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Contents:
N.B.: The Latest Issue of Israzine is now on our website and can be viewed by following the link:
White House Ties of NIAC, U.S. Pro-Iranian Regime "Lobby", Increasingly Questioned: Machla Abramovitz, Dec. 27, 2013
Contents:
The Bucharest Kristallnacht (Jan 21-23, 1941): Baruch Cohen, Jan. 17, 2014 — To this day, the extant “Legionaries” – Romania’s equivalent of the Nazi party – openly publish calls to “Kill the Jews” in the Romanian press.
Seeking the Truth About Raoul Wallenberg: Irwin Cotler, National Post, Jan. 16, 2014 — On January 17, 1945, Swedish hero of the Holocaust Raoul Wallenberg was taken into Soviet custody, never to be released.
A Message Sent to the University of Haifa Faculty: Stephen Plaut, Jan. 17, 2014 — If you think that Prof. Robert Aumann is insufficiently enlightened or ethical to get an honorary PhD at the University of Haifa but Shulamit Aloni was decidedly entitled to one, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
Stephen Harper’s Firsthand Israel: Rafi Barak, Globe & Mail, Jan. 17, 2014 — On Sunday, Stephen Harper’s plane will touch down at David Ben Gurion Airport.
On Topic Links
Tu B’Shvat Infographic: Aish.com, Jan. 16, 2014
Israel & the Environment: Aish.com, Jan. 16, 2014
Anti-Semitism Links Boycott of Israel to Quenelle: Ben Cohen, JNS, Jan. 5, 2014
"Let's Burn the Jew" is Not Anti-Semitic?: Christine Williams, Gatestone Institute, Jan. 15, 2014
THE BUCHAREST KRISTALLNACHT (JAN 21-23, 1941)
Baruch Cohen
Jan. 17, 2014
In memory of Malca – Z”L
To this day, the extant “Legionaries” – Romania’s equivalent of the Nazi party – openly publish calls to “Kill the Jews” in the Romanian press.
I was 20 years old at the time of the Bucharest Kristallnacht which began on January 21, 1941. I was there. I am a witness!
For a period of more than 72 hours, the Jewish districts in Bucharest were at the mercy of the masses. During this time, thousands of Jews were hauled out of their homes, arrested in the street, and even in houses of prayer (synagogues). For example, the Malbim synagogue was occupied and viciously converted into a torture chamber.
The Jewish districts in Bucharest were left for three days and nights to suffer at the hands of the vilest and most barbaric fascist elements. The aggressors had been educated, incited, and trained for years by the nationalistic hooligan press for the “great” moment: the slaughter of the Jews.
On January 21, the legionaries gathered about two hundred Jews into the basement of their headquarters. The fascists did not forget to take all of the victims’ valuables before they set upon them. They drove the Jews into basements and up to attics under a storm of blows from truncheons and improvised iron bludgeons. They started to beat us with a bullwhip and copper rods, with blows to the face, palms, the soles of our feet, our buttocks, in a room specially designated for the purpose.
The following morning we were divided into two groups. The fortunate ones were taken to Straulesti, on the outskirts of Bucharest, where we were beaten. By the day’s end we were released, and made to walk home barefoot. When I arrived home, my sister did not recognize me at the door.
Last week I received the Jewish-Romanian newspaper Realitatea Evreiasca, reminding today’s readers about the Romanian Legionaries party, whose slogan was: “Kill the Jews!” In today’s Romania, it is possible to read about and to hear the same sentiment expressed, that the Jews are best off as smoke in a chimney.
Out of a Jewish population in Romania of 800, 000 people before the war, today’s Romanian Jewish community is closer to 1,500-2,000 people. “Probably no country has had a darker record in the treatment of its Jews than Romania. It was the most virulently anti-Semitic country in pre-War Europe.” (Nora Levin, The Holocaust)
[Baruch Cohen is CIJR’s Research Chairman]
SEEKING THE TRUTH ABOUT RAOUL WALLENBERG Irwin Cotler
National Post, Jan. 16, 2014
On January 17, 1945, Swedish hero of the Holocaust Raoul Wallenberg was taken into Soviet custody, never to be released. In the years since, countries around the world — including Russia, however belatedly — have celebrated his heroism, naming streets and schools in his honour, erecting monuments, and even (in Canada, Hungary, Australia, Israel, and the United States) awarding him honorary citizenship. In 2001, Parliament declared January 17 to be Raoul Wallenberg Day.
