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Israel’s Likud Party is offering young supporters the chance to intern in Israel this summer.
Likud, the party of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, embraces free market capitalism, tax cutting, privatisation and challenging powerful unions. Sound familiar? Spending the summer in Israel working for this conservative party would be unique experience.
“For the first time in its history, World Likud offers you the ultimate Israeli political experience. Now, you can arrive in Israel and participate in various activities in the Likud party, close to all the major decision-makers in Israel. Enjoy the wonderful advantages of Israel, its amazing views and throbbing ancient history, while boosting your resume, networking, and working from the Knesset in Jerusalem with Likud MKs, or from the Likud HQ in Tel-Aviv!
The World Likud Internship Program is open to young Likud supporters from around the world who wish to experience Israel differently, from within the nerve -centre of the Israeli democracy.
If your are keen on Israeli politics, and you feel that you want to do something extra for the state of Israel and the Jewish people, you are welcome to send us your resume, with a short essay (200 words) about why you want to join this program, and what makes you fit for it.
Please send the requested above to webmaster@worldlikud.org.il, and do not hesitate to inquire about anything that you have in mind. We will be more than happy to answer.”
King’s College Conservatives have announced their intention to raise funds for the Disasters Emergency Committee fund for Gaza. Remember, this campaign by the DEC was too controversial for even the BBC to endorse it. Sky declined to show it, as well.
Alex Seymour, Chairman of KCL Conservatives, wrote in a recent email to loyalists:
“This is a particular issue which has been taken up by the KCL Student Unions Campaigns and whatever your political position upon the war, I am sure we can all agree that the humanitarian situation for those in the Gaza Strip is horrendous.“
Um, Alex, at best, that’s a willfully ignorant statement. See, some many of us have qualms over the fact that Hamas, who basically own Gaza, are using it as a firebase to hurl as much death and destruction as Iran can supply them with into Israel, with one sole objective – to kill Israelis. If they happen to be Jewish Israelis, all the better. Hamas care not one iota for the people of Gaza.
Whilst no one wishes suffering upon the people of Gaza, we are deeply troubled by the likelihood that, as has happened repeatedly before, aid for the Gazan people will end up in the hands of Hamas, who use it as currency to reward their fellow terrorists, and pressure the rest. After all, the EU already funds the anti-semitic teaching of Gazan children. To deny these facts is pure naiviety.
Aside from the politics of the issue, Alex, who cares what your Union thinks or does? Student Unions are rarely on the side of liberty and freedom, so why, as freedom-loving conservatives, do you ask your members to dance to their tune? It’s not as if Student Unions don’t have a proud history of denigrating Israel (I could cite examples forever more), the Middle-East’s only democracy and prime opponent of Islamofascist terror.
So here’s a suggestion: show some spine and support for the conservative ideals you’re meant to uphold – support http://www.thankisraelisoldiers.com/
Thank Israeli Soldiers exists to send morale-boosting care packages to Israeli Defence Force troops. All you need to do is purchase a package, and the folks at Thank Israeli Soldiers will do the rest.
Lest we forget, the IDF doesn’t just protect Israel, the IDF is Freedom’s Front Line; if it wasn’t for Israel, where would the tide of Islamofascism be reaching? Who would be fighting it? Ask yourself, and be thankful for the IDF. Israel of course provides all manner of support to the people of Gaza. It even provides medical facilities to Gazans – even wounded terrorists, such is its belief in the sanctity of life and observance of international convention.
Alex, I suspect this message falls on deaf ears, but at the very least, consider dividing funds raised equally between Thank Israeli Soldiers and DEC. Ignore your SU, it’s worthless to you. Our conservative ideals are transcendent and supreme in consideration. Make a stand – stand for freedom – for Israelis AND Gazans: stand with Israel.
This morning thousands upon thousands – in the order of 15,000 – turned out in the bright winter sunshine to rally for peace for Israel and Gaza. The gathering had an upbeat, carnival air, with people in high-spirits – very much in contradistinction to the 80 or so pro-Hamas supporters who turned out, preaching barbarism and vitriol.
