palestinians murdered five members of the Fogel family in last March’s Itamar massacre, Beck dedicated an entire show on Fox News to the tragedy and “displayed the pictures that almost every other television network ignored”: Palestinians celebrating the event by handing out candles in the streets, Adelson said.</p>
<p>Noted for his exceptional devotion to Israel and the Jewish people as evidenced in his August 2011 &#8220;Restoring Courage&#8221; rally in Jerusalem near the Temple Mount and his forthright positions on his FOX television program, Mr. Beck declared that he has placed his &#8220;chips on the table&#8221; by saying, &#8220;I wear it as a badge of pride to be a Zionist. The Jewish people and the land of Israel has a right to exist and I am not ashamed to speak the truth.&#8221; Extending plaudits to his hosts and the rich and vibrant legacy of the ZOA as a foremost advocate for a greater Israel, Mr. Beck&#8217;s address was frequently punctuated by thunderous applause. Warning of ominous times ahead, he said, &#8220;The world is on the eve of profound and dramatic change and we have an 18-month window to change the world.&#8221;</p>
<p>Referencing a panoply of issues such as the geo-political realities of the Arab Spring, the burgeoning Iranian nuclear threat, the nascent Occupy Wall Street movement, the danger of George Soros funded organizations, the incessant animus towards Israel emanating from the Obama administration and the prevalent denial of the Holocaust, Mr. Beck issued a clarion call for unity amongst Christians, Jews and all good people by saying, &#8220;We must lock arms and stand as sentinels for if we fail to do so things could get worse. I come to you as a brother and not as a Christian. The world does not hate you, but the enemies of G-d hate you. You, the Jewish people never gave up on G-d. You have been loyal and you never embraced the G-d of the stranger and for that Israel has been promised by G-d to the Jews.&#8221;</p>
<p>In a voice reverberating with palpable emotion and zeal, Mr. Beck ruefully observed that &#8220;what is happening in the world is grotesque.&#8221; &#8220;When Ahmadinejad of Iran says the Jews will burn in the fiery hell of Islam, he means it. We must say &#8216;Never Again&#8217; and we must mean it. Words are meaningless. It is a time for action and only through the mighty Hand of the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will we be saved.&#8221;</p>
<p>Choked up with tears, Mr. Beck vividly recalled his trip to Auschwitz this past summer and what it meant to him. &#8220;I demand to be counted so others will not be numbered. We must tell the truth and we must never forget. We must never repeat the mistakes of the past. Evil will grow again and this evil plant grows in darkness and we must shed a bright light upon it.&#8221;</p>
<p>Exhorting his audience to &#8220;rely on eternal truths,&#8221; he chided the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators as being &#8220;just like the fascists that they say they&#8217;re against. It is like a formulaic stage play replete with hypocrisy.&#8221; He added that the struggles we face for our existential survival are &#8220;personal&#8221; and that &#8220;we must go out as individuals and make a difference.&#8221; Borrowing words from Abraham Lincoln, he warned against becoming imbued with vengeance and bellicosity when he said that our mantra should be, &#8220;With malice towards none and charity for all&#8221; and said that &#8220;as the world plunges into darkness, we must be a beacon of light.&#8221;</p>
<p>To that end, Mr. Beck made an oblique reference to an endeavor that he is undertaking on December 8th and while what he was eluding to remains nebulous at this juncture he had tongues wagging at the conclusion of his address as audience members engaged in speculation. &#8220;Either he is announcing his candidacy for public office or he is planning to convert to Judaism,&#8221; said a ZOA member who chose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>Also delivering a powerful and heartfelt address was Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R) who is seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2012. Telling her audience that her inextricable ties to Israel and the Jewish people originate in her personal religious beliefs she said, &#8220;It all began in the Book of Genesis which says that &#8216;Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed and whoever curses Israel will be cursed&#8217; and I stand behind these Divine words.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Panel Addresses Iran Nuclear Capabilities</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/panel-addresses-iran-nuclear-capabilities/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=panel-addresses-iran-nuclear-capabilities</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Nov 2011 04:27:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afternoon Edition]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[international atomic energy agency iaea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nuclear Weapons]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=112050</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Different sides of the political aisle meet to voice shared concern over the Islamic Republic. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/iran_nuclear_1.gif"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-112063" title="iran_nuclear_1" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/iran_nuclear_1.gif" alt="" width="375" height="252" /></a></p>
<p>Just hours before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna released its much awaited report confirming Iran&#8217;s &#8220;development of a nuclear explosive device,&#8221; this very topic was vigorously addressed at a forum at the 92nd Street Y on Manhattan&#8217;s upper east side. Excerpts from the powerful 2011 documentary &#8220;Iranium&#8221; (which documents the genesis of Iran’s nuclear threat, beginning with the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the ideology espoused by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini until today) was screened before the 200 audience members. Simulcast to a variety of venues around the country, the distinguished panel members had the opportunity to answer questions from audience members who were not present at the location.</p>
<p>Moderated by the film&#8217;s director, Alex Traiman (who was also involved in the production of other films documenting the rise of radical Islam and those who carry out terrorist attacks in the name of Allah such as &#8220;Obsession&#8221; and &#8220;The Third Jihad&#8221;), the panel consisted of Nazie Eftekhari, a prominent Iranian-American activist and the founder and CEO of The Araz Group, a family of companies that includes HealthEZ and America’s PPO. Having grown up in Iran, Ms. Eftekhari&#8217;s prodigious efforts have been focused on spotlighting the excessive human rights abuses against Iranian citizens that take place every day in her native country along with initiating a campaign of global support for the protection of the civil rights of Iranian dissidents.</p>
<p>Joining Ms. Eftekhari on the panel was former Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle, who served in this post during the Reagan administration. Mr. Perle is a member of several think tanks, including the Hudson Institute, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Center for Security Policy. He is also a resident fellow of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.</p>
<p>Opening with images from &#8220;Iranium&#8221; in which media personalities report on the immense amount of pressure Iranian embassies throughout the US and Canada placed on those theaters screening the film and their demands that presentations be canceled, the panelists offered a historical overview of the progenitors of the Islamic revolution and political metamorphoses that have gripped Iran over the last century. &#8220;When Khomeini came to power in 1979, he was never elevated to Ayatollah, despite common misconceptions,&#8221; said Ms. Eftekhari. She added that the previous Ayatollah and the Shah of Iran severed ties in 1962 and it was then that Iranian women were accorded the right to vote. &#8220;The Shah&#8217;s father was a secular ruler who did not force women to cover their hair and if the various mullahs disagreed with his ruling they would be horsewhipped.&#8221;</p>
