BSemites Whine over FIFA Capitulation

The Palestinian efforts to oust Israel from FIFA, the world soccer federation, was almost a big deal.  After all, unlike various BS efforts that are organized by clowns from outside the region who neither understand nor truly care about Palestinians, this failed effort at BS was organized by Palestinians themselves. 

This meant that there was actually something at stake for Palestinians (imagine the fate of the Palestinian soccer team if Israel had been kicked out of FIFA).  Which is why the Palestinian  Soccer League ultimately dropped the petition when it became clear that there was no majority support for the motion, let alone the 75% majority required.

The heads of the Palestinian and Israeli soccer associations, Jibril Rajoub (R) and Ofer Eini, shake hands.

Indeed, the vote did not merely fail.  It flopped, collapsed and then imploded.  90% of FIFA members voted against the suspension after the Palestinians withdrew their support for the idea.

BSemites who had nothing to lose (and for whom failure is becoming an all too familiar reality these days) are fuming.  How dare the people who would have been most affected by the boycott and for whom the boycott is ostensibly launched, call it off without consulting 18 year-old college kids in California?  The Jerusalem Post Reports:

"The Palestinian BDS (Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel) national committee is disappointed that that the entire FIFA congress, including the Palestinian Football Association, have not lived up to their obligations and stated principles. FIFA and its membership have delayed the suspension of Israel, but they cannot delay the growth of the international boycott of Israel or prevent the continued isolation of Israel..."

Two BS allies, Hamas and the PFLP, joined in condemning the Palestinian capitulation.  And the much advertised "avalanche of boycott efforts at other international bodies" is now, obviously, not going to come about.

For if Israel cannot be suspended from FIFA, given that organization's corruption and relationship with Hamas-funder Qatar, and where Palestinians have agitated for years, what chance is there of boycotting Israel at flower-growing or pet-grooming competitions around the world?

One Republic Slams BSemites during Tel Aviv Concert

The BSemites have being trying really hard to encourage artists to cancel concerts in Israel. The BSemites' rubbish has had very minimal success. Artists are swarming to perform in Israel, and are slamming the BS movement as they are doing so. This week a 20,000 audience enjoyed an amazing One Republic concert in Tel Aviv. See this Israel National News report:

Tel Aviv's Park Hayarkon was packed with 20,000 jubilant youthful fans on Thursday night, who, after an opening performance by Israeli singer Harel Skaat, soaked in over an hour-and-a-half of pure One Republic with no gaudy effects and no playback or backup on vocal and instrumental tracks - just raw musical talent including on the cello and piano, reports Yedioth Aharonot. 

It was the debut performance in the Jewish state for the famous band which hails from Colorado.

The band did not hesitate to attack BSemites during the concert:

Towards the end of the performance in a break between songs, lead singer and songwriter Ryan Tedder spoke about the boycott movement and antagonism facing Israel. 

"I know how hard it is to bring a new act here, I know how many people cancel on you and that's bulls**t," said Tedder. "Where we grew up we don't take sides, we just love people, good people." 

Promising a repeat performance in Israel, the band members said, "when we come back here we're going to bring you new music and a newalbum," an announcement met with the thunderous approval of the audience. 

Showing their love of Israel, the band even had a giant image of the Israeli flag shown on the stage's screens.

Even Tedder agrees - BS is really BS! Go One Republic!

Big Anti-BS Victory in Washington State Supreme Court

As usual, good news! We've already noted the wave of anti-BS legislation going on lately; now, the courts are also moving along. This time, the Supreme Court at Washington State enabled legal persecution against the board of Olympia Food Co-Op, which ruled to boycott Israeli products with direct contradiction to the company's own policies. See this legal insurrection report:

Members of the Olympia Food Cooperative sued the Co Op’s board after board members decided to protest Israel’s alleged human rights violations via a Co Op-wide boycott of Israeli-made products. Plaintiffs claimed that the boycott violated the Co Op’s own boycott policy; the board, however, invoked Washington’s anti-SLAPP statute, claiming that the plaintiffs had filed a frivolous lawsuit as a way of suppressing public discussion. The plaintiff group was SLAPPed (I had to) with over $200,000 in fines and penalties, but appealed, claiming the SLAPP statute itself was unconstitutional. 

Guess what—they won. 

The case went all the way to the Washington Supreme Court, which held that Washington’s unique SLAPP language “creates a truncated adjudication of the merits of a plaintiff’s claim, including nonfrivolous factual issues, without a trial. Such a procedure invades the jury’s essential role of deciding debatable questions of fact.” This, they said, violates the Washington State Constitution.

