The reality that Zionism is perhaps the ultimate root and repository of human rights - by Douglas Altabef

...Human rights is not the monopoly of the Left, nor of any other ideology. In a Zionist state, human rights concerns should be focused on those who have thrown in their lot with the Zionist mission: to normalize, protect and cherish the welfare of Jews, all Jews; and to be gracious, tolerant and respectful to those non-Jews who see in Zionism their own greatest opportunity for dignity and fulfillment.

Douglas Altabef..
Israel Hayom..
17 December '18..
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/zionisms-embrace-of-human-rights/?redirected=326451

Human rights have appropriately been prioritized by many nongovernmental organizations, charities and movements seeking to elevate and ameliorate the condition of oppressed people.

That's the good news. The bad news is that human rights, as practiced by so-called HROs – human rights organizations – have become a conversation stopper. They are both a sword and a shield wielded by those whose political actions have often been rationalized or justified as being waged on behalf of certain beleaguered groups; as such, their actions are beyond reproach or analysis, not to mention criticism.

Inevitably, this has led to a prioritization of woe and distress. Who has it worse, who is more deserving of our pity and help?

When I was a child in the U.S., I remember watching a show called "Queen for a Day" in which a parade of housewives vied for having the most pathetic story. There was an applause meter based on the individual's plight, and of course a raft of prizes awarded to the one who tugged most at our heartstrings.

The Left's use of the cudgel of human rights is "Queen for a Day" writ large. It's also rather cynical, as one senses that victims are being used to further a political goal. In Israel, those goals inevitably seem to involve usurping the authority of the state and the government.

Yes, they would say all lives are important, at least in theory; however, in reality, some need to be protected more than others.

In practice, this leads to the fracturing identity politics gripping the U.S., whereby certain groups "matter," and are thereby deserving, while certain groups are "privileged," part of the repressive majority, and therefore have no standing, no vote, no voice.

The hypocrisy of this perspective is fully visible in Israel, as an industry of far-left NGOs sanctimoniously vilify and slander the only democracy in the Middle East all in the name of human rights.

(Video) Meet Menashe Zalka, Im Tirtzu's 2018 Zionist Award Recipient

Meet Menashe Zalka, captain of the Hapoel Haedra soccer club and active reservist who was the recipient of Im Tirtzu's 2018 Zionist Award.

אם תרצו - Im Tirtzu..
15 October '18..
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQMkW1yo7CE









Visit Im Tirtzu at https://imti.org.il/en/

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. 

.

Im Tirtzu and the Democratization of Influence - by Douglas Altabef

Influence is no longer a function of overriding wealth or coercive power. When the Elites, who have been used to telling regular folks what their values should be, lose their monopoly, they often lash out.

Douglas Altabef..
MiDA..
03 September '18..
Link: https://en.mida.org.il/2018/09/03/the-democratization-of-influence/

In a recent column that was long on vitriol and short on accuracy, former Shin Bet director Carmi Gillon criticized Im Tirtzu with a breathtaking list of implications and condemnations. These included accusations of political murders committed some 25 years before its establishment, and driving demonizing wedges between Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews, all of whom have found a home in Im Tirtzu.

A fitting aspect of his paranoid rant was the left-handed compliment that “Im Tirtzu is the most influential organization in Israel in recent years.” As the Chairman of the Board of Im Tirtzu, I was overtaken with many reactions, including the thought that, “this being the case, why am I still being given short shrift on the line at the supermarket?”

Seriously though, such a statement is both a jaw dropper and unwittingly, profound. It is a jaw dropper in the sense that it smacks of the historical accusations leveled against Jews in general, about running the international banking system, and while we’re at it, the world. I am certainly not saying that Gillon is an anti-Semite, but he is exhibiting the same bogeyman-like obsession that one associates with classic paranoid anti-Semitism.

The idea that Im Tirtzu, whose budget is a rounding error in the world of NGOs, whose offices are part of the itinerary of meeting with donors so they can see how little of their contribution is going into overhead, is the most influential organization in Israel is, on a certain level, laughable.

Except that Gillon, inadvertently in all likelihood, is making a prescient comment about Israeli society. The great influence that Gillon attributes to Im Tirtzu is purely a function of the fact that the public supports what we advocate. In turn, Im Tirtzu, fairly reliably, mirrors the values that Israel, particularly Middle Israel, holds dear.

