Why more than 40 countries boycotted U.N.'s debut Palestinian ‘Nakba (punishing Israeli Independence) Day'

Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan speaks with sign 
 "Stop ignoring Jewish Nakba," at United Nations, Nov 30, 2022.

In a seemingly endless war of stories, the Palestinians took center stage at the United Nations on Monday, even though Israel was victorious in shrinking its audience.

May 15 marks the first official UN "Nakba Day", according to a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December. In Arabic, the word means "disaster" or "catastrophe", regarding the founding of modern Israel on May 14, 1948.

The ceremonies took place Monday morning at the United Nations, despite the alleged 'catastrophic' narrative, which included Palestinian Arabs' rejection of a 1947 UN plan to partition Palestine from Britain. mandate into Jewish and Arab states, and in violation of the United Nations charter. when armed Arabs sought to destroy a state established in 1948.

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas attacked the US and UK in his speech, saying both are responsible for the current Palestinian situation by establishing Israel for their own political ends, considering Palestinians are victims.

“These countries want to get rid of their Jews and take advantage of their presence in Palestine (British Mandate),” Mr. Abbas said. Abbas stressed that the United Nations suspends Israel if it does not give state to the Palestinians and demands the so-called "right of return" for the millions of descendants of the refugees. He perjured that Israel had agreed to this provision in 1947 to be accepted as a member state of the United Nations.

The US and UK announced last week that they would not be participating in Monday's events, angering Abbas. The UN Delegation and Israel's Foreign Ministry lobbied to convince other member states to stop attending, which seems to have paid off.

About 32 countries are said to have avoided, including Ukraine, 10 European Union member states, three African countries and Canada. Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, sent a letter to his colleagues on Sunday urging them not to participate in "Nakba Day" ceremonies. “The idea that an international organization could mark the founding of one of its member states is a disaster or a catastrophe that is both appalling and repulsive,” he wrote.

Erdan warned that participation in unilateral initiatives such as the "Nakba Day" event "gives the Palestinians the green light to continue to exploit international bodies to advance their defamation narrative." ." It also contributed to hatred of the Jews, he said.

"It is a shame that the United Nations marked the birthday of a country for the first time - the 75th anniversary of the founding of the only Jewish state in the world, Israel, approved by the United Nations in 1947 - by call it 'disaster'," B'nai B'rith International tweeted on Monday. "Palestinian 'Nakba' Day promotes a ghastly narrative that promotes more conflict, not peace."

Bulgaria, Czechia, Greece, Guatemala, Italy and Peru are said to be among others boycotting Monday's event. The General Assembly will host an event on the evening of May 15, featuring Palestinian singer Sanaa Moussa, the New York Arab Orchestra, and many other exhibits and testimonials. Palestinian supporters also held a rally outside the United Nations headquarters on Monday morning.

The EndJewHatred movement held a rally outside the United Nations at 5pm Monday in protest of the world body's "flagrant and consistent hatred of Jews" he tweeted.

Spotted now, in front of the United Nations before our protest! We will not be silent in the face of Jewish hatred. The days of the Jew who lived with their heads bowed are over. 'Nakba Day' is a call to genocide and we will not allow it to go undefeatable. pic.twitter.com/x4iQsQSR1y

– Brooke Goldstein (@GoldsteinBrooke) May 15, 2023

Synagogue-sponsored politicians project white gunman's antisemitism onto critics of Democrats' importing foreigners to vote

Flower memorials outside the Tree of Life Synagogue after
shooting over HIAS immigrating Muslims to Pittsburgh

The jury-phase of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, Robert Bowers' death-penalty trial is finally underway. Although weapons won't be in Bowers' hands anymore, on May Day, interpretations of his motives were politically weaponized by Leftist pro-immigration activists in California. 

On May Day '23, S.F. Bay Area filmmaker, Patrice O'Neill participated in an L.A. panel conversation following an early screening of her The Working Group's "Repairing the World: Stories from Tree of Life" documentary  about the massacre at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue in Autumn 2018. The screening was hosted by IKAR Rabbi Sharon Brous and was supported by a number of Liberal Jewish groups. The film's messages about racial-tolerance and multiculturalism were amplified by adding government Democrats to the Q&A. Rabbi Brous and the Democrat officials cast critics of Democrats' current, illegal migrant invasion as racial "haters."

