It is unfortunate that Christmas time brings out antisemites who rewrite history to deny Jewish heritage. These people claim that Jesus was a Palestinian, meaning an Arab. They also claim that Jews are privileged white people. The “proof” is that Jesus must have been a man of colour. This distortion of truth tries to negate the fact that Jesus was a Mizrahi Jew, one of the indigenous people of Israel. At the time of Jesus the land was Israel (it was renamed Palestine by the Romans in 132 AD). Jews are people of colour, so this is not a problem. The current Palestinians are more recent Arab migrants who for political reasons appropriated the name from the Jews in the 1960s, a brilliant marketing move based on a lie. [Image: Bartolo di Fredi, the Adoration of the Shepherd, 1374]

Manners are considered old-fashioned and these days are not formally taught. There has been much emphasis on the importance of the individual rather than the collective, however whether people like it or not, they have to live with one another. Manners cost nothing yet they make life pleasant for everyone. A little bit of courtesy will take you much further in relationships and at work. You do not have to learn a long list of rules as they all can be distilled into the one rule: think of others. Think of others before acting or speaking.

There is much written about Hitler and the Holocaust however Britain’s contribution has been largely written out of the history books, although there is plentiful historic documentation showing this. Although the actual genocide was largely committed by the Germans, Britain’s actions helped it to succeed. Firstly, Britain appointed a virulent antisemite as the Grand Mayor of Jerusalem, who spent most of the war in Berlin convincing Hitler to perpetrate the Holocaust in Europe and planned one in the Middle East (the latter failed due to Hitler’s defeat). Secondly, Britain produced two white papers in 1939, one barring Jews from leaving Europe and the other from them reaching its Mandate of Palestine. British warships were used to enforce these policies, leading to many deaths. [Photograph: The refugee ship “Struma”]

What makes a good teacher? A good teacher is one that inspires his or her pupils to become inquisitive and to seek out answers from a variety of sources, and to look at all angles before coming to a decision. In other words, teaching his or her pupils to think. It is sad that in too many countries the teaching profession has been hijacked by groups that merely wish to indoctrinate children with their own political views, and to stifle thinking. Unfortunately, this is as true in the West as it is in dictatorships. It is time that people demanded that education go back to teaching children to think logically and critically, and to grow up to be thinking people rather than clueless political activists.

Last weekend’s flareup between Hezbollah and Israel received an unexpected reaction from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. According to the Jerusalem Post, Bahrain’s foreign minister, a Saudi journalist and a Saudi military expert gave support to Israel. This is a huge shift from the past and indicates a warming in their relationship with Israel, which is also becoming more open. No doubt there will be much debate in Western circles about this, but the most likely reason is that those countries fear an ever-militaristic Iran. Before people get too excited about this, it is worth remembering that in this part of the world alliances continuously shift. What is in no doubt is that Iran is intent on colonising the entire region to further its long-stated aim of destroying Israel, something that the West continues to ignore and even, in the case of Europe, seems to support.

The indigenous people of what is referred to as Palestine is the Jews, and there is abundant historical material, artefacts and written material, supporting this. Arabs moved into the area from neighbouring countries, however there was never an Arab state of Palestine. Since ancient Roman times the Jews of the area were referred to as Palestinians. When the British took over the area after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1920, they referred to all people living there as Palestinians, however the term was generally used for the Jews. In the 1960s, after the Six Day War, in a brilliant marketing move, the Arabs who had moved into the area appropriated the name for themselves, and this usage was widely adopted, so that people now have the impression that these are in fact the natives of the land. Thus, history has been widely distorted to such an extent that the natives are looked upon as the colonisers and the colonisers looked upon as dispossessed people. This is behind much of the hate currently occurring against Israel in Western countries.

In the Middle East conflict there is much talk about the occupation and right of return of the Palestinians. Yet there is absolutely no discussion about the real occupation or right of return of the native Jews who were ethnically cleansed from East Jerusalem in 1948, and the home is handed over to Arab colonisers who now call themselves Palestinians. Prior to 1948 East Jerusalem was a Jewish area with some sixty synagogues, the Mount of Olives Jewish cemetery and the Temple Mount. The Arab League forces invaded the area in 1948, ethnically cleansed it, destroyed the synagogues and desecrated the cemetery. The ethnically cleansed homes were handed over Arab colonisers. All of this is well documented however it is ignored by Western governments, NGOs and the media. The Jewish victims are forgotten and have been relabelled as the oppressors, due to either wilful ignorance or anti-Semitism. [Photograph: John Phillips, Time Magazine 1948, Jews forced out of their homes in East Jerusalem.]