This reality leads to an even more disruptive truth: we live in a world where influence is no longer a function of overriding wealth nor coercive power, but stems from the heretofore restricted ability to reach, motivate and galvanize the public.

Just as the State of Israel is duty bound to protect its civilians, it must also protect its soldiers as much as possible - by Erez Tadmor

...However: "Once it has exhausted its efforts to distinguish between terrorists and nearby enemy civilians – and can no longer do so to the greatest extent possible – not only is the state not obligated to risk the lives of its soldiers in another attempt to make this distinction, it is prohibited from doing so just to minimize the danger posed to the terrorist's neighbors."

Erez Tadmor

Erez Tadmor..
Israel Hayom..
21 August '18..
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/soldiers-and-terrorists-are-not-morally-equivalent/

Haaretz on Thursday published a scathing piece by former Meretz leader Zehava Galon, which ended in a call to "put down the tiger of Im Tirzu." Galon's rage erupted after bereaved parents, who were backed by Im Tirzu, lambasted Maj. Gen. Yair Golan over comments he made to premilitary academy cadets nearly a decade ago: "Due to the civilian population, yes, we assume certain risks, justifiably."

Golan's somewhat ambiguously worded statement shines a light on complex dilemmas and warrants public discourse. Where, in Golan's view, is the line between the need to avoid harming an uninvolved civilian population at all costs, and putting soldiers' lives at risk?

This is more than a theoretical exercise. There have been dozens of instances in recent decades – such as the battle in Jenin's refugee camp during Operation Defensive Shield – when IDF soldiers paid with their lives because they were deployed house-to-house in a condensed urban environment, instead of shelling an area in advance or using bulldozers for the same job.

Galon apparently believes bereaved parents and Im Tirzu don't have the right to ask whether IDF commanders erred in these instances. Merely questioning the matter led Galon to claim Im Tirzu members "won't calm down until they turn the IDF into a militia of Cossacks."

While Golan's remarks were generalized and open to interpretation, Galon's position on the dilemma is unequivocal: If you don't want to become a Cossack militia, you must categorically prefer risking soldiers' lives over the lives of Palestinian civilians.

(Video) Nakba Nonsense at Bar-Ilan University

...Evidently, it is permissible to falsely accuse Israel of committing a genocide against the Palestinian Arabs but it is not okay to refute these outrageous lies.

Im Tirtzu..
14 November '17..
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb3BO5AAAEI


Bar-Ilan University has decided that refuting the lies of the "Nakba" is too provocative, and prohibited Im Tirtzu student activists from distributing its "Nakba Nonsense" booklet.



Evidently, it is permissible to falsely accuse Israel of committing a genocide against the Palestinian Arabs but it is not okay to refute these outrageous lies.

Despite this hypocritical decision, however, Im Tirtzu continued to distribute numerous of copies of the booklet and will not stop spreading the truth about the deceitful Nakba narrative.

See more about the lies of the Nakba here: https://imti.org.il/NakbaNonsense

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. 

.

The Battle for the Zionist Idea - by Matan Peleg

Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg explores the battle raging between the Zionist idea and the idea seeking to limit the sovereignty of the Jewish people and to halt its renewed and unprecedented revival in the Land of Israel. The booklet offers fascinating insight into the challenges facing the State of Israel from within, with a focus on the roles played by Israeli elite, academics, and non-governmental organizations.

Matan Peleg..
IMTI.org.il..
May '16..

Since its establishment, the State of Israel has been faced with two central threats: a physical threat and an ideological threat. The former is expressed via bloody attacks, war, and terrorism, and has but one purpose – to wipe Israel off the map. The latter is expressed via efforts to convince the world that the Jewish state has no right to exist. Therefore, the goals of both these tactics are one and the same.

In order to negate the State of Israel’s right to exist in the eyes of the world, international propaganda organizations spread blood libels and lies claiming that the State of Israel was founded in sin and carries out heinous crimes against humanity, including ethnic cleansing, genocide, and an apartheid regime for its Arab citizens. They strive to rally the nations of the world to condemn, boycott, and impose sanctions on Israel.

