Vatican Recognizes "State Of Palestine"

Via the Associated Press:

The Vatican has officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty. The treaty, which was finalized Wednesday but still has to be signed, makes clear that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic relations from the Palestinian Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine. The Vatican had welcomed the decision by the U.N. General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a Palestinian state. But the treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state and constitutes an official recognition. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is due to see Pope Francis on Saturday before the canonization of two new saints from the Holy Land a day later.

Teabagistan will go nuts.

NEW YORK CITY: Protesters Hang Palestinian Flag From Manhattan Bridge

Via the New York Daily News:

A giant flag soliciting support for Palestinians in Gaza was unfurled from the Manhattan Bridge Wednesday — a second apparent breach of security in a month on an East River span. The banner boasting the colors of the Palestinian flag was hung about dusk from the south edge of the bridge close to the Manhattan side tower. Writing on the red, green, white and black flag read “Boycott,” “Divest” and “Sanction.” The flag also bore the words “GAZA IN OUR HEARTS.” Cops immediately removed the flag and were investigating to determine who displayed it. No arrests were reported. The flag was unfurled as about 500 pro-Palestinian protesters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. The Brooklyn Bridge demonstration was organized via social media by New York Solidarity with Palestine and Direct Action.

City and federal agencies continue to get flack about last month's white flag stunt on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Telegraph: Israel Bombs Gaza Hospital

The Telegraph reports:

A dozen shells hit the Al Aqsa hospital in the town of Deir el-Balah, Palestinian health official Ashraf al-Kidra said. He said four people were killed and 60 wounded when the shells landed in the administration building, the intensive care unit and the surgery department. A doctor at the hospital, Fayez Zidane told Al Aqsa TV station, a broadcaster affiliated with Hamas, that shells hit the third and fourth floor as well as the reception area. Meanwhile, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry headed to Cairo to try to renew cease-fire efforts aimed at ending the Israel-Hamas fighting that has killed at least 530 Palestinians and 20 Israelis and displaced tens of thousands of Gazans in the past two weeks.

BREAKING: Israel Begins Ground Offensive In Gaza Strip, Troops Are On The Move

Via the New York Times:

Israel began a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip Thursday night, saying it would target tunnels that can infiltrate its territory after cease-fire talks failed to de-escalate the air war that has raged for 10 days. The military released a statement at 10:39 p.m. saying the goal of the operation was to “establish a reality in which Israeli residents can live in safety and security without continuous indiscriminate terror.” Palestinians and journalists in Gaza reported heavy artillery fire from ground troops in the north and naval gunboats stationed near Gaza’s port as well as a continuing air assault, with strikes targeting a rehabilitation hospital and, earlier, killing four young children as they played on a roof. Scores of rockets from Gaza continued to stream into cities all over central and southern Israel.

St. Patrick's Redux: Boycott Israel Groups To March In Israel Day Parade

Groups that call for boycotting Israeli companies will be permitted to march in New York City's annual Israel Day Parade. The Jewish Press published an op-ed last month:

Ironically, the ‘conscience-struck’ Jewish boycotters never boycott Arab or Moslem businesses, despite the ubiquitous terrorism and their violations of human rights. Their outrage is only against the Jewish state and its Jews. Nazism began even before the implementation of the Final Solution. It began with boycotts against Jewish owned businesses, Jewish merchants, and Jews providing services. The Nazi idea of boycotting Jewish businesses was an essential component and standard of Nazism. Nazism was evil in all of its stages, including the limited earlier stages of anti-Jewish boycotts of the 1930s. It remains just as evil today, even when done by Jews; enthusiastically done in concert with non-Jewish anti-Semites and those arrayed against the State of the Jews, Israel.

Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue, who demanded and received permission to march in the NYC Pride parade only to back out with a fake excuse, is furious. Today he writes:

I am happy that my Jewish friends have asked for the support of the Catholic League in protesting the inclusion of Boycott Israel groups in the Israel Day Parade. We are glad to lend our support. The “100 Shofars Rally,” which is being held to protest this issue, will take place on April 29 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in front of the UJA-Federation Building at 130 E. 59th Street (between Park and Lexington). The obscene, and totally hypocritical, sponsorship of the Boycott Israel campaign picked up steam last December when the American Studies Association voted to boycott Israel’s institutions of higher education. If these people were interested in justice, they would commend Israel, not condemn it. The Jewish community can depend on the support of the Catholic League in protesting all Boycott Israel campaigns.

Donohue's boycott campaign against Guinness Beer is continuing.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the parade. Last year's parade, which was attended by an estimated one million spectators, took place under heavy counter-terrorism security from city and federal agencies.

RELATED: In 2011 the Knesset passed a controversial law which allows any entity that would be damaged by a boycott to sue its organizers. Via Wikipedia:

The law states that individuals or organizations who publicize a call for an economic, cultural or academic boycott against a person or entity merely because of its affiliation to the State of Israel and/or to an Israeli institute and/or to a specific region under Israeli control, may be sued civilly, in tort, by a party claiming that it might be damaged by such a boycott. The law also allows Israeli authorities to deny benefits from individuals or organizations - such as tax exemptions or participation in government contracts - if they have publicized a call to boycott and/or if they have obligated to participate in a boycott.

Ariel Sharon Dies At 85

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died today at the age of 85.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the nation bowed its head to a man he described as “first and foremost a brave soldier and an outstanding military commander” who “had a central role in the battle for Israel’s security from the very beginning.” In many ways, Mr. Sharon’s story was that of his country. A champion of an iron-fisted, territory-expanding Zionism for most of his life, he stunned Israel and the world in 2005 with a Nixon-to-China reversal and withdrew all Israeli settlers and troops from Gaza. He then abandoned his Likud Party and formed a centrist movement called Kadima focused on further territorial withdrawal and a Palestinian state next door. Mr. Sharon was incapacitated eight years ago, in January 2006, and in elections that followed, Kadima still won the most votes. His former deputy, Ehud Olmert, became prime minister. But the impact of Mr. Sharon’s political shift went beyond Kadima. The hawkish Likud Party, led by his rival, Mr. Netanyahu, was returned to power in 2009, and Mr. Netanyahu, too, said then that he favored a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Pam Geller Is Very Upset About New Campaign From "Seattle's Jew-Haters"

Shrieking harpy Pam Geller is battling yet another transit agency.

The Jew-haters are at it again. The relentless Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign (SeaMAC) has launched another vicious Goebbels-style blood libel against the Jews in Seattle. Yes, this is Seattle where we are moving forward with our lawsuit against Seattle transit for their refusal to run our FBI Global Faces of Terrorism ad. We will prevail in that lawsuit. Just as we will prevail in our lawsuit against Boston. AFDI will not let this go unanswered -- we have submitted the following ad to Seattle transit. Contribute to this campaign here.

BRITAIN: Palestinian Activists Call For Pet Shop Boys To Cancel Tel Aviv Concert

Pro-Palestinian activists are planning to picket a Pet Shop Boys appearance in London tonight in protest of the dance duo's gig scheduled for June 28th in Tel Aviv.  From the protesters' website:

The Pet Shop Boys - Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, recognised as the most successful duo in UK music history, are scheduled to perform in apartheid Israel to a segregated audience in Tel Aviv’s Nokia Arena on 23rd June, 2013. We are asking them to open their eyes to the ugly reality of apartheid Israel, to cancel their concert and stand with the oppressed Palestinians. Join the multitude of artists who are respecting the Palestinian call to boycott Israel. We will be picketing their appearance at the screening of Battleship Potemkin at the British Film Institute (BFI) on the Southbank in London on 19th June.