<p>Condemning then president Jimmy Carter for welcoming Khomeini and helping in the Shah&#8217;s ouster, Ms. Eftekhari said she saw a glaring resemblance between the demonstrations leading to the Arab Spring and the Iranian revolution of 1979. &#8220;As a liberal Democrat; as a supporter of Hillary Clinton and a fan of Barack Obama, I was terribly upset and extremely disappointed to know that the leaders of my country did not stand up and speak out when the people of Iran exercised their rights of free speech and dissent in June of 2009, following the national elections. Hillary Clinton has said that the leadership of those dissidents demonstrating in the streets of Teheran did not want help from the USA and I simply don&#8217;t believe that.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Taking On Students for Justice in Palestine at Columbia</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/taking-on-students-for-justice-in-palestine-at-columbia/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=taking-on-students-for-justice-in-palestine-at-columbia</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/taking-on-students-for-justice-in-palestine-at-columbia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Oct 2011 04:33:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afternoon Edition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[americans for a safe israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boycott]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[columbia university]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[divestment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National Conference of Jewish Affairs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sanctions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[students for justice in Palestine]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=109260</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Students promote the "complete obliteration of the racist Zionist entity." ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Protest-at-Columbia-October-16th.gif"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-109262" title="Protest-at-Columbia---October-16th" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Protest-at-Columbia-October-16th.gif" alt="" width="375" height="248" /></a></p>
<p>Tensions flared between dozens of pro-Israel demonstrators and members of &#8220;Students for Justice in Palestine&#8221; on Sunday afternoon, October 16th outside of Columbia University on the third and final day of the 2011 National Students for Justice in Palestine &#8220;teach-in&#8221; organized by members to prepare for their upcoming Israel Apartheid Week events across college campuses throughout North America.</p>
<p>Holding aloft both Israeli and American flags and signs saying, &#8220;SJP Brings Stealth Jihad to Columbia University,&#8221; &#8220;Stop Hamas Terror Against Jews and Christians&#8221; and &#8220;Occupy Columbia With Truth and Justice &#8211; Not Lies and Anti-Israel Incitement,&#8221; the pro-Israel supporters represented such organizations as Americans For a Safe Israel (AFSI), the National Conference of Jewish Affairs (NCJA), Amcha &#8211; Coalition for Jewish Concerns and the Human Rights Coalition Against Radical Islam (HRCARI).</p>
<p>Rancorous debates and raucous arguments broke out between the two sides as the Zionist contingent engaged the SJP members, as they exited the university on the corner of 116th Street and Broadway. &#8220;Our conference is about advocating for human rights in Palestine. Our Palestinian brothers and sisters are being subjected to the most severe degree of oppression on a daily basis by the Israeli colonialists and occupiers and we are here to put forth our message that a Jewish state is a fundamentally racist concept as are the apartheid practices of that state,&#8221; said Amina Fayyid, a SJP student organizer.</p>
<p>According to the SJP web site, one of the objectives of the conference is to &#8220;facilitate and support the advancement of existing campaigns and the development of new campaigns with particular (but not exclusive) emphasis on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel.&#8221; Among the multifarious seminars and workshops taking place at the conference is one titled &#8220;Indigenous Struggles: situating Palestine as a settler-colonial project,&#8221; which ostensibly explores &#8220;understanding Palestine within comparative settler colonial framework while seeking to re-align the Palestinian movement within a universal history of decolonization, and imagining new possibilities for Palestinian resistance, solidarity and common struggle.&#8221;</p>
<p>Helen Freedman, executive director of Americans For A Safe Israel (AFSI), said, &#8220;Israel is the only stable democracy in the Middle East and these student activists know very well that Palestinians living in Israel have a much better lifestyle than they would in any other Arab country; yet their goal in organizing such a conference is to perpetuate the myths, incessant lies and blatant distortions that they use in their quest to demonize Israel. What we are witnessing here today is nothing short of the most egregious form of anti-Semitism cloaked in the clever subterfuge of anti-Zionism.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Pro-Israel Christians and Jews Unite</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/pro-israel-christians-and-jews-unite/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=pro-israel-christians-and-jews-unite</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:16:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=106098</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Demonstrators gather in New York City to oppose a United Nations travesty. ]]></description>
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<p>Before noon on Wednesday, September 21st, scores of stalwart Christian supporters of Israel, along with sizeable contingents of Jews, poured into Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the United Nations to express their indignation over the unilateral Palestinian bid for statehood, expected to take place on Friday as part of the annual UN General Assembly meeting. Sponsors of the rally said that a coalition of close to 50 Christian and Jewish organizations, along with the Israeli government, had taken part in mobilizing over 5000 people to attend under the banner of the &#8220;Eagles Wings Coalition Council.&#8221; Many rally participants had traveled from across the United States and Canada to attend.</p>
<p>Just as President Barack Obama concluded his address to the General Assembly in which he exhorted the Palestinians to abandon their quest for a unilateral declaration of statehood at the United Nations, speaker after speaker underscored the irrefragable anti-Semitism and blatant anti-Israel predilections that have come to define the mantra of the UN.  According to UN Watch in Geneva, over the last five years, the UN Human Rights Council has adopted 70 resolutions condemning specific nations, and 40 of those have been levied against Israel. Likewise, the General Assembly has adopted approximately 20 anti-Israel resolutions each year, compared to only half a dozen targeting other countries.</p>
<p>The demonstrators also roundly condemned the Durban III conference that is scheduled to take place tomorrow and marks the 10th anniversary of the first Durban Conference in South Africa. The ostensible agenda of the UN sponsored conference was to have addressed issues of global racism, sexism and xenophobia, but rapidly morphed into a series of forums in which anti-Israel non-governmental organizations used their time to propagandize against the Jewish state.</p>
<p>&#8220;The original Durban conference equated Zionism with racism,” said Robert Stearns, director of Eagle&#8217;s Wings. “Thankfully, the United States government and many others have not participated in the Durban conference, and yet it continues. A Durban event in Geneva went so far as to invite the president of Iran as the keynote speaker. When he’s your keynote speaker at a human rights rally, you should know there’s a problem,” he added. In addition to the U.S. and Israel, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are boycotting Durban III.</p>