And we should call them pro-Hamas supporters, not pro-Palestine, because that’s what they call themselves, as they wave placards that read “We are all Hamas” and chant “Death death Israel” from behind their terrorist scarves. They have no interest in peace, let alone a two state solution. We shouldn’t be surprised, though. Since seizing power Hamas have systematically crushed all other political groupings in Gaza who supported the two-state solution. Hamas don’t care one iota for the people of Gaza. Make no mistake, this is just the newest manifestation of the oldest hatred. None of our supporters were arrested, no Starbucks were vandalised. A triumph of grace in the face of provocation.
Once again, flags not just of Israel, but India, Portugal, and many other countries were waved by our supporters. Dozens of Union Jacks were on display, emphasising the broad base of support the pro-freedom camp enjoys in this current struggle. At the end of the rally, the crowd sang God Save the Queen and the Israeli anthem.
The rally was addressed by many speakers, including the Chief Rabbi Sacks, the Israeli Ambassador, Douglas Carswell MP and the President of the Board of Jewish Deputies. Time and again, the emphasis was made that Israel doesn’t want to be in this conflict, but that Hamas had left her no option after continually bombarding her cities. The speeches called to mind two quotes from Golda Meir, the former Prime Minister of Israel:
“Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.”
“When peace comes, we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons. But it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons.”
Someone has cynically sent out a very realistic looking email appearing to come from the Board of Deputies of British Jews calling off Sunday’s demonstration. This is a HOAX and is UNTRUE.
The demo goes ahead as planned.
Please spread the message to be wary of this email and tell others this demonstration is on regardless whether you are coming or not. Report any emails to the CST if you can.
Last night’s Pro-Israel demonstration saw an impressive turnout to oppose the odious Hamas activists and their acolytes. The two sides were kept apart by a tremendous police prescence, and Metropolitan Police deserve much credit for calmly, fairly handling what could have been a dangerous situation.
Amongst the pro-Israel crowd were spotted several conservative movement leaders, showing that this isn’t a Jews vs Muslims issue, it’s freedom-lovers vs terrorists. Our placards called for an end to Hamas Terror, peace for Israel and Gaza; in contradistinction with our opponents who had banners reading “Victory for the Infatada”. We stood with our faces to the foe, they stood with their faces hidden behind scarves.
Protestors bore banners which showed how broad-based this event was, such as Christian, Welsh and English supporters of Israel.
The most noticeable difference between the two camps was scale – the pro-Israel side must have been ten times that of the pro-Hamas. A rough estimate would put numbers in the order of 2,000+ vs 150.
The Hamas supporters chanted, amongst other things “7/7″, waved the flag of that terrorist group, and pelted eggs indiscriminately towards the pro-Israel activists – eerily reminiscent of the unguided rocket strikes Israel endures daily from Hamas terrorists.
On our side one striking difference was that in addition to Israeli flags, Union Jacks were waved, too. Nothing but Hamas and Palestine flags from the other camp. I think that arresting visual tells you all you need to know about the mindsets of these two groups.
The prize for the most powerful sign was the simple, handmade placard shown below, which simply read “If they can smuggle arms, they can smuggle aid.” If Hamas cared about the people of Gaza they’d turn their energies and resources to preserving and enhancing life, not taking it.
Update: Coverage from fellow demonstrators at The Freedom Association, Harry’s Place and Edgar 1981
Update#2: London’s evening press has coverage of the demonstration. Apparently several pro-Hamas protestors were arrested, found to be carrying bricks and knives. A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said a pro-Palestinian faction was “intent on antagonising pro-Israeli demonstrators and police.”
You will no doubt have seen the recent anti-Israel protests in London, addressed by the usual assortment of Leftists such as Galloway and defeated former London mayor Livingstone. You’ll also have read Douglas Murray’s piece lifting the lid on the organisers of these events.
Now, supporters of Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas terrorist attacks on its territory have an opportunity to express their support for Israel at a pro-Israeli demonstration today (Wednesday 7 January) from 7.30p.m. to 9.30 p.m. at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington – next door to the Royal Garden Hotel. The address is Palace Green, London W8 4QB
Apologies for the short notice, but please attend this pro-Israel demonstration if you possibly can. Click here for a Google map. Nearest tubes High Street Kensington and Notting Hill Gate
As the battles of freedom against totalitarianism rage in the Gaza Strip, the battle of ideas and truth rages online. As activists, we have a duty to stand by Israel, the only democracy in the entire Middle-East (liberated Iraq not quite yet standing on her own two feet), to challenge the lies which Islamists and their Leftist accessories spout, and correct the bias and misreporting in the media.
