ALERT: Anti-Israel Protest in Silicon Valley

A group of so-called “progressive” activists called the Raging Grannies are organizing an Anti-Israel protest for tomorrow, January 4th, 2009, from noon till 1:30 PM at the corner of Winchester Blvd. & Stevens Creek Blvd. in Silicon Valley right next to Santana Row and Valley Fair Mall. I have word that some members of the Jewish community are coordinating a counter-rally presence at the same intersection:

It’s time to stand for Israel….. I’m asking you to join me to counter protest tomorrow at the opposite corner from the Pro Pal rally. We need PEACEFUL people who have flags and signs or just the courage to stand  up for Israel. Our goal is to stay on the sidewalk and obey the laws in our counter protest. Note: from prior experience, the other side is very loud and vulgar, if you’re not sure you can be a “light unto the nations” please plan to join the formal rally at the Levy Campus in a few days..

Call or email me if you can attend or have flags or signs to loan us.

Email me at oyster<at>oy-bay.org, and I’ll relay your messages to the counter-rally organizer.

ALERT: Anti-Israel Protest in SF Tonight

A rocket strike in a shopping mall in Ashkelon, Israel from earlier this year.

Take a look at this picture. Rockets of the type that struck this mall in Ashkelon, Israel have been hitting the region of Israel around Gaza for the past few years, including a virtually non-stop barrage on the city of Sderot. This is even after Israel gave the Gaza Strip back to the Palestinians, and uprooted all of the settlements! So much for the paradigm of “Land for Peace”…

Well, the local Israel haters would be loathe to sit on their haunches during this prime attention-getting opportunity, and they are going to be protesting Israel tonight (hat-tip to Kneidalach for the alert):

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National Day of Action Against Attacks on Gaza – Demo Israeli Consulate in SF
START DATE:	Tuesday December 30
TIME:	5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location Details:
Israeli Consulate 456 Montgomery St. San Francisco
Event Type:	Protest
Contact Name	Middle East Children’s Alliance
Email Address	meca [at] mecaforpeace.org

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Looks like ATBOTH is helping to get the word out about the SF Voice for Israel‘s Counter-Demonstration:

What: Counter Protest in Support of Israel
Where: Israeli Consulate – 456 Montgomery Street, San Francisco
When: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 – 4:45pm

Dear Friends,

Israel is taking care of business in Gaza, and it is upon us to watch her back, here, on the streets of San Francisco. As we have seen from recent events in the region, PR war is a big part of this conflict, and “the streets” is where it’s fought, and no one will fight it but us.

Under the camouflage of “Peace Movement”, the haters and the misguided will be holding a demonstration in front of the Israeli Consulate to protest the “Holocaust in Gaza”. We ask, where were they for 3 years to “stand for peace” when Israelis were being bombed, killed and injured? We ask why are the fair-minded supporters of Palestinians not outraged by Hamas’s continuous provocations which clearly led to this defensive action, by its human shields tactics, and by its complete disregard for human life, both Israeli and Palestinian? We ask, what would United States, Turkey, Russia or China do, if 750,000 of its citizens were under constant cross-border shelling? We ask the questions that are at the heart of this conflict, the ones that no-one will ask if we are not there!

So be there, with your own questions and answers, and flags and energy, to show by our solid presence our unwavering solidarity with the Jewish State.

For signs to support Israel, please go to:
http://www.standwithus.com/SIGNS/?type=focus&wc=39
And
http://www.standwithus.com/SIGNS/?type=focus&wc=21

These posters are ready to send to your local printer. Please bring your own flags and signs, we have limited resources for this event.

Be the[re with the] San Francisco Voice for Israel!

As always, feel free to make your own signs but please no signs or graphics offensive to any racial or ethnic group including but not limited to Arabs, Islam, or Palestinians. Signs in violation of our policies will not be allowed.

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Guest-posted by ATBOTH.
12/29/08
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/

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Saturday Night: Bay Area Tribe / Birthright NEXT Hannukah Party

San Fran: Hanukkah Worldwide- San Francisco Show Mezzanine, 444 Jessie St.