Yet the circumstances of Wallenberg’s detention and disappearance remain a mystery. Indeed, until 1957, the Soviet Union denied any knowledge of his whereabouts. At that time, Soviet authorities claimed that he had died of a heart attack in 1947; suddenly, in 1989, they claimed that he had died in 1947 by execution. This contradiction was itself rebutted by compelling evidence that he did not die in 1947, but was alive for decades thereafter. Accordingly, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Brussels on January 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, European Parliamentarians should urge him to declassify archival information that would, at long last, clarify what became of the man the United Nations has called the greatest humanitarian of the 20th century.
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat stationed in Budapest in the summer and autumn of 1944, during which time he is credited with having saved over 100,00 Jews. He is best known for saving some 20,000 Jews by granting them Shutzpasses, which conferred upon them diplomatic immunity. This influenced other governments, which followed his example and issued passports that saved thousands more from the Nazis. He also saved over 30,000 people by establishing safe houses protected by neutral legations. And he set up hospitals, soup kitchens, and day care centres to provide the vulnerable with a semblance of human dignity. Moreover, in November 1944, as thousands of Jews — mainly women and children — were sent on a 125-mile death march to the Austrian-Hungarian border, Wallenberg followed them, distributing food, medical supplies, and improvised certificates, once again saving people consigned to death. Wallenberg had a warning sent to the Nazi Generals that they would be brought to justice, if not executed, for their war crimes.
His last rescue was perhaps the most memorable. As the Nazis were advancing on Budapest, they threatened to blow up the Budapest ghetto and liquidate Hungary’s remaining Jews. Wallenberg had a warning sent to the Nazi Generals that they would be brought to justice, if not executed, for their war crimes. The Nazis desisted, and 70,000 more Jews were saved thanks to the incredible courage of one person who was prepared to confront evil. While Wallenberg saved so many, he was not saved by so many who could. Rather than greet him as the liberator he was, the Soviets, who entered Hungary as liberators themselves, arrested him on suspicion of espionage. He disappeared into the Gulag, and his family — along with the tens of thousands whose lives he saved — still do not know what happened to him.
In 1990, I chaired the International Commission on the Fate and Whereabouts of Raoul Wallenberg, a group that included Nobel peace laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, Soviet scholar Mikhail Chelnov, former Israeli attorney general Gideon Hauser, and Wallenberg’s brother, Guy von Dardel. As outlined in our 1,200-page report, the evidence was “incontrovertible” — the term used by the U.S. Federal Court, which investigated the matter in 1984 — that Wallenberg did not die in 1947, as the Soviets claimed; “compelling” that he was alive in the 1950s and 60s; and “credible” that he lived into the 1970s and 1980s. Our commission concluded that, absent evidence to the contrary, Wallenberg was a disappeared person. Too many of the guilty have lived out their lives in peace, while this saviour of the innocent was detained and disappeared.
Following our report, the Soviets arranged for us to visit Vladimir prison, where, witnesses claim, Wallenberg was imprisoned in the 50s and 60s. To our astonishment, we discovered that the Soviet officials who had made claims about his death had never themselves visited the prison, examined its archives, or interviewed any of its officials or inmates. Simply put, they had no basis on which to conclude anything regarding the fate of Raoul Wallenberg. Regrettably, important archival information and witness testimony that could have shed light on the circumstances and outcome of Wallenberg’s imprisonment was not made available to our commission, and remains classified. With the Russian President set to visit the European Parliament on the very day that the international community officially commemorates the Holocaust, he should seize the opportunity to engage in active and historic remembrance by declassifying these archives and finally revealing the truth about this great hero of the Holocaust.
In the decades since the Second World War, too many of the guilty have lived out their lives in peace, while this saviour of the innocent was detained and disappeared. By saving more Jews during six months of the Holocaust than any single government, Raoul Wallenberg demonstrated the power of an individual with the compassion to care and the courage to overcome monstrous evil. For Vladimir Putin, as for us all, uncovering the truth about Wallenberg’s fate is both a moral imperative and a historic responsibility.