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		<title>The Fight for Anthony Weiner&#8217;s Vacated Seat</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/the-fight-for-anthony-weiners-vacated-seat/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-fight-for-anthony-weiners-vacated-seat</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 2011 04:13:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afternoon Edition]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=104367</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Meet the candidate who thinks he can win it. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/alg_bob_turner.gif"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104372" title="alg_bob_turner" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/alg_bob_turner.gif" alt="" width="375" height="254" /></a></p>
<p>Throwing his hat in the ring as the Republican contender for the vacant congressional seat in New York City&#8217;s 9th district is Bob Turner. On Tuesday, September 13th, a special election will be held pitting Turner against New York State Assemblyman David Weprin (D). Recently, FrontPage sat down with Mr. Turner to get his perspective on the issues confronting Americans today.</p>
<p><em><strong>Fern Sidman:</strong> Mr. Turner, can you tell us, why, at age 70, having never been involved in politics, you are running for elected office?</em></p>
<p><strong>Bob Turner:</strong> Actually, my political career began 18 months ago when I ran against former Congressman Anthony Weiner. While I lost that election, I did garner 41% of the vote, which signified to me that a sizeable number of voters in the 9th congressional district felt that Weiner was not representing their positions on the issues. Personally, when I heard Weiner speak I was outraged at his absurd explanations for supporting the disastrous policies of the Obama administration.</p>
<p>I then contacted Mike Long of the New York Conservative Party and asked him who was opposing Weiner on the ballot and who I could send a check to. When he told me that he was running unopposed, I was quite surprised and Mike told me that we need an independent candidate with strong business experience who can effectively articulate the conservative position on the issues. It was then that he asked me to run and after giving it careful consideration I decided to do it. After losing the race I had thought my political career was over, but I was nominated by the party to run again, and they asked if I would give it another try. There are serious problems facing our country as we are totally off course on a panoply of domestic issues and our foreign policy is a complete mess. With that in mind, I felt the voters of the 9th congressional district should have a choice in who represents them in Washington, rather than being saddled with someone who rubber stamps the president&#8217;s policies.</p>
<p><em><strong>FS:</strong> Concerning your career as a cable television executive, what can you bring to the table as far as business management skills?</em></p>
<p><strong>BT:</strong> My business career spans over 40 years, as I&#8217;ve worked for CBS and Gray Advertising. I&#8217;ve been both president and chief executive officer of four different companies with revenues of over 100 million plus. I started one of these companies completely from scratch with a knowledge of capital markets and how to get new money to invest in businesses. I have hands-on experience in growing businesses, both domestic and international, and that knowledge will prove to be invaluable when dealing with fiscally irresponsible policies of the Obama administration. As a business person, I respect the person who works hard, and don&#8217;t want the tax dollars of the middle class to be squandered by incompetents. Right now our country is being run by academics and career politicians and what we&#8217;re sorely lacking in these deliberations is a pragmatic approach to the economy; a bona fide business plan that has been proven successful so many times.</p>
<p><em><strong>FS:</strong> What are your plans for stimulating job growth and lowering taxes for the small business owner in Brooklyn and Queens?</em></p>
<p><strong>BT:</strong> There are three principal areas that we need to focus on. Firstly, we need to tap into resources in the energy field. We need to ask all energy companies to work on a domestic program immediately and that means domestic drilling and off-shore resources. In New York State, we&#8217;re not doing nearly enough to exploit our natural resources. In other states, such as Pennsylvania, there are over 70,000 people employed in the steel industry, and if we explore our options, we, too, can become a major employer in the energy field.</p>
<p>In order to help these development plans along we must immediately remove the litany of government regulations that are strangling the private business sector, and we must start encouraging American ingenuity and creativity. The intentions of this administration have met great uncertainty especially when it pertains to repatriating foreign profits. This means that U.S. corporations can repatriate earnings attributable to foreign business operations at a greatly reduced tax rate, and right now, there is more than $1 trillion in U.S. corporate profits that reside overseas.  The mistake that this administration has made, and other Democratic administrations have made for decades, is that they think they can compel businesses to keep their investments in the U.S. by taxing profits generated by American companies in foreign countries, and that is simply untrue. By encouraging companies to spend money on plant equipment and new product development, you will give them incentives to spend their money here, thus creating more jobs.</p>
<p>We had best dramatically reduce government regulations rather quickly, as Obamacare is crippling small businesses and is literally pulling millions of dollars out of them. We&#8217;re looking at higher insurance premiums and let&#8217;s remember that the insurance companies are only making a 2 percent profit. What you have are substantially less benefits and inadequate healthcare. In addition to insurance companies, financial and corporate institutions are being hard hit by this as well. Soon, jobs will be sent to London and Toronto. These are the unintended consequences of massive regulations. Rather than creating an environment that would make borrowing money easier, it just makes it more cumbersome.</p>
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		<title>Beck Takes Courage to New Level</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/beck-takes-courage-to-new-level/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=beck-takes-courage-to-new-level</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Aug 2011 04:09:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afternoon Edition]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[A powerful keynote address from Jerusalem.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/rc10-620x3622.gif"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-102861" title="rc10-620x362" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/rc10-620x3622.gif" alt="" width="375" height="247" /></a></p>
<p>Addressing thousands at his much heralded &#8220;Restoring Courage&#8221; rally in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening August 24th, former Fox News talk show host Glenn Beck exhorted his audience to immerse themselves in doughtiness and “stand up for Israel” in the face of the existential siege that the Jewish State finds herself under by the international community.</p>
<p>Speaking from the Southern Wall excavation site in Jerusalem&#8217;s old city, Beck, an intrepid supporter of Israel and the Jewish people, delivered an ominous portent of geo-political realities. “Today, the world needs courage more than ever. You don’t have to be a prophet to know that things are not going well in the world. The threats are mounting. Darkness is falling,&#8221; he intoned.</p>
<p>Speaking of the potentially lethal ramifications of the Arab Spring, he added, &#8220;When I saw Tunisia’s and Egypt’s rulers crack and fall and the world called it the Arab Spring, I said: Where could this be going? And behind these revolutions was a familiar force, a force that will place those nations under a new pharaoh. And that force, I said, would come up to the borders of Israel. And so it has. You see evil rear its head in our time. You see the signs again. The swastikas are on display in the street marches. This week they’re holding up signs in Cairo that say: We’re building the gas chambers. They dress their children in suicide belts. They are given the choice, and they choose death.&#8221;</p>
