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Mirren said Wednesday, June 22, 2016, that she was a "believer" in Israel and rejected efforts to boycott it. Mirren visited Israel to host the Genesis Prize, an a $1 million award known as "the Jewish Nobel," which is being awarded to Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman for his accomplishments as a musician, teacher and advocate for the disabled.
Dame Helen Mirren enjoys
another visit to Israel
VIDEO: Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren says she is a believer in Israel and rejects campaign to boycott it.
Mirren, who is NOT Jewish, has visited Israel several times, and has been a vocal critic of pro-Palestinian activists who have called for a cultural boycott of Israel.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, known as BDS, has enlisted the support of Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters and has persuaded Elvis Costello, Lauren Hill and other performers to call off concerts in Israel.
Continue reading about Helen Mirren's visit to Jerusalem.
VIDEO - Israel has an important place in my heart
Sources
http://www.israellycool.com/2016/06/22/helen-mirren-sings-israels-praises-again/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3654398/Actress-Helen-Mirren-rejects-efforts-boycott-Israel.html
In a Tuesday, June 7, 2016, actress Dame Helen Mirren testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act - aiming at the restitution of Jewish art stolen by the Nazis.
“Restitution is so much more, much more than … reclaiming a material good,” Mirren said. “It gives Jewish people and other victims of the Nazi terror the opportunity to reclaim their history, their culture, their memories and, most importantly, their families.”
By David Bedein
Mirren showered Israeli artists with praise and said she opposed both the efforts by pro-Palestinian groups to boycott them and the decision of some international artists to shun Israel.
“I think that art is an incredibly important way of communication,” she said at a press event in Jerusalem. “The artists of the country are the people you need to communicate with and make a relationship with and learn from and build upon. So I absolutely don’t believe in the boycott, and here I am.”
“I think that art is an incredibly important way of communication,” she said at a press event in Jerusalem. “The artists of the country are the people you need to communicate with and make a relationship with and learn from and build upon. So I absolutely don’t believe in the boycott, and here I am.”
Helen spent some time visiting the City of David (King David ruled Jewish Israel thousands of years ago.) "It's just the most extraordinary, moving and powerful experience to be here,” said Mirren.
“To look at the incredible work that’s been done to reveal these histories. I’ve always believed in history. I think that we have to remember what happened in the past always as it informs our future and it certainly informs our present. I’m a great believer in that. To be in this situation where you see the past being revealed before your eyes is the most extraordinary, passionate and moving experience.”
VIDEO - Her visit to Jerusalem
Mirren is in Israel to host the Genesis Prize, an award known as “the Jewish Nobel.” The $1 million prize is being awarded to Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman for his accomplishments as a musician, teacher and advocate for the disabled.“To look at the incredible work that’s been done to reveal these histories. I’ve always believed in history. I think that we have to remember what happened in the past always as it informs our future and it certainly informs our present. I’m a great believer in that. To be in this situation where you see the past being revealed before your eyes is the most extraordinary, passionate and moving experience.”
VIDEO - Her visit to Jerusalem
Mirren, who is NOT Jewish, has visited Israel several times, and has been a vocal critic of pro-Palestinian activists who have called for a cultural boycott of Israel.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, known as BDS, has enlisted the support of Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters and has persuaded Elvis Costello, Lauren Hill and other performers to call off concerts in Israel.
- The pressure applied by BDS on artists interested in performing in Israel is downrigh threatening.
- The BDS movement is small in numbers but vociferous and even violent at times - imposing its will on individual artists and intellectuals, and on western municipalities and business companies, by the sheer force of their intimidation and threats.
- Many who are already predisposed to hate Jews and Israel do not need much convincing, and have enthusiastically joined the boycott. Among them are the European Union and several Christian denominations in the United States and Canada.
VIDEO - Helen Mirren: Boycotting Israel is the craziest idea
And an article exposing how the BDS movement was founded by the Palestinian Authority (which in turn is funded by US and EU taxpayers). The PA pursues the dismantling of Israel. BDS is also funded by Arab countries that are extreme violators of human rights.
Helen Mirren touring Jerusalem with the city's mayor, Nir Barkat
Helen Mirren said her strong connection to Israel dates back to 1967, when she volunteered on a kibbutz, or collective farm, with her Jewish boyfriend at the time. She fondly recalled picking grapes and doing kitchen duty.
“I am a believer in Israel … I think this is an extraordinary country filled with very, very extraordinary people,” she said. “It’s just a lucky, for me, accident in my life that I have had this privilege.”
