Israeli-Arab Actor Juliano Mer-Khamis Shot Dead in Jenin
Israeli-Arab Peace activist, actor, director and filmmaker Juliano Mer-Khamis, was assassinated this week in Jenin by masked militants. Mer-Khamis was born in Nazareth to a Jewish mother and Christian-Palestinian father. After serving in the Israeli army, Mer-Khamis decided to devote his life to peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. In a later stage in his life he moved to Jenin, where he established the Freedom Theatre, a theatre intended to provide the children of Jenin with entertainment and recreational activity. Juliano Mer-Khamis was well known in the region and received many international awards for his work. Mer-Khamis and his assistant were targeted in a drive – by shooting after leaving his theatre in Jenin,. President Abbas condemned the “hideous attack” saying that “this hateful crime cannot be overlooked and constitutes a dangerous violation of all our rules and human principles and it contradicts all our customs and morals of coexistence.” Different reports state that either a Hamas member, or an al-Aqsa Brigades militant called Qunayri, are suspects and have been held in custody since the event. Juliano has been threatened in the past by Hamas militants who object to his work. Thousands of Palestinians and Israelis participated in his funeral march. Friends of Juliano declared that the perpetrator was participating in an internecine feud, and the murderers were “insiders” who are here to harm their fellow Palestinians.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Goldstone’s retraction
Goldstone’s retraction should be a watershed for the world and Israel
By Ronald S. Lauder
Better late than never, but not much better. How else can one respond to the belated retraction by Judge Richard Goldstone of the key allegations in the outrageous report he authored into Israel’s Operation Cast Lead against Hamas terrorists in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009? Blatantly dishonest and biased, what became known as the Goldstone Report served as the most vicious instrument of defamation and de-legitimization against the Jewish state for decades. It gave heart to terrorists; it gave hope to anti-Semites; and it gave every twisted calumny against the State of Israel a new lease of life.
So now we find that even its author can no longer stomach it. Writing in the Washington Post last week, we learn that he now knows that its central allegation was a lie: “…civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy,” he says. Referring to evidence provided by Israel, he adds: “I regret that our fact-finding mission did not have such evidence explaining the circumstances in which we said civilians in Gaza were targeted, because it probably would have influenced our findings about intentionality and war crimes”.
Well, this is better late than never. But a mere statement of regret is surely not enough. Let us recall that the Goldstone Report has served as a pretext for “war crimes” charges leveled against Israeli officials across the world. The least Goldstone can now do is issue a public statement calling on his report to be withdrawn from the United Nations, through whose institutions it is still making its passage. He should do it at the UN itself, and he should encourage the head of the UN Human Rights Council – where the report originated – to do likewise.
But there are even bigger issues to consider, and they go far wider than the pangs of conscience of a partially repentant judge. After all, Goldstone’s retraction tells us nothing that decent, honest and objective observers didn’t know already. That “civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy”? But Israel never targets civilians as a matter of policy. It is not that kind of country. It is a humane, liberal-democracy. It is governed by the rule of law. It is a normal western country whose people, and soldiers, abide by normal western values.
So, why were so many governments around the world so willing to jump on board the anti-Israeli bandwagon that the Goldstone Report represented? Why did so many countries in Europe, countries that call themselves allies of Israel and friends of the Jewish people, give it credence at the United Nations, many in the last ballot at the General Assembly voting in favor of its continued passage?
Why were so many of Israel’s nominal friends so willing to believe the worst about her? Why were transparently obvious lies and libels not instantly dismissed with the contempt that they so richly deserved? Why was Israel put on the same footing, perhaps even a lower footing, as Hamas, an organization committed to the obliteration of the Jewish state, an organization for which the notorious anti-Semitic forgery, the Protocols of Zion, functions as the inspiration for its founding charter?
Surely, it is not just Goldstone who should be apologizing, but every government and international body that gave his report the time of day.
