(Excellent) Investigation: How Anti-Israel Activists Are Hijacking The Coronavirus Crisis And Turning It Against Israel - by Samantha Mandeles

Anti-Israel activists routinely hijack causes, events, and crises unrelated to Israel, and that phenomenon is playing out again with the coronavirus pandemic, providing the ‘usual suspects’ with yet another issue to exploit.

Samantha Mandeles..
Legal Insurrection..
09 April '20..

We have written a lot about how anti-Israel activists routinely hijack causes, events, and crises unrelated to Israel, using “intersectional” theory to turn those issues against the Jewish state.

That phenomenon is playing out again with the coronavirus pandemic, providing the ‘usual suspects’ with yet another issue to exploit.

The figures and groups who have hijacked this crisis, as detailed below, include: self-identified “Jewish” anti-Israel organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow (INN); so-called human rights watchdog organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and B’tselem; deeply anti-Zionist blogs such as Mondoweiss and Electronic Intifada; multiple chapters and student leaders from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP); domestic Islamist groups such as American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and the Al-Awda Right of Return Coalition; Islamist leaders such as Abbas Hamideh and Linda Sarsour; conspiracy-peddling ‘academics’ such as Asad Abukhalil and Steven Salaita; and gullible enablers such as “journalist” Ben Norton and CodePink co-director Ariel Gold.

(Continue to Full Report)

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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From a Perspective of Humility: Coronavirus, God, and Science - by Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen

When PM Benjamin Netanyahu said, in a March 21 TV interview, that “with God’s help we’ll get through” the coronavirus crisis, the interviewer interrupted him with these words: “With the help of the Weizmann Institute…The modern Temple of Zionism is at the Weizmann Institute.” This exchange reveals the gap between the modern state’s promise of efficient management even in the face of great adversity and the elements of randomness and surprise that can render the most powerful and advanced states helpless.

Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen..
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,504..
25 March '20..
Link: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/coronavirus-god-and-science/

From the outset, the modern state has depended on science and human rationality as the means to a stable and secure future. As the French sociologist Bruno Latour described the modern era: “The laws of nature enabled the first Enlightenment to demolish the groundless pretensions of the ancient human conceptions…All thoughts of the past were rendered foolish or hypothetical…A shining dawn arrived.” Similarly, Theodor Herzl envisioned a modern state that would succeed on the basis of scientific knowledge. As he wrote in his book The Jewish State: “The founding of a Jewish State, as I conceive it, presupposes the application of scientific methods. We cannot journey out of Egypt today in the primitive fashion of ancient times.”

For the devotees of science and human rationality, this is the essence of the promise of stability, prosperity, and security. If something spins completely out of control, it is not—according to the “religion of rationality”—because the promise was overblown but because someone was negligent, did not do his job right, or failed to consult the right expert in time. It is a “foul-up,” a phenomenon that in our era requires an investigation.

The French philosopher Paul Virilio described at length how rational scientific thought strives to achieve control over the world of phenomena, seeking to control even the uncontrollable. In his view, however, this thralldom to the great promise of technology and science may well lead to an “integral accident” that not only will change the human perception of technology but could even bring about the end of the “modern project.”

Virilio was not, of course, hoping for such an “accident,” but warned of it: the crisis would be as deep as the promise was great. Modern humanity’s expectations of science and the state collide again and again with a defiant reality, and the coronavirus crisis is a dramatic example of such a clash.

(Excellent!) This is in our hands - by Dr. Nachman Shai

The directives being given to the public are correct. Nothing is overblown when lives are being saved, and they are. The discomfort is temporary, but worth every ounce of effort.

Nachman Shai..
Israel Hayom..
19 March '20..
Link: https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/this-is-in-our-hands/

Israel is going through hard days, along with the rest of the world. This crisis is among the worst in human history. The process we were so proud of – globalization and technology – have risen against their creator. We thought a borderless global village was a wonderful thing. It absolutely isn't. The technologies mobilizing and propping up globalization have become a great enemy. The spread of this virus, the previous one and the one that comes next – are all fed by these wonderful processes. We need technology, but it is also exacting bitter revenge on us now.

In Israel, two crises – national and global – have intertwined. Israel is mired in a severe democratic crisis, which is also unprecedented. Elections that have failed to produce a clear winner have created a leadership crisis. The thought that only the executive branch is functioning is both chilling and terrifying. But the main priority is the personal safety of every man, woman and child.

If I have any advice to give from my experiences in the First Gulf War, which appears vaguely similar to the situation today, it's that we first and foremost protect ourselves. It's in our hands. We are all obligated to this effort as social solidarity has taken on new meaning. I am closely following the actions of the government and the prime minister. They are doing good work. Before anything else, I am judging them on one question: Will we all be able to overcome these frightening times?

The directives being given to the public are correct. Nothing is overblown when lives are being saved, and they are. We now have examples from other countries who are proving this well. Please listen to today's national spokespeople, believe them, heed their advice.The discomfort is temporary, but worth every ounce of effort. Our lives are at stake, as are the lives of our friends and loved ones. Different days will follow. They will be better. We will breathe fresh air, we will go outside. We'll go back to the squabbling we love to do. We will scrutinize the government and its leaders. In the meantime, remember, it's in our hands.

Former MK Dr. Nachman Shai served as head of Knesset lobbies for Israel-US relations and to bolster ties with Diaspora Jewry.

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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