The attacks against NIF and why J Street could use a little schooling from Peace Now http://blogs.jta.org/ENTRY_PERMALINK_HERE/the-nif-attack-and-why-j-street-could-use-a-little-schooling-from-peace-now/ Breaking down the first rounds of the NIF fight. en-us rkampeas@jta.org Copyright 2010 2010-02-03T;03:39:00-05:00 Comment by Richard Silverstein richards1052@comcast.net First, Morgenstern lied to you or whoever wrote the original JTA report.  Yes, Hagee never repudiated the Hitler crap.  Second, he gave this sermon in 2005 & not “in the 1990s” as Morgenstern apparently told JTA.  Third, anyone who tells me that God deliberately perpetrated the Holocaust in order to create the State of Israel is perpetrating a hillul hashem.  My God does NOT kill Jews in order to create a Jewish homeland.  That is perverse theology & has no business in a Jewish child’s mind.  I am glad there is a state of Israel, but if God were to offer me that State on one condition--that I accept the murder of 6 million Jews--what kind of Mephistophelian bargain is that???? J. St. is dead on in calling Im Tirtzu & CUFI to task for this gift.  Im Tirtuz is not a pass along funding organization as NIF is.  Im Tirtzu takes Hagee’s money & uses it for its awful despicable agenda.  If John Hagee’s money enables Im Tirtzu to liken Naomi Hazan to a beast then you bet I want to know about this. First, Morgenstern lied to you or whoever wrote the original JTA report.  Yes, Hagee never repudiated the Hitler crap.  Second, he gave this sermon in 2005 & not “in the 1990s” as Morgenstern apparently told JTA.  Third, anyone who tells me that God deliberately perpetrated the Holocaust in order to create the State of Israel is perpetrating a hillul hashem.  My God does NOT kill Jews in order to create a Jewish homeland.  That is perverse theology & has no business in a Jewish child’s mind.  I am glad there is a state of Israel, but if God were to offer me that State on one condition--that I accept the murder of 6 million Jews--what kind of Mephistophelian bargain is that????

J. St. is dead on in calling Im Tirtzu & CUFI to task for this gift.  Im Tirtuz is not a pass along funding organization as NIF is.  Im Tirtzu takes Hagee’s money & uses it for its awful despicable agenda.  If John Hagee’s money enables Im Tirtzu to liken Naomi Hazan to a beast then you bet I want to know about this.

]]> 2012-05-23T;03:01:00-05:00 Comment by Yosef Hartuv yosefandmelody@gmail.com J Street is “gravely concerned about escalating threats to the character of Israel’s democracy” and is worried about “a perfect storm brewing that threatens the core of Israel’s democratic character.” The e-mail that contains these warnings is titled “Swiftboating Israel’s democracy.” Time to stockpile bottled water everyone, something serious is happening! It is this: an obscure Zionist youth group has criticized the leftist New Israel Fund for giving money to leftist NGOs. This youth group is, of course, doing something fully consistent with democratic values — participating, albeit harshly, in a political debate. There is a group, however, that indeed doesn’t have much regard for Israel’s democracy. Leading figures in this organization have frequently expressed their wish that the United States would do more to reverse the democratic choices of the Israeli electorate. It is named J Street -Noah Pollak (Read more) http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com/2010/02/comedy-from-j-street.html#links J Street is “gravely concerned about escalating threats to the character of Israel’s democracy” and is worried about “a perfect storm brewing that threatens the core of Israel’s democratic character.” The e-mail that contains these warnings is titled “Swiftboating Israel’s democracy.” Time to stockpile bottled water everyone, something serious is happening! It is this: an obscure Zionist youth group has criticized the leftist New Israel Fund for giving money to leftist NGOs.

This youth group is, of course, doing something fully consistent with democratic values — participating, albeit harshly, in a political debate.

There is a group, however, that indeed doesn’t have much regard for Israel’s democracy. Leading figures in this organization have frequently expressed their wish that the United States would do more to reverse the democratic choices of the Israeli electorate. It is named J Street -Noah Pollak
(Read more)
http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com/2010/02/comedy-from-j-street.html#links

]]> 2012-05-23T;03:01:00-05:00 Comment by Yisrael Medad yisrael.medad@gmail.com And while on the subject, just received this: http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/on_free_speech_and_informed_public_debate_an_open_letter_to_nif_and_affiliated_ngos_ On Free Speech and Informed Public Debate: An Open Letter to NIF and Affiliated NGOs To ACRI, Bimkom, B’Tselem, Gisha, PCATI, Yesh Din, HaMoked, PHR-I, Rabbis for Human Rights, and New Israel Fund (NIF): The recent attacks directed against NGO Monitor’s detailed research represent a dangerous attempt to prevent free speech and informed public debate on the political role of some NGOs. In particular, in your February 1, 2010 letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, you tendentiously referred to NGO Monitor as an “extreme group” that “unleashed an unrestrained and inflammatory [attack],” and implied that we are the “rotten fruits” of Israeli democracy; B’Tselem’s US representative, Mitchell Plitnick, labeled us “extremists” and “right wing”; and, a few months ago, an NIF employee posted an indecent graphic on his blog (which was later removed) to illustrate his opinion of NGO Monitor’s publications. These characterizations are inconsistent with claims to uphold the mantle of human rights and democracy in Israel. Contrary to the implications of your letter, NGO Monitor has never contested the right of civil society organizations to exist or to criticize. And if your rhetoric about upholding free speech in Israel were matched by your policies, you would uphold our right as an independent research organization, and the rights of NGOs that do not share your political views, to do the same. The critical debate surrounding foreign government funding for NGOs that undertake political advocacy in Israel is legitimate, and all sides have the right to be heard. The concerns about your political activities and their relationship to campaigns delegitimizing and demonizing Israel are valid. Criticism is not repression. These latest attacks are consistent with your continuing refusal to engage NGO Monitor and other significant critics in meaningful dialogue. Instead, you have repeatedly avoided debate. Most recently, you were provided the opportunity for an open platform at a Knesset conference on European Government funding for political NGOs, but chose instead to boycott and question the legitimacy of this forum. NGO Monitor remains committed to engaging with you in public debate on the role of political NGOs in Israeli society and in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is time to move beyond counter-productive name-calling and attempts to silence critics. Prof Gerald Steinberg and the NGO Monitor staff And while on the subject, just received this:

http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/on_free_speech_and_informed_public_debate_an_open_letter_to_nif_and_affiliated_ngos_

On Free Speech and Informed Public Debate:
An Open Letter to NIF and Affiliated NGOs

To ACRI, Bimkom, B’Tselem, Gisha, PCATI, Yesh Din, HaMoked, PHR-I, Rabbis for Human Rights, and New Israel Fund (NIF):

The recent attacks directed against NGO Monitor’s detailed research represent a dangerous attempt to prevent free speech and informed public debate on the political role of some NGOs. In particular, in your February 1, 2010 letter to Prime Minister
Netanyahu, you tendentiously referred to NGO Monitor as an “extreme group” that “unleashed an unrestrained and inflammatory [attack],” and implied that we are the “rotten fruits” of Israeli democracy; B’Tselem’s US representative, Mitchell Plitnick, labeled us “extremists” and “right wing”; and, a few months ago, an NIF employee posted an indecent graphic on his blog (which was later removed) to illustrate his opinion of NGO Monitor’s publications.

These characterizations are inconsistent with claims to uphold the mantle of human rights and democracy in Israel. Contrary to the implications of your letter, NGO Monitor has never contested the right of civil society organizations to exist or to criticize. And if your rhetoric about upholding free speech in Israel were matched by your policies, you would uphold our right as an independent research organization, and the rights of NGOs that do not share your political views, to do the same.
The critical debate surrounding foreign government funding for NGOs that undertake political advocacy in Israel is legitimate, and all sides have the right to be heard. The concerns about your political activities and their relationship to campaigns
delegitimizing and demonizing Israel are valid. Criticism is not
repression.
These latest attacks are consistent with your continuing refusal to engage NGO Monitor and other significant critics in meaningful dialogue. Instead, you have repeatedly avoided debate. Most recently, you were provided the opportunity for an
open platform at a Knesset conference on European Government funding for political NGOs, but chose instead to boycott and question the legitimacy of this forum.
NGO Monitor remains committed to engaging with you in public debate on the role of political NGOs in Israeli society and in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is time to move beyond counter-productive name-calling and attempts to silence critics.

Prof Gerald Steinberg and the NGO Monitor staff

]]> 2012-05-23T;03:01:00-05:00 Comment by Yisrael Medad yisrael.medad@gmail.com Pithy comments: a) on the ad graphics - remember the Peace Now Bibi ad, with a portrait shot from below giving Bibi that old Mussolini look?  That was okay because it was the Left criticising the Right.  The Right can’t criticise the Left.  The Left can go into Sheikh Jarrah to stir up violence but, for example, Jews can’t go up to the Temple Mount because that would...stir up violence. b) and all that Hagee stuff. Really.  J Street can take money from Arabs and former State Dept. people and that’s okay even though we know what they want J St. to do for Israel? c) when editor of Counterpoint, we ran in 1986 a report on the NIF and there was one in Midstream.  Even then it was clear where NIF was going with its agenda: radical, extreme Left-wing, anti-religious, promoting ‘democracy’ over ‘Jewish values’ and all because Israel democractically elected a Likud Prime Minister Menachem Begin.  In a word, subversive.  Social society projects or not, all of the most unbalancing projects within Israel’s search for itself are NIF funded and trained (don’t forget Shtil). Pithy comments:
a) on the ad graphics - remember the Peace Now Bibi ad, with a portrait shot from below giving Bibi that old Mussolini look?  That was okay because it was the Left criticising the Right.  The Right can’t criticise the Left.  The Left can go into Sheikh Jarrah to stir up violence but, for example, Jews can’t go up to the Temple Mount because that would...stir up violence.
b) and all that Hagee stuff. Really.  J Street can take money from Arabs and former State Dept. people and that’s okay even though we know what they want J St. to do for Israel?
c) when editor of Counterpoint, we ran in 1986 a report on the NIF and there was one in Midstream.  Even then it was clear where NIF was going with its agenda: radical, extreme Left-wing, anti-religious, promoting ‘democracy’ over ‘Jewish values’ and all because Israel democractically elected a Likud Prime Minister Menachem Begin.  In a word, subversive.  Social society projects or not, all of the most unbalancing projects within Israel’s search for itself are NIF funded and trained (don’t forget Shtil).

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