grossproffit
grossproffit's JournalPalestinian Poet Sentenced to Death in Saudi Arabia for Renouncing Islam
[quote]
Ashraf Fayadh, detained in 2013, had initially been sentenced to 800 lashes and four years in prison, but another judge changed the punishment to a death sentence.
A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a Palestinian poet to death for apostasy, abandoning his Muslim faith, according to trial documents seen by Human Rights Watch, its Middle East researcher Adam Coogle said on Friday.
Ashraf Fayadh was detained by the country's religious police in 2013 in Abha, in southwest Saudi Arabia, and then rearrested and tried in early 2014.
The verdict of that court sentenced him to four years in prison and 800 lashes but after appeal another judge passed a death sentence on Fayadh three days ago, said Coogle.
"I have read the trial documents from the lower court verdict in 2014 and another one from 17 November. It is very clear he has been sentenced to death for apostasy," Coogle said.
Saudi Arabia's justice system is based on Sharia Islamic law and its judges are clerics from the kingdom's ultra conservative Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam. In the Wahhabi interpretation of Sharia, religious crimes including blasphemy and apostasy incur the death penalty.[/quote]
[url] http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.687386[/url]
‘Proud pinkwasher’ Assi Azar confronted by US campus protesters. Recounts ‘horrifying experience’
[quote]Azar, a noted LGBTQ activist, told The Times of Israel this week that he had been looking forward to an engaging and productive dialogue with the 70 students who had shown up at the Hillel-sponsored event. But when he noticed that 15 of them had pink duct tape over their mouths, he had a feeling things might get ugly.
As he feared, the event turned out to be highly upsetting for both Azar and many of the students. It was “one of the most horrifying experiences I have ever faced,” Azar wrote on his Facebook page.
According to Azar, when the film was over, the 15 students — apparently from the campus LGBTQ organization — removed the tape and stood up. They chanted anti-Israel slogans and waved signs with various anti-Israel messages, including some accusing Israel of mistreating Palestinian gays.
“These chants were combative and filled with distortions of facts — mostly anti-Semitic,” he wrote.
This was Azar’s fifth tour of US campuses and film festivals with his 2010 film. On this trip he visited Cleveland, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Nashville and Washington, DC, in addition to Baltimore. In none of the other cities, nor on any of his previous tours, had he encountered this kind of disruption and confrontation.[/quote]
[url]http://www.timesofisrael.com/proud-pinkwasher-assi-azar-confronts-campus-protesters/[/url]
Egypt police kill 15 Sudanese migrants at Israel border.
[quote]
Police say they opened fire on Africans after they ran toward fence ignoring warning shots
Egyptian officials in the Sinai Peninsula say police killed 15 Sudanese migrants and wounded another eight who were trying to jump the border fence into Israel.
The officials say police opened fire on the migrants Sunday after they ignored warning shots and sprinted toward the fence. The security forces arrested another eight Sudanese migrants who were not wounded.
“Fifteen bodies of Africans shot dead were found at dawn on Sunday south of (the town of) Rafah,” said Tariq Khatir, a representative of the health ministry in North Sinai.
“We also found eight Africans who were wounded but whose condition is stable.”
All Egyptian officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
[url]http://www.timesofisrael.com/egypt-police-kill-15-sudanese-migrants-at-israel-border[/url]
Star-studded US gala raises $31m for IDF, in one night
[quote]
A fundraiser in aid of the Israeli army brought in $31 million in one night on Thursday, as some 1,200 people turned out for an annual Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) gala in California.
The sold-out Western Region Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills was attended by guests from the United States and Israel. Guests included actors Jason Alexander, Antonio Banderas, Liev Schreiber, Jason Segel and Mark Wahlberg, as well as the KISS frontman, Israeli-born Gene Simmons.
“For the past nine years I have watched this gala grow into the preeminent charity event it is today, and I am truly humbled by the funds raised yesterday, which are a testament to the importance of the FIDF organization and its mission. The overwhelming support from the Los Angeles community continues to amaze me,” said entertainment mogul Haim Saban, a national board member of FIDF.
The evening focused on the IDF’s lone soldiers, who leave their families and native countries behind to serve in the army, and included testimonies from the mothers of fallen soldiers. It also featured a presentation from a US veteran on the impact of Israeli medical technology on the lives of Americans.
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[url]http://www.timesofisrael.com/star-studded-us-gala-raises-31m-for-idf-in-one-night/[/url]
Sudanese citizen tried to kill Israeli on int'l flight
[quote]
Arik, 54, works in an Israeli communications company that operates in Africa. He had intended to travel on to Israel after landing in Addis Ababa.
"About 20 minutes before the plane started its descent the passenger sitting behind me identified me as Israeli and Jewish," Arik told Ynet.
"He came up behind my seat and started to choke me with a lot of force," he continued, "and at first I couldn't get my voice out and call for help.
"He hit me over the head with a metal tray and shouted 'Allah akbar' and 'I will slaughter the Jew.' Only after a few seconds, just before I was about to lose consciousness, did I manage to call out and a flight attendant who saw what was happening summoned her colleagues," Arik added.
According to Arik, most of the passengers on the half-empty flight refrained from getting involved. "After they pulled him off me he hit me and shouted in Arabic. Some of the flight staff took me to the rear section of the plane and two guarded the attacked during the last part of the flight."
A Lebanese passenger was one of the few who came to Arik's rescue. Arik says that after they had already overpowered his attacker, the Sudanese citizen tried to convince the other passengers to lynch him.
"After we landed the Lebanese guy told me that I'd been saved twice, because after they'd overpowered my attacker he said to everyone: 'Let's finish him off.'