<p>Making an oblique reference to the upcoming United Nations General Assembly meeting in September in which a vote will be taken on the creation of an independent Palestinian state, Beck lambasted the world body by saying, &#8220;In New York, the so-called leaders of the world talk about abuses of human rights. But what they will do is abuse the very meaning of the phrase “human rights.” Human rights they say. But who will they focus on? Libya? Syria? North Korea? No. They will condemn Israel. Tiny Israel. Democratic Israel. Free Israel. Israel, which values life above all other things.&#8221;</p>
<p>He furthered chided the world body by saying, &#8220;When the Fogel family was killed in their sleep the world barely took note. The grand councils of earth condemn Israel. Across the border, Syria slaughters its own citizens. The grand councils are silent.&#8221;</p>
<p>Focusing on the vehement acrimony that engulfs Israel by the international community, Beck declared to thunderous applause, &#8220;When the world turns its back on Israel and the Jewish people, the world turns its back on the source of all human rights.&#8221;  Beck, a Mormon, peppered his address with religious references when illustrating Israel&#8217;s role in respecting the sanctity of human life since the dawn of time. &#8220;Without the Jewish people, humanity would not know that every individual life has dignity, that every life is sacred, that God names every star and knows every soul. That was God’s message to Abraham and Moses. It is the message of the Jewish people to the world, and by their very existence they teach it to us.&#8221;</p>
<p>He added, &#8220;Nowhere in the Torah or the Christian Scriptures do you see the phrase words &#8216;human rights.&#8217; But there is a lot in there about responsibilities. Everything we know about human rights and civilization came from this place. Whether you live by 613 commandments or 10 or just one golden rule, they all came from here. This throne of the Lord.&#8221;</p>
<p>Heaping accolades on the Jewish nation for their iron will to survive and thrive against incessant horrific adversity, Beck said, &#8220;In Israel, there is more courage in one square mile than in all of Europe. In Israel, there is more courage in one soldier than in the combined and cold hearts of every bureaucrat at the United Nations. In Israel, you can find people who will stand against incredible odds… against the entire tide of global opinion, for what is right and good and true. Israel is not a perfect country. No country is perfect. But it tries… and it is courageous.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>&#8216;Midnight Cowboy&#8217; Rides Tall in Jerusalem</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/midnight-cowboy-star-rides-tall-in-jerusalem/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=midnight-cowboy-star-rides-tall-in-jerusalem</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:16:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=102708</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Actor Jon Voight joins Glenn Beck in solidarity with Israel.]]></description>
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<p>“We are facing a new Holocaust, and people of all faiths must demand that the truth be heard,&#8221; declared Oscar-winning American actor Jon Voight on Monday evening, August 22nd in Jerusalem. Voight, 72, joined former FOX News personality Glenn Beck as the featured speaker at the central train station in Jerusalem in an event commemorating the Holocaust. As a lead up to Beck&#8217;s &#8220;Restoring Courage&#8221; rally on August 24th, Monday evening&#8217;s event, which was carried on Beck’s new television network, featured a powerful film about Holocaust survivor Rudy Wolf’s visit to his childhood home in Germany. Other speakers at the event noted the significance of holding a Holocaust-themed evening at the former Jerusalem train station, which recalled the train tracks leading to Auschwitz &#8212; tracks that could have been destroyed, but weren&#8217;t.</p>
<p>Assuming a flinty posture on the exacerbation of terrorism aimed at Israel, Mr. Voight intoned, &#8220;The Palestinian radicals have only one prayer on their lips: To remove every Jew from Israel.” He received a standing ovation when he said, “We will not bend to terrorism in any way, shape, or form for the sake of peace.”</p>
<p>“How have we come to a time when blowing up babies and cutting their throats are an acceptable means to a political goal?” Voight queried his audience, referring to the barbaric murders of five members of the Fogel family in the settlement of Itamar in March of this year. “I feel complete contempt for anyone not intelligent enough to see that the media propaganda portraying the Palestinians as victims endangers the state of Israel,&#8221; he continued to rousing applause.</p>
<p>“If you stare evil in the eye, it’s a coward,” Beck told his audience of Christians and Jews. “If you confront your biggest fear, it goes away. It’s not enough to remember the Holocaust, because it has happened time and time again. This will be the generation that stops it in its tracks and says ‘never again, we mean it.’&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Glenn Beck Ignites Hope in Israel</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/glenn-beck-ignites-hope-in-israel/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=glenn-beck-ignites-hope-in-israel</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Aug 2011 04:13:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=102557</guid>
		<description><![CDATA["Restoring Courage" rally kicks off.]]></description>
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<p>On Sunday, August 21st, former FOX News talk show host and conservative commentator Glenn Beck delivered an address laden with palpable emotion at the Roman amphitheater in Caesarea, Israel, as part of the first fixture leading up to his &#8220;Restoring Courage&#8221; rally in Jerusalem on August 24th. Speaking to over 3,000 mostly American attendees, Beck exhorted his audience at the monumental venue built in the first century by Herod the Great to “not only love Israel but love the Jewish people as they are.&#8221;</p>
<p>Declaring that the entire world is “reentering the age of miracles of God,” he received thunderous applause when he said, &#8220;While there may not be a political solution, the good news is the God of Israel ain&#8217;t running for office.&#8221;  While not directly addressing the geo-political realities that Israel faces or his staunch opposition to the creation of an independent Palestinian state, Beck said, &#8220;Let the Jewish people know, no matter what our governments may say, we are not our governments, we stand with you. We bring truth, we bring peace, we bring support, we bring comfort.&#8221;</p>
<p>Simultaneously broadcast to over 80 countries throughout the world and close to 1,200 viewing parties, Beck&#8217;s remarks focused on the religious teachings that inspired him in his heartfelt love for Israel, namely the Books of Esther and Ruth. &#8220;When Ruth told her mother-in-law Naomi, &#8216;wherever you goest I shall go, your people shall be my people and your G-d shall be my G-d&#8217;, those words were a driving force for me.&#8221;</p>
<p>Joining Beck on stage were Pastor John Hagee, an American evangelical icon and founder and president of the Christians United For Israel (CUFI); American born Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, chief rabbi of Efrat; David Barton, a world renowned historian; and Dr. Mike Evans, an award-winning journalist and <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author who has sold over 23 million books. Providing musical entertainment for the evening was Grammy nominated R&amp;B/soul/gospel singer Vernessa Mitchell, who was joined by a vibrant cadre of Israeli singers and musicians.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Jews are still the apple of God’s eye, still the chosen people, still the covenant people,” declared Pastor Hagee to a standing ovation as he took the podium. In a powerful statement on the ubiquitous campaign aimed at delegitimizing Israel and its growing isolation in the international community, he drew an analogy with the late President John F. Kennedy and his historical &#8220;Ich bin ein Berliner&#8221; speech, when Hagee announced &#8220;Ani Yisraeli&#8221; (I am an Israeli). He then led the rally participants in chants of: &#8220;I am an Israeli!&#8221;</p>