Just another day, washing BS nonsense away.

World Looks to Israel for Agriculture Tech

As a world leader in agricultural technology, Israel is now offering technical aid and a model for emulation for countries worldwide.  This is particularly true in the field of dairy production.  According to Ynet, Israel controls about 12% of the global diary technology market, its exports now totaling $110 million, a 7% rise from 2013.  This progress has prompted other states to engage in cooperative enterprises with Israel.

Automatic Milking Parlor as advertized by Kibbutz Afikim

Developing countries, particularly in Asia, want to upgrade their outdated dairy industries and are looking to Israel for products and expertise. So are foreign investors hoping to stay ahead of the curve. 

India is the biggest milk producer in the world, but most of it comes from farmers with few resources. Average production levels per cow are low, to the frustration of policymakers.  ‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮‮"‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬We're missing a huge export opportunity to Europe and other countries," said Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister of Maharashtra, who came to Israel to find a solution.  "I think with Israeli technology we can take our farms to the next level."

In Vietnam, a group of Israeli companies led by systems developer Afimilk is building a $200 million dairy farm, one of the largest projects of its kind in the world. It will eventually supply half the milk in Vietnam.

According to Israel technology website nocamels.com, the average Israeli cow produces 30% more milk than the average American cow thanks to milking and monitoring technology.  Companies in Canada now implement Israeli automatic milking devices that can milk 600 animals per hour.

The Backstreet Boys Touring and Performing in Israel

Last night, the boy band performed their first out of three consecutive concerts in Israel, to the cheering 8000-people crowd. The Backstreet Boys, which arrived in Israel earlier this week, have visited sites like the Old City in Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, and are to stay in the country for their two following gigs. See this Times of Israel report on the band's love for the Jewish state:

American boy band The Backstreet Boys performed for a sold-out crowd of more than 8,000 Israeli fans in the central city of Ra’anana on the first night of its three concerts Tuesday night.

The five band members, A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell, said the performance was a “big honor” for them and apologized for not making it to Israel sooner. 

“Thanks for your love. We’ll be back here,” they told the crowd.

The Backstreet Boys, like other performers such as Robbie Williams and Art Garfunkel, have rejected BS nonsense demanding withholding performances in Israel. Go Backstreet Boys! We Want It That Way!

Illinois on Its Way to Passing anti-BS Legislation

After the landmark condemnation in Tennessee, and the following actions taken in Indiana, we are glad to report that yet another state has joined the anti-BS wave, this time our lovely Illinois! Legislation on its way in Lansing. Passed by a unanimous 10-0 vote last week in the executive committee, the proposed bill decrees divestment from any company that supports the BSemites attempting to advocate divestment from Israel. See this Washington Free Beacon report:

A milestone bill meant to combat international boycotts of Israel cleared a major procedural hurdle in the Illinois House this week, paving the way for the state to become among the first to divest funds from any company supporting the anti-Israel Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment (BDS) movement. 

The bill, which would force Illinois’ five state pension funds to divest from any company supporting boycotts of Israel, passed by a 10-0 vote through a key executive committee on Wednesday and is now on its way to a full vote in the state’s legislature, where it is expected to garner widespread support. 

The measure has been championed by newly installed Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has been pushing for such a bill since before his election in 2014, when he defeated Democrat Pat Quinn. 

The anti-BDS bill—which comes on the heels of federal efforts in Congress to pass similar legislation—is among the first state-level efforts to garner widespread traction and could set the stage for other states to adopt such legislation.

Irony at its best - companies supporting divestment are now themselves being faced with state divestment! Go Illinois!

BS Dealt Another Defeat - GreenStar Food Unanimously Rejects Boycott

Some BSemites tried to propose a boycott against Israeli products resolution to the GreenStar National Foods Co-op in Ithaca, New York. Well, surprisingly (actually, not that much) the corporation unanimously rejected this petty proposal, after the legal counsel remarked that national origin boycotting very much violates the Human Rights Laws in New York State. See this Legal Insurrection report:

Activists from Ithaca Jewish Voice for Peace brought a referendum to the GreenStar Food Coop in Ithaca calling for a boycott of Israeli products. The effort was national, with big names such as Angela Davis (radical anti-Israel prof.) and Medea Benjamin (Code Pink) lending their support (see Featured Image). 

