The Trouble With Colonel Kemp

I've just been reading the report Investigation into potential breaches of University Codes of Conduct, posted on Sydney University's website, sydney.edu.au/news. I find it a disturbing document with grave implications for universities once renowned as havens for free speech and dissent.

In it we learn that Sydney University is threatening "disciplinary action" against a group of pro-Palestine student protesters, who disrupted a lecture last month by visiting British apologist for Israeli war crimes Colonel Richard Kemp, and pro-Palestine academic Jake Lynch, who sought to challenge the aggressive actions of security staff towards the students whilst fending off the unwanted attentions of a "semi-retired English literature lecturer and sometime stand-up comedienne Diane Barkas, 73," to quote the Australian's description of this enraged, water-hurling, camera-grabbing harpy. (See Woman denies kicking BDS guru in groin, Ean Higgins, 15/4/15).

The threat comes in response to complaints over the incident(s) submitted to the university's vice-chancellor Michael Spence by 386 individuals - only 34 of whom had actually been present at the lecture - as part of an "investigation" into the matter. (See my 18/3/15 post Anatomy of a Beat-Up.)

While we are not party to the names of the 352 "other staff, students and members of the public" who lodged those complaints, or to their content, it is safe to assume that the vast majority are the result of yet another (*sigh*) Israel lobby campaign of confected outrage targeting supporters of Palestine on campus, and, in particular, Professor Lynch, a prominent advocate of boycotting institutional ties between Sydney University and Israeli universities, a brave and principled stance that saw him hauled up before Sydney's Federal Court by the Mossad-connected, Israeli lawfare outfit Shurat HaDin last year.

It'd be most interesting to know whether some of these 'complaints' contained threats of some kind, along the lines of those described in my 26/8/14 post How Zionists Enforce the Party Line on Israel.

Central to the "investigation" are "potential breaches of University's Codes of Conduct," which "require all staff, students and affiliates to be tolerant, honest, respectful and ethical at all times."

Even to the likes of Kemp, it seems, who must be enjoying the progress of the witch-hunt, sorry investigation, immensely, seeing that "the university will send correspondence to Dr Kemp and other initial complainants present at the lecture providing them with an update."

Far from retiring (after also helping out with NSW's United Israel Appeal) to lick wounds supposedly inflicted by an intolerant, dishonest, disrespectful and unethical "BDS guru" and his student minions, Kemp will be appearing at a Shurat HaDin talkfest in Israel in May, Towards a New Law of War Conference.

Apparently, the glorious Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are finding that the Hague and Geneva Conventions, as presently constituted, are cramping their style and hence in dire need of a makeover.

It seems (I'm quoting the conference blurbs here) that "democratic armies" are pretty pissed that "large portions of the Western public and world media have come to assume that any civilian casualties are unacceptable and unlawful," and that the "Rules of Engagement in conflicts such as Afghanistan, Syria, South Lebanon and Gaza are too restrictive and irrelevant to safeguard military forces pursuing legitimate objectives in a terrorist war." (israellawcenter.org)

My fave sentence from these blurbs is this from Panel 5: "[Targeted killings] is an issue that demonstrates the influence of the Israel Defense Forces' position in shaping international law."

The influence of the Israel Defense Forces' position in shaping international law???!!!

That, my dears, is the nightmare vision to which Kemp would be a party. I wonder what Sydney University's Codes of Conduct, with their call for tolerance, honesty, respect and ethics, have to say about such matters.

Menage a Trois

Mike's got the hots for Israel:

"Premier Mike Baird addressed the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies' luncheon club earlier this month... Baird, who has been in the top job since April last year, has pledged to lead a trade delegation to Israel if elected on March 28 - should he do so he will become the first NSW Premier to visit the Jewish State this century." (Premier Baird at the Board, The Australian Jewish News, 20/2/15)

Miranda's also got the hots for Israel:

"Miranda Devine... Australian columnist and writer, has a conservative stance on a range of social and political issues and was recently on a visit to Israel." (Quoted in an AJN ad listing speakers for the coming United Israel Appeal NSW Campaign 2015 (24/2-11/3)

And for Mike:

"NSW Premier Mike Baird is the political candidate from central casting. Tall, handsome, and popular, he also is a deft financial manager with a clear plan for the state... If Baird falls, so too does any hope for micro-economic reform and responsible fiscal management in Australia... While Baird is ahead in the polls, the 'Abbott factor' is proving toxic, according to candidates doorknocking in their electorates... But other candidates doorknocking in the Liberal heartland of the Hills district say all they hear is praise for Baird. 'People just love him. They say that Mike Baird is a nice bloke,' the people say... Middle-aged women swoon when he walks through a suburban shopping centre to buy a salad sandwich. 'He wears a suit so well,' they gush. A colleague describes him as 'the guy everyone hopes their sister would bring home.' A veteran news photographer says Baird has the 'it factor' - he's cool, like Bill Clinton without the sleaze'." (Why Mike makes us go weak at the knees, Miranda Devine, Sunday Telegraph, 23/2/15)

NB: Apparently, real men do eat salad sandwiches.  

Herzl's Unquiet Grave

I couldn't let this one pass... The latest issue of The Australian Jewish News features an ad for the United Israel Appeal (UIA) with a portrait of Zionist godfather Theodor Herzl.

He left a legacy..., says the ad,

What about you?

You can connect your legacy to Israel forever 
Through KEREN HAYESOD-UIA

The image of the brooding, bearded author of the 1896 pamphlet Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) got me thinking about Herzl's legacy, today's theocratic, militaristic 'Jewish state' of Israel.

Mindful of the twin threats of theocracy and militarism, the secular Herzl had asked in his pamphlet:

"Shall we end by having a theocracy?"

He answered confidently:

"No, indeed. Faith unites us, knowledge gives us freedom. We shall therefore prevent any theocratic tendencies from coming to the fore on the part of our priesthood. We shall keep our priests within the confines of their temples in the same way as we shall keep our professional army within the confines of their barracks. Army and priesthood shall receive honors high as their valuable functions deserve. But they must not interfere in the administration of the State which confers distinction upon them, else they will conjure up difficulties without and within."

Herzl must be turning in his grave right now.

That's Not Chutzpah!

In the spirit of Crocodile Dundee...

Chutzpah is when a man kills both his parents and begs the court for mercy because he's an orphan.

That's not chutzpah! This is chutzpah:

"Tzedakah is about our interpersonal relationships, where we give of ourselves to others. Whether it is giving time or money, it is our effort to create a just world. With a focus on giving back to the Jewish community, and creating opportunities for tzedakah, United Israel Appeal... works to further the national priorities of the State of Israel and Israeli society. Special emphasis is placed on advancing weaker communities, nursing disadvantaged and marginalised youth, encouraging aliyah, implementing rescue operations and connecting young diaspora Jews to Israel and Jewish life.

"Operation Protective Edge has had a significant financial effect on the Israeli economy. The direct cost of fighting with current reserve forces was USD$35 million per day. This does not include costs associated with damages, compensation for loss of work and revenue especially in the south, the expected drop of 0.5% in the gross domestic product, and the loss of the tourism dollar in the country as well.

"Experts are predicting a total cost of over USD$2.2 billion dollars as a result of the war.

"Funds that are normally channeled towards supporting social programs have been diverted to the defence budget, conscious of the fact that presently, Israel and its citizens need help from the rest of the world."

From A thought for Israel, adv. placed by UIA Sydney in The Australian Jewish News supplement, Preparing for Rosh Hashanah 2014 (12/9/14)

For the Discerning Customer...

... a list of patrons and sponsors of the United Israel Appeal (UIA) 2013 Campaign from The Australian Jewish News of March 29:

Arnold Bloch Leibler: Lawyers & Advisers
Acton Mt Lawley
Atlantic Group [v]
Leumi
Brown Paper Packaging
Elbit Systems of Australia
ErdiGroup
Executive Security Solutions Perth
Expohire
Friedman Lurie Singh & D'Angelo: Western Australian Lawyers
Gandel Philanthropy
Garry Peer
Gelatissimo
General Pants Co.
G. James: glass & aluminium
Gleneagle Securities
Goldman Travel Corporation: Incorporating Ursula King Travel
Hegney Property Group
i.c.e events
JLT
JobFlex
Klein Business Furniture
Kreative Solutionz
Laing & Simmons Double Bay
Lexus of Brighton
Lexus of Perth
Logicca Chartered Accountants
Piersbridge Consultants
Power Shield
Pratt Foundation
Raptis Pax
Scents: the Perfume Specialists
Seacret: Minerals from the Dead Sea
Spotlight Foundation
Teller Automotive Group
The Travel Clinic
TMG: The Magid Group
Westpac
Wickham House Pharmacy
Windsor Smith

Updating Shmaryahu Levin

I'm sure you've all heard Shmaryahu Levin's witty definition of a Zionist as a Jew who gives money to another Jew to send a third Jew to Palestine.