In recent years we have been witness to a growing phenomenon that is no less concerning: the adoption of anti-Israeli ideals among many of Israel’s dominant elite. In academia, culture, the media, and the judicial system, Israel is frequently depicted as a racist state that requires fixing, rather than a spark of light in a dark geopolitical environment bereft of human rights and lacking all hope.

Rather than accepting upon itself the historic role to defend the Zionist idea that brought the Jewish democratic state into the world – the most humane and moral state ever established in the Middle East – the Israeli elite focuses, at best, on casting doubts upon Israel, and at worst, on calling for foreign intervention.

As we will see throughout this booklet, this is not the first time in history that the Jewish people have been forced to defend their diplomatic and spiritual character both at home and abroad. This booklet was written with the purpose of drawing the reader’s attention to the titanic battle raging between two ideas: the Zionist idea that strives for Jewish independence in the State of Israel, and in opposition, an idea seeking to limit the sovereignty of the Jewish people and to halt its renewed and unprecedented revival in the Land of Israel.

Matan Peleg CEO, Im Tirtzu Movement

(To read the full pdf booklet online, click here)

Im Tirtzu celebrates ten years of Zionist activity. See how it all began, and where it's going.



“Always when you learn history you think that great things are done by important people, or a lot of money. But a small group of people can make a very large change.”

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. 

.

Human rights is not the monopoly of the Left, nor of any other ideology - by Douglas Altabef

...In a Zionist state, human rights concerns should be focused on those who have thrown in their lot with the Zionist mission: to normalize, protect and cherish the welfare of Jews, all Jews; and to be gracious, tolerant and respectful to those non-Jews who see in Zionism their own greatest opportunity for dignity and fulfillment.

Douglas Altabef..
Opinion/JPost..
07 September '17..
Link: http://www.jpost.com/International/Zionism-is-the-ultimate-human-rights-movement-504545

Human rights have appropriately been prioritized by many NGOs, charities and movements seeking to elevate, ameliorate the condition of people under stress.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that human rights, as practiced by so-called HROs – Human Rights Organizations – have become a conversation stopper. They are both a sword and a shield wielded by those whose political actions have often been rationalized or justified as being waged on behalf of certain beleaguered groups; as such, their actions are beyond reproach or analysis, not to mention criticism.

Inevitably, this has led to a prioritization of woe and distress. Who has it worse, who is more deserving of our pity and help?

When I was a kid in the US, I remember watching a show called Queen for a Day, in which a parade of housewives vied for having the most pathetic story. There was an applause meter based on the individual’s plight, and of course a raft of prizes awarded to the one who tugged most at our heartstrings.

The Left’s use of the cudgel of human rights is Queen for a Day writ large. It’s also rather cynical, as one senses that victims are being used to further a political goal. In Israel, those goals inevitably seem to involve usurping authority of the state and the government.

Yes, they would say all lives are important, at least in theory; however, in reality, some need to be protected more than others.

In practice, this leads to the fracturing identity politics gripping the US, whereby certain groups “matter,” and are thereby deserving, while certain groups are “privileged,” part of the repressive majority, and therefore have no standing, no vote, no voice.

The hypocrisy of this perspective is fully visible in Israel, as infiltrators from Africa in south Tel Aviv are wrapped in the protective mantle of being refugees, seeking asylum from certain death back home. Unfortunately, while it’s an effective construct to tag at the heart strings, it’s not rooted in reality.

NGOs vs. those who serve Israel by Caroline Glick

Caroline Glick..
Carolineglick.com..
10 May '13..

In 2010, Cpl. Eleanor Joseph became the first female Arab combat soldier in the IDF. Joseph, a Christian Arab told Ma'ariv that her good luck charm is a drawing of the Star of David with the caption: "I have no other land, even when my ground is burning." Her commander drew it for her.

Joseph explained, "It is a phrase that strengthens me. Every time I experience hardship, I read it. Because I was born here. The people I love live here: My parents, my friends. This is a Jewish state? Yes, it is. But it's also my country. I can't imagine living in any other place. I think every person should serve in the army. You live here? You make your home here? Then go defend your country. What does it matter that I'm an Arab?"

Joseph's story represents an incipient trend of integration among Israel's Arab community. Among other things, this is manifest in the consistently rising number of Israeli Arab students who elect to study in Hebrew-language schools and in the rising number of Israeli Arabs who elect to serve in national service, the civilian equivalent of military service.