Birthright Israel NEXT presents… Hanukkah Worldwide, San Francisco Show with Bay Area Tribe Join 14 other cities as we celebrate Hanukkah with a party on the same night! San Francisco is determined to put on the best show of them all! Saturday, December 27, 2008- Doors open at 8:00pm Mezzanine 444 Jessie Street in San Francisco, 21+ Live Performances by: TAINTED LOVE Mike Relm Mr. Vigs And Hosted by Robert Strong Tickets are $18 online, $25 at the door. We plan to sell out the 1,000 person venue so pick up tickets while they are still available! PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS HERE! A TREE IS PLANTED FOR EVERY TICKET SOLD!

Date: Saturday, December 27, 2008
Time: 8:00 PM

Livni Boy?

Hokay! Check mah flow!

JTA reports on this latest expression of Israelis having no political creativity, and just ripping off American memes. Here’s “Livni Boy” (think “Obama Girl”, but not as silly as “Rosh HaShana Girl”). Oh, you don’t know? Tzipi Livni is a female Israeli politician that is contending for the Prime Minister position.

Forvertz: UC OK’s Study Abroad in Israel thanks to Bay Area Jews

See for yourself, but here’s a juicy excerpt:

“This makes it more accessible, and that’s the most important thing,” said Gordon Gladstone, executive director of Berkeley Hillel at the University of California, Berkeley. “Spending long periods of time in Israel allows you to contemplate your Jewish identity in a way that few other things can.”

The announcement comes less than a year after the U.C. Board of Regents tapped Mark Yudof, the former chancellor of the University of Texas, to lead California’s extensive 10-campus system. Yudof, who keeps a kosher home, is only the second Jewish president in U.C.’s history. Yudof has visited Israel at least six times, and is married to Judy Yudof, a board member of Hillel International and a former president of the Conservative movement’s congregational arm, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

While the movement toward reinstating U.C.’s Israel study-aboard program has been in the works for several years, some pro-Israel activists said they saw Yudof’s interest in the issue as the tipping point. Upon his return from a nine-day trip to Israel in early July — just two weeks after he assumed the presidency June 16 — Yudof was quoted in the Bay Area’s Jewish weekly, the San Francisco J, saying, “I told Hebrew University that it’s no secret — I’m going to take another look” at the policy.

The Unfolding Story of the Death of Dan Kliman, z”l

The news keeps trickling in about Dan Kliman’s mysterious death. On one one hand, nothing about the circumstances of his death are beyond the plausible. The elevator was broken. He was taking classes in the building. But the mundane generalities of this tragic event end there. He was arguably the Bay Area’s preeminent pro-Israel activist, often going toe-to-toe on the streets of San Francisco with rabid Anti-Israel protesters who had no compunctions with slipping into unabashed Antisemitism. The classes that he was taking at the building where he died was Arabic language. He dated one of the instructors. He was a gay, vegetarian, Orthodox Jew who was a bicycling activist. No one seemed to notice him missing, even though it was Thanksgiving weekend and he was supposed to be on an ORGANIZED trip to Israel. [UPDATE 12/09/2008] A friend of Dan’s wrote to inform me that indeed people noticed him being incommunicado even a few days before his death.

I can only give you my gut feeling on this one, my kind readers, since I have no special insider knowledge. All that I can do is tell you my personal feeling on this one, and that something stinks here. There’s just way too many unknowns and unusual circumstances here. This is no Israel-loving haven, and he had no short list of people who wouldn’t mind him dropping dead. I’m really glad that the SFPD decided that this warrants them opening up a multi-group Task Force to conduct a thorough investigation (see link below). Dan’s senseless death cries out for the truth, and sunlight is the best remedy.

Aside from my meaningless drivel, I can aggregate what is known.

