Messages

Rahowa!  Welcome, Reverend.  Enjoy your stay.

Welcome to the Alliance.  Rahowa!

"...If statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky way. properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and had done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it.

The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed; and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?" 

- Mark Twain
("Concerning The Jews," Harper's Magazine, 1899)

In "The Complete Idiots Guide to Understand Judaism (Second Edition)" the author, a rabbi, responds to Twain's statements with "Judaism is the secret.  We have not kept our faith.  Our faith has kept us."

[Israel protest at concert 'was not racist']

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8609737.stm

Israel protest at concert 'was not racist'

Protesters who disrupted a concert by an Israeli string quartet in Edinburgh have had charges of racially aggravated conduct thrown out by a court.

The five members of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign shouted slogans during the performance by the Jerusalem String Quartet.

But a sheriff said the comments had been directed at the state of Israel rather than individual Israeli people.

He ruled the case against the accused was not competent and dismissed it.

About 60 supporters of the five accused burst into applause when Sheriff James Scott delivered his judgement at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

" It seemed to me that the procurator fiscal's attempts to squeeze malice and ill will were rather strained "
Sheriff James Scott

The Crown had brought the charges against Michael Napier, 63, Sofia Macleod, 39, Vanesa Fuertes, 35, Kevin Connor, 40, and Neil Forbes, 55, all from Edinburgh.

It was alleged that on 29 August 2008 at Queen's Hall in Edinburgh they had pursued a racially aggravated course of conduct amounting to harassment of the string quartet, which was performing at the city's International Festival.

The prosecution claimed that by shouting slogans including "they are Israeli army musicians", "genocide in Gaza", "end genocide in Gaza" and "boycott Israel" the accused had made comments which evinced malice towards the musicians based on their membership of an ethnic group or nationality.

They were also alleged to have disrupted the concert and struggled with security staff.

'Strained' attempts

Two alternative charges accused them of acting in a racially aggravated manner, and causing or intending to cause the members of the quartet alarm and distress.

Sheriff Scott said it was clear the accused were engaged in political protest against the Israeli state and an organ of that state, the Israeli army, concerning crimes allegedly committed by the Israeli state and its army in Gaza.

But he said the prosecution had failed to show the five accused had acted together, which made the prosecution disproportionate, and also stated that the comments made during the performance had been clearly directed at the state of Israel and Israeli army.

" The sheriff ruled in open court that it is perfectly legitimate to criticise the crimes of the state of Israel and that does not in any way constitute racism of any kind "
Mick Napier Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign
The state of Israel was not a person and the members of the quartet were not targeted as presumed citizens of Israel, but as presumed members of the Israeli army, he added.

He said: "It seemed to me that the procurator fiscal's attempts to squeeze malice and ill will were rather strained".

The sheriff also said that the right to protest would be worthless if protestors were afraid of being charged with racially aggravated behaviour for naming a state they believed had committed crimes.

Their placards, the sheriff said, would need to read "genocide in an unspecified part of the Middle East" and "boycott an unspecified state in the Middle East".

He said the prosecution in its present form was unnecessary and, having concluded it was not necessary or proportionate and therefore incompetent, it had to be dismissed.

The sheriff discharged the complaint simpliciter.

Appealing decision

Speaking outside court, Mr Napier - the chairman of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign - said he and the other four protestors welcomed the sheriff's ruling.

"He ridiculed and satirised the procurator fiscal's efforts to protect a foreign state, in this case Israel, from criticism," Mr Napier said

"The sheriff could have hidden behind generalities, but today in court we discussed the state of Israel specifically and the sheriff ruled in open court that it is perfectly legitimate to criticise the crimes of the state of Israel and that does not in any way constitute racism of any kind.

"It is a constant never-ending attempt by those who support the state of Israel to name those who support the Palestiniains as anti-Semites. It never ends. Well it ended in court today and we will not be intimidated by this smear in the future."

Fiscal depute Graham Fraser said the Crown would be appealing the decision.

The case had previously been continued without plea on a number of occasions.

During legal debate earlier this year, lawyers representing the accused claimed that under the European Convention of Human Rights the prosecution represented an unnecessary, illegitimate and disproportionate interference with their freedom of expression, speech and peaceful political protest.

The Crown held that the charges were relevant and that the accused's rights under the convention were "not unfettered" as the rights of one person might impinge of the rights of another.

http://www.jnewswire.com/articles/print/2722

Western antisemitism at World War Two high

By Stan Goodenough
Mar 16, 2010


According to figures released by the Jewish Agency, acts of Jew hatred in western Europe in 2009 were pegged at their highest level since the Second World War.

Distorted media coverage of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza at the start of last year, along with the legally-flawed Goldstone Report which charged Israel with deliberately murdering innocent civilians in that conflict, have been identified as major fanners of the ever-present — if sometimes muted — flames of international antisemitism.

The unique and unparalleled form of racism has dogged the Jewish people since the earliest days of their national existence.

Since paving the way for - and driving the forces of - the Holocaust, the tide of this prejudice has ebbed and flowed. Whereas historically the exiled Jewish people were endlessly scapegoated for the ills plaguing their host nations, since 1948 that ingrained animus has increasingly focused on the reborn nation state into which they have been regathered.

The majority of anti-Israel officials, journalists and organizations strongly reject charges of bias, maintaining that criticism of Israel cannot be labelled antisemitism.

Their readiness to believe lies and distortions about the behavior of Israel's armed forces, the policies of Israel's governments and the intentions of Israel as a nation — however — give the lie to their protestations.