Pet Shop Boys vocalist Neil Tennant has responded on their own site:

I don't agree with this comparison of Israel to apartheid-era South Africa. It's a caricature. Israel has (in my opinion) some crude and cruel policies based on defence; it also has universal suffrage and equality of rights for all its citizens both Jewish and Arab. In apartheid-era South Africa, artists could only play to segregated audiences; in Israel anyone who buys a ticket can attend a concert. Neil x

Toronto Pride Threatened With Defunding Over Anti-Israeli Apartheid Group

A group of Toronto city commissioners is once again threatening to pull the funding for Pride Toronto due to the planned inclusion of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid in the parade.  Similar flaps have arisen in recent years.  Peter Tatchell writes via email:

The demand that a pro-Palestinian slogan and organisation are banned from the Toronto Pride parade is censorship. It’s a direct attack on free speech and the right to protest. The threat to cut funding is tantamount to blackmail. Pride parades should be open to all individuals and organisations that support LGBT human rights. There should be no political vetting, unless the participants are homophobic, incite violence or oppose human rights. Queers Against Israeli Apartheid is not supporting violence against Jews or Israelis. They are merely protesting against the Israeli occupation and the abusive mistreatment and humiliation of the Palestinian people. This occupation and mistreatment hurts both straight and LGBT Palestinians.

Canada's Xtra reported on the situation late last month.

Councillor Shelley Carroll confirmed to Xtra that Councillor David Shiner plans to ignore the advice of city staff and submit a motion to remove Pride’s cultural grant as a penalty for allowing the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) to participate in the Pride parade. Instead, Shiner later moved a motion to defer the item until the next executive committee meeting, May 28. It would then head to council in June.

This means that Pride — which attracts more than one million people and annually brings tens of millions of dollars into Toronto — won’t know whether it will receive the city’s annual grant of $123,807 until just days before the festival is set to begin. This is the third year Pride has faced a censorship battle with a small handful of councillors just as planning for the event kicks into high gear.

Tatchell marched with the group in New York City's parade in 2011.

Google Recognizes Palestine

Via BBC News:

Internet giant Google has changed the tagline on the homepage of its Palestinian edition from "Palestinian Territories" to "Palestine". The change, introduced on 1 May, means google.ps now displays "Palestine" in Arabic and English under Google's logo. Using the word Palestine is controversial for some. Israeli policy is that the borders of a Palestinian state are yet to be agreed. In November, the UN gave Palestine the status of "non-member observer state". The decision by the General Assembly was strongly opposed by Israel and the United States. Previously, Palestine only had "observer entity" status.

The wingnuts are gonna flip.

UN Upgrades Status For Palestine

The nine votes against came from: United States, Canada, Israel, Czech Republic, Panama, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, and Palau.

France To Recognize Palestine

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced today that France will support Palestine's bid for "nonmember observer status" at the United Nations. Presuming that that France follows through, it will become the first major European power to recognize Palestine as a legitimate state.

The support of France, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, is the most significant boost to date for the Palestinians’ hopes to be granted nonmember observer status and thus greater international recognition. Russia and China, two other permanent members, have also thrown their support behind the Palestinian bid.  The French support appeared calculated to strengthen the position of the Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, whose party governs the West Bank, after clashes with Israel in the Gaza Strip this month that left Hamas, the Islamic militant organization that oversees Gaza, ascendant. It is also a blow to Israel, whose diplomats have been working feverishly to try to ensure what they call a “moral majority” in the United Nations vote, meaning that even if a majority of nations vote in favor of the Palestinian bid, the major world powers will not.

France's move is expected to anger the United States, which has long opposed Palestine's presence at the United Nations.  Last year US Ambassador Susan Rice threatened to end American funding of the United Nations should Palestine be admitted.

Allegedly

The ceasefire is supposed to begin at 2pm Eastern.

The Twitter War

Observers are wondering if this is the first time that the leaders of an ongoing conflict are also sniping at each other on social media. Twitchy notes that both Politico and Buzzfeed have openly wondered if such threats as those seen above violate Twitter's terms of service.