The effort was rejected tonight unanimously by the GreenStar Council based on the NY State Human Rights law prohibition of boycotts based on national origin. 

The GreenStar Council met tonight, and ruled that based on the opinion from GreenStar’s own legal counsel, the referenda exposed GreenStar to potential legal liability under the NY State Human Rights Law, thereby impacting GreenStar’s insurance coverage.

So basically: BSemites purporting to stand for human rights are suggesting violation of human rights. Oh, the irony. Oh, the shame. Oh, grow up BSemites, for your own sake.

EU Ambassador to Israel Hails Mutual Cooperation

In an op-ed article titled "Boycott? What boycott?", the EU's ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen praised the mutual cooperation between Israel and the European Union regarding technological and academic advancements.

Lars Faaborg-Andersen

The EU's cooperation with Israel in the field of science and technology took a giant leap forward in 1996, when Israel joined one of the EU's seven-year R&D Framework Programmes. It was raised to its highest level last year when Israel became associated to the EU's 80 billion euro Horizon 2020 program, the biggest research program in the world. To this day, Israel is the only non-European country in the world to be fully associated to such programs. 

To give you an idea of what this means in practice, during the last framework program - FP7 (2007-2013) – close to 2,000 Israeli researchers participated in 1,612 projects for which they received a total of euro 875.08 million, approximately 1.6 times the amount that Israel invested in the program. Almost 70% of funding went to institutions of higher education and FP7 became the Israel's leading source of competitive public funding for civil R&D.

Faabordg-Andersen continues to hail the cooperation and stresses out that this cooperation is beneficial for both parties. His concluding words need no introduction:

The close EU-Israel partnership in science and technology is more than just a success story. It is a model for the type of close relations we hope will continue and which we would like to see in more fields in the future.

Cooperation, partnership, a success story. No mention of whiny BSemites to be found. Exactly like it should be.

Israel's Credit Rating Remains High

What a pleasant way to open the week with good news on Israel's robust economy. The credit rating of Israel remains top-notch, according to the credit rating agency Fitch Ratings. BSemites, you really ought to try harder, apparently. See this Globes report:

International credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has affirmed Israel's ratings. Israel's long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) remain at 'A' and 'A+', respectively. The outlooks are Stable. The issue ratings on Israel's senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds have also been affirmed at 'A' and 'A+', respectively. The Country Ceiling has been affirmed at 'AA-' and the Short-term foreign currency IDR at 'F1'. 

"Israel's IDRs balance a strong external balance sheet, robust institutional strength, solid macroeconomic performance and substantial financing flexibility with an elevated government debt/GDP ratio and high geopolitical risks," Fitch's announcement says. 

Listing the factors behind the reaffirmed rating, Fitch notes that the central government deficit narrowed to 2.8% of GDP in 2014, the lowest since 2008. "A budget for 2015/16 may not be in place until 4Q15, allowing time for the new government, formed in May, to formulate its fiscal plans. In the absence of a budget, a fiscal rule will keep spending unchanged in real terms, allowing a further narrowing of the deficit. Early indications from the new coalition suggest a more expansionary fiscal stance in 2016," Fitch says.

Israel's economy is strong. Much stronger than to be threatened by a group of hypocrites with megaphones, so it seems.

Israel's IDR remains A

Bowdoin College Rejects BS Nonsense With Huge Majority

The wave of campuses denying BS rubbish is just getting stronger. A vote on academic boycott of Israel in Bowdoin College was turned down with an overwhelming majority: 228 votes in favor, 1,144 votes against and 247 abstaining votes. In other words, more than 70% of the votes rejected the resolution, completely slamming BS attempts on campus.

This time, as Legal Insurrection points out, some amusing irony is also at hand. In order to be up for voting, BSemites at campus needed to get at least 20% of the 1,915 students in the student body to sign a petitions supporting the motion. Even though they managed to get the petition signed by the required amount - 385 students - it turns out that only 228 voted for the resolution in the ballots:

This is a particularly crushing blow to the boycott movement, with 150 fewer students voting in favor than signed the Petition. This reflects that many students were pressured into signing the Petition and also were misled as to the nature of the boycott. 

That 85% of student body participated reflects that the student body spontaneously rose up against this threat to academic freedom.

Indeed, academic freedom has once again been protected, and BS nonsense has once again been rejected.

SSCCC General Council Rejects BS Resolution

The General Council of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, which gathered May 1-3, rejected a BSemite resolution advocating divestment from Israeli companies. Protocols have not been officially published, but algemeiener has already reported of the BS failure in the General Council:

Earlier this week, on May 3, a similar bid failed to pass when the California Community College system, the largest educational system in the United States, rejected a resolution to divest from companies doing business with Israel. 

