Dr. Judea Pearl, presenting Daniel Pearl Award for Journalistic Courage & Integrity, announces new, I.D.C. Institute for Middle East reporting accuracy

In presenting the annual Daniel Pearl Award for courage and integrity in journalism, Judea Pearl (father of murdered American journalist, Daniel Pearl) announces establishment of a new, journalistic institute for Middle East reporting at the I.D.C. in Herzliya, Israel.



At L.A. Press Club June 2013 Awards at the Biltmore Hotel. Prof. Judea Pearl clarifies his remark to the L.A. Press Association Awards that he established the media resource center in Herzliya in response to journalists commonly mischaracterizing Middle East history and parties' roles in reporting.




The awardee, Ciudad Juarez journalist Sandra Rodriguez Nieto, reported on the "Fast and Furious" Obama-armed, drug-mafia in Juarez, Mexico.  

Rodriguez Nieto reported for El Diario newspaper in the Mexican border city of Juárez during a wave of drug violence that resulted in thousands of murders, including two of her colleagues.

"I didn't think a lot about the danger," she said. "I was convinced that my job as a journalist was the most important thing." Rodriguez Nieto uncovered stories of government corruption, failures in the judicial system and wrote a book about how criminal organizations influence the city's youth. (Monica Ortiz Uribe in Fronteras,  April 4 '13) 

Doing business with Israel and Israelis - at The Israel Conference in Los Angeles

How well do Israeli ventures provide for non-Jewish investors and business-people?  Oded Vardi at The Israel Conference in L.A. fields questions regarding Israel's practice and image in business in the world for investors, customers, and venture partners.

 

Mr. Mike Holstein has been attending The Israel Conference for years. Mr. Holstein explains why, though he has never travelled to Israel, he finds doing business with Israeli companies more western than Mid-Eastern in culture, practice, and law.



Why this African-American Pepperdine University graduate student volunteered to contribute her time and effort to promote Israeli business:

Champions of Jewish Values: Miriam & Sheldon Adelson, Elie Wiesel, Dr. Mehmet Oz honored by Rabbi Shmuley for Haifa's Rambam Medical Center

On June 4th, Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, Professor Elie Wiesel and Dr. Mehmet Oz were honored at This World: The Jewish Values Network’s Inaugural Champion of Jewish Values International Awards Gala, held at the Marriot Marquis, for their exemplary dedication to the worldwide promotion of universal Jewish Values. The celebratory and inspirational dinner supported The Jewish Values Network and Israel’s Rambam Medical Center of Haifa.

The evening was hosted by Kevin Bermeister, founder of the Jerusalem Development Fundand Governor of This World: The Jewish Values Network, as well as David Sterling, Chairman of Sterling & Sterling, Inc. and Treasurer of American Friends of Rambam.
 Guests also enjoyed a moving keynote speech from Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Executive Director of This World: The Jewish Values Network, and opening remarks by Professor Rafi Beya, CEO and Director General of Rambam Medical Center.

Awards were presented to: Professor Elie Wiesel – Champion of the Jewish Spirit; Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson – Champions of Jewish Identity and Dr. Mehmet Oz – Champion of the Jewish Value of Life.

Sheldon & Miriam Adelson received their award from Prof. Alan Dershowitz, then graciously participated in a candid interview with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach about their Zionistic views.

Elie Wiesel is a global hero, one of the most respected human beings alive and a global inspiration to people everywhere for the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson (who celebrates his 80th birthday this year) have done more to promote Jewish identity and pride than any other philanthropists alive - through Birthright Israel, Yad Vashem, the Adelson Educational Campus, and countless other Jewish and medical charities. The Adelsons are also among the world’s leading funders of medical research, with a special focus on addiction and rehabilitation. Dr. Mehmet Oz is not only the world’s most famous doctor, but someone who has brought about a global revolution in healthy and positive living. No other media personality has done more to foster the health of Americans and citizens of the world.

