NIF on defense for ‘rape’ poster demonizing Israel
The New Israel Fund is defending its sponsorship of three Arab groups behind a poster suggesting that IDF soldiers sexually violate Arab women (see the poster here).
The poster, in which an Israeli soldier is seen with his hand reaching for the breast of a woman in Palestinian garb, says, "Her husband needs a permit to touch her. The occupation penetrates her life everyday.” It's part of a campaign titled "My Land, Space, Body and Sexuality: Palestinians in the Shadow of the Wall" and organized by the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies.
Here's what the coalition says was the purpose of its 11-country day of awareness, held Nov. 9:
We are seeking to break the “walls” of silence on daily violations of our sexual and bodily rights in the Palestinian society. We are principally highlighting the Israeli structural and legal violations of sexual, bodily, psychological, social and economic rights of Palestinians that intersect with the patriarchal social context, which restrain individual freedoms, perpetuates women’s inferior status and imposes silence on physical, psychological and sexual violations committed against women.
No word on the treatment of women by Arab countries (which, among other things, punish women for sexual activity outside of marriage and, in at least one case, outlaw women driving).
Three groups behind the Nov. 9 conference received some $340,000 from the NIF last year. Women Against Violence got $217,000, Mada Al-Carmel got $100,000 and the Arab Forum for Sexuality got $23,000.
NIF-UK chairman Nicholas Saphir defended the conference in the London Jewish Chronicle:
NIF chairman Nicholas Saphir defended the conference, saying there is a “real humanitarian problem” in Israel, where it is illegal to grant citizenship to Palestinians married to Israeli citizens.
“NIF supports free expression of the various views of our broad spectrum of grantees — whether we agree with all their positions or not,” he said. “As long as the work is within the framework of Israel’s charity law and other Israeli laws, NIF will continue to support them in the interests of sustaining its vibrant democracy.”
Conference organisers insisted that they were not claiming that IDF soldiers rape or sexually violate Palestinians.
Read the full story here.
UPDATE: NIF Communications Director Naomi Paiss told me: "While we certainly defend the conference as appropriate – and as always, may disagree with our grantees on some key issues but see no reason to force them into ideological lockstep -- there’s no question that the poster in question is unnecessarily provocative and misleading."
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Not only is the poster inappropriate, unfairly provocative and misleading, the text that goes along with it on the web site that announces this campaign has sexual oppression of Palestinian women in their own society the result of occupation! This twisted logic makes me wonder how the New Israel Fund can call this a legitimate use of their funds. I would never give this Kumbaya singing organization a dime of my money until they get right in their head.
Ahhhhhhhh, yes ... JTA limits comments and yet a Miriam slides through anyway.
A WMD state? Doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, a state cannot be a WMD. Nor has Israel ever used a WMD of any type - ever!
Now, the people in the photo could be anyone anywhere - identities and location unknown. Second the “groping” hand is in a typical gesture position when a Middle Easterner answers someone’s query.
Treatment of women in Arab countries borders on the criminally insane. The burning to death of 12 preteen girls in a school fire in Saudi Arabia a couple of years back resulted from religious police keeping them inside a burning building because they didn’t have head scarves on - but that, somehow, is just another day in Arabia.
Arab men in gross violation of the religion they claim can marry four wifes with one of the wives used as, if you will, a floater who can be freely divorced so the men can marry again and again, while just keeping four wives. This is prevalent in much of the Arab world. It is NOT in the Koran.
Even the so-called modernized Egypt allows thousands of female genital mutilations a year - keeping the women faithful for they cannot ever orgasm or feel genital pleasure. Nice people. Gee ... wonder why no EU press nor UN resolutions cover these.
Finally, if this situation were even remotely true, the Palestinians would have made endless charges at the UN and in EU newspapers. Sweden, Britian, Belgium, among others, would love a story like this. So would the UN.
Sorry, with the Palestinians generally charging Israel with every possible crime they can dream up and with Western and Arab media salivating at the opportunity to call Israel on anything - the more imagined and fantastical, the better - if this assault on Muslim women were true it would be over the entire world by now.
Imagine Iran and Venezuela not jumping at the chance to take Israel apart over organ harvesting and the rape and molestation of Muslim women?
Heck, even an idiotic story such as the IDF harvesting organs from dead Palestinians only had traction with one newspaper and in one country: Sweden.
I have followed the Middle east very closely for over 40 years now and I see articles from around the world on almost a daily basis. Some coountries are finally getting it - Spain, Italy, France and Germany have seen enough blood lust against Israel. Britain has always been a hot bed of Israel and, yes, Jew hatred and this just moves rightalong. Sweden is now rethinking the idiocy of their recent actions.
Ugh, shame on the New Israel Fund. I agree with the conference organisers that they were not claiming that IDF soldiers rape or sexually violate Palestinians, but it was incredibly inappropriate and in bad taste to try to make a point in this way, especially because they know that it will appear to many casual observers that this IS what they are claiming. They were looking for shock value and should be ashamed of themselves for creating or approving such a misleading poster as a way to try to bring attention to their issue.
Outrage over ‘rape’ poster that demonises Israel-Robyn Rosen
(Maybe I’m missing something, but why the choice of allegedly in the first sentence?)
The New Israel Fund (NIF) has defended a conference sponsored by three Palestinian groups it funds, which allegedly “demonised” Israel. The poster publicising the conference, held in Haifa on Monday, shows the hand of an IDF soldier grasping the breast of a woman wearing a traditional Palestinian dress.
The poster reads: “Her husband needs a permit to touch her. The occupation penetrates her life everyday.” (Continue)
http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com/2009/11/outrage-over-rape-poster-that-demonises.html
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Miriam
11/17/09 07:07 PM
to Steve Ariza....your comment tells more than you intended!?...saying that terrorist turned PM, Menachem Begin “ALLOWED” the CIA to begin peace to DESTABILIZE Israel...pretty bizarre portrait you’ve offered of the tail wagging the dog...AS IF the CIA could ever be accused of starting “peace” anywhere....especially in that soo de mock ratic tiny WMD state called israel...gotta go back further than Begin...and his terrorist peers.. what are you smoking steve?