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216 thoughts on “The Great Certainty

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  • Paul Barbara

    Habs, what do you make of this?
    Here is another French ‘Theatre Attack’, which few will have heard of:
    ‘Jewish vigilantes jailed over Paris attack on Gaza fundraising event’:
    http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/jewish-vigilantes-jailed-over-paris-attack-gaza-fundraising-event-1637997442

    The attack occurred in 2009, but the alleged ‘sensitivity’ of the case meant 6 of the attackers were only jailed last Friday, 18th March 2016, whilst many of the assailants fled to Israel to escape justice:

    ‘PARIS – Six Jewish vigilantes were jailed in Paris on Friday over a “savage gang attack” targeting attendees at a fundraising event for Gaza in 2009.

    The defendants used iron bars, baseball bats and bike chains in the onslaught, in which they deliberately targeted anybody who looked like a Muslim.

    Among their victims was a 22-year-old singer who suffered a “lynching” by the 20-strong mob who chanted ‘Death to Arabs’ and ‘Long live Israel!’

    All were leading members of the Jewish Defence League (JDL), a notorious vigilante group that is outlawed in both America and Israel because of its links with terrorism.

    Despite this, the JDL is allowed to demonstrate openly in France, and its yellow and black clenched fist flags are regularly seen at events across the country.

    A court in the French capital heard how all six had beaten up Hatem Essabbak and Mustapha Belkhir outside a Paris theatre in April 2009.

    The case is considered one of the most sensitive in recent legal history, because of the way it illustrates how the Israel-Palestine conflict has been exported to the streets of major French cities.

    No less than five examining judges were involved in the Paris enquiry, with four resigning one after the other because of the intense pressure.

    The six men found guilty of carrying out aggravated violent assaults were Jason Tibi, Rudy Lalou, Azar Cohen, Maxime Schaffier, Yoia Bensimou, and Yoni Sulman.

    Other JDL gang members are said to have fled to Israel to avoid prosecution, while Tibi has admitted serving in the Israeli army while waiting for his case to come to court. At least two of those convicted today have since fled to Israel.

    A damning verdict reads: “The facts of this case illustrate how the violence was aggravated by victims being targeted because of their race and religion.”

    [b]Dominique Cochain, Essabbak’s barrister, said: “Normally, this type of case is dealt with within three months. It has to be said that this is a very sensitive issue.”
    [/b]
    Essabbak, a 22-year-old singer at the time, was with his girlfriend outside the Adyar Theatre, close to the Eiffel Tower, on Sunday 12 April, 2009.

    Both were taking part in Our Talents for Gaza – a showbiz event raising money for the surviving families of more than 1,400 Palestinians, including 400 children, killed by Israeli forces during an offensive a few weeks before.

    Essabbak was surrounded by the JDL men who used iron bars, bats, bike chains, crash helmets and fists in the “unprovoked lynching,” the court heard.

    Essabbak said: “I was repeatedly hit in the face, around the head, and on both legs. I then fell to the ground, and was hit again around the head. They carried on until they saw I wasn’t moving. My life stopped on 12 April, 2009.”

    Mustapha Belkhir went to help Essabbak and was also badly beaten up. Both men ended up in hospital.

    Witnesses heard the attackers shouting: “Have this, it’s for Gaza, you dirty Arab,” and “Us Jews are going to f*** you, you dirty race”.

    Most of the JDL members had their faces covered, but their mobile phones were later traced to the scene of the attack.

    Tibi – who was described in court as the leader of the group – at first denied any knowledge of the attacks, but admitted taking part when confronted with evidence.

    Tibi and and Sulman received two-year sentences, while the others were handed sentences of between nine months and a year.

    Beyond the theatre attack, 27-year-old Tibi has a previous prison conviction for smashing up a Palestinian book shop in Paris, and has been filmed fighting in Marseille.

    Ms Cochain told the court: “The evidence is that Mr Tibi has not changed. Videos on Google show that in 2011 he disrupted a pro-Palestine meeting in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, accompanied by JDL members, and wanted to stop debate.

    “They were shouting slogans like ‘F*** Palestine’. He was also in Marseille in June 2011 to protest against the Gaza flotilla taking supplies to the blockaded Palestinian territory. His face was covered in blood and he was saying ‘I’m here to protest’, ‘Israel will live, Israel will vanquish’.”

    The JDL is regularly involved in attacks on pro-Palestine activists, politicians, journalists and other perceived enemies across France.

    There have been numerous calls to ban the JDL in France, with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve condemning their behaviour as “excessive”.’

    Imagine how quickly a trial would have ensued, much more draconian sentences would have been imposed, and what massive world-wide media coverage there would have been, if it were Muslims attacking a Jewish fund raising event instead. There would have been no issue of ‘sensitivity’ then!

  • Paul Barbara

    Newsletter from Bernie Sanders re Arizona voting shambles:

    ‘What happened yesterday in Arizona should be considered a national disgrace. I got an email last night from a woman who waited five hours to vote in Arizona. Five hours.

    We don’t know how many thousands of people didn’t get to cast their ballots yesterday in Arizona because they couldn’t afford to wait that long. Scenes on cable news last night showed hundreds of people in line at 11:30pm in Phoenix – more than four hours after polls closed. Voting should not be this difficult.

    One reason it is so hard to vote in Arizona is because the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. There were 70 percent fewer polling places this year than in 2012 in Phoenix’s county. They wouldn’t have been allowed to cut those polling places if the Voting Rights Act was still in tact.

    These cuts meant that, in a county with more than 4 million residents, there were just 60 polling places. This is unacceptable, but it’s also not an isolated incident.

    We need to make it easier to vote, not more difficult. One way we can do that is by reaffirming our support for the Voting Rights Act, which, when I am president, I will fight to reinstate.

    Add your name to say you support reinstating the Voting Rights Act so we can make voting easier for everybody, not more difficult.

    Add your name »

    We cannot continue to see democracy undermined in the United States of America. Enough is enough.

    Make no mistake: the billionaire class does not want Americans to vote. Billions of dollars are being funneled into our elections in a form of legalized bribery, even as American voters — especially minority voters — are being discouraged from voting. It is no wonder that government no longer works for ordinary Americans.

    Above all, we need to remember the price that was paid for the right to vote. The Voting Rights Act was one of the great victories of the civil rights movement. Now, as then, change comes when the people demand it — in the voting booth, and on the streets in peaceful demonstrations. We must remind ourselves of what’s been achieved in the past, and resolve to do equally great things in the future. Democracy is not a spectator sport.

    It is my sincere hope that the states that vote in the coming weeks and months do better than what we saw yesterday in Arizona. Too much is at stake for our future.

    Right now, what we can do is show your support by adding your name to say you want to reinstate the Voting Rights Act. Click here to add your name.

    No one said a political revolution would be easy. The billionaire class doesn’t want to see our movement win, and so we must do everything we can to show them that we have the power.

    In solidarity,

    Bernie Sanders’

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