This World: The Jewish Values Network is a national organization focusing on bringing the universality of Jewish values and wisdom to the media, the culture, the family, and national affairs. It aims to heal and better society through the dissemination of Jewish light. Its signature initiatives include national debates on the great values issues of our time, The World Values Forum, Turn Friday Night into Family Night, TV and radio broadcasts, and articles, books, and columns on values-based issues published regularly in forums around the world.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach – ‘America’s Rabbi,’ whom The Washington Post calls “the most famous Rabbi in America,” is the international best-selling author of 29 books, including his latest effort, The Fed-up Man of Faith: Challenging God in the Face of Tragedy and Suffering. He is the winner of The London Times Preacher of the Year competition and was awarded the American Jewish Press Association’s Highest Award for Excellence in Written Commentary, as well as the National Fatherhood Award. In 2012, The Jerusalem Post listed him as one of the fifty most influential Jews in the world.

Rambam Medical Center is the largest medical center in Northern Israel, the Rambam Health Care Campus is a 1,000 bed, full service academic hospital. Located in Haifa, Rambam serves over two million residents of northern Israel – one third of Israel’s population. Rambam’s mission is to deliver patient oriented, state of the art healthcare and preventative medicine with a warm human touch. Rambam’s vision is a unique perspective embodying the linkage of technological progress, interdisciplinary interaction and compassion for the benefit of humankind.  (Article text by Matt Semno, Examiner.com; video by Scott Jacobs, JooTube.TV).

Rallying to preserve Jerusalem, re-united in the '67 Six-Day-War, Pamela Geller encourages Zionistic Americans to wave their flags in defense against Islamists & their anti-Zionist empathists

During the month celebrating the re-unification of Jerusalem in response to Jordan's  attacking Israel in the Six-Day War, Atlas Shrugs publisher, Pamela Geller, introduced by Dr. Paul Brody, addressed the Israel Day Concert with a Message in NYC's Central Park on 2 June '13 about notions of unilateral peace with Israel's avowed Islamist enemies.  


  
What message does the NYC Zionist rally signal to Washington?

Ms. Geller says the rally discourages the Obama administration from forcing Israel to cede land to enemy Islamist nationalists sworn to conquer her.  To a soundtrack of the song, "Wave Your Flag," Ms. Geller encouraged Zionists to wave their Israeli flags proudly.   

Ad-campaign Mr. Geller championed contested by leftist Jews

Ms. Geller has come under criticism from liberal Jews for her transit-system billboard counter-campaign defending Israel from Jihadism. How welcome did she feel among the orthodox Jews whose claims to Judea & Samaria she dedicates her life to defending from the global Jihad?

"Both Jesus and Paul lived and died as dedicated Jews"

Bernard Starr writes in The Algemeiner: "It’s widely acknowledged that Jesus was a thoroughly practicing Jew throughout his life. Anglican Priest Bruce Chilton expressed that conclusion explicitly and concisely in his book Rabbi Jesus: “It became clear to me that everything Jesus did was as a Jew, for Jews, and about Jews.” 

But what about Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles?"  ...  Paul chose to go to his death as a Jew.  Why? 

Paul’s vision was to make his brand of Judaism–with the recognition of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah–a world religion easily accessible to everyone. He never surrendered that passion. But after his death the accelerating conversion of Gentiles to a movement that began as Jewish Christianity became increasingly distanced from Judaism–and a new religion was launched.
Nevertheless, an understanding of the deep connection to Judaism held by the founders of Christianity should highlight the common ground of Judaism and Christianity and pave the way to reconciliation between the two faiths.

Bernard Starr is a psychologist, college professor, and journalist. He is author of Jesus Uncensored: Restoring the Authentic Jew, which is available at Amazon (grayscale and color edition), Barnes and Noble, and other major outlets.  Read more

Radical Islam arrives in secular Palestine - P.A. lets Jihadists parade through Ramallah

by Khaled abu Toameh in Gatestone Institute

The Palestinian Authority leadership is using Muslim radicals to scare Western donors into continuing, or perhaps increasing, their financial aid to the Palestinian government in West Bank. 

What happened on Tuesday In Ramallah -- often referred to as the bastion of Palestinian secularism and moderation -- serves as a reminder that radical Islam has found its way to this West Bank city.

