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Iran-backed hostilities since October 7th attacks should reframe our perception of Islamist / Marxist Jew-hatred

by Jonathan Tobin in JNS Oct 6th

There’s more to it than the failure to stop a surprise attack. Myths about the Palestinians, two states and hopes for an illusory peace need to be discarded.

A man wearing a yarmulke holds a small Israeli flag over his head as 1000's
 of pro-Palestinian supporters rally in front of the Israeli Consulate in Los
Angeles, on Oct 14, 2023 (Photo: Jay
L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

While there are individual Palestinians who may believe in the idea of peace with Israel, they are isolated and overwhelmingly outnumbered by supporters of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the so-called “moderates” of the Fatah party (whose nearly 89-year-old leader Mahmoud Abbas serves as the head of the Palestinian Authority). 

They have all made it clear over and over again in their organizational charters, statements, and rejection of every effort at a compromise peace plan over the decades - that they deny the legitimacy of a Jewish state, no matter where its borders might be drawn.

The only relevant debate

To Israelis and those elsewhere who have been paying attention to Palestinian rejectionism, this is nothing new. Post-Oct. 7, belief in the myth that the conflict can be solved by partitioning the country beggars the imagination. The point of the mass terror attack wasn’t to end the “occupation” of a coastal enclave that had been evacuated by Israelis 18 years earlier or to push for a withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. It represented a Palestinian desire to turn back the clock to 1947 or even 1917 and destroy the State of Israel, even within the borders that existed before 1967.

The widespread support among Palestinians for this effort (and for the atrocities that ensued) lays bare the futility and the insanity of any attempt to force Israel to make territorial retreats to accommodate yet another attempt at a Palestinian state. Palestinian political culture is solely predicated on the premise that Zionism and a Jewish state are incompatible with the minimum demands of their national identity.

This is something that ought to be clear to all Americans by now. Oct. 7 should have ended the debate about two states and the peace process for the foreseeable future. That is frustrating and hard to grasp for Americans who believe compromise is always possible or for Jews who are hard-wired to believe in millenarian solutions even when the facts on the ground argue otherwise. At the moment, the only debate about Israel that is relevant is the one that the pro-Hamas mobs that took over America’s streets and college campuses since Oct. 7 have been wanting to have: whether one Jewish state on the planet is one too many.


Calling out the antisemites

That is a position many on the American left have increasingly adopted. Indeed, it is the reason why anti-Israel protesters chant “from the river to the sea” and “globalize the intifada.” The whole point of woke ideology, such as critical race theory and intersectionality, as it applies to the Middle East, is to delegitimize Israel as a “settler/colonial” state. Seen from that perspective, nothing it does in its defense—even against the most barbarous opponents, like Hamas and Hezbollah—can be falsely characterized as “genocide” since there is virtually nothing Israel could do to defend itself that could be justified in their eyes. And it’s why the same people dismiss the atrocities of Oct. 7 (which, like Holocaust deniers, they simultaneously justify and minimize).

And so, it is incumbent on Israelis and friends of Israel elsewhere to stop bickering over peace plans or pretending that Israel should be “saved from itself,” as former President Barack Obama believed it should.

In the absence of a complete transformation of Palestinian society that is nowhere in sight, any advocacy for a Palestinian state in the post-Oct. 7 world from those who claim to support Israel is a unique form of delusionary thinking.

The only logical way to defend Israel going forward must begin by recognizing this truth and stop treating those who wish to deny Israel the same rights granted to every other nation in the world as if their opinions were reasonable and well-intentioned. We must not hesitate to label those who seek to “flood” cities like New York with protests glorifying the Oct. 7 massacres as justified “resistance” and call them out for being antisemites and proponents of foreign terror groups.

After Oct. 7, we must no longer treat those who oppose Israel’s existence as if there was some distinction between their position and that of classic Jew-hatred. The brutal truth is that whether or not they root their stand in what they call “anti-racism” or even if they claim to be Jewish, those who wish to eradicate the only Jewish state on the planet are, at best, the “useful idiots” of the Oct. 7 murderers, rapists and kidnappers. At worst, they are their active supporters.

