Elder of Ziyon speaks in Jerusalem

The Elder of Ziyon in the title is the world-famous pro-Israel blogger and activist, and most definitely NOT related to the vile antisemitic forgery “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”. (Note the extra “y” in the Elder’s name). I have been following the Elder’s blog for years, long before I ever dreamed of becoming a blogger myself, and he was one of my major inspirations when I began.  He is still one of my first daily stops on the internet.  (He remains anonymous for obvious reasons.)

The Elder of Ziyon was one of the first people who began to question not only the infamous Goldstone Report but the actual names and numbers of “civilians” who were supposedly “murdered” by the IDF. With his research skills and the use of Google Translate, he discovered that the large majority of the Palestinian civilians killed were in fact Hamas terrorists. He has since gone on to debunk countless lies and slanders put out by UNRWA, Amnesty, Oxfam, the UN, the EU, and so many other NGOs.

Despite his extremely active blogging work, the Elder actually lives in the US, but recently he was here on a long visit. A few weeks ago, almost by chance, I noticed a post on his blog that he was giving a talk in Jerusalem. Thus three weeks ago I was privileged, together with a good friend, to be able to actually meet the Man of Mystery in person and hear what he had to say.

The talk took place in little shul hall in Talpiot in Jerusalem (and I am very proud of myself that I managed to find my way there without getting lost and without causing an international incident by crossing into hostile territory by mistake!  ).  The subject of the talk was Arab Antisemitism, and it was quite an eye-opener, even though I thought I had heard it all until then.

The only minus about the talk was that it wasn’t well-enough advertised. Next time the Elder visits we (all the pro-Israel bloggers and activists) must get together and organize an event in a very large and central setting so that many more people can attend and benefit from the Elder’s insights.

Makor Rishon journalist Ariel Kahana was also in attendance (though I didn’t know it at the time) and he has written an article about the talk (it is not online), which is translated and posted at EoZ’s site:

The atmosphere was reminiscent of an underground meeting in the pre-state days. Late at night, in a remote synagogue at the southern outskirts of Jerusalem, about two dozen people gathered. [I counted over 30 – EoZ] They came to hear a man whose name they do not know and whose picture they were not allowed to take. Not only Orthodox Jews were there, even a German government official took the trouble to come from one of the Arab countries in the region. Like the rest of those who came, she too has been following for years the man who lives in New Jersey but calls himself Elder of Ziyon, a US high-tech worker who has become a one-man hasbara machine.

“Elder,” as he calls himself after the famous protocols, has for years run a free blog that is witty, tenacious and knowledgeable. On a daily basis he crushes Palestinian anti-Israel propaganda, and ridicules the hypocrisy of its liberal supports. You could say he’s one of the few that does not succumb to political correctness and refutes it with intelligent and well reasoned arguments.

…

His achievements include exposing the Nazi tendencies of a researcher at Human Rights Watch; discovering anti-Semitic teachers and anti-Semitic content at UNRWA’s institutions in Gaza; the discovery that Omar Mashrawi, a Gazan child whose father works for the BBC, was killed by a Hamas rocket and not by IDF fire, and more.

…

“One still has to say that European anti-Semitism was far worse,” he said, “but the Arabs have permanent anti-Semitism, including Holocaust denial. In Egypt, Jordan, and by Mahmoud Abbas, of course. Anti-Semitism in the Arab world today is the worst it has ever been”. Elder buttressed these arguments with clear-cut cartoons and quotes from Arab media.

His words were surprisingly reinforced by the German representative. “You talk about everything that appears in the Arab media for all to see, but it’s nothing compared to what is said in mosques. I’ve been living in Arab countries for ten years. I was in Yemen, Jordan and other places. You have no idea about the things they say about you. For them you were and still are sons of monkeys and pigs”. In a personal conversation with her later she was shocked to hear that most Israelis do not speak Arabic, so we do not know how our neighbors are talking about us.

For his part, Elder stressed that Arab anti-Semitism gets routinely ignored by the civilized world, “except for one situation. When the Israeli government shouts and calls attention to displays of anti-Semitism in the Arab world or the Palestinian Authority, the international media wakes up. When Israel is silent, the West is silent as well. But that’s what needs to be done to combat the phenomenon, to expose them and shame them, and that’s what I, with my dull resources, intend to continue doing.

The Elder has posted a video of his talk, though the sound quality is not very good unfortunately.

After the talk there was a fascinating Q & A session in which the German woman mentioned by Kahana made her astounding comment that “we should only hear what they say on the streets and in the mosques”.  When I heard her accent I was sure she was going to be a leftist so I was very surprised when she not only backed up the Elder’s words but went even further in condemning Arab antisemitism.

Here is EoZ’s video of the Q&A session. It is cut short which is a shame (especially as yours truly’s question is missing too!).  UPDATE: My question IS on the tape: You can hear me at 3:14 asking how can we motivate the Israeli government to step up to the plate and take a more active part in combatting Arab antisemitism, as well as BDS and all the other lawfare onslaught against us. Unfortunately the Elder didn’t have any ideas beyond what we’re doing at the moment.

This session was at least as fascinating as the talk itself. Again, the sound quality is not great but listen carefully.

Listen and learn, and go and read the Elder’s blog every day!  And if you can afford it, support him too with donations.