NEWS and EVENTS @ THE ZF

Invention & Innovation in Israeli medicine

Join us to hear four top scientists speak on advances they have made in the field of world medicine.

Thursday 7th Feb, 7.00pm
Euston Venue
Tickets £5 in advance or £10 on the door. Free for ZF members & students
Book online at www.zionist.org.uk.
For more information email dalia@zfuk.org.

The scientists will also be speaking in Birmingham (Sun 3rd Feb) and Manchester (Tues 5th Feb). For more information email dalia@zfuk.org.

Are you on the correct ZF email list?

We send out two emails every Thursday. One for Zionist Federation and one for Israel Connect. Both emails contain very similar content, but usually focus on different events.

Israel Connect is the young professionals branch of the ZF, targeting those aged in their early 20’s to mid 30’s. Typically those aged early 20’s to mid 30’s would receive the Israel Connect email, whilst all others would receive the Zionist Federation email.

You are currently receiving the ZIONIST FEDERATION email. If this is correct, you do not need to do anything. If you would like to be receiving the Israel Connect email instead, email gary@zfuk.org to let him know.

Two events with Gil Hoffman, Chief Political Commentator of JPost

Gil Hoffman is the Chief Political Commentator of the Jerusalem Post and was a regular broadcaster on British TV and radio during the recent Gaza crisis.

Tuesday 26th Feb, 8pm
Gil will be speaking on "Israel & her neighbours: the new realities".
North West London venue.
Tickets: £5 or £2.50 for students & concessions.
For more information and to RSVP email belmontforisrael@ymail.com.
View the flyer here.

Wednesday 27th Feb, 7.45am - A business breakfast
Gil will speak on "An insider's look at the quest for security, democracy & peace in the Middle East".
Central London Venue
Donation: £15
For more information: gary@zfuk.org.
To book click here.
Together with Laniado UK

Recent ZF Press Releases

MP sparks outrage with Antisemitic comments - In a statement released on Friday 25th January, the MP for Bradford East, David Ward, conflated Israel’s action to the Nazis in the Holocaust. Read the full ZF press statement here.

Leading UN expert compares Hamas to the French resistance - Richard Falk, a Special Rapporteur to the United Nations, recently compared Hamas to the French Resistance. Falk has previously called Israel an apartheid state.

Modern blood libel in Sunday Times cartoon - The Zionist Federation was horrified to see the Gerald Scarfe cartoon drawn in yesterday's Sunday Times. The cartoon invoked a modern blood libel against the Jewish people. Read the full ZF press statement here.

Sunday Times Response
Martin Ivens, Acting Editor of The Sunday Times, responded to emails complaining about the cartoon saying: "I am grateful to you for writing to The Sunday Times and expressing your views so clearly. I’d like to apologise at the outset for the offence caused by Gerald Scarfe’s cartoon published last Sunday. Its publication was a terrible mistake. The timing – on Holocaust Memorial Day - was inexcusable. The associations on this occasion were grotesque. As someone who understands the history and iconography in this context, I appreciate fully why publication has caused such offence and I apologise unreservedly for my part in that. I sought an urgent meeting with leading members of the Jewish community, and am pleased to say that we got together yesterday evening. It was a frank but constructive meeting. Mick Davis, Chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, accepted my apology on behalf of the group and told the press afterwards that the community “now looks forward to constructively moving on from this affair”. I hope you will find this reply reassuring, I thank you again for your correspondence."

ISRAEL NEWS in BRIEF

Question: Do you read this section? Do you find it useful? - We are currently assessing if collating this section is a worthwhile use of ZF time. Please email gary@zfuk.org to let us know if you would miss it if it goes.

OTHER ITEMS of INTEREST

PAST EVENTS

Paul Charney on Price of Kings Panel

This Wednesday Paul Charney, The Zionist Federation Chairman, spoke on a lively panel at Kings University, organised by One Voice, after the screening of the Price of Kings. Paul explained how Shimon Peres was a leading figure in turning Israel into an agricultural and technological world leader against all the odds as it is surrounded by nations who wanted to destroy it. Paul reminded the audience how Zionists are prepared to make painful compromises for peace, but there needs to be a partner on the other side, which their currently isn't. He also explained in detail about the connection of the Jewish people to Israel. He concluded on the fact that for there to be peace, the Palestinian education system that currently calls for Israel’s destruction needs to be changed, so that the next generation of Palestinians learn not to hate Israelis. If this happened, Paul believed that the prospects for peace would be much greater.

West Bank Christian describes persecution of Christians by Palestinian Moslems

At an event organised by the Hackney Israel Committee and the ZF 'Christy' (not her real name), a 23 year old Palestinian Christian law student, described her horrific experiences over the last 20 years of the persecution of Palestinian Christians in Judea, Samaria and Gaza by Palestinian Moslems. When , during the first Intifada, her family home near Jerusalem was used by Israeli soldiers to keep order, it was riddled with bullets by Palestinian terrorists. When her father was badly wounded by a terrorist bullet, the Israelis rushed him to the Hadassah Hospital in Israel and saved his arm. Some years later, Christy met a British Christian mediator, Howard, studying the situation of Christians in the Palestine National Authority, and he took her to meet Israelis in Israel itself. Hugely impressed by the equality of treatment of Israeli Arabs and visiting Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, her whole attitude changed. She began to understand why Israel fights back and woke to the barbaric attitudes of Palestinian Moslems to their own women (honour killings and rape) and towards all Christians and Jews; she researched the corruption of Palestinian leaders and discovered how vast sums of EU and UN money has been and continues to be transferred to secret personal accounts in Switzerland instead of providing services and infrastructure on the Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

The 50 strong audience heard about her attempt to speak up about this corruption over the last three years and how her life was constantly threatened; even her family turned against her as they feared for their own lives. Other Christian women had already been killed for the same 'crime' of exposing these real human rights abuses and war crimes. Eventually she had to flee in September 2011 and now has asylum status in the UK working for the Emmaus Group to awaken the Christian West to the the ethnic cleansing of Christian Arabs from Judea and Samaria; 600 have found asylum in Israel, a country Christy said was the 'only light in the darkness of the Arab world'; thousands have left for the USA and Bethlehem's Christian population has dropped from 81% in 2000, to 12% today and falling. She and Howard said that they are ashamed that the world churches and groups like Amnesty turn a blind eye and deaf ear to all this but are quick to find reason to unjustly express indignation against Israel when it defends itself against Palestinian terrorists. Answering many questions at the end of her talk, Christy said she was astonished at the level of radical Islam in the UK and Europe and pleaded for the churches to help Christians in the Moslem and Arab world, and help Israel remain free.

Israel Election Monopolity

Nir Cohen, the ZF Shaliach, visited two different campuses this week - Queen Mary and City university. Nir was facilitating an educational program for the J-socs regarding to the Israeli elections that took place last week. The program called "Monopolity" is a Monopoly game which is a fun and interactive game that explores topics, views and facts about the modern Israeli knesset. If you would like to organise Nir to come to your group email nir@zfuk.org.

ZF at Hasmo Boys School

Itai Palti of the Tzofim (Scouts) and ZF ran an interesting programme at Hasmonean Boys school about the dilemmas and topics and about the outcomes and results of the elections. Both Itai and students had a great time.

FUTURE EVENTS