As much as Israelis can and must sort out the crucial questions about who bears the lion’s share of the blame for the success of Hamas’s brutal surprise attack, there are more important lessons to be learned from this episode than just another repeat of the same questions that were asked after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began with a similar failure. Doing so will be extremely hard for liberal Americans who believe in the two-state myth as if it were a religious doctrine handed down from Mount Sinai. But if we fail to learn them, then they will set the stage for more such tragedies, just as much as if the IDF chose to repeat its pre-Oct. 7 complacency.

Read the rest here.


Approaching 12th-month of anti-Zionism since Oct 7, '23, realistic reform rabbi calls for tougher Jewish defense

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch delivers sermon in Manhattan synagogue

NYC rabbi reflects on Rosh Hashana: 'The most challenging year in my career' by Sharon Crowley and Amanda Geffner, Fox5NY.com 2 Oct '24.

With the start of Rosh Hashanah, many are approaching the Jewish New Year with mixed emotions. 

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch leads the historic Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on the Upper West Side. Hirsch is preparing to celebrate the high holy days on the calendar. "We don't celebrate the new year with fireworks and getting drunk and wild parties. It ushers in 10 days of reflection on what we did wrong, how we can do better, and atonement by asking for forgiveness," Hirsch said.

This year, for many, the emotions will be extraordinarily powerful, given that the midpoint of the 10 days spanning Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is Oct. 7 — the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and triggered the still-ongoing war in Gaza.

For Jews in the U.S. — the world’s second-largest Jewish community after Israel — the past 12 months have been challenging in many ways linked to Oct. 7. There’s been a surge in antisemitic incidents, and many college campuses were wracked by divisive pro-Palestinian protests.

Jews grieved for Israelis killed or taken hostage by Hamas; many also are grieving for the tens of thousands of Palestinians subsequently killed during Israeli's military offensive in Gaza.

 

"This has been the most trying and challenging year in my career and the life times of many of our people," Hirsch said. At the same time, there is pervasive anxiety about a rise in antisemitic incidents over the past year. Major Jewish groups have been tracking this trend, which was confirmed last week in the FBI’s 2023 Hate Crime Report. It found that the Jewish community was the most-targeted religious group, with 1,832 anti-Jewish incidents accounting for 67% of all religiously motivated hate crimes recorded by the FBI. That was up from up 1,124 incidents the prior year. The incidents include vandalism, harassment, assault, and false bomb threats.

As a prominent figure in the Reform Jewish community, Rabbi Hirsch's first day of Rosh Hashana sermon, "The Tests of Our Time" may surprise you. We start with excerpts from it (with links to the video on his Twitter page). 

“For Jews, our deepest anxieties for the safety of our people — the product of centuries of repressed traumas — have reawakened and our confidence in the West’s ability to withstand the test of civilization has been shaken,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch on Rosh Hashanah, warning that what was unleashed against Israel on October 7th “threatens the West as much as it does the Middle East...” 

https://x.com/AmmiHirsch/status/1841935240228422130  

✡️ On the seriousness and resurgence of antisemitism: “One of the saddest developments since October 7 is the shock experienced by American Jews, who, for the first time in their lives, are encountering pervasive antisemitism...”
https://x.com/AmmiHirsch/status/1841935244267819379 

🇮🇱 On today’s manifestations of anti-Zionism: “...the intent of anti-Zionism is to generate intense hostility to Judaism and Jews themselves… How easily do anti-Israel passions lead to violence against Jews and Jewish institutions…” “If you understand the history of classic antisemitism, the connection to today’s anti-Zionism stares you in the face. The Jewish state has become the Jew of the world, humanity’s ultimate villains, and accused of our era’s worst transgressions..” 
https://x.com/AmmiHirsch/status/1841935248155672745

🗽 On post-October 7 society and the test of Western civilization: “For years now, some of us have been warning of a deteriorating commitment to liberal values, camouflaged by a torrent of high-sounding words like ‘progress, civil and human rights, anti-racism, and anti-colonialism.’ Ideologies that divide people by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character; philosophies that reduce all human conflict to oppressor and oppressed, subjugation and freedom fighting, racists and anti-racists — are not liberal values… These are illiberal and dangerous ideas that threaten the future of our country and Western civilization.”
 ðŸ’ª What can we do? “Recognize the urgency of the times. We must win this battle of ideas and reassert basic norms of Western liberal morality. Do not be in denial. Do not be complacent. Fight back… fight back hard!” 
https://x.com/AmmiHirsch/status/1841935248155672745
Above is the entire speech worthy of watching by Jews of all denominations and viewpoints. Recorded on Thursday 3 October 2024. 