Hundreds of Muslim fundamentalists marched through the streets Tuesday to mark the 92nd anniversary of the fall of the Caliphate.

The Palestinian Authority, which had in the past cracked down on Hizb-ut-Tahrir [Party of Liberation], the radical organization that led the march, instructed its security forces not to intervene, even as PA spokesmen condemned US Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to revive peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel.

Hizb-ut-Tahrir is a radical, Islamist political organization that calls on all Muslims to unify under an Islamic state ruled by Islamic law, Sharia, and a Caliph.

Amb. John Bolton: Obama has stalled Israel into pre-empting Iranian nuclear weapons militarily. Blame Obama, not Israel, if they must act to preserve global stability

Israel Day Concert & Rally organizer, Dr. Joe Frager, lauds keynote speaker from Washington, DC, Amb. John Bolton as "One of the smartest men in politics today" before Bolton addressed the gathered audience in Central Park, NYC on 2 June '13.



In this exclusive, JooTube interview, Amb John Bolton declared that the Obama administration must recognize that the commonality of our interests & values drives broad, across-the-board, Americans support for Israel.



In addressing the Israel Day Concert in Central Park, Amb. John Bolton declares that Americans across the board support Israel- at the frontlines of the same Islamist terror war which confronts the rest of the West.

Amb. Bolton denounced the Obama administration for having failed to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program as a global (not only Israeli) threat.  Bolton explains how Obama's failure to stop Iran is destabilizing the Middle East and the world.



Mr. Bolton notable fought to oppose anti-American/anti-Israel malignments during his tenure in the U.N.  Dr. Joe Frager added, "Hopefully he'll become president of the United States, someday."

Americans display their support for Israel at the Celebrate Israel Parade in NY

Annually, on the first Sunday in June, the Celebrate Israel Parade is put on along New York's Fifth Avenue.  The parade is organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council, headed by Peter Kohlmann, its executive producer, and director Michael Mittleman.  

At the sounding of the shofar (ram's horn), Mayor Mike Bloomberg led a procession of dignitaries along with the Shomrim Policemen's Societies and the N.Y.P.D. Police Band to open the parade of tens of thousands of participants.

JooTube was on the scene and takes you onto Fifth Avenue, to enjoy the revelry and talk to the participants, Jewish and gentile, about why they are marching.Among the paraders who spoke with JooTube are members of Jewish War Veterans, American Veterans of Israel (Machal), employees of the State of Israel led by Israeli Parliamentarian Silvan Shalom, El Al Airlines crew and staff (who sing and dance freilachs) led by Danny Saadon, and Christian Zionist group, Eagles Wings.
Enjoy video clips from JooTube's coverage of the Celebrate Israel Parade 2012.  The coming parade will be held on Sunday, June 2nd, 2013.  The parade is typically followed by a Concert with a Message at the SummerStage in Central Park. 

Who gave the IRS the idea of going after pro-Israel groups?

Israel Matzav publishes: Prof. Eugene Kontorovich asks some important questions about IRS scrutiny of pro-Israel groups.

One major question raised by the IRS scandal is where these ideas came from. At least as far as Jewish groups go, the IRS scrutiny is not a fluke. That is not to suggest it was ordered by the White House – that is highly unlikely. At the same time, it certainly does not come out of the blue. The past several years have seen a concerted campaign in the mainstream liberal press to bring the IRS down upon certain pro-Israel groups, particularly those that support activities in the West Bank (or the Territories Formerly Occupied By Jordan).

For example, in 2009 David Ignatius had a story in the Washington Post, A Tax Break Fuels Middle East Friction. “Critics of Israeli settlements question why American taxpayers are supporting indirectly, through the exempt contributions, a process that the government condemns,” he wrote. The Guardian in 2009 also had a piece calling for IRS action.

In 2010, the New York Times continued the theme with a massive, expose-style front page story, which concluded that while such tax breaks do not seem to be exactly illegal, it creates :a surprising juxtaposition: As the American government seeks to end the four-decade Jewish settlement enterprise and foster a Palestinian state in the West Bank, the American Treasury helps sustain the settlements through tax breaks on donations to support them.” The article then tried to raise questions about whether such groups really satisfied U.S. tax-deductible requirements, suggesting the IRS should look into them. The activities the supported, the Times article suggests, were illegal and extremist.

