911th day of the Tens

ADL Calls On Ban-Ki Moon To Condemn Incendiary Anti-Semitic Remarks By Iranian Vice President At U.N. Drug Abuse Conference

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have called on U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to immediately condemn an incendiary anti-Semitic and conspiracy-laden speech by Iran's vice president blaming Jews for spreading drug addiction and controlling the international illegal drug trade.

In his address to a U.N-sponsored conference marking International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Tehran, Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi bizarrely claimed that no Jews have any addiction to drugs, declaring: “The Islamic Republic of Iran will pay for anybody who can research and find one single Zionist who is an addict. They do not exist. This is the proof of their involvement in drugs trade.” Rahimi went on to blame “Zionists and Jews” for involvement in other alleged conspiracies, including the Russian Revolution and ordering the killing of black babies.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

“To all those who thought that anti-Semitism is a thing of the past, certainly this makes it very clear that it is alive and well again. What makes it more sinister and dangerous is the fact that it comes from a leader of a country that has vowed to destroy the Jewish state, and is making efforts to obtain the means to do it;

“Before now, good people in the world either ignored Iran's anti-Semitism or did not take it seriously. One would hope that this resurgence of dangerous anti-Semitic themes at a U.N. conference in Tehran would shake up the moral, political, religious leadership to condemn it with a strong voice. We begin by calling on Ban Ki-moon to speak out and to make clear that these views are not only objectionable, but repugnant to the entire international community.”

SOURCE: { http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASInt_13/6340_13.htm }

909th day of the Tens

British exam board condemned by Jewish community for asking pupils to ‘justify’ anti-Semitism

One of Britain’s leading exam boards became engulfed in accusations of anti-Semitism, over a national exam paper which asked pupils to ‘justify’ prejudices against Jews.

The AQA board had set the question, as part of a religious studies GCSE examination for 16-year-old British pupils, which asked pupils to “explain, briefly, why some people are prejudiced against Jews.”

Board of Deputies chief executive Jon Benjamin lead the public outcry of the board’s reasoning for including the question in an exam distributed to leading Jewish schools such as Jewish Free School (JFS). The cross-communal Jewish representative body described it as “unacceptable” and “nothing to do with Jews or Judaism.”

“We will be taking it up with the examination board and it seems to me that it is also something to raise with the Department of Education, with which we are meeting to discuss anti-Semitism in schools,” added Mssr. Benjamin.

In a separate statement, Education Secretary Michael Gove joined critics of the exam board in saying: “To suggest that anti-Semitism can ever be explained, rather than condemned is insensitive and, frankly, bizarre.”

Mssr. Gove continued to say that it was “the duty of politicians to fight prejudice, and with anti-Semitism on the rise we need to be especially vigilant.”

A spokesperson for the AQA board expressed “concern” that the question had offended the Jewish community and insisted that whilst it acknowledges that “some people hold prejudices; it does not imply in any way that prejudice is justified.”

The spokesperson added that the question, which formed part of a paper focusing on Judaism, required students to use “the Holocaust to illustrate prejudice based on irrational fear, ignorance and scapegoating.”

Exam regulator Ofqual confirmed it had contacted AQA for comment on the controversial test, adding: “We will take appropriate follow-up action if necessary.”

SOURCE: { http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/uk/58393 }

904th day of the Tens

Israeli Air Force Targets Terrorist Rocket Squad in the Gaza Strip

Today, Israeli Air Forces aircraft targeted a terrorist squad during preparations to fire a rocket at Israel from the central Gaza Strip. Authorities identified a hit.

During the past week over 130 rockets hit Israel.

The Israeli Defence Force {IDF} shall not tolerate any attempt by terrorist groups to target Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers, The IDF Blog says, and shall continue to operate against those who use terror against the State of Israel.  The Hamas terror organization assumes sole responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip.

SOURCE: { http://www.idfblog.com/2012/06/22/iaf-targets-terrorist-rocket-squad-in-the-gaza-strip-2/ }

Comment: What does Alistair Burt plan to do about this issue, other than offer lip service to a public apathetic towards Alistair Burt?  The British Mandate along with The French Mandate assume full responsibility for the creation of the borders that threaten both Israeli and Palestinian independence; so, shouldn’t Hamas bomb British and French territories?