Pres. Trump at Israeli-American Summit, reminds Jews of his championing our interests, warrants our reciprocating, restoring his protecting America and Israel

Pres. Trump addresses Israeli-American Council Summit
(photo: Hindustan Times)
At the Israeli American Council Summit in Washington on Thursday, President Donald Trump discussed the critical nature of the upcoming U.S. election, describing it as the most important in both U.S. and Israeli history.

He noted his disappointment in receiving only 24% of the Jewish vote despite what he claimed were significant accomplishments for Israel during his presidency, such as recognizing Jerusalem as its capital and brokering the Abraham Accords.


Trump stated he believed he was the best president for Israel and detailed his administration’s efforts, emphasizing that he provided over $20 billion in support. He expressed concern that if he didn’t win the election, Israel could be in grave danger, suggesting it might not survive the next few years under a different administration.

The President is introduced by I.A.C. Chief Elan Carr and Mrs. Miriam Adelson - in the presence of Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog.

WATCH: Pres. Trump speaks at Fighting Antisemitism event at the Israeli American Council (I.A.C.) Summit! 9.19.24

Mr. Trump criticized the current Democratic leadership, particularly Vice President Kamala Harris, and called for the Jewish community to unite and vote, arguing that failing to do so would put at risk Israel and Jewish people around the world at risk. Trump highlighted the stark contrast between his popularity in Israel and his support in the U.S., claiming he had a 99% favorable rating among Israelis.

He concluded by stressing the urgency of the situation, urging attendees to reject anti-Semitism and support pro-Israel policies at the ballot box, asserting that the future of Israel depended on their actions in the upcoming election.


Why these Jewish Democrats walked-away from hijacked party, joining Mark Levin at RJC in averting one-party, leftist rule

Seeking to defeat neo-fascist antisemitism in the Democrat Party, Ms Maren Faiella, Mr Shabbos Kestenbaum, and Ms Melissa Siegel explain how the Democrat Party's policies and practices have sufficiently disillusioned them to vote against it.


 


Mark Levin: Why to elect Republicans to Congressional and Senate majorities, not globalist authoritarianists.

 

Rabbi Yitz Tendler on Mark Levin's appearance at Repub. Jewish Coalition (RJC) pre-election Summit 

 

Zionistic granddad, Allen Alavy encourages AEPi (Alpha Epison Pi) college students with life lessons; How he fought antisemitism in his youth. (Introduction by son, Steven)

 


How Eyal Yakoby 'antisemitism on campus' fighter, addressed Republican Jewish Coalition gathering

Palestinians failed their "peaceful state-worthy" promise after they massacred the liberal Jews whom Israel resettled from Gaza 19-years ago this week

Israeli Prime Minister Sharon's 2005 choice to let Gazan Arabs prove their neighbor-readiness if the Gazan Jewish communities would be removed has failed long before the  Palestinians' October 7th '23 genocide of non-Muslims.



JewTube.Info has documented evidence of empowering Palestinian nationalism over the past two decades: 


Many of those "Disengaged" Jews moved to the Israeli side, referred to as the Gaza Envelope and attempted cohabitating for years. Yet in 2023 October, the Palestinians attempted to genocide the Jews - not only along the Gaza Envelope, but in central Israel. 

Why now, is the Democrat Administration and E.U. pushing Israel to cede more territory in East Jerusalem and the West Bank to trust that a sovereign Islamic State of Palestine would prove safe for Israelis? 

In 2018, the Jewish National Fund (which Canada this week removed charity status from) brought resettled Jewish Gaza residents to tour U.S. communities to discuss their experiences. 

Residents of Eshkol, a region along the border with Egypt and Gaza, share their challenges, including threats from Palestinian attacks and Hamas' intention to target them with short-range rockets. Eshkol is a county consisting of 32 communities along the border triangle of Israel, sharing a 40km border with Gaza and a further 20km Egypt. 

Mrs. Michal Uziyahu, at the time of this appearance in '18, directed the Community Center of the Eshkol Regional Council, explains that no matter where Jews sacrificed land, Muslims never ceased hating, nor endeavoring to drive them out, not only of Gaza & Judea / Samaria, but of the recognized 1948 armistice lines of Israel. 