[url]http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4720487,00.html[/url[/quote]
Oxford Union votes to oppose Israel boycott
[quote]
The Oxford Union has backed a motion proposed by prominent American lawyer Professor Alan Dershowitz opposing the boycott of Israel.
The motion, “Is the BDS movement against Israel wrong?”, was carried by 137 votes to 101 by the prestigious debating society on Sunday.
Prof Dershowitz, who spoke against human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, told the union: “I am a pro-Palestine and pro-Israel. The BDS movement is against the two-state solution.”
He added: “BDS is based on bigotry. If Israel was not the nation state of the Jewish people, then this debate wouldn't be happening today.
"BDS will absolutely not bring peace. If the BDS movement is desirous of peace, then why will its leaders not debate me?"
[/quote]
[url]http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/148648/oxford-union-votes-oppose-israel-boycott[/url]
For the first time since 1948, Egypt votes for Israel at UN
[quote]
Egypt’s representative at United Nations voted on Friday in support of Israel’s bid for membership of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Israeli media reported.
Since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and its acceptance to membership of the UN, Egypt had never voted in its favour at the UN before last Friday.
One hundred and seventeen countries voted in favour of Israel, 21 abstained, while only Namibia voted against the decision. Countries that abstained include: Qatar, Tunisia, Syria, Mauritania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Iraq and Algeria.
Israeli sources said that they were accepted to this UN committee after "intensive diplomatic efforts" exerted at different levels.
Prior to the vote, spokesman for the Egyptian ministry of foreign affairs Ahmed Abu Zeid refused to comment on the matter. However, in the face of fierce domestic criticism, he said that voting for Israel was necessary in order to secure the membership of a number of Arab countries to the committee.
Egyptian politicians and activists widely rejected this move and severely criticised Egyptian Military President Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi.
In 1973, Egypt and Syria started a war against Israel that paved the way for peace talks between Egypt and Israel. It ended up with a peace treaty in 1979 that ended state of war between the two sides, reciprocal recognition and normalisation of ties. [/quote]
[url]https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/22027-for-the-first-time-since-1948-egypt-votes-for-israel-at-un[/url]
Italy soccer chief under fire for anti-Semitic, homophobic remarks
[quote]
Italian football federation president Carlo Tavecchio is under pressure again for alleged discriminatory remarks, this time reportedly aimed at Jews and gays.
Tavecchio made the remarks to online outlet Soccer Life in June while discussing the sale of an amateur league’s headquarters to real estate mogul Cesare Anticoli, Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported Sunday.
“It was bought by that lousy Jew Anticoli,” Tavecchio is heard saying on an audio recording of the conversation posted on Corriere’s website.
“I don’t have anything against gays but it’s better to keep them away from me,” Tavecchio also allegedly said.
Tavecchio told Corriere that he’s being targeted for blackmail and that he doesn’t recall uttering the remarks, adding that they “might have been manipulated.”
Still, local Jewish and gay rights groups called for Tavecchio’s removal.
Tavecchio was already suspended for six months by UEFA last year when he made a racist comment during his election campaign, causing a stir over a reference to bananas when discussing the presence of foreign players in Italy.
Renzo Ulivieri, the president of the Italian coaches’ association, called Tavecchio’s alleged remarks out of place whether blackmail was involved.
“Certain words shouldn’t be pronounced by anyone, and certainly not by the president of the Italian football federation,” Ulivieri said.[/quote]
[url]http://www.timesofisrael.com/italy-soccer-chief-under-fire-for-anti-semitic-homophobic-remarks/[/quote]
Antisemitism and homophobia seem to go hand in hand.
Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Slam Omits Mention of Israeli World Champion
[quote]
The 2015 Judo Grand Slam, to be held in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) October 30 through November 1, has agreed to accept the team from Israel—which includes 2013 gold medallist at the World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro Yarden Gerbi—but, for some reason, out of 94 participating countries, only the Israeli white and blue flag will not be raised above the proceedings. Also — instead of competing under the letters ISR, the Israeli team will go with IJF, as in International Judo Federation.
In fact, Abu Dhabi refused to allow the Israeli team to enter the country, and it took the very vigorous intervention of IJF president Marius Weiser to get the local authorities to accept the Zionist entity in their midst.
Despite its impressive international status, the 8-member Israeli team will compete as a stateless delegation. In fact, Israel will be competing as a non-state while the representatives from Palestine, who competes as the Palestinian Judo Federation Palestine (PLE), will see their flag flying over the matches. [/quote]
[url]http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/abu-dhabi-judo-grand-slam-omits-mention-of-israeli-world-champion/2015/10/29/[/url]
An Arab, Muslim, and Israeli Officer at the Center of a Storm
[quote]For Ms. Samri, a 44-year-old Israeli officer and spokeswoman, police work has been a calling since she joined the force nearly 20 years ago. What makes her devotion all the more unusual is that she is an Arab Muslim citizen of Israel, putting her squarely in the storm of competing loyalties and emotions stirred up by the violence that she has been broadcasting about.
Over the past month, Palestinian assailants using knives, guns and their vehicles as weapons have attacked Israelis, often several times a day, and many of the suspects have been fatally shot by police officers, soldiers or civilians at the scene, generating a furor that has engulfed both sides.
Ms. Samri, whose steady stream of WhatsApp updates starts early in the morning and continues into the wee hours, says she has no inner conflicts about her role amid the surge in violence.
“Democracy is law,” she said. “I believe in the law, not because I want to be more Jewish than the Jews. I am a proud Arab with Palestinian roots, and I am the proudest Israeli.”
[/quote}
[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/world/middleeast/an-arab-muslim-and-israeli-officer-at-the-center-of-a-storm.html[/url]
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Superintendent Luba Samri with members of a SWAT team at Police Headquarters in Jerusalem. Credit Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times
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