Well, in light of the following two news items, it's pretty obvious that matters have become a tad more complicated since Levin's day (1867-1935) - along the lines of the proverbial left hand having absolutely no bloody idea whatever what the right's doing:

"United Israel Appeal (UIA) continues to fund aliyah flights and assistance for Jews fleeing countries of distress. There are currently over 3,000 Ethiopians waiting to come to Israel and UIA is dedicated to completing this operation by October 2013. The smooth integration of these Olim into Israeli society through absorption centres is a paramount task. These centres provide critical initial housing, intensive educational programs and the cultural tools for them to become independent and contributing members of mainstream Israeli society." (The final Ethiopian aliyah, UIA 2013 Campaign Focus, The Australian Jewish News, 25/1/13)

"Israel has admitted for the first time that it has been giving Ethiopian Jewish immigrants birth-control injections, often without their knowledge or consent. The government had previously denied the practice but the Israeli Health Ministry's director-general has now ordered gynaecologists to stop administering the drugs. According to a report in Haaretz, suspicions were first raised by an investigative journalist, Gal Gabbay, who interviewed more than 30 women from Ethiopia in an attempt to discover why birth rates in the community had fallen dramatically." (Israel gave birth control to Ethiopian Jews without their consent, Alistair Dawber, The Independent, 27/1/13)

This somewhat surreal state of affairs suggests that it's time we updated Levin's definition with a view to factoring in some of the latest twists and turns in what it means to be a Zionist today, twists and turns which Levin himself couldn't possibly have foreseen - or even imagined in his wildest dreams. So here goes:

These days a Zionist is a white Jew who gives tax-exempt money to a 'charity' such as the UIA, which funds another white Jew to discover 'lost tribes', some of whom are black, uproot them, and send them  to occupied Palestine. Once there they are subjected to racist abuse  - Go home Cushi! - and their women injected with drugs to stop them from having any more black babies.

OK, so it's clunkier than Levin's original, but how else is one to capture the above nuances?

We Don't Know What Got Into Them

Oh dear!

"A major Jewish charity has apologised for publicising an upcoming event using obscene and offensive imagery. United Israel Appeal (UIA) NSW president Bruce Fink said using one image mocking the torture of prisoners in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and another that had the headline 'Suck my Billy's, C**t!' to promote a young adult event was deeply regrettable. Clearly, on this ocassion, the volunteers in Young UIA used some material that was inappropriate, and we took steps immediately to remove it once it came to our attention', Fink said." (UIA retracts offensive promotion, The Australian Jewish News, 12/11/10)

I wish to make five points concerning the above:

The first relates to the deliberate labelling of the Zionist UIA as 'Jewish'. This is par for the Zionist course: when you need a cover for Zionist criminality, reach for the 'Jewish' label. And when the great unwashed fail to properly distinguish between Judaism and Zionism, just howl anti-semitism. Works a treat.

The second relates to the fact that dumb blonde Australia grants the UIA, Israel's central fundraising organisation, tax-exempt charitable status. The mind just goes on boggling.

The third is that Israel, with its dictum that 'the only thing the Arabs understand is force' and its history of anti-Arab dehumanisation and torture, was arguably the primary ideological and practical force for what went on in Abu Ghraib, which helps explain the moral vacuum in which the Young UIA operate. The Lieberman generation?

The fourth is that, if an Arab/Muslim organisation had perpetrated such an 'advertisement', the Murdoch press and the shock jocks of radio and television would have dined out on it forever and a day. Typically, the matter was reported only in The Australian Jewish News.

The fifth is that the apartheid Zionist project is the ultimate obscenity. Young UIA's promotional material is just a chip off the old block.