Mrs. Michal Uziyahu, who grew up in Sinai and was displaced during "the Gaza disengagement," emphasizes that these communities are not heroes but people who love the land and Israel. The Jewish resident expresses her thoughts on the Palestinian situation in Gaza and the Sinai withdrawal, advocating for Palestinians to take responsibility for their revolution and remove Hamas from power. She questions the potential for peace with a Palestinian state in Gaza, expressing optimism for a democratic Palestinian state but doubting peace could be achieved if the Palestinian culture remains Islamist and fixated on reclaiming land. 

 

Mrs. Uziyahu is currently the volunteer Liaison for the Mayor of Eshkol Regional Council assisting with partnerships & collaborations for the rehabilitation of Eshkol following the massacre of the Black Sabbath on Oct 7th. 


Gazan Jewish man recalls life in & after '05 de-occupying Gaza gauging Palestinian reality of touted peace. 

First-hand Israeli perspective from Mr. Yedidiya Harush on Muslims driving out Jews from legal communities in Gush Katif on the Gaza Strip (such as Atzmona) resettled to "safer" new desert community Halutza, where the Jewish National Fund contributes to their habitat. Recorded at Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles.

 

'Israel withdrew for peace 19-years ago - what has Palestinian 'state' wrought?" 

19-years ago today, Israel uprooted Jewish Gaza/ Gush Katif resident, Yedidya Harush (among 8,000 other Jewish inhabitants) to test Palestinians' readiness to provide peace from their proposed "state." Today, Mr. Harush serves as the Jewish Nat'l Fund's representative to the re-settled Jews along Israel's southern border with Gaza. He reveals the Palestinians' terror attacks on his Jewish communities. 

  al,

Israeli-American, Mrs. Mirie Ezer (of Free Israeli & American Hostages) Rally October 23, in Encino, Los Angeles argues against further empowering Palestinians led by Islamist Hamas and the Fatah Party-led Palestinian Authority.

 


What I Saw at a Terrorist Rally Outside a Synagogue

By Daniel Greenfield, Sultan Knish, June 27, 2024

The retire-to-Israel exhibition pretense that Muslims used to riot through an orthodox Jewish neighborhood 

 

Thirty minutes after Hamas supporters first set up their operation outside a Los Angeles synagogue, they maced their first Jew. And the Los Angeles police did nothing.

Not until an hour into the terrorist rally outside a synagogue, did the LAPD finally step in, pushing back masked Jihad supporters in keffiyeh terror scarves from the entrance of Congregation Adas Torah (Congregation of the Bible) which they had occupied.

And then the mob, chanting calls for “intifada” and the destruction of Israel, moved outward to target two smaller synagogues attended by Persian Jewish refugees from Islamic terror in Iran.

“Billions of us will come and kill you,” a heavily accented Middle Eastern man in a keffiyeh unprompted rasped at me as I walked up. Only dozens had actually shown up, but they made up for it with bullhorns, robotic chants, and assaults in the middle of a Jewish neighborhood.

The Jewish counter-protesters had come waving American and Israeli flags while the other side was a sea of terrorist flags. A man wore an Antifa cap, another had come in ski goggles during 90-degree heat, while others toted bear spray, metal bottles, and other implements of violence.
 
 The Jewish community members included older men and women, as well as families, while the Hamas contingent was mostly young and many were masked. A pair of rabbis led a melodic song that could hardly be heard over the harsh clatter of the hateful terror chants.

Despite knowing that a terrorist rally was planned outside a synagogue, the LAPD had allowed the terrorist supporters to take over the entire sidewalk leaving only a thin lane for attendees to walk through to get inside. The LAPD did little to interfere with the terrorist supporters, but did block Jewish counter-protesters from reaching their own synagogue. The police also did nothing as clumps of masked Hamas supporters broke away from the synagogue and began confronting, threatening, and attacking Jewish community members on the street. 

LAPD officers did not stir as confrontations escalated into assaults, shoving into mace and bear spray. Jewish community members rushed to provide water bottles to the affected. Only after several such incidents did the LAPD finally bring in reinforcements and push the Hamas supporters away from the synagogue entrance (dispersing them to harass and threaten two other synagogues) while also clearing Jewish families away from the other side of the street who had been peacefully waving flags near a children’s school.  

The terrorist hate rally spread outside three synagogues, Congregation Adas Torah, Chabad Persian Youth, and Congregation Ateret Israel (Glory of Israel), and the confrontations in the center of the street continued. There were running battles along the large commercial street with violent assaults outside a Kosher luncheonette and running battles down a residential street in the Jewish neighborhood. 