Pittsburgh's Tree of Life congregation, along with Congregation Dor Hadash (New Generation) and New Light Congregation, which also worshipped in the building, were attacked during Shabbat morning services on October 27, 2018. The alleged perpetrator, Robert Bowers killed eleven people and wounded six, including several Holocaust survivors. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States. Mr. Bowers is currently on trial over the attack.

Patrice O'Neill participated in a panel conversation after an early screening of her The Working Group's "Repairing the World" documentary about the massacre at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue by Robert Bowers in Autumn 2018. On the panel, Patrice O'Neill said "Anti-Semitism is the ideological driver in the white-power movement. ... To see what unfolded in Pittsburgh to see what was apparent on the ground when Ms. Charene (Zalis) first went there - was to know that this is a story that can possibly move people into action in a new way."

Rabbi Brous and the panelists use gunman Robert Bowers (who attacked the Dor Chadash minyan - which supports HIAS' resettling Syrian-Muslim migrants in the Pittsburgh area - as well as the Tree of Life because of its support for Central American Caravan migrants) as a stereotype for all Republicans. 

The filmmakers further project the Charlottesville white-nationalists chanting "Jews will not replace us" (reflecting a belief in a Liberal-Jewish-led conspiracy to replace white people with non-white immigrants) to vilify all conservatives. In doing so, they attempt to divert attention from the real phenomenon of antisemitic hostility - as they have ignored the anti-Israel plank among the Progressive Left, Muslims, blacks, and Farrakhan-inspired Black Muslims all with record-stats of Jew-hatred - which inspires increased enmity and hostility against Jewish people and places. 

(Please see reference report: Islamic Antisemitism in the United States, Tel Aviv University's Institute for  National Security Studies, April 18, 2023). The authors of the Report emphasize

... the “rebranding” and mainstreaming of Islamist groups by utilizing the wide interest in human and minority rights in the US, taking advantage of growing societal divisions and the advance of “intersectionality” and the ongoing activity of far-left activist groups together with Islamists, also known as the “red-green alliance”. The “red-green alliance” serves as a unifying axis of anti-Israel mobilization and operates on the basis of shared agendas of anti-globalization, anti-capitalism, anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism.

The report goes into detail on the dynamics of the Muslim antisemitic ideology, the organizations who carry such, and the Leftist groups they partner with to grow to power through.

During the 2020 US elections a new coalition emerged, which brought such groups as the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition that includes Black Lives Matter (M4BL, 2020) together with far-left Jewish groups and Islamist political groups such as MPower Change (MPC)(United Against Hate, 2020; Mathias, 2020). ... This coalition further claimed that an overwhelming majority of antisemitic attacks were conducted by white supremacists, and not by left-wing groups (Emgage, 2020). Therefore, as one of the groups in the coalition claimed, progressives from all backgrounds should join hands in “defeating the far-right” to keep all communities safe (If Not Now, 2020).

Our original footage shows progressive-activist Rabbi Sharon Brous leading the post-screening panel discussion with director Patrice O'Neill, Muslim civic activist Ms. Aziza Hasan of NewGround, and Democrat politicians Rep. Adam Schiff, Mayor Karen Bass, and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, who succeeded Ms. Bass as Congresswoman from L.A.'s 37th District.

The film, and the post-screening panelists, attribute blame for antisemitism to "white nationalism" which (in the panel discussion) they extend to all Republicans as "haters" deserving of Democrats opprobrium. They position Leftist politicians as the audience's enforcers of love, tolerance, and justice.

The panelists in the video express concern over the rise of anti-Semitic incidents and violence against other communities, discussing trauma, fear, and the need for structures that will address racism, anti-Semitism, and gun violence. They stress the importance of creating a multiracial, multi-faith network to combat hate and promote unity, acknowledging the challenges of building relationships and breaking through fear and vulnerability. They also touch on the impact of hate speech, erasing history, and changes to election structures on communities, and reflect on personal challenges they face in their work. Throughout, the panelists emphasize the importance of vulnerability, humor, and taking action to build communities of love and justice, urging the audience to create opportunities and spaces for people to come together and do meaningful work.

