Musicians come to Israel despite bullying of BDS
July 12, 2013 | Sharyn Mittelman
Fourteen-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys is the latest musician to defy the ugly bullying and harassment from Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) activists and perform in Israel.
On July 4, Keys sang to a sold-out crowd in Tel Aviv, to promote peace through music. For one song, she was joined by popular Israeli musician Idan Raichel. Before performing her song “Listen to Your Heart,” Keys reportedly told the audience: “People are always trying to tell us what’s right for us and what isn’t. Instead of listening to them, you should listen to your heart.”
Other artists who have also recently defied BDS harassment and performed in Israel include Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Black Eyed Peas, Missy Elliott, Alanis Morisette, Elton John, Leonard Cohen, Rhianna and Shakira.
Exposing anti-Israel myth making/Sinai security
July 12, 2013
Today’s Update offers some valuable insights into the propaganda war waged against Israel by pro-Palestinian NGOs and the Palestinian Authority (PA), as well as a new piece on the situation in the Sinai from Ehud Yaari.
First, David Weinberg from the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies comprehensively demolishes the wholly fictional accusation that Israel is denying adequate water supply to Palestinian cities and towns.
Media Week – Antony blowin’ steam; Do the math; Don’t bank on Barclay
July 11, 2013 | Allon Lee
Channel Seven‘s “Weekend Sunrise” (July 7) featured the authors of a new book debating religion called “For God’s Sake” which includes a Christian, an atheist, a Muslim and a Jew. The Christian, Muslim and atheist were committed believers.
The “Jew”, however, was that well-known non-authority on Judaism, the self-described atheist and extreme anti-Zionist Antony Loewenstein.
Predictably, Loewenstein preferred to bash Israel rather than talk about Judaism.
Views on Egypt, Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and Turkey
July 11, 2013
Today’s Update looks at the ongoing developments in Egypt; the attempts to coax the Palestinian Authority back to the negotiating table; and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan’s increasingly offensive statements.
First, top Israeli media commentator and analyst Ehud Yaari – who enjoys some of the best contacts in the Middle East – talks to the Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre on the outlook for Egypt, Hamas and Israel. Yaari explains that Israel’s main challenge relates to the freedom of movement enjoyed by armed jihadists in the vast and largely lawless Sinai Peninsula.
Amnesty International focusing on the wrong protesters
July 9, 2013 | Or Avi Guy
Amnesty International has it hands full in the Middle East at the best of times, and now it seems that they are busier still. Yet Amnesty still finds the time to deal with… the so-called “bullying and judicial harassment” faced by one Palestinian “rights activist”, Nariman Tamimi. Yes, to Amnesty it seems that a Palestinian woman facing trial for entering a closed military zone during the weekly protests in Nabi Saleh is as much of a human rights violation and an injustice as the killing of protesters in Turkey and Egypt.
Egypt on the brink or a new beginning?
July 5, 2013
Todays Update follows up on yesterday’s by offering some of the most interesting analyses of the momentous changes in Egypt.
First, Daniel Pipes worries that the Egyptian army was premature in removing President Mohammed Morsi from office. He argues that the quick military removal of the Muslim Brotherhood government will exonerate Islamists with history showing that popular support for utopian movements really ebbs before the realities of radicalism are truly absorbed.
Media Week – Exposing the BS in BDS
July 4, 2013 | Allon Lee
Sydney University’s Peace and Conflicts Studies director Jake Lynch defended his monomaniacal promotion of BDS against accusations of antisemitism by trying to prove that Israel was uniquely sinful among the world’s nations (ABC “Unleashed” June 25).
Revolution in Egypt, again
July 4, 2013
Today’s update looks at the Egyptian army’s suspension of the constitution and removal of the country’s first democratically elected President, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi. The army moved after Morsi failed to meet its demand to de-escalate the wave of anti-government demonstrations that had swept much of the country. For a brief explanation of what comes next, Frank Spano from the Investigative Project looks at the Egyptian army’s appointment of Adly Mansour as transitional leader until elections can be held. Mansour is the Chief Justice of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court.
Talking about peace talks
June 28, 2013
With US Secretary of State John Kerry currently visiting Israel as part of an ongoing quest to restart substantive peace talks between Jerusalem and Ramallah that have been in mothballs since 2008, today’s Update looks at why the chances of talks resuming or leading to a deal are unlikely.
Egypt on the Edge/Qatar’s New Emir
June 27, 2013
This Update features two pieces on the increasingly volatile situation in Muslim Brotherhood-ruled Egypt, with a breakdown of state authority, a worsening economic crisis, and a major uptick in mass opposition protests scheduled for June 30 – and perhaps the possibility of military intervention looming. And it also includes some analysis of the succession of a new Emir in Qatar – a country which has played an increasingly important role in much of the Middle East upheaval of the past two and a half years.