A poll of Arab youth carried out in late 2007 made clear how widespread this integrationist impulse has become. Seventy-five percent of Arab youth aged 16 to 22 supported voluntary national service.

And yet, despite these sentiments and developments, Arab Israelis who seek to integrate into Israeli society and reject the separatist messages of their political leaders are forced to contend with extraordinary social pressures and even coercion to prevent them from acting in accordance with their wishes.

A study completed this week by Im Tirtzu exposes the vast array of NGOs generously funded by the supposedly pro-Israel New Israel Fund as well as by foreign governments which are running a campaign to oppose Cpl. Joseph and her comrades - Arabs and Jews alike. Since 1999, these groups have been conducting a campaign to undermine Arab integration into Israeli society specifically and to demoralize and reduce the social standing of those who serve in the IDF, national service and IDF reserves generally. The campaign is being carried out on a dual track of discouraging Israeli Arabs from serving in the IDF or national service, and of opposing government benefits to IDF veterans, reservists and those who undertook national service by claiming that these benefits unjustly discriminate against Israeli Arabs.

Im Tirtzu's report argues that the dual nature of the campaign, underwritten by the same funders, shows that the goal "is to prolong irredentism or non-integration of the Arab sector in order to encourage it to act as a sector demanding national recognition and advance the aim of transforming the State of Israel from a Jewish, democratic state into a bi-national state."

Who has given her the mandate to decide who decides who is an Israeli?

Eytan Meyersdorf..
Times of Israel..
25 April '13..

The president of Ben Gurion University, Rivka Carmi, recently questioned the aims and tactics of the Zionist movement, Im Tirtzu, an extra-parliamentary movement that works to strengthen and advance the values of Zionism in Israel.

In her article, Carmi claimed that the movement “derides ‘exposing’ students to speakers and opinions that some might consider anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli,” and called for a country where “everyone’s opinion can be heard without fear.” Clearly, Im Tirtzu does not fall into Carmi’s category of “everyone.”

Carmi was quick enough to lash out against Im Tirtzu for protesting MK Haneen Zoabi’s appearance at the university’s “Who is an Israeli” conference, when protest is the definition of a healthy democracy. Why does MK Zoabi have the right to protest against the Jewish state (and to even participate in acts of violence against IDF soldiers), but others do not have the right to protest against her? Is that Carmi’s idea of democracy?

Ironically enough, it was the political science department in Carmi’s own university that was deemed unfit by the Council for Higher Education for being slanted to the radical left and was forced to implement major changes in order to make the department more pluralistic.

Hypocrisy at its finest.

Im Tirtzu is a movement spearheaded by students; students who disagree with the values being taught by professors preaching the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement to their classes; students who disagree with the values of pro-terrorist rallies; students who disagree with the values being taught by MK Haneen Zoabi. While those views have a place within the academic world, it is critical that the other side is presented.

(Video) The Pro-Israel Harlem Shake

Im Tirtzu..
02 March '13..

The annual anti-Semitic and anti-Israel carnival called "Israel Apartheid Week" began last week around the world. Im Tirtzu's Bar Ilan University branch has an answer.



www.imti.org.il/en
www.imti.org.il/fr
www.imti.org.il
http://www.facebook.com/#!/ImTirtzuEn...

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.

.

Riddled With Falsehoods - New Israel Fund Response to Im Tirtzu Charges

Elder of Ziyon..
Algemeiner.com..
14 December '12..








Zionist youth movement Im Tirtzu recently wrote the following open letter to the new head of the New Israel Fund, an organization which funds anti-Israel NGOs:

Dear Mr. Lurie:

We write to ask a simple question: Do you stand by the latest accusations NIF-funded groups are making against Israel?

After Operation Cast Lead in 2009, groups funded by the NIF led a campaign that sought to portray Israel as a war criminal and human rights violator. That campaign culminated in the Goldstone Report, a ruthlessly biased attack on Israel that cited NIF groups hundreds of times. Even Judge Goldstone himself has disowned it.

Now, in the weeks after the latest conflict in Gaza, NIF groups are once again making misleading and unfounded accusations against the IDF.