The terrorist hate rally was not an aberration, It’s become the new normal. SoCal officials set-up fear tactics- enabling Islamo-Leftists to antagonize Jewish residential area

  

Beginning with the assault on the Museum of Tolerance when it was screening a documentary on the Oct 7 massacre to the violence at UCLA, it has played out this way for 8 months. 

The LAPD has consistently failed to secure protest zones, to separate different groups of protesters and to prevent violence, and only steps in when it escalates past a set point. That point usually comes when the Jewish counter-protesters start fighting back. And then the LAPD begins arresting both sides while politicians, including Mayor Bass, deplore the violence. 

Media accounts, especially from the Los Angeles Times, CNN and the JTA, falsely characterize the violence as coming from the Jewish counter-protesters rather than the terrorist supporters. 

I had previously heard first person accounts from people who were assaulted while the police and security at UCLA did nothing, but now I saw it for myself. And after 8 months of the same thing, it’s hard to believe that it’s simple incompetence or that a major urban police force has no idea how to handle the same kind of protests and is incapable of figuring out how to do so. 

Especially when it’s been standard procedure by other urban police forces.

The LAPD is clearly aware of the potential for violence because it sends out offices in riot gear. But rather than engaging in proactive policing to prevent violence, they stand passively and wait for orders from higher up before taking any action. This is not normal policing during protests and counter-protests when the standard doctrine is for police to set up barriers and stand between groups of protesters before they bring out the riot gear. But the LAPD brings out the riot gear, allows the radicals free rein and waits as long as possible before taking any action. 

Why is this happening? I previously reported that Mayor Karen Bass is a close political ally of BLM LA boss Melina Abdullah, who has backed the pro-terrorist campaign against Jews. When Jews were attacked at UCLA, Democrat members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion to fund legal support for the terrorist supporters. The resolution to use taxpayer money to fund legal defenses for antisemites was put forward by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath who ‘represents’ CD3 where the synagogue hate riot was taking place. After all the antisemitic violence at UCLA, the only one facing serious charges is a Jewish student.

The Democrat leadership of Los Angeles does not stand with the Jewish communities being targeted by hate, but with the antisemitic mobs surrounding synagogues. Behind the masks, keffiyehs and the terrorist flags is the new Democratic Party.

What's being screened at this year's Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival? Tickets available through this article

Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival

Wednesday through Monday, June 19-24, 2024



FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Join us Saturday night for an off the wall COMEDY! 
 

"YANIV"
Saturday night, June 22, 8 PM
Lumiere Music Hall, Beverly Hills


Q&A in person with director, Amnon Carmi,
and stars Annabel Steven and Eli Boskey

 

The blackjack of the Jewish people! 
Curious about the game of Yaniv on which the movie is based? Join us before the film to learn and play the game with the filmmakers themselves!
 

 


A high school teacher in the Bronx loses funding for the school musical and convinces his fellow statistics teacher—secretly a recovering gambling addict—to help him cheat at an underground card game run by the Hasidic Jewish community. Read the full description and tickets at button below.

Watch the trailer here




AUCTION
Sunday, June 23, 4 PM
Laemmle Royal, LA


Q&A in person with Michael Berenbaum,
renowned Holocaust scholar!


In partnership with Holocaust Museum LA

What happens when a hotshot opportunist Parisian auction house wheeler-dealer finds the painting that could boost his career only to find out it may be a Nazi looted artwork....
 

Watch the trailer below




 

SPOTLIGHT
CENTERPIECE PROGRAM!


COLLEYVILLE
Sunday, June 23, 7:30 PM
Museum of Tolerance, LA


Q&A with Dani Menkin, Rabbi Charlie and hostages from film, 
Introduction by Jeffrey Abrams, Anti-Defamation League Regional Director



Four hostages were held by a gunman at a congregation in Colleyville, Texas for 11 hours in an antisemitic terror attack. They live-streamed the services via Facebook, and the streaming continued throughout the harrowing hostage situation, viewed by more than 4,000 people.

Watch the trailer



In partnership with Museum of Tolerance, the Consulate General of Israel, ADL and AJC

 

 

CLOSING NIGHT WITH MATISYAHU!

SONG OF ASCENT
Monday, June 24, 7:30 PM
Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills

WORLD PREMIERE!