In short, if anything good at all can come out of this affair, despite all the damage that has been done, despite all the pain and humiliation that has been suffered, then let it be this. Let this be a watershed moment in the way the world deals with the Jewish state. Let Israel now be treated by a common standard, and not by a double standard. Let it be a moment of true catharsis. Let it be a new beginning where truth, honor and decency reassert themselves and where reflexive hostility to the State of Israel is finally put to rest.
The Jewish people do not ask for much from the world, but we do ask for this: Treat us as you would like to be treated yourselves. Is that really too much to ask?
Ronald S. Lauder is President of the World Jewish Congress
By Ronald S. Lauder
Better late than never, but not much better. How else can one respond to the belated retraction by Judge Richard Goldstone of the key allegations in the outrageous report he authored into Israel’s Operation Cast Lead against Hamas terrorists in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009? Blatantly dishonest and biased, what became known as the Goldstone Report served as the most vicious instrument of defamation and de-legitimization against the Jewish state for decades. It gave heart to terrorists; it gave hope to anti-Semites; and it gave every twisted calumny against the State of Israel a new lease of life.
So now we find that even its author can no longer stomach it. Writing in the Washington Post last week, we learn that he now knows that its central allegation was a lie: “…civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy,” he says. Referring to evidence provided by Israel, he adds: “I regret that our fact-finding mission did not have such evidence explaining the circumstances in which we said civilians in Gaza were targeted, because it probably would have influenced our findings about intentionality and war crimes”.
Well, this is better late than never. But a mere statement of regret is surely not enough. Let us recall that the Goldstone Report has served as a pretext for “war crimes” charges leveled against Israeli officials across the world. The least Goldstone can now do is issue a public statement calling on his report to be withdrawn from the United Nations, through whose institutions it is still making its passage. He should do it at the UN itself, and he should encourage the head of the UN Human Rights Council – where the report originated – to do likewise.
But there are even bigger issues to consider, and they go far wider than the pangs of conscience of a partially repentant judge. After all, Goldstone’s retraction tells us nothing that decent, honest and objective observers didn’t know already. That “civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy”? But Israel never targets civilians as a matter of policy. It is not that kind of country. It is a humane, liberal-democracy. It is governed by the rule of law. It is a normal western country whose people, and soldiers, abide by normal western values.
So, why were so many governments around the world so willing to jump on board the anti-Israeli bandwagon that the Goldstone Report represented? Why did so many countries in Europe, countries that call themselves allies of Israel and friends of the Jewish people, give it credence at the United Nations, many in the last ballot at the General Assembly voting in favor of its continued passage?
Why were so many of Israel’s nominal friends so willing to believe the worst about her? Why were transparently obvious lies and libels not instantly dismissed with the contempt that they so richly deserved? Why was Israel put on the same footing, perhaps even a lower footing, as Hamas, an organization committed to the obliteration of the Jewish state, an organization for which the notorious anti-Semitic forgery, the Protocols of Zion, functions as the inspiration for its founding charter?
Surely, it is not just Goldstone who should be apologizing, but every government and international body that gave his report the time of day.
In short, if anything good at all can come out of this affair, despite all the damage that has been done, despite all the pain and humiliation that has been suffered, then let it be this. Let this be a watershed moment in the way the world deals with the Jewish state. Let Israel now be treated by a common standard, and not by a double standard. Let it be a moment of true catharsis. Let it be a new beginning where truth, honor and decency reassert themselves and where reflexive hostility to the State of Israel is finally put to rest.
The Jewish people do not ask for much from the world, but we do ask for this: Treat us as you would like to be treated yourselves. Is that really too much to ask?
Ronald S. Lauder is President of the World Jewish Congress
Monday, April 11, 2011
Pesach another meaningless Jewish ritual or a time to reignite our sense of social conscience
I love Pesach it’s my favourite Festival, I enjoy everything about it I think it just oozes
coolness. I mean you get to spend time with friends and family in an intimate setting around
the Seder table, I know in my house we often invite people we don’t see to often so its really
a special time. Look I think the whole preparation for the festival isn’t always that great i.e.
all the cleaning out and change over stuff but it all adds to the sanctity of the festival I guess.