Sixteen Angry Men 3

Continued from SAM 2:

Sorry about the anti-climax. The law can indeed be an ass:

"The District Court of the District of Columbia, where the suit was filed, never addressed the merits of the complaint, but dismissed the case on a procedural technicality known as 'standing'. That concept prohibits a plaintiff from going forward on a lawsuit unless he can first show that he has been 'injured in fact, that the injury was caused by the defendant's challenged action and that the relief requested by the plaintiffs would provide redress for the injuries suffered'. Unless a plaintiff can overcome the 'standing' threshold, the suit will be thrown out of court. It was Judge Jackson's decision that few of the plaintiffs suffered a judicially recognizable injury directly attributable to the tax-exempt status of the 6 organizations. For those Palestinian landowners whose land had been confiscated, the judge held that revoking the tax-exempt status of the organizations would not redress their injuries; that the Israeli Government would have committed the wrongs regardless of the 6 US organizations' tax-exempt status. Concluded Judge Jackson: it would be 'more fanciful still to assume here that the government of Israel is so responsive to changes in US tax laws that the withdrawal of benefits from US contributors will work any alteration whatsoever in the character of its occupation of territory it now holds by force in the Middle East'. Judge Jackson ruled conservatively on the issue of standing, refusing to push the definition of injury to include the harm complained of by the plaintiffs. Judicial recognition of injury remained narrow, reinforcing a national trend excluding third parties from seeking judicial relief." (The Palestine-Israel Conflict in the US Courtroom, Rex Wingerter, September 1985, ameu.org)

Sixteen Angry Men 2

Continued from SAM 1:

Those 'Charities': All Roads Lead to... Jerusalem

"The World Zionist Organization American Section is a component and agent of the World Zionist Organization (WZO) based in Jerusalem. The WZO, founded in 1897, has as its stated objective the establishment and development of the state of Israel in Palestine. Also known as the Jewish Agency (JA), from 1922 until 1948, the WZO/JA acted as the political organization and governing body of the Jewish community in Palestine. After the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, the state of Israel enacted laws and covenants establishing the WZO/JA as a component of the government of the state of Israel, with particular responsibility for the development and settlement of the country, the encouragement of Jewish immigration to Israel, and the absorption of Jewish immigrants. The WZO continues to fulfil this government function, and is particularly active in planning and implementing the seizure and occupation of Palestinian Arab-owned land in the West Bank for the development of exclusively Jewish settlements. The WZO collects contributions from donors in the US, which are deducted by such donors for US income tax purposes, and acts as a conduit to transfer the funds to its Israeli counterpart where they are used to further the above-described activities and functions.

"The Jewish Agency American Section is a component and agent of the WZO and the JA based in Jerusalem, and is registered as the agent of the WZO/JA pursuant to the US Foreign Agents Registration Act. Through subsidiary organizations, including the American Zionist Council and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, it engages in political propaganda and lobbying within the US.

"The United Israel Appeal... is a principal beneficiary of the United Jewish Appeal. It serves as a conduit for funds raised in the US to the JA for Israel, its operating agent, and then to the WZO/JA in Jerusalem, for the purposes and activities described below. The United Jewish Appeal is the major Jewish fundraising organization in the US. Contributions solicited and received by it are transferred to the UIA, Inc. and thence in conduit fashion to the WZO/JA.

"The Jewish National Fund... (JNF), by virtue of covenants and statutes of the state of Israel, is directed by the Zionist Executive of the WZO for the 'reclamation' and development of the land of Israel and the territories under military occupation by Israel. The JNF acquires land (through confiscation or otherwise) from the Palestinian Arab residents of Israel and the occupied West Bank for the exclusive occupation and use of Israeli Jews... Contributions solicited and raised by the American component of the JNF are also transferred in conduit fashion to Israel.

"The Americans for a Safe Israel acts as the agent for the sale - exclusively to American Jews and to no others - of land on the West Bank acquired by confiscation or otherwise from the Palestinian Arab residents, for the establishment of exclusively Jewish settlements.