Multiculturalism has been a matter of policy of many western countries over the last handful of decades. Although there is nothing wrong with bringing people together, this has to be done appropriately. Proponents of multiculturalism point to the benefits, such as bringing new food experiences to a country, while ignoring potential problems. The latter has been behind much of the anti-semitism that exists in the West. Anti-semitism is very strong in some countries and is seen in schools and in the media daily, shaping people’s attitudes. These people do not suddenly shed these beliefs by landing in a Western country. In order not to appear racist, authorities in Western countries have either ignored or themselves taken up the anti-semitism rather than having a strategy to deal with it appropriately, and have become selectively racist. It is time that authorities in Western countries looked at the problem realistically and worked out a strategy to deal with it rather than pandering to it.

Multiculturalism has been a matter of policy of many western countries over the last handful of decades. Although there is nothing wrong with bringing people together, this has to be done appropriately. Proponents of multiculturalism point to the benefits, such as bringing new food experiences to a country, while ignoring potential problems. The latter has been behind much of the anti-semitism that exists in the West. Anti-semitism is very strong in some countries and is seen in schools and in the media daily, shaping people’s attitudes. These people do not suddenly shed these beliefs by landing in a Western country. In order not to appear racist, authorities in Western countries have either ignored or themselves taken up the anti-semitism rather than having a strategy to deal with it appropriately, and have become selectively racist. It is time that authorities in Western countries looked at the problem realistically and worked out a strategy to deal with it rather than pandering to it.

The recent spat between the President of the United States and the Democrats once again shows the bigotry of the left. The President pointed out the unacceptable behaviour of some of the new Congresswomen. The Democrats and many in the media, as well as the Prime Ministers of Canada and New Zealand, immediately attacked the president, claiming he was being racist because the Congresswomen were of colour. Calling out racism regardless of the skin colour of the perpetrators is not racism. It is a fact that at least two of them have used their position to spread antisemitism. Their supporters are effectively saying that because these Congresswomen are of colour they should be allowed to spread hate. This in itself is racism. All cases of racism should be condemned regardless of the perpetrators’ skin colour, gender or age.

Spain’s Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell Fontelles, has been nominated to become the next European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Given his record on various matters, this is a worrying development and confirms the European Union’s continuing slide into antisemitism. Regarding Iran’s continued stated aim of wiping Israel from the map, which is the reason for its development of nuclear capability and long range missiles, he stated that “You have to live with it”. It is alarming that such a powerful European bureaucrat would be comfortable to see 8 million people, 80% of whom are Jews, murdered in a nuclear Holocaust. The European Union’s ongoing support for the Iranian theocracy would make it an accomplice in such a crime.

One would normally expect that the discovery of an ancient structure would cause excitement, but there was a hysterical response with condemnation to the recent discovery of the Pilgrimage Road in Jerusalem. The problem is that this was the road which was used in ancient times by Jews to walk from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site. The hysteria surrounding the discovery was caused by the fact that this is yet another piece of evidence against those who are trying to erase any historical Jewish connection to Jerusalem. The greatest outcries came from the Palestinian Authority and Jordan. The latter is responsible for the ethnic cleansing and destruction of much of East Jerusalem in 1948, which was the Jewish quarter. [Illustration: 1730 map showing the Pool of Siloam]

The recent Bahrain Summit unveiled the economic part of the US’s latest peace plan, dubbed “The deal of the century”. Although some key countries attended, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the event was boycotted by other countries. The Palestinian Authority also boycotted it, once again proving that the reason that there is no peace between Israel and the Palestinians is that the Palestinian do not want peace. They have rejected every peace offer since 1948, including the extremely generous offer of 2008. The Palestinian position remains that it will settle for nothing less than the total destruction of Israel and the disappearance of all Jews from the Middle East, a process that they started in the 1920s, long before modern Israel was born. Until influential countries in the West come to terms with this reality and start acting accordingly peace will be impossible. This means putting pressure on the Palestinians rather than continuing to pressure Israel.