Picking up the gauntlet, J Street called on the IRS to “probe” groups that support settlements, despite there being no apparent violation of tax laws involved.

And last year, an op-ed in the Times by Peter Beinart argued that “we should push to end Internal Revenue Service policies that allow Americans to make tax-deductible gifts to settler charities.”

This is just a sampling: the notion that right wing Jewish groups should be “probed” by the IRS because they do not line up with President Obama’s (former?) absolutist anti-settlement policy is not a new one. All the organs of intelligent opinion agreed that some generally right wing Jewish groups need to be dealt with by the IRS because they contradict government policy, not because of any evidence of tax fraud. And surely IRS bosses read the Post and the Times; it may even be their “absolute truth” as Times editor Jill Abramson memorably put it.

Obama's I.R.S. determined that support for Israel is support for terrorism

Dan Epstein in FoxNews reports on Greta van Sustern's interview with Z-Street's Lori Lowenthal Marcus: 

In the wake of recent scandal arising from the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) targeting of social welfare groups for their political beliefs, little has been said about the fact that the IRS also scrutinized several pro-Israel organizations, including Z Street, an organization that applied for 501(c)(3) status.  

According to Politico, Z Street was targeted by the IRS because “applications mentioning Israel were getting special attention.” 

Another group was asked by the IRS, “Does your organization support the existence of the land of Israel?  Describe your organization’s religious belief system towards the land of Israel.”  

The supposed justification for such questions: “the government shouldn’t bestow a benefit on an individual or organization engaged in illegal activity like terrorism.” 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/05/16/for-irs-anti-semitism-is-good-public-policy/#ixzz2TVFZD8zX

Al-Jazeera spoiler, Prof. Mordechai Kedar, on Muslim and Arab prejudices towards Jews and Israel

The number of bombing raids the Syrian Air Force executed upon the Syrian people in the last 2 years exceeds the number of air raids they launched against Israel during their wars in 1948, '67, '73, and '82 combined? Has Al Jazeera reported this?  Have the mainstream media sources?  Why do they not, yet instead focus on Judea and Samarians building new bathrooms?   Part 1 (38 min)


Watch 3 part series by Israeli Jewish scholar of Islamic and Arabic studies, Prof. Mordechai Kedar of Bar Ilan University. He says one of the purposes of Al Jazeera is to divert the Arab public from the unjust distribution of Gulf oil wealth to monarchs.  Part 2 - 21 min



Arabic-speaking Israeli Al-Jazeera spoiler spills Secrets of the Arab Royals. Mordechai Kedar (Part 3; 40 min)


Fascinating Question and Answers from L.A. audience to Israeli Jewish scholar of Islamic and Arabic studies, Prof. Mordechai Kedar of Bar iLan University. He says one of the purposes of Al Jazeera is to divert the Arab public from the unjust distribution of Gulf oil wealth to monarchs. The Professor says it is your responsibilty to help in whichever ways you are able.

The history and future of the reunified Jerusalem at the 46th Jerusalem Day

It was the picture seen around the world. From the IDF B log
In June 1967, David Rubinger, a press photographer in Israel, followed IDF forces that were fighting to liberate the Old City of Jerusalem. At the Western Wall, three IDF soldiers posed for a photograph. They were Zion Karasanti, Yitzhak Yifat and Haim Oshri. While their names are not famous, their faces have become a symbol of the reunification of Jerusalem. 

To mark the 46th anniversary of that day — the 28th of Iyar on the Hebrew calendar — we found the three men from the photograph and asked them to share a few memories from the special day. Read more

A tribute to the Miracle of 1967 (with thanks to cinevisionusa, infolive.tv and aish.com) (Video: Gila and Drew)



From his Jerusalem electronics shop, this 15th-generation Jewish Jerusalemite sage shares his views on Israel's situation - and her value to the west in keeping global jihad in check.