The Legal Argument

"Because of the tremendous benefits accruing to private individuals and organizations as a consequence of tax-exempt status and because of the loss to the federal treasury of tax revenue that would otherwise be collected, organizations which are tax-exempt pursuant to 26 US Code Section 501(c)(3) must strictly confine their activities to those furthering the religious, charitable or educational purposes for which tax-exempt status is provided by law, and must not engage in activities that contravene the public policy and interests of the US. Contributions by US taxpayers to charitable organizations or governmental entities outside the US are not deductible by such donors. Likewise, contributions by US taxpayers to charitable organizations in the US are not deductible by such donors where such organizations serve merely as conduits for the donated funds... to charitable organizations or governmental entities outside the US...

"The WZO AS, the JA AS, the UIA, and the JNF... are merely conduits of funds donated to them, which flow directly to components of the State of Israel. The above-named US-based Zionist organizations continue to have recognition of tax-exempt status, and the ability to attract deductible contributions, despite the fact that their activities contravene fundamental public policies of the US and despite the fact that a substantial portion of their activities are neither religious, charitable, nor educational as defined by US tax laws. Specifically, each of these organizations supports, financially and politically, the confiscation of land on the West Bank owned by Palestinian Arabs for the establishment of exclusively Jewish settlements. These settlements contravene [& continue to contravene] the stated foreign policy of the US as expressed since 1977 by President Carter and later by President Reagan. They also contravene the public policy of the US in that the settlements are discriminatory on the basis of race and national origin.

"The above organizations are not engaging in educational activities within the meaning of US tax laws, since they engage in one-sided and prejudicial propaganda designed to misinform the American people with regard to the genuine dignity and continued suffering of the Palestinian people. These organizations support policies aiming at the 'desertification' of Palestinian land, destroying crops through defoliation and other means, uprooting orchards, and directing water from cultivated land. The organizations in question deliberately and systematically suppress information about these actions and proclaim instead, in propaganda broadsides, that they are supporting policies designed to make the desert bloom. The JNF comingles funds raised in the US into the general funds of the State of Israel without any US control, where they are used apparently for military, and not charitable, purposes...

"The continuing refusal by the defendants, Secretary of the US Treasury and the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, to disallow charitable deductions, claimed by US donors for contributions to these conduit organizations, constitutes a violation of their responsibilities and a violation of federal law."

To be continued...

[Those of you wondering just how many tax deductible Australian dollars have recently found their way to Israel via the UIA conduit, will be interested to know that the UAI's Melbourne office alone, run BTW by former Israeli naval commander and Israeli citizen, Meir Buber, "over 5 appeal campaigns... raised $87 million - per capita the highest amount of any UIA... or JA appeal." (Buber's $87 million charity achievement, jewishnews.net.au, 21/9/10)]

Sixteen Angry Men 1

In my last post, I touched on one of life's little mysteries: the designation, in such fond and foolish places as Australia, of Israel's global, quasi-governmental fundraising agencies (such as the United Israel Appeal) as charities and, hence, deserving of tax-exempt status. Predictably, this lurk has not gone legally unchallenged.

While researching the subject, I happened on the compelling story of one such challenge. With its cast of Palestinian victims of Zionist terror and dispossession, an Israeli dissident politician, an anti-Zionist rabbi, a Zionist defector and others, and the strength of its challenge to a clear and present injustice, the case of Kareem Khalaf et al. v. Donald Reagan et al. would have had all the ingredients for a rivetting courtroom drama - but for its wimpish denouement, yet another example of the law's capacity to be a total ass.

What follows is taken from an article dealing with the genesis of the challenge by Rex Wingerter, US Zionist Organizations: Their Tax-Exempt Status Challenged. It comes from the Fall 1984 edition of the Journal of Palestine Studies. Given the length of the article, I've decided to break it into two separate posts, with a third on the judgment itself from a later article by the same author. I've also abridged it, and added some data and comments of my own in square brackets. The headings and highlightings are mine:

The Background

"In October 1983, 10 Palestinians, 1 Israeli and 5 American citizens brought suit in the US Federal Court in Washington, DC calling on the Secretary of the US Departnent of the Treasury and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to revoke the tax-exempt status of 6 Zionist organizations based in the US. The organizations are the World Zionist Organization American Section, Inc., also known as the Jewish Agency; the Jewish Agency American Section; the United Israel Appeal; the United Jewish Appeal; the Jewish National Fund; and Americans for a Safe Israel. If the plaintiffs succeed, their action could stop the flow of the millions of dollars that are transferred yearly to the state of Israel by American Zionists. The US government is the defendant in the suit, not the Zionist organizations, because it was the decision of the US Department of the Treasury to grant tax-exempt status to the organizations. Being granted tax-exempt status by the Treasury Department... can be the financial life line for many organizations. It permits individuals who donate money to a tax-exempt organizations to deduct the same amount from their yearly income taxes paid to the US government. Many, if not most donors, would not contribute to organizations if they could not 'write off' the contribution in their income taxes. Indeed, because of the way US tax laws are currently written, individuals with high incomes find their yearly tax burden reduced if they make substantial contributions to charitable, tax-exempt organizations. For many American Zionists, this tax deduction increases their willingness to give millions of dollars yearly to pro-Israeli organizations... Total charitable transfers from the US to Israel have been estimated at between $950 million and $1 billion for the last several years...

The Palestinian Plaintiffs

"The Palestinian plaintiffs include Karim Khalaf, Bassam Shaka'a, Ibrahim Tawil, Fahd Qawasmeh, Wahid Hamdallah and Ahmad Mustafa Sbeih. The first 5 were the elected mayors of Ramallah, Nablus, al-Bireh, Hebron and Anabta, respectively, located on the Israeli-occupied West Bank, who were dismissed from their positions by the Israel authorities. Mustafa Sbeih is the mukhtar of the village of Aqraba on the West Bank. The mayors bring suit, on behalf of themselves and their constituents, complaining that they suffered physical injury*, the denial of their basic human rights because they sought adequately to represent their constituents, the loss of their land and the diversion of water due to the oppressive actions of the Israeli forces. These were supported in substantial part by contributions, for which deductions have been claimed by US donors made to the [above] US-based Zionist organizations... Ahmed Mustafa Sbeih brings suit, on behalf of himself and as the representative of the 7,000 residents of Aqraba, complaining that tax-exempt US-based Zionist organizations have deprived him and his fellow villagers of their land... Altogether, some 80,000 dunums of [Aqraba's land] have been seized by the Israeli authorities for acquisition by the Jewish National Fund (JNF)... The four remaining Palestinians bringing suit are landowners in the West Bank... They have suffered the illegal confiscation of their land, and the destruction of their orange groves, olive trees, and wheat fields by the Israeli occupying forces for the purpose of establishing settlements... for the exclusive use of Israeli Jews... [*Karim Khalaf and Bassam Shaka'a were maimed by a car bomb rigged by Israeli settlers in 1980.]

The Israeli Plaintiff

"The one Israeli plaintiff is Charlie Biton, an elected member of the Knesset and a member of a minority political coalition, the Democratic Front for Peace & Equality. He argues that funds contributed through the tax-exempt Zionist oeganizations in the US go to their Israeli counterparts which are, in fact, departments of the Israeli government, and are utilized to support the policies and persons of the ruling Likud Party. This outside interference with the political process in Israel works to deny him and his colleagues an equal opportunity in the Israeli political arena and thwarts efforts for the establishment of a democratic structure and practice in Israel.

The American Plaintiffs

"The 5 American plaintiffs include include Moshe Hirsch, John Davis, Edward Keenan, Subhi Widdi, and Charles Fischbein.

"Rabbi Hirsch complains that the religious community to which he belongs has lived in Jerusalem for more than 200 years in peace with its neighbors, until the establishment of the state of Israel, which Rabbi Hirsch and his community, the Neturei Karta, believe to be an anti-Jewish state. Contributions raised by the tax-exempt American Zionist organizations are forwarded to the state of Israel and are used in part to oppress the Neturei Karta to the detriment of Hirsch and his family. The claimed damage to Hirsch and his family includes the arrest of his son for refusal to serve in the Israel armed forces.