Mitt Romney: Not Interested In Working On Peace For Israel And Palestinians

More Mother Jones videos were released overnight.

Romney spoke of "the Palestinians" as a united bloc of one mindset, and he said: "I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say there's just no way." Romney was indicating he did not believe in the peace process and, as president, would aim to postpone significant action: "[S]o what you do is, you say, you move things along the best way you can. You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going to remain an unsolved problem…and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it."

Liberty Counsel: Pissed At The Olympics

The Liberty Counsel is furious that the official website for the London Olympics depicts East Jerusalem as "the intended seat of the government of Palestine."

"This is absolute, clear anti-Israel, anti-Jewish bias by the BBC," he contends. "This is unbelievable that political correctness has gotten into the Olympics. I thought the Olympics were supposed to transcend politics and bring countries together." But he reports that the BBC website's picture of Jerusalem displays another example of blatant, anti-Israel bias. "As compared to, for example, the pictures of Iran … Syria and Libya -- which had pictures of peaceful, cultural settings -- the one depicting Israel was a soldier with a Palestinian protester," Staver details. "So there was obvious bias there."

Meanwhile other wingnuts continue to press the White House about which city the president considers to be the capital of Israel.

It has been a matter of contention for years. Though Israel has established its capital in the Holy City of Jerusalem, the United States and other nations continue to maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. During Thursday's White House news conference, Carney was asked numerous times to tell which city the administration considers Israel's capital. His response: "I haven't had that question in a while. Our position has not changed…" When one reporter insisted that she did not know the answer, Carney continued to offer a vague "you know our position." That prompted a second reporter to chime in. "She doesn't know. That's why she asked," he voiced, before admitting that he did not know the answer, either. Still, Carney would merely state, "Our position hasn't changed.

Palestinian To Compete In Olympics

Al Jazeera reports:

Palestine will be sending five participants at the London Olympics 2012. Maher Abu Rmeileh, the first Palestinian to make it to the Olympics by qualifying in competition, aims to bring glory to his country in Judo. But because Abu Rmeileh lives in East Jerusalem he has had difficulty in co-ordinating events with Palestinians on the other side of the separation wall.

London Activists Protest Pinkwashing

At last weekend's WorldPride event in London, a group of activists waved Palestinian flags near the main event stage. Their slogan: "No pride in Israeli apartheid."

(Tipped by JMG reader Ian)

Facebook Page Of The Day

I imagine we'll hear a lot about this in the coming week.

Another Pinkwashing Controversy

In the spring of 2013, the Center for Gay & Lesbian Studies at City University of New York plans to stage a conference titled “Homonationalism and Pinkwashing.” And that's got some folks very upset.

“This conference is not an academic exercise designed to promote and encourage different points of view on LGBT issues; it is simply a venue to criticize Israel for the most absurd reasons,” Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League told The Algemeiner. ”The academic community should find the conference abhorrent, because it disregards the key aspects faced by the LGBT community which is global repression in many other countries.” “The conference smacks of an effort to discredit Israel,” Foxman said. conference, scheduled for April of 2013, will examine what its planners claim is a concerted effort by Israel to market its positive relationship with the gay community to detract from the “oppression of Palestinians”.

The Graduate Center at CUNY defended its hosting of the conference saying it is supportive of providing a platform for students to discuss issues from different perspectives. “As a diverse and intellectually robust institution, the Graduate Center embraces the academic tradition of providing a forum for discussion across the spectrum of ideas and points of view,” Jane Trombley, Executive Director for Communications at CUNY’s Graduate Center said in an email to The Algemeiner. “With the proposed conference sponsored by The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) still 8-9 months out, it is too early to comment on any specifics concerning the event.”

The conference is also opposed by the group HE'BRO, which promotes gay Jewish social events around New York City.