(From right-left) Aziza Hasan, director Patrice O'Neill, Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Mayor Karen Bass, Rabbi Sharon Braus, Former L.A City Atty Mike Feuer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.Mayor Karen Bass surprisingly quips at (48:21 min into video):

"... because I do believe that's at the foundation of a lot of this and I think that there's a segment of our country that was so traumatized by that black family moving into the White House - that they just still haven't recovered. And what they realized is that the demographics of this country is changing fundamentally and in a minute, the United States is going to look like California! And that is very threatening. (Applause)

 

Thank you, I think that's a good thing, too! They're realizing the demographics are changing and so their first strategy was voter suppression and gerrymandering / redistricting. But if, people, if the demographics fundamentally change you can't just erase everybody out - so then you have to change the structure of elections! "

Apply the lessons from the Holocaust era - to live a life that matters - Ben Lesser of Zachor Foundation

Ben and sister Lola were their
family's sole Shoah survivors

Yom Ha Shoah, Israel's day to commemorate the catastrophe of institutionalized genocide, falls on different dates each year, according to the Hebrew Lunar Calendar. Coming in the springtime, it's the last of two annual Holocaust commemorations, following the International Holocaust Remembrance Day during the end of January. 

When Mr. Ben Lesser was first in his teens, the Nazi-occupied Polish government forced his family out of their home and into the walled ghetto. Eventually, his family were sent to concentration camps where he was taken as slave laborer. He and his family members were sent to concentration camps during the Holocaust, where his parents were genocided, and inmates were intentionally worked to death. 

On the evening of the 4/19 Yom haShoah holiday Mr. Lesser recorded for a KLAS-TV News history segment.                                                                                                              

Jean Lesser (z'l) passed a year ago

We filmed an interview with him close to evening time on a day approaching the unveiling of the headstone of Jean, his wife of seven decades. Jean and Ben Lesser established the Zachor (Hebrew for "Remember") Educational Foundation to educate against tyranny - using people's Holocaust experiences as a background. Today, the foundation is managed by their daughter, Gail.

In our interview, Ben shares his experience living in ghettos in Europe, including how homes and businesses were confiscated from Jews with no legal justification. He emphasizes the importance of education in preventing another genocide and discusses his work in making teaching the Holocaust mandatory in schools. Mr. Lesser also expresses concern about society not fully acknowledging the Holocaust and the portrayal of Jews in Christian and Catholic theology. Finally, he discusses the importance of his grandchildren continuing the work of the Zachor Holocaust Remembrance Foundation.  

 

80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising where Jews staved-off deportation by Nazis

 

Rabbi Moshe Cohn, who heads the Jewish World Section of Yad Vashem's International School for Holocaust Studies, spoke at the L.A. Holocaust Museum on the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. His school produced the educational video below about their act of brave resistance and dignity.

   

In this interview with JooTube, Rabbi Cohn discusses the significance of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. He describes how the young Jewish people, aware of their limited survival chances and  despite their limited access to weapons, rebelled against the Nazi army for 29 days. 

Though ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the Germans from entering the ghetto, the Jewish people's strategic and brave fighting showed that even amidst oppression, they could unite and fight back. This revolt created an enduring legacy for Jewish people everywhere.

 

Rabbi Cohn explains the significance of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the new form of resistance it represented when compared to prior spiritual resistance. He describes how the young Jewish people, who were well aware that they had no chance of survival, decided to risk their lives in a rebellion that lasted 29 days against the mighty Nazi army, where they only had access to a few guns. 

Despite their Rebellion ultimately not being successful, it set a standard for Jewish people, especially those in Israel, who have an army to protect them and remind the world of the Jewish people's courage.

Though the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising lasted 29 days, it was longer than the entire Polish Army's defense of Germany in September 1939. The Jews in the ghetto had very few weapons, but they fought strategically and bravely, using Molotov cocktails and pistols against the German army's tanks and machine guns. 

 

Though they were ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the Germans from entering the ghetto, they showed that even in the face of oppression, Jewish people could unite and fight back. Mordecai Anielewicz, who led the revolt, wrote that he saw his dream of Jewish soldiers defending themselves physically in the ghetto come true, a dream that had laid dormant since the time of the Maccabees.