[Irwin Cotler, Liberal Member of Parliament for Mount Royal,
was Canada’s Minister of Justice from 2003-2006]
MESSAGE SENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF
Steven Plaut
Jan. 17, 2014
Anyone who really thinks that they understand American culture will be familiar with the great commentator Jeff Foxworthy. He is from the Deep South, and has built a career on making clever one-liners poking fun at those from his world. He is best known for his comedy shticks based on the refrain, "Then you just might be a redneck." For example, if you have 24 pickup trucks and none of them work, then you just might be a redneck. That sort of thing. Well, I think Jeff Foxworthy should be officially invited to and hosted by the University of Haifa. In fact, he should be granted an honorary PhD. And while he receives it, he could do a performance based on a slight alteration of his best-known shtick. It would be a commentary on those people "who just might be Israeli leftwing fascists." Here are some samples from his upcoming performance:
1. If you think that Prof. Robert Aumann is insufficiently enlightened or ethical to get an honorary PhD at the University of Haifa but Shulamit Aloni was decidedly entitled to one, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
2. If you think that it is the purpose of institutions of higher learning is to indoctrinate students into correct radical leftist ideology, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
3. If Ha’aretz represents your idea of balanced pluralism and diversity of ides, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
4. If you think that non-leftists should be denied freedom of expression because they hold incorrect opinions, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist. If you signed that petition against allowing Colonel Pnina Sharbit Baruch to teach at Tel Aviv University, there is no doubt left.
5. If you think books containing opinions you consider to be bigoted or ignorant should be burned, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
6. If you think everyone who disagrees with the radical Left is a fascist, then it is pretty clear that you are an Israeli leftwing fascist.
7. If you consider Im Tirtzu to be a fascist organization, then there is no doubt that you are an Israeli leftwing fascist.
8. If you consider Zeev Sternhell, Shlomo Sand, Rivka Feldhay, and Oren Yiftachel to be serious scholars and academics, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
9. If you claim that Ariella Azoulay was turned down for tenure at Bar Ilan because of her political opinions, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
10. If you claim that Yitzhak Rabin was murdered because of the exercise of freedom of speech by non-leftists, and so it must be suppressed as a clear and present danger, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
11. If you think it is racist when some rabbis call for people not to rent property to Arabs, but it is a progressive gesture for peace and tolerance to demand that property not be rented or sold to Jews in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan because Jews do not belong there, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
12. If you think Israel is an apartheid regime, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
13. If you think that rabbis calling for people not to rent property to Arabs is racist, but Sheikh Salah's rant at the University of Haifa calling for Arab students to become suicide bombers was not, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
14. If you think that international pressure on Israel to make peace by accepting terms rejected by the majority of Israelis is necessary and valuable, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
15. If you think that students displaying posters and tee shirts with images of Abdul Nasser, Che Guevara, and bin Laden is legitimate protest but Im Tirtzu students wearing tee shirts with images of Herzl is fascism, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
16. If you think that faculty members should have the right to cheer on terrorism against Jews, to call for Israel's obliteration, to support lawbreaking, to call for international boycotts against Israel, and to call for Israelis to refuse to serve in the military, while at the same time you consider anyone who CRITICIZES those same faculty members for doing those things to be "McCarthyists," then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
17. If you think Ami Ayalon is a centrist and should have the power to decide what is an acceptable opinion for an academic to hold, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
18. If you deny that Noam Chomsky's endorsements of Holocaust Deniers are anti-Semitism, or claim that Chomsky never served as the apologist for the Khmer Rouge, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
19. If you think it is fascist to criticize the New Israel Fund and its officers, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
20. If you think Israel owes Turkey an "apology" for its takeover of the Gaza flotilla ships, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
21. If you see nothing wrong with the Department of Politics at Ben Gurion University serving as a monolithic anti-Israel propaganda and indoctrination center, and if you believe that the international panel of experts calling for shutting it down altogether were fascists, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
22. If you think shooting terrorists constitutes "war crimes," then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
23. If you believe that the only legitimate way for Israel to defend its citizens against terrorism is to capitulate to the demands of the terrorists, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
24. If you find it perfectly reasonable when the heads of the Palestinian Authority insist that no Jews be allowed to live in any future Palestinian state but consider it racism when Lieberman proposes transferring control of Umm al-Fahm to the PA, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
25. If you insist that there are no lessons to be learned from the 10,000 rockets fired at Israel after Israel abandoned the Gaza Strip, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
26. If you see nothing objectionable when people in Ramat Aviv demand that Chabadniks and other Orthodox be kept out, but are horrified when residents of Shchunat Hatikva object to the presence of illegal Africans, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
27. If you claim that Israel conducts ethnic cleansing or genocide, then it is certain that are an Israeli leftwing fascist
28. If you think the University of Haifa should have a Christmas tree, but that Jews should be prevented from praying on the Temple Mount, then you just might be an Israeli leftwing fascist.
