J Street’s hypocrisy must be exposed

J Street’s 'Big Tent’ is open only to one side - the anti-Israel and BDS-supporting hard left of its own position; pro-Israel centrists are censored.

By Alan M. Dershowitz

J Street, the American organization that calls itself pro-Israel and pro peace but that always seems to be taking positions that are anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian, is asking America’s Jewish leadership to have a big tent and to open its doors to J Street. While I generally support that position, it is imperative that J Street’s hypocrisy be exposed. J Street insists that all major pro-Israel organizations be open to speakers who favor opposing views—such as supporters of the BDS movements, supporters of the single secular binational state approach, and those who oppose Palestinian recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

In the abstract, this open tent policy seems commendable. We should be committed to the open marketplace of ideas in which views prevail on their merits not on the basis of exclusion.

Now let’s see how J Street itself fares with regard to an open tent policy. It has categorically refused to allow speakers like me, who oppose J Street’s policies on Iran and other security matters, to speak to its members at its conventions. I have repeatedly and persistently sought an opportunity to present my perspective—which is shared by many American supporters of Israel—at the J Street convention, or at other events officially sponsored by J Street. When J Street invites BDS supporters and those oppose Israel’s right to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people to speak at its events, it claims that it does not necessarily support these positions, but it believes in encouraging its members to hear views that are different from its official positions. That is total nonsense. J Street only wants people to hear views to the anti-Israel hard left of its position. It categorically refuses to allow its members to hear views that are more centrist and more pro-Israel, such as my own.

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Interactive map of Israeli startups

Here is a neat interactive map of Israel's startups, as well as other relevant contacts for those who want to create/invest in/research startups in Israel.

UK Universities Minister Rejects Academic Boycott of Israel

In a visit to Hebrew U., Minister of State for Universities and Science seeks to dispel 'misperceptions' about UK hostility to Israel.

By Ari Soffer for Arutz Sheva 7

Britain's Minister of State for Universities and Science has sought to dispel misperceptions that UK universities were boycotting their Israeli counterparts, or that the UK is an "unfriendly or hostile place" for Israeli students.

During a visit yesterday to Jerusalem's Hebrew University, David Willetts said that such perceptions were to blame for a marked decline in the number of Israelis choosing to study in the UK.

Meeting at the Hebrew University’s Mount Scopus campus with leaders of UK and Israeli academia, Willetts "emphatically" clarified "that there are no boycotts of Israeli academics, or Israeli students, or British-Israel academic exchanges. Those would be completely wrong, and there is no [UK] university that is boycotting Israel."

"When I try to make sense of the decline of numbers of Israeli students coming to study in Britain, I worry that part of it is the perception in Israel that Britain is an unfriendly or hostile place."

Yet in fact, he explained, the reality is very different.

"What we know from the measures that are taken is that, fortunately, Britain is one of the European countries that scores best on having very, very low anti-Semitism," he said. "Any individual example of anti-Semitism is unacceptable, but we pride ourselves on being an open and tolerant society."

The Minister invited participants to explore ways to encourage a greater exchange of students and closer academic and research links between Israel and the UK. He suggested that "we need to change perceptions [of British attitudes to Israel]" and "build closer research links and academic exchanges, which will also lead to student exchanges.”

Willetts also met with Israeli Minister of Education, Rabbi Shai Piron (Yesh Atid), and officials from the Hebrew University.

The President of the Hebrew University, Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson, lauded Willetts for his efforts to increase "academic and research cooperation" between the two countries, which he said was "a hallmark of the strong UK-Israel relationship" in general.

"We continue to see a healthy appetite for collaboration between our universities, which leads not only to joint research but also to improved understanding between our nations. Through initiatives such as the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange (BIRAX) program, we are continuing to strengthen our ties for the benefit of Britain, Israel and the world," Ben-Sasson continued, and expressed hope that

British anti-Israel activists have often been at the forefront of the campaign pushing for boycotts against Jewish businesses in Israel. On the same day as Willett's visit to the Israeli capital, the UK's Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced that it would push for an international boycott of the Israeli Association of United Architects (IAUA).

UK university campuses in particular are often cited as hotbeds of anti-Israel sentiment, but a recent Arutz Sheva report suggested that organized anti-Israel activity by students may be on the decline.

Rolling Stones confirm June 4 Israel show

Legendary British band will perform in Park Hayarkon; tickets start at NIS 595

By Jessica Steinberg for Times of Israel

The Rolling Stones confirmed Tuesday that they will perform in Tel Aviv on June 4 as part of their “14 On Fire” world tour.

“It’s the first time in 35 years that I have no words to describe the enormity of this event,” said producer Shuki Weiss, who has been trying to get the renowned band to Israel for much of his career.

The concert had been rumored for months, but organizers were only able to announce the official confirmation at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

“This is a historic moment,” said Weiss, who has produced many of Israel’s largest concerts. “It’s a huge honor to bring the Rolling Stones to Israel, an honor for the country, the citizens, and mostly for the fans who have waited for this moment.”

The Rolling Stones longtime band members, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, have been touring England and the US for the last year. The band will treat Israeli fans to some of its classic hits, including “Gimme Shelter,” “It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll,” “Paint It Black,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” and “Tumbling Dice.”