"I am a believer in Israel ... I think this is an extraordinary country filled with very, very extraordinary people," she said. "It's just a lucky, for me, accident in my life that I have had this privilege."
"I am a believer in Israel ... I think this is an extraordinary country filled with very, very extraordinary people," she said. "It's just a lucky, for me, accident in my life that I have had this privilege."
VIDEO - Israel has an important place in my heart
The prize was inaugurated in 2014 and is run in a partnership between the Israeli prime minister's office, the private Genesis Prize Foundation and the Jewish Agency, a nonprofit group with ties to the Israeli government.
It is funded by a $100 million endowment set up by the foundation. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was the recipient of the first prize, and actor Michael Douglas was last year's winner. Comedian Jay Leno hosted the first two ceremonies.
Mirren, 70, is one of the few actors to have won the so-called Triple Crown — collecting an Oscar, Tony and four Emmy awards over the years. She received her Academy Award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 film "The Queen."
She played the role of a former Mossad agent in "The Debt," a remake of an Israeli film of the same name.
And in "Woman in Gold," she played an elderly Jewish refugee who fought the Austrian government for a decade to reclaim an iconic Gustav Klimt painting stolen from her family by the Nazis.
And in "Woman in Gold," she played an elderly Jewish refugee who fought the Austrian government for a decade to reclaim an iconic Gustav Klimt painting stolen from her family by the Nazis.
http://www.israellycool.com/2016/06/22/helen-mirren-sings-israels-praises-again/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3654398/Actress-Helen-Mirren-rejects-efforts-boycott-Israel.html
Helen Mirren testifies in Congress
In a Tuesday, June 7, 2016, actress Dame Helen Mirren testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act - aiming at the restitution of Jewish art stolen by the Nazis. “Restitution is so much more, much more than … reclaiming a material good,” Mirren said. “It gives Jewish people and other victims of the Nazi terror the opportunity to reclaim their history, their culture, their memories and, most importantly, their families.”
Helen Mirren testifies in Congress
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Jay Leno Defies Anti-Israel Pressure,
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Famed comedian and longtime Tonight Show Host Jay Leno will be stepping up once again in support of Israel. For the third year running, Leno will headline a special night to benefit Israel.
In 2014 and 2015, Leno hosted the Genesis Prize award ceremony in Israel, following which he was attacked on social media for his support.
In a move that is completely in line with his character, Leno has turned a deaf ear to the naysayers and is headlining a night in support of Israel once again.
Read more
THE BDS MOVEMENT
WHO FUNDS THE BOYCOTT ISRAEL MOVEMENT
(Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions
against the state of Israel - BDS)
against the state of Israel - BDS)
By David Bedein
Director of the Israel Resource News Agency &
The Center for Near East Policy Research Ltd.
He lives in Israel.
He lives in Israel.
His website is http://israelbehindthenews.com/
Thousands of young people are now employed on campuses around the world, well financed and well organized, in an unprecedented effort that challenges the very legitimacy of Israel on every possible academic and economic front.
They call their movement: BDS – Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.
Over the next few days, Mr. Sheldon Adelson and Mr. Haim Saban have called an emergency meeting of organizations concerned about BDS to answer two questions.
- FROM WHERE does the finance and organizational support for BDS emanate?
- HOW CAN BDS be stopped?
The answers may be easier to ascertain than one would expectMost recently, official representatives of the Palestinian Authority, the PA, engaged in an international effort that almost booted Israel out of FIFA, the most prestigious international sporting association, a step which could have denied any Israel sports team from competing in any sports competition, anywhere in the world.
The direct involvement of the PA in this massive BDS activity revealed what had been known for years, which is that the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah organized the BDS “movement” in 2005.
The BDS web site speaks for itself. http://www.bdsmovement.net/, It is no more than a front for the PA.
BDS has indeed fostered an image that makes it seem as if it is a spontaneous grass roots movement.
Yet it does not take much research to discern that BDS is not listed anywhere as an independent organization, nor does BDS even hold or own a bank account, anywhere in the world. That is meant to foster the grass roots image, but the money involved has to come from somewhere.
The Arab League Boycott requires all imports into Arab ports to produce a "negative certificate of origin" - a document indicating that products were not manufactured in Israel, and their components were also not sourced from the Jewish state.
I called the Arab League Boycott office at the Arab League office in Washington, DC. and asked if the PLO supports the current Arab League boycott.
BDS, in fact, acts as a subsidiary of the PA, in coordination with the PLO Negotiations Department, working with the official Arab League boycott of Israel that has fought Israel ever since the Jewish state came into being in 1948.