B’tselem, Adalah, Gisha, and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel are claiming that the IDF targeted journalists and civilians, violated international law, and is perpetrating “collective punishment,” a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

In the weeks leading up to Israel’s response, as terrorist rockets forced thousands of Israelis into bomb shelters, none of these groups criticized the attacks or stood up for Israel’s right – its human right, and its right under international law – to defend itself.

Despite this troubling record, we hold out hope for your leadership as the new president of the New Israel Fund. We ask that you hold the groups you fund responsible for the veracity of their accusations, and that you demand just as much accountability from them as they do from the IDF.

And if you do not stand by their latest false accusations, Israelis deserve to know: What will you do to reform the New Israel Fund?

Sincerely,

Im Tirtzu

The Zionist Student Movement

The NIF response, posted below paragraph by paragraph with my comments, is astonishing:

(Continue)

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.
. 

(Video) Solidarity with the South - Awareness Day At TAU

ImTirzu..
04 November '12..






Zvi Mehlman of the Tel Aviv University branch of Im Tirtzu explains the reality faced by the South of Israel every day. Im Tirtzu initiated Awareness Day on campus to remind students and faculty that rockets are raining down on Israeli and to show what the rockets look like.



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.
. 

(Video) There is no Zionism without Zion (Jerusalem)

elderofziyon2
Jun 22, 2012








An excellent video by Im Tirtzu about the centrality of Jerusalem to Zionism.



Subtitles by Elder of Ziyon.

Translated by Nevet Basker of BroaderView.org

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.
.

(+Video) Drowning Out the Protest

West Bank Mama..
15 May '12..

Yesterday there was a protest outside of Tel Aviv University, commemorating what the Arabs call Nakba (catastrophe) which we call Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day). The joint left wing and Arab protest was accompanied by a counter protest by pro-Zionist Jews, probably organized by Im Tirzu.

In addition to the fact that the crowd was evenly split between protesters and counter protesters, one thing stands out. The counter protest was incredibly loud. The following video gives you a an idea of what I am talking about. (At the end of the video the speaker calls for the crowd to stand for a minute of silence, which mocks the Israeli minute of silence for both Holocaust Remembrance Day and Israel Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers. The counter protest crowd then reacts with a particularly noisy response).

The strength and “vocality” of the pro-Zionist side is signficant. For years the left wing in Israel has adopted the Arab anti-Zionist narrative, and there was no counter protest. Im Tirzu is fighting this, and it is no longer considered weird to be a young college student who is pro-Zionist (in other words, patriotic). Last year Im Tirzu published a pamphlet in Hebrew called Nakba Charta (Nakba BS). I wrote about this on my blog last year and gave a summary in English of its main points.

Take a look – Israeli patriotism is alive and well.



Link: http://westbankmama.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/drowning-out-the-protest/

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
.

Kreisel - The Israeli academic Left and the Im Tirtzu movement

Haim Kreisel..
Op-Ed Contributor..
JPost..
05 February '12..



I have often been reminded of Marx’s famous dictum that history repeats itself, first as tragedy then as farce.

In the academic world to which I belong the latest examples of “history as farce” are recent attempts by some of my colleagues on the Israeli (radical/anti-/post-) Zionist Left to create a new bogeyman that they then claim is persecuting them and poses a dire threat to the freedom of Israeli society, if not to Western civilization.

I am referring to the recent comical attempts to depict all those who challenge this movement’s growing strength in the academic world as the heirs to the late Senator Joseph McCarthy, in particular the mainstream Im Tirtzu student movement and its purported “blacklist.”

I am not disputing the claim that Im Tirtzu compiles lists of academics who write and teach against the Zionist Idea (or Israel as a Jewish State) and even goes so far as to criticize some of them publicly. Im Tirtzu occasionally even calls for the ouster of an academic whose salary comes mostly from the government but still calls for international boycotts of Israel, and even of its universities of which he/she is a member.

But calling this a “blacklist,” with all the historical associations involved is, well, ludicrous.

Honig - Just hate wholeheartedly

Sarah Honig
Another Tack
22 December '11

http://sarahhonig.com/2011/12/22/another-tack-just-hate-wholeheartedly/


Iconic Palmach songwriter and Israel Prize laureate (1983) Haim Hefer celebrated hate (only partly tongue-in-cheek) as a downright pleasurable and invigorating force. In his poem Zehubim (Yellows) he muses (my translation) that

Love and amity
Are signs of immaturity.
Mercy and all the rest
Are worthless relicts of the past.