Matisyahu in person for Q&A!

Introduction by entertainer Elon Gold


Song of Ascent depicts Matisyahu's most recent US tour with two trips to Israel, and follows his experience at several Kibbutzim, the Nova Festival site, hospitals, and other locations essential to bearing witness to the Oct 7th massacres.




In partnership with Temple of the Arts, Saban Theatre and the Consulate General of Israel, If You Heard What I Heard, Creative Community for Peace, Happy Minyan, Pico Shul



FULL LINE UP!
TO BUY TICKETS TO ALL FILMS





For additional information go to 
www.LAJFilmFest.org

 

The UCLA Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecturer, Prof. Steven Pinker proposes "Rationality" to understand how protesters turn bystanders against Israel & Zionists

Jewish Faculty Resistance Group challenges the hostility
of the Islamo-Marxists towards Jews & Israelis at UCLA

Some IslamoMarxists kicked Jewess, Eleanor, unconscious
How are the beliefs of the anti-Israel IslamoMarxists influenced and affecting others towards/against Jews - and vice versa?

At UCLA's first Jewish counter-protest on 28 April, a Jewish student was kicked in the head and knocked unconscious by "peaceful" anti-Zionist protesters permitted permanent encampment at UCLA (unless the campers got violent). Eleanor was among others injured that Sunday morning, but the campus administrators did not remove the encampment until it drew Jewish avengers four nights later. 

Two of the Jewish avengers were arrested during the past 10-days and yesterday, the L.A. City Council voted to allocate funds for the Islamists to prosecute the charged Jews in court.

On several University of California campuses, as well as on the private University of Southern California this spring, Islamo/Marxist protesters demonized Israel's routing out Hamas terrorist attackers - and even the legitimacy of Israel's 76-years of sovereignty. 

JihadWatch editor Robert Spencer reacted to UCLA administrators kowing to Islamist campus protesters threats if they wouldn't cancel his scheduled lecture to Young Americans for Freedom, UCLA chapter in May.

   

Mr. Spencer writes: "UCLA has proven once again that our universities are not centers of higher learning, but radioactive wastelands of far-left-indoctrination - that are run by fascists - and that train fascists - who cannot stand the light of truth to be shone on their activities."

Hamas is a kleptocratic regime in Gaza, that follows Yasser Arafat's playbook of provoking Israeli retaliatory damage and casualties in Gaza, to elicit international aid funds, which the party leaders steal - amassing fortunes. 

The campus protests falsely accuse Israelis of "apartheid" and "genocide" towards Gazans, whose Hamas-ruled Ministry of Health grossly exaggerated statistics of civilian casualties. These marches and encampments were not sufficiently confronted on the spot by pro-Zionist advocates with countervaling information for mass-media reportage. 

Islamo-Marxist encampers' Passover Shabbat service overlooks that God parted the Red Sea to restore Jews to their Promised Land

The hostile atmosphere created by agitprop displays, encampments, and megaphoned crowd-chants convinced many people on the campus of the justness of the pro-Hamas / anti-Israel charges- regardless of its validity. Simultaneously, it created a hostile climate for Jews, Zionists, and Israelis.

UCLA administration's weak response to Islamo-Marxist antisemitism spurs Jewish Faculty and students to appeal to Univ of Cal Regents Meeting (March 28th)

The esteemed, computer-logic Professor Emeritus Judea Pearl, raised in Jewish-Palestine, became alarmed by the UofCalif demonstrators slanders against Israel which plagued current Jewish (undergrad and graduate level) faculty and students. 

Prof. Pearl experienced his liberal colleagues' accepting the validity of the Islamist, Jew-demonizing invective at the root of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

But what may distress him more - having established himself as a respected American scientist who removed his family from the Islamist-besieged Israel, is witnessing his liberal American colleagues accepting the Islamist imperialist, "Zionophobia" (coined by Prof. Pearl himself) which took the life of (Ruth's and) his son, Daniel, during his journalistic quest to Pakistan to expose truths.

Islamo-Marxists marched beyond their (illegal, but the UCLA college administration's tolerated) encampment in front of UCLA's iconic Royce Hall to confront the last 1/8 of pro-Zionist rallyers. (Sun., Apr 28, '24)

 

 
Alluding to UCLA's having facilitated an irrational, Zionist-vilifying climate on campus since October 7th, Israeli-American Prof. Judea Pearl (Emeritus) presents this school-year's Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture titled "Rationality" - presented by Prof. Steven Pinker of Harvard University. "Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters."
 