Universities are partly to blame for the rising intolerance by pushing victim and identity politics, shutting down free speech and creating “safe spaces” for people who may be offended by different views. There are however glimmers of hope appearing. The University of Western Australia has just issued a statement making it clear that it expects that students must be open to a free exchange of ideas that may clash with their beliefs and make them feel uncomfortable. It will however, rightly, not allow the vilification of some groups, which is currently occurring on university campuses. This follows a 2014 statement by the University of Chicago which espoused similar principles and which has since been adopted by a small number of other universities in the United States. PD hopes that other universities will follow suit; remember that today’s university students will be our future leaders, and our society must decide what kind of leaders it wants. [Photograph: Emma Farmer, University of Western Australia Arches, 2006]

Jacinta Adhern’s government in New Zealand once again has shown its overt racism. Previously, in the aftermath of the shootings in Christchurch, it stayed silent while an Iman formerly made the libelous statement that the Jews were responsible for funding the shooting. Now the official government website put up a map of Israel, only it was labelled “Palestine” and Jerusalem was labelled “Designated Capital of the State of Palestine”. The map was annotated with accusations without any context, meant to distort the truth. Such maps are used by those who wish to see Israel wiped off the map and the 8 million people who live there massacred. After protests the map was removed, however this does not take away the hypocrisy and racism of that government. [Below: Screenshot of the official New Zealand Government map of Israel]

Jacinta Adhern’s government in New Zealand once again has shown its overt racism. Previously, in the aftermath of the shootings in Christchurch, it stayed silent while an Iman formerly made the libelous statement that the Jews were responsible for funding the shooting. Now the official government website put up a map of Israel, only it was labelled “Palestine” and Jerusalem was labelled “Designated Capital of the State of Palestine”. The map was annotated with accusations without any context, meant to distort the truth. Such maps are used by those who wish to see Israel wiped off the map and the 8 million people who live there massacred. After protests the map was removed, however this does not take away the hypocrisy and racism of that government. [Below: Screenshot of the official New Zealand Government map of Israel]

Facebook has once again shown its ugly side, this time as a corporate bully. After concerns of Facebook collecting and selling its user’s private data, an open source alternative, Openbook, was successfully launched on Kickstarter, with a relatively small number of subscribers. Now Facebook is threatening legal action because of the use of the word “book” in the name. This is ridiculous as the names are sufficiently different that it is unlikely that the two would be confused by any reasonable person. What this shows is that Facebook is trying to squash any competition, no matter how small, by being a corporate bully and resorting to legal action. Openbook does not have the money to fight a lawsuit, which is what Facebook is counting on. Nevertheless, the people behind Openbook will not roll over and succumb to this bullying. They are changing the name to Openspace. They deserve your support. www.openbook.social/en/home

Organisers of Washington’s Dyke March for LGTBQ rights have shown their antisemitism by banning the Star of David because they consider it a nationalistic symbol as it appears on the Israeli flag. Hypocritically, they do not consider the cross or the crescent to be nationalistic even though those symbols appear on the flags of many countries. Likewise, they have banned the display of American and Israeli flags but not the Palestinian flag, claiming that the others are nationalistic whereas the latter is a symbol of fighting for rights, even though it is the nationalistic flag of the self-ruling Palestinian territories. Furthermore, the rulers in those areas jail and shoot LGTBQ people, which does not seem to worry these fighters for LGTBQ rights. One would think that people who have suffered discrimination would act better than being antisemitic. [Photograph: LGTBQ flags with the star of David, such as this one, are banned by Dyke March organisers. Photograph 2014, Jack Guez, AFP]

A few days ago the only words that Germany’s Commissioner for Anti-Semitism could say regarding the alarming rise in antisemitism in the country was to tell Jews to stop wearing the kippah and to hide their religion. This is not an answer to the problem which the government has been aiding and abetting through its actions and turning a blind eye to the antisemitism, which largely comes from left wing groups and Moslem immigrants, with only a small contribution from right wing extremists. Following an international outcry and after the Bild newspaper printed a cut-out kippah for everyone to wear in solidarity with Jews, the Commissioner has done an about face and now advises people to wear the kippah. This whole episode is disgraceful and shows that only 70 years after Germany murdered 6 million Jews it has learned nothing and is not willing to do anything to prevent the next Holocaust. [Photograph: Bild’s cut-out kippah.]