29. If you endorse the international BDS warfare aggression against Israel and its institutions, then we all know what you are.
[Steven Plaut, associate professor of Business Administration at the University of Haifa,,
is a member of the editorial board of the Middle East Quarterly]
Contents 
STEPHEN HARPER’S FIRSTHAND ISRAEL
Rafi Barak
Globe & Mail, Jan. 17, 2014
On Sunday, Stephen Harper’s plane will touch down at David Ben Gurion Airport. When the Prime Minister, a true friend and steadfast supporter, steps onto the tarmac, he will begin his first visit to the region and officially kick off the celebrations of 65 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and Canada. He will also find himself physically between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the two cities that embody the richness of my country as a meeting point between old and new.
To the east lies Jerusalem, home of the unbroken 3,000-year Jewish presence in the Holy Land. This ancient city is sacred to the world’s three great monotheistic religions. Here, Mr. Harper will walk the cobblestone streets passing Christians, Jews and Muslims as they freely make their way to their places of worship. He will also visit Yad Vashem. This world-renowned Holocaust museum stands as a tribute to the six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis and to the Righteous Among the Nations, non-Jews who risked their own lives to save others. As the nation’s capital, Jerusalem is the seat of government to the only democracy in the Middle East. When Mr. Harper becomes the first Canadian Prime Minister to address our parliament, the Knesset, he will look out and see 120 members who represent all of Israel’s mosaic, including the Arabs who make up 20 per cent of the Israel’s eight million people. Now more than ever, at a time when the region is mired in violence and instability, Israel shines as a beacon of freedom.
In a difficult neighbourhood, we have faced many threats over the course of our 66-year history. When Mr. Harper stops at the Hula Valley Bird Sanctuary Visitor and Education Centre, which has been named in his honour, he will be less than 20 kilometres from Syria and its civil war – commuting distance between Mississauga and Toronto. His visit will be an opportunity to hear about our security concerns: Halting Iran’s nuclear weapons program, which has gone unabated despite the regime’s charm offensive; maintaining our security assets, including our peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan; and finding a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians. Israel is an island of stability in a sea of volatility. Its modern history is about how a small country (two-thirds the size of Vancouver Island, and half desert) built itself up from scratch. From 1948 to 1952, our population nearly tripled from 600,000 to 1.5 million, with an influx of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and postwar Europe. Lacking in natural resources, the nascent state spent much of its early years as a developing nation.
Of necessity, Israelis transformed ourselves by harnessing the power of science and innovation. Today, we are an advanced OECD nation with more than half of our exports from the high-tech sector. We have become a global leader in the fields that are beginning to define the 21st century: brain research, nanotechnology, agriculture, water technology, solar energy and life sciences. Through our international aid agency, MASHAV, we share our experience with developing countries. The engine behind our success and the embodiment of the new Israel is located just west of Ben Gurion Airport. Ranked second only to Silicon Valley as a global hub for startups, Tel Aviv is on the cutting edge of technological innovation. It is home to many of the 250 high-tech multinationals (including Intel, Apple and Google) that have set up research centres in Israel. When Mr. Harper receives an honourary doctorate from Tel Aviv University, he will be at the same place where researchers invented the now ubiquitous DiskOnKey flash drive and handheld bar-code scanners. In Israel’s economic heartland, he and counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss ways to deepen bilateral trade, business connections and collaboration in innovation.
It is my hope that when Mr. Harper finds himself back on the tarmac at Ben Gurion, he will board his plane with a multifaceted perspective. His vocal support of Israel will then be reinforced by firsthand experience of a land that may be short on geography and resources, but steeped in history and innovation.
[Rafi Barak is Israel’s ambassador to Canada.
From 2010 to 2013, he served as director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.]
CIJR wishes all its friends and supporters Shabbat Shalom!
Israel & the Environment: Aish.com, Jan. 16, 2014
Anti-Semitism Links Boycott of Israel to Quenelle: Ben Cohen, JNS, Jan. 5, 2014 — About five years ago, I participated in a head-to-head debate about contemporary anti-Semitism that was published in the Congressional Quarterly.
"Let's Burn the Jew" is Not Anti-Semitic?: Christine Williams, Gatestone Institute, Jan. 15, 2014 — Anti-semitism sank to a new low in Canada after a Winnipeg judge ruled that grabbing a Jewish classmate, flicking a lighter to her hair and saying, "Let's burn the Jew," was not anti-Semitic.
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