The General Assembly of the Student Senate of California Community Colleges – which represents over 2.1 million students – voted against the divestment measure with a final tally of 25 in favor, 44 opposed, and six abstentions.

Another blow for BS's hypocritical attempts, one we will surely learn more about in the future.

BSemite Mob Attacks Two Jews in Paris

It just doesn't seem too convincing when a group that claims only to promote divestment from Israel goes about in the street of Paris and assaults helpless Jews. And yes, this is what the BS movement would have you believe. In reality, assaulting Jews with old-fashioned anti-Semitism is just what these BSemites are up to. See this Jewish Press report:

Two young Jews were assaulted Friday afternoon on the street in Paris by a mob of about 40 people, an organization monitoring anti-Semitism in France reported. 

The gang of attackers was associated with anti-Israel groups Gaza Firm and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). 

Friday’s attack marks the latest in a growing anti-Semitic trend in France and Europe as a whole. Last January, an Islamist terrorist took hostages in a kosher supermarket in Paris and killed four Jews. Just a few weeks later, a security guard was killed in Copenhagen when a lone gunman opened fire in front of the city’s Great Synagogue.

Well done, BSemites, your true intentions are gradually revealed. After such outrageous claims such as that the Charlie Hebdo attacks were Mossad work, you are practically doing everything you can to show the world how ugly your intents really are.

Robbie Williams "Gave the Entire BS Movement His Middle Finger"

Robbie Williams, pop sensation and UNICEF goodwill ambassador, performed for 40,000 Israeli fans in Tel-Aviv's Yarkon Park yesterday.

His performance came less than one week after Roger Waters published a desperate (and futile) plea on behalf of the BS group, urging Williams to cancel his Israel show.  Despite the lies, conspiracies and libels in Water's letter, this BS effort, too, failed spectacularly.  As it did the time before.

The Jerusalem Post reports how BS became a topic of mockery in Williams' concert:

photo credit:  Jerusalem Post/David Brinn

Professing his love for Israel (and especially its women), the singer declared that he plans to tell his friends that his visit was “f**king amazing.”

“It’s all about love, folks,” Williams said as his nearly two-hour concert drew to a close.

“I’ve always wanted to visit Israel and to see you and feel you, and I think now I have,” he said as hundreds of blue and white balloons sifted through positively giddy crowd of 30-40 year-olds who spent decades humming along to the vast array of Williams chart-topping hits.

Nobody tells Robbie Williams what to do. And, on Saturday night, Williams gave the entire BDS movement his middle finger.

Roger Waters would not be pleased.

A significant understatement, given this quote by Williams about his Israel visit:

"I was really really looking forward to coming here more than anywhere else I've played on this tour. I wanted to see you, I wanted to feel you, I wanted to know more about you, and I think I've done that and I want to come back again and stay a bit more time."

The Palestinian propaganda website Mondoweiss promised two days ago that "pressure rises on Robbie Williams over Israel gig."

Turns out... no, not really.  Not at all, in fact.

Indiana General Assembly Passes anti-BS Bill

Following the decision of the Tennessee General Assembly to promote anti-BS legislation, the general assembly of the State of Indiana is soon to follow. Resolution 74, expressing opposition to the anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli BS movement, was passed unanimously in the Indiana House of Representatives mid-April and was now approved by the state's general assembly. See this Algemeiner report:

The Indiana General Assembly has become the second-ever state legislature to pass a bill that formally opposes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Tennessee lawmakers approved a similar measure on April 21. 

Adopted in a voice vote, the Indiana Senate approved Resolution 74, which “expresses opposition to the anti-Jewish and anti-Israel” BDS movement. 

The Senate’s move came after the Indiana House of Representatives unanimously (93-0) passed the anti-BDS House Resolution 59 on April 22. The measure now goes to Indiana Governor Mike Pence for his signature. 

The Indiana bill contends that the global spread of anti-Jewish speech and violence “represents an attack, not only on Jews, but on the fundamental principles of the United States.” The resolution goes on to thank the presidents of Indiana University and Purdue University for “strongly” condemning the boycott of Israeli academic institutions after some faculty members and other staffers at those schools voiced support for the BDS movement.

 Way to go Indiana! And as we can see, it is very likely that this will not be the last anti-BS state legislation in the near future.