The most obvious way we can show our support is to wear our politics on our sleeves. Be it a lapel badge on your suit, your Facebook picture (with the ribbon), or by donating your Facebook status to show the number of terrorist rockets to strike Israel. Drive? Show your support on your vehicle – the adjacent ribbon can be purchased online as a magnetic sticker.
So you’re fighting the culture war, you’ve nailed your colours to the mast – now what? You need to be well versed in the facts of this conflict, ready take on and correct the inaccuracies, half-truths and outright lies being peddled.
Take tonight’s news which is dominated by what is being billed as an Israeli strike on a UN school in Gaza. Whilst any loss of life on either side of this conflict is tragic and cannot be trivialised, we have to drill into people that Israel doesn’t make targets out of civilians – Hamas does. Hamas purposefully fights in urban environments to use the civilians as human shields, hoping to make strikes against their positions harder, and to score propaganda value from incidents like tonight’s, for which Hamas was entirely responsible. The school in question was being used to attack Israeli forces from. This is hardly a unique incident. Michelle Malkin has blogged a video from 2007 of terrorists using another UN school to fire mortars into Israel.
For those of you not members of Conservative Friends of Israel, they do weekly briefing notes giving an insight into the constant threat the Israeli people live under, and are, as you might expect, very busy at the moment.
Donal Blaney has a graphic video to illustrate the reality of living under a 15 second warning of missile attack. This is what Israelis in towns like Sderot face every single day.
A popular rod to beat Israel with is the idea that its response is disproportionate, begging the question, what would have been proportionate? Over the last 3 years some 5,800 rockets have been fired by terrorists into Israel. Where as Israel only pursues military, terrorist targets, Hamas et al purposefully fire indiscriminately at civilian areas. On Christmas Day 2008 alone, 80 terrorist rockets pounded Israel. The only ‘proportionate’ response to rocket attacks on Israeli civilians is their cessation.
Finally, for now, Douglas Murray exposes the fallacy of the idea that the weekend’s protests in London are in any way representative of public opinion. Passages such as this are especially damning, and need to be repeated time and again to all those who doubt how deeply the claws of the Islamists penetrate:
“The London embassy of one of Britain’s foremost allies has been under siege thanks largely to the British Muslim Initiative, who detailed on their website the time and location of the demonstration. The Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK- whose spokesman Asghar Bukhari was recently revealed by the Centre for Social Cohesion to believe that “any Muslim who fights against Israel and dies is a martyr and will be granted paradise”- also sought to give greater exposure to the planned demonstration.“
(IsraelNN.com) Eleven “youth” candidates running for Knesset with the Likud have formed a special council running its own campaign, which will focus on issues facing young Israelis. Each of the 11 is under the age of 40 and is placed in one of the top 35 slots on the Likud party list.
The candidates’ first initiative is to push the state to pay one year’s university tuition for young Israelis. The tuition break would be available only to those who served in the IDF or did national service. The free year of schooling would be in addition to a grant currently provided to released soldiers that can be used to fund education.
The young candidates also hope to encourage “green” building projects, which take environmental concerns into consideration, and to create bike lanes in various locations.
The “youth” candidates include Gila Gamliel, Sagiv Asulin, Tzipi Hotobeli, Ofir Akunis, MK Gilad Erdan and Yariv Levin. In an interview with Yediot Acharonot, Erdan expressed excitement over the number of young candidates, saying, “Something historic is taking place. For the first time in Israel’s history, roughly one third of Likud MKs are expected to be young. Some are still students, are still serving in the IDF reserves, finished their IDF service not long ago, are raising young children. They understand the problems of the young generation.”
Tzipi Hotobeli said she hoped the young candidates would encourage young Israelis to get involved in politics. In 2006 only half of young Israelis voted, she said, adding, “We’re starting the solution with this campaign.” Hotobeli said she would work to end “brain drain” from Israel.