<p>Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, formerly of the Lincoln Square Synagogue on Manhattan&#8217;s upper west side, spoke of Jewish appreciation for the support of the Christian pro-Israel community, and in particular, that of Glenn Beck, who, Riskin said, is a &#8220;deeply patriotic American, a true friend of Israel.&#8221; Lauding the stoic character of the Christian supporters of Israel, Rabbi Riskin said, &#8220;We are not alone. We are Jews and not Christians. You Christians, nevertheless, have the courage to love us in our otherness. We are profoundly grateful for your courage to love us and stand with us.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Bolton&#8217;s Tough Words to the World</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/boltons-tough-words-to-the-world/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=boltons-tough-words-to-the-world</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jul 2011 04:04:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afternoon Edition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=99471</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Is the more powerful force nuclear weapons or an aroused American public?]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/johnboltoncufi.gif"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-99474" title="johnboltoncufi" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/johnboltoncufi.gif" alt="" width="375" height="257" /></a></p>
<p>John Bolton, former United States ambassador to the United Nations, had some strong words for the world body on Monday evening, July 18th as he delivered a broad-based foreign policy speech during the Chairman&#8217;s Club dinner at the sixth annual Christians United for Israel (CUFI) national summit in Washington, DC.</p>
<p>Speaking from the podium of the Washington Convention Center, Ambassador Bolton addressed the upcoming vote scheduled for September at the United Nations General Assembly in which the Palestinian Authority will call for nation states to cast their vote for the establishment of an independent Palestine.</p>
<p>&#8220;This effort is an attack on Israel&#8217;s legitimacy,&#8221; said Bolton, adding that it comes as no surprise because &#8220;for the last two and a half years, President Obama has been negotiating on behalf of the Palestinians.&#8221; Supporting Israel&#8217;s right to live in &#8220;peace and security,&#8221; Bolton said that the solution to the seemingly intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be resolved by the &#8220;parties of conflict&#8221; and not by the machinations of the United Nations. He called on Congress to &#8220;pass a law taking the wind out of the Palestinian sails; and should get Obama to be an honest broker in Middle East peace negotiations and get his thumb off the pedal of the Palestinians.&#8221;</p>
<p>Reminding his audience of over 600 that this is not the first time in modern history that the Palestinians have attempted to declare their own state, he said, &#8220;In 1988, they [the Palestinians] did the same thing and then joined specialized agencies of the United Nations to further their agenda.&#8221;  He also noted that the intended vote reflects a repudiation of US foreign policy and is a &#8220;direct contravention of UN resolutions 242 and 338.&#8221;</p>
<p>Calling for the US to employ strong measures against the UN if it does something &#8220;profoundly wrong&#8221; by de-legitimizing Israel, Bolton said the US should tell the Europeans that if they adopt this resolution, there will be no funding for the UN.  Back in 1988, former Secretary of State James Baker threatened any UN agency that funded the PLO, Bolton added. The US must state unequivocally that &#8220;we&#8217;re not going to give the UN legitimacy or authority in this matter and we&#8217;re not going to allow the UN General Assembly to have an effect on Middle East policy,&#8221; intoned Bolton.</p>
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		<title>Glenn Beck Stirs Crowd at Christians United For Israel</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/glenn-beck-stirs-crowd-at-christians-united-for-israel/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=glenn-beck-stirs-crowd-at-christians-united-for-israel</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:15:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=99347</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[From the Knesset to Washington. ]]></description>
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<p>Receiving rousing ovations and thunderous applause, former Fox News television personality Glenn Beck told an audience of over 5,000 gathered at the Christians United for Israel (CUFI) national summit in Washington that if the pernicious trends in global anti-Semitism culminate in another genocide, &#8220;then count me as a Jew, and come for me first.&#8221; Mr. Beck delivered these remarks as part of his keynote address at the &#8220;Night to Honor Israel&#8221; gala banquet at CUFI&#8217;s sixth annual convocation on Tuesday evening, July 19th.</p>
<p>Having just returned from a trip to Israel where he addressed the Knesset Committee on Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs at the invitation of Deputy Knesset Speaker Danny Danon, Mr. Beck opened his speech by announcing his donation of $10,000 to the &#8220;CUFI On Campus&#8221; student organization that battles anti-Israel propaganda on hundreds of college and university campuses across America. Referencing his emotional trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, he stated his oft-repeated belief that the inherent rights of the U.S. Constitution and those delineated in the Declaration of Independence were mandatory requirements for the prevention of massive human rights violations. &#8220;The founding fathers had the answer 150 years before Hitler showed up,&#8221; he said, but reminded his audience that for two millennia, the Jewish people were not accorded those rights in the countries in which they resided.</p>
<p>Until the modern state of Israel was established in 1948, he said, the Jews &#8220;have had no home base&#8221; and added that &#8220;this is why the nation of Israel is vital.&#8221; Recalling the painful history of the Jewish nation, he intoned, &#8220;They have been smeared. They have been maligned. But to our shame as human beings most of all, they have been forgotten in times of need.&#8221; Speaking directly to the Jewish people he said, &#8220;No one can protect your rights better than you. To rely on others is to ensure economic slavery at best, and death camps at worst.&#8221;</p>
<p>Spotlighting the existential siege that the Jewish State finds herself under by the looming Iranian nuclear threat and the forces of radical Islam in the Middle East and throughout the world, Mr. Beck concluded his address by issuing stern warnings to the enemies of Israel and the Jewish people. He said that &#8220;times have changed,&#8221; and that the Jews would no longer stand alone in any potential confrontation.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is still America 2011. We are not the Christians of the Crusades. We are Christians United For Israel,&#8221; he declared.</p>
<p>Reiterating Mr. Beck&#8217;s sentiments was Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United For Israel, who also delivered an impassioned address. &#8220;Mr. Ahmadinejad: Do not threaten the people of Israel and the people of America,&#8221; he said. Citing those miscreants throughout history who have sought to eradicate the Jewish people, he noted, &#8220;Look at Pharoah of Egypt and Haman of Persia in the story of Purim and you will have some idea of G-d&#8217;s punishment for you.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Controversy Erupts over Yale&#8217;s Closing of YIISA</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/controversy-erupts-over-yales-closing-of-yiisa/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=controversy-erupts-over-yales-closing-of-yiisa</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jun 2011 04:02:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afternoon Edition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[boycott]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Semitism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[YIISA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=96069</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Scholarly leaders and activists are outraged over the university's decision to shut down its program studying anti-Semitism. ]]></description>