   
 
Prof. Pearl acknowledges the fitting tribute to commemorate journalist Daniel Pearl by inviting his colleagues to reflect on the importance of their profession, which shares the same dedication to truth as scientists. Pearl emphasizes the elusive pursuit of truth as the driving force behind both journalism and science, with the belief that it enables society to make more rational decisions. He introduces the speaker for the day, Professor Steven Pinker, a scientist known for his contributions to clarifying the methodology of truth discovery and communication.

Prof. Pearl also highlights the relevance of the discussion on rationality to the current era of fake news and conspiracy theories, and mentions the disruptive antagonists on the UCLA campus as a pertinent reminder of the importance of rationality. The lecture is a bittersweet honor to commemorate Daniel Pearl, a martyr for free speech and intellectual freedom.

Prof. Pinker highlights our species' remarkable achievements in science and technology, yet expresses concern over the widespread irrationality observed in society. Pearl questions why, despite our capacity for rational thought, humanity seems to be losing its mind. He references the normative models of rationality from cognitive psychology and behavioral economics, which define rationality through benchmarks for how we ought to reason. These models include logic, probability, decision theory, game theory, and the analysis of correlation and causation.

Pinker discussed the role of politics in shaping people's beliefs about scientific issues. He explains that people's political orientations are a stronger predictor of their beliefs than their scientific literacy. For instance, conservative political beliefs are associated with climate change denial, and religious beliefs are associated with denial of human evolution. He refers to this phenomenon as "expressive rationality," where opinions serve as signals of loyalty to a social group or coalition. 

"We are Not Okay" - Five for Fighting joins Israel's Memorial Day / Independence Day Ceremony at Los Angeles' Temple Valley Beth Shalom

Video-screen collage shows David ben Gurion declaring Israeli Independence on May 14, '48
Approximately 1600 people, including over 700 children, gathered at the (Los Angeles, San Fernando) Valley Beth Shalom to commemorate the sequential holidays, Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers / Victims of Terror, and then Israel's 76th Independence Day. The event, led by Rabbis Nolan Lebovitz and Ed Feinstein, was predominantly Jewish-American with a complement of Israeli-American ex-pats. Said Rabbi Lebovitz in his opening remarks, "We need to support one another in our time of grief and pain during Yom ha Zikaron (Memorial Day). And hold one another in our appreciation and joy during Yom ha Atzmaut (Independence Day)!"

With a speech from Israeli Consul General Yisrael Bachar, the program demonstrated a strong sense of solidarity and responsibility within the community to defend Zionism during these challenging times. Songwriter John ("Five for Fighting") Ondrasik performed two of his numbers and recounted highlights of his April trip to Israel where he performed in Hostage Square.
UCLA Emeritus Professor Judea Pearl expressed his feelings of belonging to the community and the importance of the relationship between Israeli and American Jews. He also discussed the support Israeli academics have received from their colleagues in American universities during times of crisis, specifically in response to calls for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS). Jewish professors in American universities have made an internal decision to provide special support and "affirmative action" to their Israeli colleagues, helping them defy these calls for BDS.

 

 

 



 

  

 


 

 

Rabbi Feinstein and Professor Pearl discuss the turnout and significance of a community event celebrating Israel's Independence Day in the Valley. Approximately 1600 people attended, including over 700 children, making it an impressive gathering for the community. The event was predominantly American Jews and Israelis, with a shift towards more Israeli attendees. Rabbi Feinstein emphasized the sense of solidarity and responsibility among the community to support Israel during challenging times. This was demonstrated through various celebrations, political actions, and open expressions of support. Professor Judea Pearl expressed his feelings of belonging to the community and the importance of the symbiotic relationship between Israeli and American Jews. Despite the changing climate in the United States, he believed that both communities should continue to support each other and protect their shared interests. 

 

Professor Pearl discusses the support Israeli academics have received from their colleagues in American universities during times of crisis, specifically in response to calls for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS). He mentions that Jewish professors in American universities have made an internal decision to provide special support and "affirmative action" to their Israeli colleagues, as some universities have succumbed to pressure and made agreements with protesters. The professors aim to help their Israeli colleagues defy these calls for BDS.