Here are some blog-posts:

• Zombie, the Bay Area’s ardent Zionist shutter-bug, gives a personal testament to his friend Dan.
• AtTheBackOfTheHill remembers his friend Dan, and takes their anti-Israel antagonists to task for fostering an environment of hate.
• SF Voice for Israel has suffered the loss of Dan and another key activist in the recent past. Both are commemorated on their website. Also, they have released a statement regarding Dan’s death, that was posted courtesy of AtTheBackOfTheHill.
• CFSWarrior recalls a very disturbing event that happened to Dan outside of the Israeli Consulate in SF shortly before his death.
• heeb’n'vegan recalls this quote from Dan: “People do indeed define down Judaism and often use the ‘buffet method’ for their mitzvot. … On Yom Kippur, my Rabbi talked of how it is nearly impossibly for anyone, even a great tzadik (righteous person), to fulfill all the commandments; therefore, we should think in terms of bettering ourselves rather than achieving perfection.”
• The Bicycle Blog commemorates Dan’s passing, and has a photo of Dan’s bike still outside the building where he died on the day that his body was discovered.
• Critical Mass St. Louis mourns the death of their founder.
• One of Dan’s many e-friends leaves him an e-testament over at Zionism-Israel.com .

Here are some articles:

• Hands down, the best coverage has been from the SF Weekly, that gives it the local attention that this story deserves, and Joe Eshkenazi, formerly a reporter for the J Weekly, is intimately aware of Kliman’s background in the Jewish community. Here, Joe gets the police on the record saying that they “have evidence” that Kliman walked into the elevator shaft.
• Then, Inspector Krimsky claims that his “words have been twisted around“, and that they have hard physical evidence putting Kliman inside the elevator car shortly before his death. They say that they will be able to release more information regarding the physical evidence after December 15th. That date seems to coincide with the most likely end-date of his family ending the Shiva.
• Latest from SFW is that in order to make sure there’s no mistake, a Task Force is being formed to check all possible hate crime and homicide leads surrounding the case.
• KCBS buys the police’s story
• KPIX story gives more of an emphasis to Dan’s “pro-Israeli” activism.
• The J’s late-breaking (with an emphasis on late) article. Also syndicated to the JTA, that was one of the first outlets to break the news. [UPDATE 12/09/2008] Also syndicated at The Cutting Edge.
• Debbie Schlussel claims that his death was at the hands of Muslim extremists. Then, she gets the smack down from the East Bay Express, that calls her an Ann Coulter wannabe.

I’ll try to post more information as it becomes available.

Zionist Activist Found Dead

Dan Kliman of the SF Voice for Israel organization was found dead in the bottom of an elevator shaft.

See the JTA article for more details. More information to follow.

Chabad of Mumbai Taken Hostage by Terrorists

All of us watched with horror as the massive terrorist attack unfolded in Mumbai, India. Over a hundred dead, hundreds more wounded. Jews around the world worried about the Chabad community in Mumbai, and the Israelis who travel there as backpackers or on business.

Unfortunately, it looks like our worst fears have come true.

News reports are coming out that some of the Islamic fundamentalist terrorists have seized the Chabad House of Mumbai (nee Nariman House).

Please pray for the wellfare of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rebbetzin Rivkah Holtzberg (Gavriel Noach ben Freida Bluma and Rivka bas Yehudis), the other Jews who are being held hostage, and all of the victims from this unfolding tragedy.

Oy Bay will try to update information on this horrific situation as new information becomes available.

Barukh Dayan Emet. Only You can comprehend the sense in this senseless mayhem and suffering…

Other responses on the J-Blogosphere:

• Temunot Blog
  
• Failed Messiah
  
• Tzvee’s Blog
  

Double-Mitzvah: Help Israel & Special-Needs Yid-Kids

This just in from one of the “Tzidkaniyot” here in the South Bay:

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Shalom,

Attached is an order form for the Chanukah, Shabbat and Havdalah Candle Fundraiser.

The shabbat candles make for a great gifts. All the candles are dripless and last longer than the other brands being sold.

These same candles are being sold at Bay Area Judaica stores for the same price + tax. However, this is a fundraiser to help support the Myuchad (Special Needs) Religious School Program and Israel. A portion of each sale is tax deductible and there is no sales tax.

I will be taking pre-orders up until Tuesday 25th.
On December 7th, there will be a limited selection of candles sold at my synagogue from 9:30 until 12:30.