"John Davis is the former Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief & Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). He has served as the Assistant Secretary for Agriculture of the United States, as the Vice-Chairman and Director of the New York office for the American University of Beirut, and is the founder and past chairman of the board of American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), an organization which he presently serves as Chairman of the Board Emeritus. Dr Davis is also the author of The Evasive Peace: A Study of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. For the past 15 years, Dr Davis has labored in the private sector, through ANERA and in concert with other organizations and individuals, to create employment opportunities on the West Bank for Palestinians through economic development of the area, as well as to provide educational opportunities and vocational training for the young Palestinians who live there. The Israeli government has adopted a consistent and systematic policy to deny education and employment opportunities to residents of the West Bank because of their religion and national origin, and in order to coerce them to emigrate from the West Bank. These educational and charitable efforts made by Dr Davis... have been undermined, and to a large extent nullified, as a result of the funds contributed through the tax-exempt US-based organizations which go to their counterparts in Israel and are utilized to support policies which deny employment and educational opportunities and vocational training to residents of the West Bank due to their religion and national origin.

"Edward L Keenan is a full professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)... Professor Keenan is presently president of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of Palestine (CSPP), an organization founded and registered as an independent campus organization at UCLA for the purpose of bringing to the attention of the American people the injustices done to the Palestinian people and the role the US has assumed in supporting these injustices... The CSPP prevents a viewpoint different from, and in many respects entirely contradictory to, the viewpoints expressed by the US tax-exempt Zionist organizations. The CSPP has not filed for recognition of tax-exempt status since it seeks to influence legislation and public opinion - as do the Zionist organizations named above - and seeks to work not merely in a charitable and educational framework but to function politically as well - as do the Zionist organizations named above - and is not therefore entitled to recognition as a tax-exempt organization, in the same way that the above-mentioned Zionist organizations are not entitled to such status.

"Subhi Widdi, a resident of Brooklyn, New York, is a naturalised citizen of the US and a native of Palestine from the village of Beit Hanina, a short distance north and west of Jerusalem. He owns land at Beit Hanina which has been in his family for at least 300 years... In 1970, after he had become an American citizen, approximately 10 acres of Widdi's land in Beit Hanina were confiscated by the Israeli authorities, over his objection and the objection of his family. Because of the proximity of Widdi's land to Jerusalem, it is worth approximately $100,000 per acre. The Israeli authorities have offered $16 per acre as compensation, but have not paid even that amount to the plaintiff or the members of his family. The seizure of his land and the construction of Ramot were substantially supported by funds raised through contributions - for which charitable deductions have been claimed by US donors - made to the US-based organizations, named herein.

"Charles Fischbein, until his resignation in March 1984, was the Executive Director of the Washington regional office of the JNF... where his official duties included fundraising. [And thereby, as they say, hangs a tale!] After his resignation, Fischbein founded the Institute for Middle East Conflict Resolution (IMECR), which has as its purposes the promotion of a dialogue and understanding among Americans, Israelis and Palestinians, and advocacy of a just and peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As a result of the continued and improper recognition by the US government of the tax-exempt status of the JNF, despite its status as a foreign conduit, Fischbein claims to have suffered harm to his professional reputation as a fundraiser and therefore to his ability to earn a living... Fischbein swore in a signed affidavit that he had resigned his position as a fundraiser and executive for the JNF because he could no longer close his eyes to the legal and moral violations committed by these organizations. He described how he had chosen from a JNF Projects Manual the task of raising funds for the construction of a sheltered playground for children at the kibbutz of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel, close to the Lebanese border, with a projected budget of $500,000. He obtained a number of gifts and pledges in the total amount of $275,000 in the first year. A husband and wife, prominent members of the Washington DC Jewish community, pledged $75,000, with approximately $20,000 donated immediately in cash. Because of the size of the pledge, it was arranged that the playground would be named after this couple... After 18 months, Fischbein had transmitted $270,000 in funds specifically earmarked for this project to the JNF national office in New York for transmittal to Israel. In the spring of 1982, the couple who had pledged the $75,000 told Fischbein that they planned to visit Israel that summer and they wished to visit 'their playground'. The previous winter, the JNF had given a dinner in their honor at which the playground project was officially dedicated to them. The couple did travel to Israel and to the site of the playground. Upon their return, they told Fischbein that when they arrived at Kiryat Shmona, they found no playground and no construction underway. Instead, at the supposed site of the playground, they found an Israel Defense Force staging area littered with garbage and beer cans. They told him that they were furious, and that the JNF had raised money under false pretenses. Also as a result of this, another contributor, the person who had pledged $50,000 and contributed $20,000 in cash, told Fischbein that he would not see him again and that he did not deal with people who do not keep their word. Fischbein subsequently learned that the money for the playground had gone into the general funds of Israel, and that there are no US controls with regard to the use of funds raised in the US for special projects. Because the couple has threatened publicly to expose the misuse of their contribution, Fischbein understands that the JNF in Israel plans to commence construction of the playground with other funds. Fischbein's disillusionment with the JNF deepened, he stated in his affidavit, when he took a trip to southern Lebanon in the summer of 1982 with other leaders of the JNF. The trip was arranged in order to bolster support in the US for the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Immediately upon their arrival at Tel Aviv Airport, the group boarded buses and were taken to northern Israel and then into Lebanon to the area occupied by the Israel Defense Forces. Accompanying them were Moshe Rivlin, director of the JNF in Israel, and Dr Samuel I Cohen, Executive Vice-President of the JNF in the US. During the bus ride, Dr Cohen announced that JNF bulldozers were an integral part of the military effort since they had preceded the troops in forging the path of the invasion. Further, he boasted that the JNF was 'up to its ears' in the development of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. When the group arrived in southern Lebanon, they saw the devastation caused by the Israeli bombing. When some persons expressed dismay and horror at the destruction, Dr Rivlin stated that no-one must express any doubt or misgivings about the invasion when they returned to the US, or they would immediately be fired from their positions with the US-based JNF offices. Fischbein further swore that he had been deceived by the JNF, and misled as well by the US government, into believing that the JNF was a charitable organization. He now understands that the funds raised by the JNF in the US were not controlled by the JNF in the US; the JNF instead served as a conduit for a foreign state and thus became a foreign agent. In addition, the funds raised by the JNF in the US were not all used in Israel; indeed, much of the money was diverted instead into the West Bank and Lebanon for purely military purposes and for the continuation of the occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, and were used in a discriminatory fashion exclusively on behalf of some Israeli Jews, and specifically to the detriment of the Palestinian residents of these areas."
To be continued...