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<p>The hallowed halls of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut were rocked with controversy last week when it was announced that a well-respected scholarly program called the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Anti-Semitism (YIISA) was scheduled to be terminated.  In a statement issued by the iconic ivy league institution, Donald Green, a political science professor at Yale and Director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, said that the decision was predicated upon YIISA &#8220;generating little scholarly work that earned publication in highly regarded journals, and its courses attracted few students.&#8221; Citing the Center for the Study of Race, Inequality and Politics as another example of an &#8220;underachieving program,&#8221; Dr. Green said that “YIISA suffered the same fate because it failed to meet high standards for research and instruction.”</p>
<p>These allegations have been zealously disputed by a veritable repertioire of top-tier academics, Jewish leaders and political commentators who have suggested that the university acquiesced to the strongly-worded critiques of YIISA programs by leading Muslim personalities and organizations. Referencing the seminal and highly enlightening 2010 YIISA sponsored conference entitled &#8220;Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity,&#8221; Abby Wisse Schachter writes in a New York Post op-ed piece of June 7th that studying &#8220;Christian anti-Semitism is fine; political Jew-hatred, like communist or fascist anti-Semitism, no problem. But get anywhere near Muslim or Middle Eastern anti-Semitism, as presenters at YIISA&#8217;s conference did last year, and you&#8217;ve crossed the line.&#8221;</p>
<p>Schachter also imputes a conspiratorial tone to the decision to shut YIISA&#8217;s doors by reporting that subsequent to the conference, &#8220;the PLO representative in America scolded the school&#8217;s president, Richard Levin, complaining of the attention paid to anti-Semitism among Palestinians and Muslims.&#8221; The PLO &#8220;ambassador&#8221; in question, Maen Rashid Areikat, expressed his umbrage to Levin in a letter saying, &#8220;It&#8217;s shocking that a respected institution like Yale would give a platform to these right-wing extremists and their odious views. I urge you to publicly dissociate yourself and Yale University from the anti-Arab extremism and hate-mongering that were on display during this conference.&#8221;</p>
<p>The conference addressed the virulent nature of Islamic anti-Semitism, considered by experts in the field to be the most pernicious manifestation of modern-day global antipathy. Anti-Semitism in the Western academy was also meticulously examined and hundreds of pages of research materials were produced.</p>
<p>Led by the renowned sociologist Charles Small, YIISA was established in 2006 as the largest research unit in North America devoted to a nuanced exploration of anti-Semitism in its various incarnations with a focus on its urgent contemporary significance. Its clearly defined stated mission was &#8220;to explore this subject matter in a comprehensive, interdisciplinary framework from an array of approaches and perspectives as well as regional contexts.&#8221;</p>
<p>Each year, respected scholars who have published monographic studies on anti-Semitism have gathered for YIISA sponsored colloquiums. Among those scholars attached to YIISA programs include Irwin Cotler, the former Canadian attorney general and minister of justice, David Hirsh of Goldsmiths College in London, Phyllis Chesler, emerita professor of psychology and women&#8217;s studies at the City University of New York and Bassam Tibi, emeritus professor of international relations at the University of Goettingen.</p>
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		<title>Celebrating Israel</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/celebrating-israel/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=celebrating-israel</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:00:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=95503</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thousands gather in New York City in a show of support for the Jewish State. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/alg_zalev_mizrahi.gif"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-95589" title="alg_zalev_mizrahi" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/alg_zalev_mizrahi.gif" alt="" width="375" height="280" /></a></p>
<p>Fashionable Fifth Avenue in New York City was transformed into a sea of blue and white on Sunday, June 5th, as tens of thousands participated in the annual &#8220;Celebrate Israel&#8221; parade, while hundreds of thousands of onlookers cheered on the litany of synagogues, schools and organizations that participated in the jubilant march. Reports indicate that the attendance was the largest in its 47-year history.</p>
<p>Former Soviet dissident and Israeli Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora, Yuli Edelstein served as the grand marshall and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg along with Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to Washington, led the parade down its route to 74th Street.</p>
<p>A virtual repertoire of dignitaries made appearances including Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D) of New York&#8217;s 8th congressional district, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, as well as leaders of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), and the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) representing various Jewish communities.</p>
<p>The flag of Israel was a ubiquitous site as well as &#8220;Old Glory&#8221; which were held aloft by participants in each group. Such schools as Yeshiva of Flatbush, Magen David Yeshiva, Shulamith School for Girls, Yeshiva Derech HaTorah, the Rambam Yeshiva, the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR),  the North Shore Hebrew Academy, the Jewish Foundation School, the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County,  the Frisch School, the Ramaz School, the Joseph Kushner Hebew Academy, the Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva of Edison, New Jersey, the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, the Westchester Hebrew High School, the Solomon Schechter Schools of Queens, Manhattan, Nassau County, Bergen County, Monmouth County, Raritan Valley and Westchester were well represented with their entire student bodies as were many others.</p>
<p>A plethora of floats and marching bands were also on hand with sound systems playing Hebrew music and traditional Israeli songs relating to the cultural and religious legacy of the Jewish state.  Float sponsors included El Al Airlines, Bank HaPoalim/Bank Leumi, American Friends of Magen David Adom, the 92nd Street Y, the Jewish National Fund, RAJE &#8211; Russian American Jewish Experience, the American-Israel Friendship League, the Jewish Community Relations Council, and the UJA Federation of New York.</p>
<p>The predominant theme of each participating group was the centrality of Israel to the collective Jewish identity as well as calls to maintain the holy city of Jerusalem as Israel&#8217;s eternal, united and undivided capital. The subtle undercurrent of geo-political realities also permeated the parade route as many remained shocked and outraged over the dramatic shift in US foreign policy as it pertains to Israel.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a black Christian woman who loves Israel and what she represents to the free world. I roundly condemn, in the strongest of terms, President Obama&#8217;s arrogant and hostile posture towards the only stable democratic ally we have in the Middle East. How dare he even entertain the ludicrous notion of Israel retreating to the clearly indefensible 1967 borders? It is clear as day that this president would love nothing more than to see Israel destroyed by her enemies&#8221;, declared Coretta James of the Christians United For Israel organization, as she stood on the sidelines watching the parade.</p>
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		<title>Condemning CUNY&#8217;s Folly</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/condemning-cunys-folly/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=condemning-cunys-folly</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jun 2011 04:15:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Activists rally in New York City to oppose the honorary degree awarded to Tony Kushner. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/219-Kushner_Honorary_Degree.sff_.standalone.prod_affiliate.81.gif"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-95383" title="219-Kushner_Honorary_Degree.sff.standalone.prod_affiliate.81" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/219-Kushner_Honorary_Degree.sff_.standalone.prod_affiliate.81.gif" alt="" width="375" height="297" /></a></p>