Rabbi’s have an absolute field day at this time of the year. Pesach is filled with symbolisms.
Take for instance the dry and unleavened bread we eat i.e. matzah. I’m sure we all know the
teaching which says that Chometz (normal risen bread and bread based products) is a symbol
of arrogance because it’s risen and filled out like the Yetzer Harah (Or Evil Inclination)
which is bloated through its arrogance of joy when people do wrong. On the other hand
Matzah is lowly bread which symbolizes piety and simpleness. This lowly bread symbolizes
the Jewish people when they left Egypt according to our Sages, and is called a bread of our
affliction. The broader understanding of this period is a time of national introspection and
remembrance. We go into depth about our suffering and the miraculous redemption from
bondage in Egypt. However as Jews we do not just kvetch about our suffering and pain, we
also give praise for our redemption and also look forward to a final future redemption.
This being said I think that a fundamental part of this festival and especially the Seder part
have become drowned in petty worrying about measurements and sizes of this thing or that.
Many Haggadah’s have pages on the fluid ounce requirements for the cups of wines, the
amount of inches of matzah and maror that one requires. I am in no way saying these should
be ignored or dismissed but I feel that the emphasis is being misplaced with ritual over
meaning.
The Seder has the potential to be the most spiritually and emotionally up lifting experience
not only for the little kids who get to sing the Manishitana section of the Seder but for the
adults as well. I know in certain sects they dress up and put on plays to live up the Seder
experience. This is fantastic but again it’s all symbolic for me the essence of Pesach is the
concept of justice and dignity. The Hebrew people’s who originally fled to Egypt due to
the drought in Canaan and the difficult living conditions, were refugees seeking a better life
for themselves and their families. They were in later generations oppressed and turned into
slaves. Their dignity was undermined in many ways as the Haggadah says.
The essential message which I think we should gain from Pesach – besides the pounds from
some of those measurements especially those of the Chazon Ish – is the central importance
of human dignity and the fact that the Jewish people should be ultra-sensitive to the plight of
others especially those who have become refugees due to circumstances in their own country.
South African Jews have an obligation to highlight the suffering of the oppressed people of
Zimbabwe, Swaziland, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the like who have fled
despotic tyrannical regimes in some cases and others who have just fled to find a better life
for themselves and their families.
It is no co-incidence that soon after Pesach we will be Commemorating Yom HaShoah –
Holocaust Memorial Day – we see that in the not too distant past the Jewish people suffered
the most egregious systematic mass murdering in recorded history. We rightly ask where
the world was. We are rightly given no definitive answer. We however need to ask where
our voices today when thousands of African Refugees are fleeing Darfur, Zimbabwe, Libya,
Ivory Coast , Libya, and so on. It is not our task alone to raise these issues but I feel that
South African Jews should be highlighting the plight of fellow Africans in any way we can.
I feel that Moroccan Jews although small should be highlighting the plight of the people of
the Occupied Western Sahara which is illegally and brutally Occupied by the Moroccans
for more than 30 years, Jews in Europe should be arguing strenuously for the rights of
refugees that have fled to Europe especially those fleeing the crisis now that has engulfed
large swathes of North Africa. We the children of the freed slaves of ancient Egypt and the
children of those survived years of discrimination, anti-Semitism, pogroms and the Holocaust
of Nazi Europe should be aware and vocal on ensuring the rights and dignities of others.
This for me is the real message which we should take out of Pesach and one which too often
is overlooked or totally misunderstood by us and more so by many of our Rabbi’s!
I wish you all Chag Kasher VeSameich and meaningful Sedorim.