Inverting history is not new and people may have a right to their opinions, however when these opinions twist facts and come from leaders they can be harmful. In his infamous speech in Cairo, President Obama try to re-write the truth. More recently, speaking on Yahoo’s Skullduggery podcast, Congresswoman Tlaib claimed that during the horrors of World War II the Arabs in Palestine welcomed European Jews into a haven and paid the price. This is opposite to the truth. The then Mufti of Jerusalem, Muhammad Haj Amin al Husseini, spent most of the war as Hitler’s guest in Berlin and provided much of the momentum for the Holocaust, and devised plans to wipe out the native Jews in Palestine and Arab countries. The Arabs in Palestine did everything to prevent Jews from getting there and were responsible for the deaths of many Jews who did manage to reach Palestine. It is abhorrent that influential people should spread such falsehoods that promote anti-Semitism. [Photograph: Haj Amin al-Husseini meets with Adolf Hitler, 28th November 1941, By Bundesarchiv]

The Magic Pudding is the story of a pudding that re-grows whenever it is eaten, so you never run out. During the current election campaign, candidates have convinced many voters that there really is a magic pudding. You do not have to work or create wealth.

The entire election is based on who will take the most money from those who work so that it can be handed over to those who vote for a particular candidate.

Thus the entire campaigns have centered on taking and throwing money around. The one who pays the most wins. Not a single word about a vision for the country. Just an obscene festival of gluttony that will see the country go backwards fast.

The 1930s have truly returned in today’s world. Antisemitism is now institutionalised and entrenched in governments, the media, universities and non-government organisations. In the last few days vandalism of Jewish cemeteries and attacks on synagogues, some with fatalities, continued. In Poland people, including children, beat up an effigy of a Jew at a “festival”. Floats with Nazi era style figures of Jews formed part of a festival in Belgium. In Bristol University the Black and Ethnic Minorities Officer officially wants Jews to “cease to exist”. The German government continues to help Iran with its goal of genocide of Israelis and continues to fund the creation and printing of antisemitic textbooks in the Middle East. Antisemitic politicians spew their hatred in various European parliaments and in the US Congress. Now the New York Times has printed an antisemitic cartoon reminiscent of one from Germany in the 1930s. In the 1930s this would describe Germany. Once the slaughter of Jews began, the West refused to help them, even closing their borders to those feeling the Holocaust. Belatedly, after six million Jews were slaughtered, the world took action. This time it will be worse, because the entire Western world has become like 1930s Germany. There will be no-one to intervene. Israel will be the only refuge, and the world, through its policies, wants to see it destroyed too. And nobody (apart from Jews) is doing anything about it. [Photograph: Left: Germany 1940: the Jew leads Winston Churchill, Right: New York Times 2019: the Jew leads Donald Trump]

The assault on people by terrorists continues, with the attacks on Christians celebrating Easter in Sri Lanka. Compared to the response following the recent attack on mosques in New Zealand, the response of leaders, the UN and many media commentators has been relatively insipid. The sad fact is that leaders and commentators are not truly anti-hate; they are anti-hate for certain groups. Christians do not count. Jews do not count. Following the New Zealand attacks, the Prime Minister went to extraordinary lengths to show solidarity with the Moslem community. This did not stop libellous accusations that the Jews, described under the pseudonym “Mossad”, were financing the attacks. The Prime Minister remained silent on this blatant antisemitic attack, which was telling about her values. Hate and incitement to hate should be called out no matter where it comes from and no matter who it is aimed at. There should be no acceptable and unacceptable hate. There should be no turning a blind eye to hate if it involves certain groups. Our leaders and institutions have failed us in this respect.

The anti-vaccination campaigners continue to spread their destructive beliefs and have now turned to disgracefully trivialising the Holocaust, one of the greatest genocides in human history. Due to their influence, there are more outbreaks of potentially deadly diseases such as measles. The anti-vaccination campaigners are now using the yellow Star of David patches that the Nazis used to promote their cause of exterminating Jews. The anti-vaccination campaigners have recreated the patches with “ No Vax” written in Hebrew-stylised letters. This is an insult to the people who suffered in the Holocaust.

When a tragedy occurs people want something done, as long as it does not affect them. This often results in a knee-jerk reaction against innocent people who are made to pay for the crime of a perpetrator. A case in point is the recent tragedy in New Zealand which, like a similar case in Australia in 1996, brought the wrath the government on law-abiding citizens, with clamping down on gun ownership by sporting shooters, even though the perpetrator back then was unlicensed and used an unregistered gun, and in the recent case the perpetrator was not legally entitled to have the guns that he used. Such laws will do nothing to stop criminals or terrorists from getting illegal guns, which are freely available in both countries.

If other weapons are used, such as cars running into crowds of people, there is never a call to restrict car ownership, because that would also affect the people calling for action. This is hypocrisy.