That's What Friends Are For

Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for

In good times, in bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
Oh, that's what friends are for

Dionne Warwick

"TRICOM boss Lance Rosenberg called on character evidence from the top ranks of the business world, including his 'close personal friend', Westfield managing director Steven Lowy, as he battled a 4-year ban from corporate life. 'I find Mr Rosenberg to be a gentleman of high integrity, intelligence and enthusiasm', Mr Lowy said in his character reference. Mr Rosenberg also received glowing testimonials to his honesty from Investec Bank executive Geoff Levy, Sydney QC Malcolm Holmes, former Mallesons partner David Fairlie and leading tax lawyer Mark Leibler... Mr Lowy, the son of Australia's richest man, Frank Lowy, was the most high-profile figure to provide a character reference. Mr Lowy told the Australian Securities & Investments Commission [ASIC] he had known Mr Rosenberg for 27 years... 'We have a close personal friendship, communicate frequently, and currently sit together on the board of a charitable organisation, United Israel Appeal' [UIA]... Geoff Levy, the former chief executive of South African investment bank Investec's Australian arm, said he had 'interacted in business with Mr Rosenberg for some 20 years'... Mr Leibler, senior partner at Melbourne law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler and one of Australia's best tax lawyers, said he had known Mr Rosenberg 'for approximately 5 years'. The Leibler family super fund had used Tricom as its sharebroker, while Mr Rosenberg was a client of Arnold Bloch Leibler, he said... " (Lowy's role in defence, Ben Butler, The Age, 21/9/10)

Did I hear United Israel Appeal? Yes, Lance isn't the only cause that has our friends rallying around:

Lance Rosenberg and Steven Lowy sit together on the board of the UIA. Frank Lowy is 'Life Governor' of the NSW UIA Executive. Mark Leibler (National Chair of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council) is a former chair of the UIA's World Board of Trustees. And, while Geoff Levy, deputy chair of Investec, may not be directly connected with the UIA, Investec's chairman, David Gonski, is a member of the UIA's 'extended executive' (as well as being on the board of Lowy's Westfield Group).

And what exactly is the UIA? Nothing less than the "central fundraising organisation for Israel throughout the world." (uiansw.org.au) And blow me down if it isn't a tax-exempt charity. Work that one out.