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Loyola students work to overturn divestment vote

Student government president invites pro-Israel representatives to present position at meeting Tuesday

By JTA

Students at Loyola University are mobilizing to convince the president of the student government to veto a resolution calling on the university to divest from companies that do business in Israel.

The Loyola United Student Government Association voted March 18 to call on the university to remove its holdings from eight companies that provide equipment to Israel for use in the West Bank. The vote on a measure proposed by the Loyola chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine passed 26-0 with two abstentions.

The efforts to overturn the vote are being undertaken with the support of the Jewish United Fund’s Israel Education Center and Metro Chicago Hillel, according to a statement issued by the two organizations.

Pedro Guerrero, the president of the United Student Government Association, or USGA, met with representatives of the university’s pro-Israel community and JUF’s Israel Education Center director on March 19, the day after the vote. Guerrero has 13 days from the approval of the proposal to veto the resolution.

Guerrero invited the pro-Israel students to present their position at the next meeting on March 25. He will then decide whether to uphold or veto the resolution.

The university has issued a statement saying the resolution passed by the student government is not the position of the university.

“The resolution calling for the University to withdraw or refrain from investing in certain companies providing products and services in Israel is a proposal being discussed by student government,” said the statement. “It is not the position of Loyola University Chicago and we have not adopted this proposal. As a university, we welcome open dialogue and debate on differing points of view. Proposals like this one benefit from broader campus discussion.”

If the proposal is vetoed, the student Senate can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote. If approved, the resolution becomes the official position of the student body and is presented to the administration.

Why Recognizing Israel as 'Jewish State' Is Key to Peace

Palestinians Must Finally End Resistance to Zionism

By David Hazony for Forward Mobile
It often happens in sensitive negotiations between longtime adversaries. At a certain point they start talking in code.

Silent looks, secret words, raised eyebrows — messages only they understand. The baffled mediator stops everything and says, “Hey, what’s going on between you two?”

That’s how you know the most serious issues are finally on the table.

We have reached that moment in the talks between Israelis and Palestinians, and it is taking place around the words “Jewish state.”

Seemingly out of nowhere, questions over Jerusalem, settlements, borders, security and refugees have been eclipsed by something that seems entirely symbolic: Will the Palestinians recognize that Israel is the national homeland of the Jewish people? The Israelis have declared it a deal breaker, while the Palestinians, with the backing of the Arab League, have rejected it outright.

What is the argument really about?

Symbols have a tendency to be, well, symbolic. In this case, accepting the Jewish state (rather than just a political entity called “Israel”) is understood by both sides to represent the ultimate, public and final abandonment of the long-standing explicit Palestinian goal of eradicating Israel, whether through violence or through the relocation of millions of people of Palestinian descent currently living in refugee camps around the Arab world.

To accept the Jewish state is to create the minimal conditions for an end to the conflict. It is to signal to the Palestinian factions, divisions, functionaries and public, as well as the whole global pro-Palestinian machine, that the era of “resistance” is reaching its end.

Both sides know it, and always have. Indeed, since the very beginning of the Zionist enterprise, rejection of the “Jewish state” idea — whether Jewish in character, in purpose, religiously or demographically, or any other reasonable definition— has always been the real core of the problem.

It was the core of the problem when murderous Arab mobs began attacking unarmed Jewish civilians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, culminating in the slaughter of the Jewish community in Hebron in 1929.

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IDF Continues to Prep Iran Strike

 Israeli defense minister: ‘We have to look out for ourselves’

BY: Abraham Rabinovich for The Washington Free Beacon

JERUSALEM—Israel’s political leadership has ordered the Israel Defense Forces to continue preparations for a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities despite the interim agreement arrived at last November between Teheran and Western nations, Ha’aretz reported today.

Three Knesset members who attended parliamentary briefings by senior army officers said the order had come from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. The cost of these preparations, whose nature was not spelled out, would be at least $2.9 billion this year, they said.

Ya’alon, who in the past had opposed an Israeli pre-emptive strike, said this week that Israel could not rely on President Barack Obama to lead an action against Iran if negotiations fail. He cited the Ukraine crisis as an example of the administration projecting weakness. “We have to look out for ourselves,” he said in a lecture.

Netanyahu, in an address before a pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington earlier this month, said that Western willingness to let Iran continue to enrich uranium “would open the floodgates” to its development of nuclear weapons. Said Netanyahu: “That must not happen. And we will make sure it does not happen.”

The Knesset briefing was given by deputy chief of staff Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot and Brig. Gen. Agai Yehezkel, a planning directorate official.

Knesset members asked them whether there was justification in expending billions in view of the ongoing negotiations aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program. In reply, the officers said they had a clear directive from the political leadership, namely Netanyahu and Ya’alon, to continue readying the armed forces for a possible attack on the nuclear sites regardless of the negotiations.

Meanwhile, Israel is urging the American administration and a number of senior congressmen to approve the sale to Egypt of 10 Apache attack helicopters. An Israeli official said the helicopters are crucial to Cairo’s fight against Jihadi fighters in Sinai.

Many in Congress oppose renewal of American military aid to Egypt until the army there transfers power to an elected civilian government.

There has been close cooperation between Israel and the military leadership in Egypt since the ouster last year of President Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. A delegation of senior Egyptian officers and officials of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited Israel last week for talks with Israeli counterparts.