If you are interested in purchasing candle, please e-mail what you would like to for me to order for you.

Thank-you for supporting these programs.

myuchad@aol.com

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Looks like she’s doing all that she can to get some attention for her program, including writing to the J. So don’t be a total douche-nozzle. Get some j-gear that will do a double-mitzvah.

Anti-Semitic Graffiti in Berkeley, Again

Where in the Bay Area do you find a hostile environment for Jews? Only in Berkeley.

Wow, would you look at the time? We’ve been long overdue for another round of Antisemitic graffiti in Berkeley. I know that I saw some prime examples in my short tenure in the People’s Republic. The self-proclaimed Progressive community (beware anyone who entitles themselves so immodestly) is known for Free Speech… but only the kind of speech that they agree with. In the above graphic, you’ll see one of the BlueStar PR posters that were vandalized earlier this month. In the graphic below, you’ll see a different poster that was vandalized recently outside of Eschleman Hall.

Looks like Chancellor Birgeneau issued a statement denouncing the hate crimes. “Crimes”, you ask? Well, there also was some anti- Students for Justice in Palestine graffiti found in a Dwinelle classroom, that eloquently read (quotation from the Daily Cal):

On Friday, graffiti appeared in a classroom in Dwinelle Hall, reading, “SJP, Don’t Fuck with Jews on this campus ANYMORE!” along with a Jewish star labeled “Never Again.” A nationalistic Israeli statement in Hebrew was also found on the walls of the classroom.

Probably planted there so that they could get some even-handed statement out of the Chancellor’s PR vending machine.

Them pro-Israel whipper-snappers! In my day, it took four Jews with black eyes, a smashed-in Berkeley Hillel window, and the occupation of Wheeler Hall to get such statements! Harumph.

Melissa Solin has the chutzpah to tell the world that equating a Star of David and the Nazi Swastika is, you know, Antisemitic. How dare you try to call those who hate Israel Antisemitic, you fascist whelp! Whoa, sorry there. Channelling one of my “progressive” professors there for a second.

The Algebra of Hate: Swastika = Star of David

Yaman rambles immaturely about how the “Star of David = Swastika” part of the hate crime was  planted by Zionist agitators. Nice. I guess he’ll like my equally baseless conjecture above about the origin of the Dwinelle Hall graffiti. Sorry Y, but it cuts both ways.

Hey Berkeley Jew-haters, did you not get your fill this week? Then have I got a deal for you! Come out to see the SF Voice for Israel get lynched as they fly Israeli flags at the “How Berkeley Can You Be?” parade. Nothing says Berkeley pride like a good ol’ Israel flag burning, as my professors always said:

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Join San Francisco Voice For Israel as we march for the first time in the 13th annual “How Berkeley Can You Be Parade.”

Sunday, September 28th, 10:30AM
The parade starts at California and University in Berkeley. Look for the Israeli flags.
http://www.howberkeleycanyoube.com

Join San Francisco Voice For Israel as we march for the first time in the 13th annual “How Berkeley Can You Be Parade.” “How Berkeley Can You Be” attracts 15,000 people from across the region to see the spectacle, described by the organizers as interesting, irreverent, funny, and provocative. Some participants come to be outrageous, and some come to promote their causes.

We will be promoting our cause, Israel. Berkeley has gained the reputation as a city that is hostile to Israel and even to Jews in general. Many people have convinced themselves that they can not be public about their support for Israel and the harsh and shrill rhetoric of the anti-Israel forces have helped to silence public support for Israel. San Francisco Voice for Israel has demonstrated several times in Berkeley and has seen firsthand that there is much more support for Israel in Berkeley than people had been led to believe.

By marching in this parade, we will be promoting a positive view of Israel. More importantly, we will be “coming out of the closet,”  as Zionists and supporters of Israel. We will be showing Berkeley that Israel is something worthy of our support and that we are proud to support the world’s only Jewish state.

Please come and join us. Come as you are or dress outrageously. Most importantly, come to be counted. The larger our contingent, the more impressive we will be and the more of a positive impact we can make for Israel.

San Francisco Voice for Israel
http://www.SFVoiceForIsrael.org