<p>On Friday morning, June 3rd, several dozen people gathered across the street from the Jacob Javits Center on Manhattan&#8217;s west side to voice their outrage and indignation over the decision of the board of trustees of the City University of New York (CUNY) to grant an honorary degree to playwright Tony Kushner. The site was selected because it was the venue of the commencement ceremonies for the 2011 class of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice; the same CUNY school that saw fit to bestow the honorary degree to the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright for his literary accomplishments.</p>
<p>A polemical firestorm erupted a month ago when CUNY trustee Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld (an investment adviser and one-time aide to former New York State Governor George E. Pataki) represented the lone dissenting voice at a CUNY board meeting on May 2nd in which he expressed his vehement opposition to the nomination of Kushner for an honorary degree.</p>
<p>At the time, Mr. Wiesenfeld cited a litany of anti-Israel statements made by Mr. Kushner and spoke of the &#8220;disingenuous and non-intellectual activity directed against the State of Israel on campuses throughout the country, the West generally and oftentimes the United States as well.&#8221;  Mr. Wiesenfeld also pointed to direct quotes that Kushner made to the media. Among them are:</p>
<p>“[Israel was] founded in a program that, if you really want to be blunt about it, was ethnic cleansing, and that today is behaving abominably towards the Palestinian people.”<br />
— Yale Israel Review (winter 2005)</p>
<p>“I’ve never been a Zionist. I have a problem with the idea of a Jewish state. It would have been better if it never happened.”<br />
— The New York Sun reporting Kushner comments made at a conference in NY (10/14/02)</p>
<p>Ha’aretz reporter: &#8220;But you are saying that the very creation of Israel as a Jewish state was not a good idea.&#8221;<br />
Kushner: &#8220;I think it was a mistake.&#8221;<br />
— Ha’aretz (4/7/04)</p>
<p>“I am not a Zionist in case you haven’t noticed.&#8221; Kushner cited “the shame of American Jews for failing to denounce Israel.”<br />
– Chicago Tribune (4/10/02)</p>
<p>“[Israel is involved in] a deliberate destruction of Palestinian culture and a systematic attempt to destroy the identity of the Palestinian people.”<br />
– New York Sun (10/4/02)</p>
<p>Under routine circumstances, the CUNY board &#8220;rubber stamps&#8221; nominations of this kind, but subsequent to Mr. Wiensenfeld&#8217;s address, the trustees voted to deny Kushner a degree. Displaying obvious consternation, Kushner penned a critically worded letter to CUNY Chairman of the Board Benno Schmidt and the other trustees. Admonishing them, Kushner intoned: &#8220;Did any of you feel that your responsibilities as trustees of an august institution of higher learning included even briefly discussing the appropriateness of Mr. Weisenfeld&#8217;s using a public board meeting as a platform for deriding the political opinions of someone with whom he disagrees?&#8221;</p>
<p>Regarding his views on Israel, Kushner wrote in the same letter, &#8220;I believe that the historical record shows, incontrovertibly, that the forced removal of Palestinians from their homes as part of the creation of the State of Israel was ethnic cleansing, a conclusion I reached mainly by reading the work of Benny Morris, an acclaimed and conservative Israeli historian whose political opinions are much more in accord with Mr. Weisenfeld’s than with mine.&#8221;</p>
<p>Several days later, Mr. Schmidt released a statement saying the trustees had made a &#8220;mistake of principle, and not merely of policy,” in withholding the degree for Mr. Kushner from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In an attempt to quell widespread criticism, CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein urged Mr. Schmidt to convene a board meeting on May 9th at which time the trustees reversed their previous decision and voted to approve an honorary degree for Kushner.</p>
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		<title>Remembering the Prototypes of Evil</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/remembering-the-prototypes-of-evil/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=remembering-the-prototypes-of-evil</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Mar 2011 04:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Before there was Ahmadinejad, there were Achashveirosh and Haman. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a class="highslide" onclick="return vz.expand(this)" href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Picture-62.gif"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-88411" title="Picture-6" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Picture-62.gif" alt="" width="375" height="283" /></a></p>
<p>&#8220;Ahmadinejad: Remember What Happened to Haman&#8221; was one of the many signs held aloft on Sunday afternoon, March 20th, as close to 500 Jews gathered on Purim day for a public reading of Megillat Esther (the Book of Esther) that was held outside the Iranian mission to the United Nations on Manhattan&#8217;s east side. Organized by Americans For A Safe Israel (AFSI), Amcha &#8211; the Coalition for Jewish Concerns, Z Street and the Jewish Political Education Council, the reading was held as a symbolic representation of the indefatigable nature of the Jewish people and G-d&#8217;s intervention in their survival throughout the millenium.</p>
<p>&#8220;Purim is a day that we celebrate the survival of the Jewish people against evil rulers who sought our complete annihilation in the city of Shushan in Persia. In every generation the names of our oppressors and their countries of origin may change, but they are driven by one common denominator and that is visceral hatred of the Jew,&#8221; intoned Larry Domnitch, a freelance writer and designated reader of the megillah.</p>
<p>&#8220;Today we will read about the plans for mass extermination of the Jewish people designed by the prototypes of evil, namely Achashveirosh and Haman. We are gathered here today to remind the modern day Haman who resides in Iran named Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that we will not be silent while he creates his plans to &#8216;wipe Israel off the map.&#8217; As in the days of Queen Esther, we will raise our voices to G-d, seeking His divine intervention and we will boldly speak out against a regime that is not only a nemesis to Israel, but to the entire free world,&#8221; he added.</p>
<p>Glenn Richter, long-time Jewish activist and former leader of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, introduced the leaders of the sponsoring organizations as the crowd held specially made Purim groggers (noisemakers) with the face of Ahmadinejad and a red line cancelling it out, along with other signs and Israeli flags. &#8220;The Obama administration is willfully deluding itself by touting the line that the source of all the problems in the Middle East is due to Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria,&#8221; he declared. &#8220;It is clear that the source of anti-Western and anti-Israel terrorism today emanates from Iran; the very same government that sought to destroy us centuries ago,&#8221; he added.</p>
<p>During the megillah reading, the sounds of acrimony could be heard from a small contingent of Neturei Karta counter-protestors who chanted, &#8220;Down, Down, the State of Israel,&#8221; and held signs lambasting Zionism as antithetical to against Judaism. On each occasion that the name of Haman was read aloud, the noise generated by the plethora of groggers and loud boos by those gathered to hear the megillah drowned out the hateful rhetoric of the counter-protestors.</p>