One thing hasn’t lost its attraction:
That strange penchant for abomination…

Nothing here is smart or dumb,
Or logical, my chum –
So just hate wholeheartedly
So utterly impulsively.

Hefer’s insights into the compulsive nature of hate are remarkably borne out by the unbridled offensive of Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer on Bank Leumi’s “Two Million Good Reasons” campaign. It set out to aid a broad variety of nonprofit organizations. The idea was for the public to vote online for its favorite among the 139 vying outfits – among them, alas, Im Tirtzu.

The top 10 were to receive bigger shares of the NIS 2 million set aside for grants, while lesser gifts would go to the next 50 contestants. To Oppenheimer’s consternation, it emerged that Im Tirtzu was a top contender. Im Tirtzu, it cannot be stressed enough, is an absolute anathema to the leftist Peace Now.

In its own words, Im Tirtzu is “an extra-parliamentary movement that works to strengthen and advance the values of Zionism in Israel… Im Tirtzu’s main objectives focus on working towards a renewal of the Zionist discourse… A major portion of Im Tirtzu’s efforts is devoted to combating the campaign of delegitimization against the State of Israel and to providing responses to Post-Zionist and Anti-Zionist phenomena.”

Im Tirtzu is Hebrew for “if you will.” These are the first words in Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl’s motto “If you will it, it is no fable.”

This NGO appeared likely to win second slot in the Bank Leumi competition. It’s a moot point whether what offended Oppenheimer more was proof of Im Tirtzu’s popularity or the apprehension that it might emerge marginally enriched (by anyhow paltry sums in comparison to the largesse lavished on the Israeli Left by EU governments with an eye to skew this country’s democratic processes).

Whatever it was, in the spirit of characteristic left-wing liberality, Oppenheimer set out to ban Im Tirtzu from the running.

Im Tirtzu - An open letter to the president of Ben-Gurion University

Amit Barak
Im Tirtzu
JPost
05 December '11


http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=248244

Im Tirzu challenges Prof. Rivka Carmi to implement the CHE commitee's recommendations or resign.

Dear Professor Rivka Carmi,

In May 2010 Im Tirtzu submitted to the Knesset Education Committee its findings of severe political bias on a number of university campuses throughout Israel, particularly Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Following our appeal, the Knesset Education Committee asked the Council for Higher Education (CHE) to examine these allegations.

Thereafter, the CHE appointed a committee of international experts which evaluated our findings.

The international committee determined that the Department of Politics and Government is politically biased, does not meet the required standards of professionalism and fails to promote intellectual pluralism. The international committee, therefore, decided that if the department does not undergo extensive modifications, which include replacing lecturers, adding classes and amending class syllabi, the university would be required to shut it down.

With the publication of our study, we implored you to be attentive to this criticism.

We asked you to increase intellectual pluralism in the Department of Politics and Government, and we called you to improve the poor academic level resulting from the department’s policies.

Apparently, such policies are based on ideological affinities, rather than standards of academic excellence.

In addition, many university donors also reject the anti-Israel incitement that has become prevalent at the university. As a result of your incompetence, many donors have already decided to withdraw their contributions and others are considering doing the same.

We (and now, evidently, world-renowned scholars) demanding that you turn your attention toward the evident connection between the strong political bias in the Department of Politics and Government and its poor academic levels of achievement.

The Flotilla meets Im Tirtzu

05 July '11






The Israeli Zionist group Im Tirtzu has not been known for sitting still while Israel takes abuse locally, and now evidently,  not internationally either as Im Tirtzu has gone out to sea.  Elder of Zion brings us the latest.

From Ma'ariv:


Right-wing group Im Tirtzu has in the past few hours participated in an act of protest at the port of Piraeus in Greece against the flotilla ships trying to leave to Gaza.