By Ilan Solomons
SAUJS National African Affairs Liaison Officer
coolness. I mean you get to spend time with friends and family in an intimate setting around
the Seder table, I know in my house we often invite people we don’t see to often so its really
a special time. Look I think the whole preparation for the festival isn’t always that great i.e.
all the cleaning out and change over stuff but it all adds to the sanctity of the festival I guess.
Rabbi’s have an absolute field day at this time of the year. Pesach is filled with symbolisms.
Take for instance the dry and unleavened bread we eat i.e. matzah. I’m sure we all know the
teaching which says that Chometz (normal risen bread and bread based products) is a symbol
of arrogance because it’s risen and filled out like the Yetzer Harah (Or Evil Inclination)
which is bloated through its arrogance of joy when people do wrong. On the other hand
Matzah is lowly bread which symbolizes piety and simpleness. This lowly bread symbolizes
the Jewish people when they left Egypt according to our Sages, and is called a bread of our
affliction. The broader understanding of this period is a time of national introspection and
remembrance. We go into depth about our suffering and the miraculous redemption from
bondage in Egypt. However as Jews we do not just kvetch about our suffering and pain, we
also give praise for our redemption and also look forward to a final future redemption.
This being said I think that a fundamental part of this festival and especially the Seder part
have become drowned in petty worrying about measurements and sizes of this thing or that.
Many Haggadah’s have pages on the fluid ounce requirements for the cups of wines, the
amount of inches of matzah and maror that one requires. I am in no way saying these should
be ignored or dismissed but I feel that the emphasis is being misplaced with ritual over
meaning.
The Seder has the potential to be the most spiritually and emotionally up lifting experience
not only for the little kids who get to sing the Manishitana section of the Seder but for the
adults as well. I know in certain sects they dress up and put on plays to live up the Seder
experience. This is fantastic but again it’s all symbolic for me the essence of Pesach is the
concept of justice and dignity. The Hebrew people’s who originally fled to Egypt due to
the drought in Canaan and the difficult living conditions, were refugees seeking a better life
for themselves and their families. They were in later generations oppressed and turned into
slaves. Their dignity was undermined in many ways as the Haggadah says.
The essential message which I think we should gain from Pesach – besides the pounds from
some of those measurements especially those of the Chazon Ish – is the central importance
of human dignity and the fact that the Jewish people should be ultra-sensitive to the plight of
others especially those who have become refugees due to circumstances in their own country.
South African Jews have an obligation to highlight the suffering of the oppressed people of
Zimbabwe, Swaziland, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the like who have fled
despotic tyrannical regimes in some cases and others who have just fled to find a better life
for themselves and their families.
It is no co-incidence that soon after Pesach we will be Commemorating Yom HaShoah –
Holocaust Memorial Day – we see that in the not too distant past the Jewish people suffered
the most egregious systematic mass murdering in recorded history. We rightly ask where
the world was. We are rightly given no definitive answer. We however need to ask where
our voices today when thousands of African Refugees are fleeing Darfur, Zimbabwe, Libya,
Ivory Coast , Libya, and so on. It is not our task alone to raise these issues but I feel that
South African Jews should be highlighting the plight of fellow Africans in any way we can.
I feel that Moroccan Jews although small should be highlighting the plight of the people of
the Occupied Western Sahara which is illegally and brutally Occupied by the Moroccans
for more than 30 years, Jews in Europe should be arguing strenuously for the rights of
refugees that have fled to Europe especially those fleeing the crisis now that has engulfed
large swathes of North Africa. We the children of the freed slaves of ancient Egypt and the
children of those survived years of discrimination, anti-Semitism, pogroms and the Holocaust
of Nazi Europe should be aware and vocal on ensuring the rights and dignities of others.
This for me is the real message which we should take out of Pesach and one which too often
is overlooked or totally misunderstood by us and more so by many of our Rabbi’s!
I wish you all Chag Kasher VeSameich and meaningful Sedorim.
By Ilan Solomons
SAUJS National African Affairs Liaison Officer
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