<p>Subsequent to the megillah reading, Helen Freedman of the Americans For A Safe Israel said, &#8220;We are putting the government of Iran on notice and we are here today to tell Ahmadinejad and other sponsors of terrorism against Israel and the Western world, that your fate is sealed. Learn from history. When you lift your hand against the Jewish nation, you will succumb to defeat, just as Haman did in Persia and all the others after him.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Rallying in Support of Rep. Peter King</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/fern-sidman/rallying-in-support-of-rep-peter-king/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=rallying-in-support-of-rep-peter-king</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Mar 2011 04:04:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fern Sidman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Human rights activists voice their support of the upcoming  hearings on Islamic radicalism in America.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Simon-Deng.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-87073" title="Simon Deng" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Simon-Deng.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>Human rights activists of all stripes took to the streets on Sunday  afternoon, March 6th, in a rally supporting the upcoming congressional  hearings in which Rep. Peter King (R-NY) will discuss the increased  radicalization of American Muslims and the potential for the implementation of  Sharia law in the United States. Approximately 80 members of the Human Rights  Coalition Against Radical Islam, the Liberty Alliance, the Coalition to Honor  Ground Zero, Americans For a Safe Israel, Liberty Rocks, Blue Collar Corner, and  Women United International gathered in the pouring rain near Times Square to  make their voices heard. Rep. King is the chairman of the Homeland Security  Committee in Congress and has represented New York&#8217;s 3rd congressional  district since 1993. His district includes parts of Nassau and Suffolk counties  in central Long Island.</p>
<div>According to its press release, the Liberty Alliance stated that the gathering comes as a &#8220;counter-protest in response to a rally  being held by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his wife, Daisy Khan, Imam  Shamsi Ali and others in Times Square, entitled &#8216;Today I am a Muslim,  too.&#8217; Couching their rally in the language of “interfaith dialogue,” Imam Rauf and  his supporters plan to attack decent Americans as  &#8216;Islamophobic&#8217; for expressing their legitimate concerns about terrorism,  Sharia law and jihad. The focus of their attack are Congressman Peter  King’s upcoming Homeland Security Hearings.&#8221;</div>
<div>Daisy Khan, the executive director of the American Society of Muslim  Advancement (ASMA), said in a press release that her rally will be a forum  for :</div>
<blockquote>
<div>&#8220;Muslim and non-Muslim alike to stand together in solidarity,  speaking out as a collective American voice. Concerned Americans will take  a unified stance against a rising Islamophobia caused by anxiety,  misinformation, and ignorance.  Despite best efforts to engage and  integrate into American society, certain leaders nonetheless, continue to  see <a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim" rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim" target="_blank">Muslims</a> outside of the American family portrait. Rep.  Peter King,  for example, will hold congressional hearings addressing, &#8216;The  Radicalization of Muslim communities in America,&#8217; with testimony solely focusing  on the Muslim community.&#8221;</div>
</blockquote>
<div>The Kuwaiti born Imam Rauf and his wife Daisy Khan have spearheaded the  building of the controversial mosque near Ground Zero in New York, which they  have dubbed the &#8220;Park51&#8243; project.</div>
<div>Beth Gilinsky of the Liberty Alliance told those present at the  rally that:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>As Americans are murdered here and abroad by Islamic radicals, Imam Rauf  tries to turn the facts upside down, and blames the United States for Islamist  violence and hatred. He says that &#8220;US policies were an accessory to the crime of  9/11.&#8221; He claims that Muslims are targets of widespread discrimination, hate  speech and physical attacks. Meanwhile, the imams are working overtime to make  Sharia law look benign. Indeed, Imam Rauf claims that the American political  structure is already sharia compliant.</div>
</blockquote>
<div>Denouncing President Obama for being unable to speak the words of  truth regarding the authentic nature of jihad and Islamic terror, Helen  Freedman, executive director of Americans For a Safe Israel, stated:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>We are  living in the most dangerous of times and as Americans we would have hoped for a  president who had the courage and temerity to label the enemy as they  are. Those who threaten our safety and welfare are radical  Islamists living amongst us and those on foreign shores and we should have  leadership that is not afraid to say just that.</div>
</blockquote>
<div>She also took aim at Rabbi Marc Schneier of the Park East Synagogue in  Manhattan who declared, &#8220;I am a Muslim&#8221; at a February 15th rally in Newark, New  Jersey, and called for instituting a twinning program between synagogues and  mosques. Rabbi Schneier has aligned himself with the rally organized by Imam  Rauf and Daisy Khan and was listed as one of their  speakers. Moreover, he is reported to have labeled aspects  of the upcoming congressional hearings as &#8220;un-American.&#8221;</div>
<div>Joining Ms. Freedman in  her castigation of Rabbi Schneier was Beth Gilinsky, who said:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>I am both  appalled and totally shocked that Rabbi Schneier has enabled Imam Rauf in his  quest to implement Sharia law in America. No one who truly cares about  human rights and interfaith partnership can ignore the widespread and well  documented evidence of slaughter and barbaric human rights abuses of  non-Muslims, women, young girls, and gays under Sharia Islam across the globe.</div>
</blockquote>
<div>Tim Sumner, co-founder of the 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America  stated, &#8220;Liberty Alliance coalition members will condemn Rauf&#8217;s efforts to falsely  portray his efforts as a civil rights initiative. They will not derail King&#8217;s  hearings.&#8221;</div>
<div>Tim Brown of Liberty Rocks intoned: &#8220;Given that two New Jersey men just pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy  charges related to their efforts last year to join a Somali terror group,  Americans of all faiths clearly need protection from homegrown terrorism.  Americans support the upcoming homeland security hearings.&#8221; <span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div>Dr. Marvin Belsky of the Human Rights Coalition Against Radical Islam said:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>Those who support the efforts of Imam Rauf and Daisy Khan to help in  the proliferation of sharia law can only be classified as &#8220;useful idiots&#8221;  as Vladimir Lenin once said. The agenda of radical Islamists is clear,  yet those who are indignant over &#8220;purported racial profiling&#8221; don&#8217;t  grasp the concept that these forces would use violence and terrorism against  anyone who is not a Muslim, as they have done for centuries.</div>
</blockquote>
<div>&#8220;There is an unholy alliance between the political left and the radical  Islamists&#8221; continued Dr. Belsky. &#8220;Among those organizations and personalities  aligning themselves with Imam Rauf are the most anti-Semitic and anti-Israel.&#8221;</div>
<div>Simon Deng, a former Sudanese slave, affirmed that he had just returned from the  southern Sudan where it is expected that Christians will once again have a voice  in government affairs after a recent election. Speaking of the freedoms he  enjoys in the United States he warned:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>As a young boy I was sold into slavery  to radical Islamists. I am so proud to now be an American and I exhort you all  to hold on to our freedoms for dear life. Over three million Christian  Sudanese people were murdered by Islamists and we must fight to uphold our  cherished democratic principles before they are taken from us.</div>
</blockquote>
<div>Other speakers included attorney Liz Berney, Andy Sullivan of Blue Collar  Corner, Arish Sahani of the Indian American Intellectuals Forum and  Christine Brim of the Center for Security Policy. All individuals showing support for King&#8217;s ground-breaking investigation should be commended for their bravery.</div>
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