Uploaded by ImTirzu on Jul 4, 2011
תנועת "אם תרצו" קיימה היום (יום ב' 04.07.2011) אקט מחאה בנמל פיראוס שביוון אל מול הספינות שתכננו לצאת למשט לרצועת עזה


Im Tirtzu leaders Erez Tadmor and Ronen Shoval accompanied by four other activists arrived at the shores of Greece, where they hired a yacht to pass by the ships of the pro-Palestinian flotilla protesterss the ships of the pro-Palestinians in the port of Piraeus. Activists sailed between the ships with their yachts covered in posters with the picture of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Activists also distributed information materials in English, which states that "freedom flotilla" of leftist activists "must sail towards the oppressed cities in Syria - and not Gaza." In light of the extraordinary act of right-wingers, there was much media interest among the journalists who came to Greece to cover the international flotilla.

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.
.

Exposing the puppetmasters

Israel is, finally, investigating how fifth-columnist non-profits are being funded. So why are pols crying foul?

Caroline Glick
jewishworldreview.com
14 January '11
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0111/glick011411.php3

Israel is today in the throes of a powerful backlash against the Knesset's decision last week to establish a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the foreign funding of Israeli NGOs that engage in political warfare against the state. Opposition leader Tzipi Livni claimed on Tuesday that the commission shows that "Israel today is deteriorating and abusing the very values for which we want to fight. The way that Israeli is presented by the belligerent, violent government is hindering Israel's ability to defend itself."

As head of the opposition, over the past two months Livni has angrily opposed every initiative supported by the government as loudly as she can, regardless of its merits. So it isn't surprising that she would condemn the commission. What is more jarring are the statements by Likud ministers condemning the Knesset move.
It has been known for years that European governments finance Israeli anti-Israel pressure groups. The exact amount of funding has never been determined. No one can tell the public whether or not these groups could survive without foreign funding. The Israeli public deserves to know just how Israeli these groups are and what foreign governments require them to do in exchange for receiving funding.
Some estimates place foreign funding for Israeli NGOs at NIS500 million per year. Some estimates have claimed that foreign donations make up the majority of many of the radical leftist groups' budgets.

Take Ir Amim, for instance. Ir Amim is a group dedicated to undermining Israeli sovereignty in eastern, southern and northern Jerusalem. Last year NGO Monitor reported that Ir Amim receives 67 percent of its budget directly from European governments.

What does this mean about the nature of this group? Can it be reasonably called an Israeli organization?

It is hard to understand why exposing this information to the public would be a cause of consternation and worry for the likes of Likud ministers Dan Meridor, Benny Begin, Michael Eitan and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin who have been outspoken in criticizing the formation of the Knesset panel of inquiry.

More likely than not, what really bothered these gentlemen from Likud was that these groups are not simply being called out for the European funding they receive. They are being accused of receiving money from Arabs and assisting terror groups.

In remarks in support of the probe proposed by his Yisrael Beitenu party Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman did not simply accuse the likes of Ir Amim, B'Tselem, Adalah, New Profile, Breaking the Silence, the Public Committee Against Torture, Human Rights Watch, Ittijah, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Gisha, Moked for the Protection of the Individual, Yesh Din and Physicians for Human Rights in Israel of being on Europe's payroll. He said that these groups, "help terrorists, and their main aim is to weaken the IDF and its ability to protect the citizens of the State of Israel."

Mount Scopus or Mount Olympus?

Emmanuel Navon
For the Sake of Zion
09 November '10

On November 2nd, 2010, the Knesset’s Education Commission hosted a special hearing under the title: “The Exclusion of Zionistic Positions in Academia.” The event was chaired by MK Zevulun Orlev and attended, among others, by Education Minister Gideon Saar, by members of Knesset from various political parties, by high-ranking representatives of Israeli universities, by Israeli NGOs, and by ordinary citizens.

Two Israeli NGOs, the Institute for Zionist Strategies (IZS) and Im Tirtzu, were asked to present the main conclusions of their study on what they claim to be the growingly post-Zionistic narratives of Israel’s political science and sociology departments. In October 2010, the IZS published a 122 page document called “Post-Zionism in Academia.” Im Tirtzu, for its part, published in May 2010 a 64 page document called “Anti-Zionistic Incitement and Bias in Universities.” Both publications include an extensive review of syllabi, and both reach the conclusion that students are mostly taught a one-sided and derogatory description of nationalism in general and of Zionism in particular. Im Tirtzu’s report also includes testimonies of students about what they claim to be the one-sidedness and political intolerance of their professors, as well as a review of the political petitions signed by Israeli academics.

(Read full post)

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.
.