How many of you remember the days when American Jews shunned Pepsi Cola because it had succumbed to the Arab boycott pressure and refused to sell to Israel?
After losing the battle to eradicate the new state of Israel, the Arab League launched a full-scale economic war, which continues to this day, recruiting each Arab country to promote a boycott of all companies that do business in Israel.
The Arab League Boycott requires all imports into Arab ports to produce a "negative certificate of origin" - a document indicating that products were not manufactured in Israel, and their components were also not sourced from the Jewish state.
The Arab League via a Central Boycott Office (CBO), established in 1951, has implemented this ever since.
The CBO was tasked with creating a "blacklist" of companies and institutions with trade ties to Israel, and applies to all Arab countries, except for the two Arab nations that signed peace treaties with Israel- Egypt and Jordan, which signed off from the Arab boycott. The PLO was expected to also sign off from the Arab boycott after the 1993 Oslo Accords.
However, the PLO has never stopped promoting the Arab boycott of Israel, even though one of the explicit clauses of the “declaration of principles" in Oslo was that the PLO would no longer support the Arab League boycott of Israel.
Why? What has escaped public attention is that the PLO never ratified the "declaration of principles", the most fundamental document of the Israel-Palestinian Oslo Accords, nor did the PLO ever cancel its charter to destroy Israel, which was another major clause in that accord.
I called the Arab League Boycott office at the Arab League office in Washington, DC. and asked if the PLO supports the current Arab League boycott.
The Arab League spokesman confirmed that the PLO indeed supports the Arab boycott campaign against Israeli products. Without any prodding, the Arab League spokesman went on to say that “We call that BDS now”-
“BDS” sounds better to the modern ear than “boycott” or “blacklist”.
The Arab league spokesman confirmed that all data of the Arab League boycott and Arab League blacklist has now been transferred to BDS, working under the control of each PLO legation in more than 100 countries, under the supervision of the PLO Negotiations Department, which coordinates activities with the central offices of the Palestinian Authority.
That means that the PA now enjoys the best of all worlds. The PA imports 30 billion shekels a year of Israeli products, while the PLO helps the Arab League campaign to boycott Israeli products, using the new terminology of BDS.
BDS activists, mostly from campuses abroad, now make timely visits to the PA in Ramallah, where cash is allocated for an untold number of BDS activists to profit in cash for their BDS activities
AT AIRPORT SECURITY IN EUROPE:
The European Union labels and boycotts products from Judea and Samaria, the Israeli heartland.
Since supervision of funds for Palestinian humanitarian services in the PA or UNRWA hardly exists, and since more than one nation provides cash for each of the Palestinian humanitarian services, that means that a cash surplus exists which PA can allocate for BDS activists to finance their operations.
And on his website
http://israelbehindthenews.com/
READ ALSO:
IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE BDS MOVEMENT
By investigative journalist Lee Kaplan - April 14, 2016
http://israelbehindthenews.com/exclusive-undercover-investigative-films-expose-inner-workings-of-bds/14626/
It is easy to witness BDS hard at work in Jerusalem.
BDS activists from abroad meet at the American Colony Hotel on a regular basis with senior officials of the PA and return home to their campuses with bundles of cash in their pockets.
The anti-Israel movement is ultimately not about a Palestinian state.
It is about the eventual dismantling of Israel and the murder or expulsion of every single Jew living in his ancient country.
Muslims, incidentally, arrived in the Land of Israel in the 7th century,
as conquerors and occupiers.
How can you fight the flow of finances to BDS?
Keep it simple. Ask each donor nation that funds Palestinian humanitarian services to make a reasonable requirement for transparency for the funds that each nation allocates to the PA or to UNRWA.
The BDS spigot may dry up, very quickly.
And then there is a diplomatic avenue. The PLO embassy in Washington, DC, which coordinates BDS activity in the US, was opened in May 1996 with the permission of the US government on the proviso that the PLO would cancel its charter to destroy Israel.
The PLO charter remains unchanged.
The non-cancellation of the PLO charter can now be invoked, to choke off the PLO office in DC, the fulcrum of support for the BDSLast but not least, the Israel Legal Forum has distributed copies of a strong anti-boycott law that was passed four years ago in Israel, http://www.nevo.co.il/law_word/law14/law-2304.pdf which mandates that anyone or any organization that engages in advancing a boycott of Israel or Israeli firms can be arrested and tried for a felony, and, upon conviction, can serve ten years in prison and face fines that will put their organization out of business.
The time may be right to encourage Israel to prosecute those Israeli citizens and visitors in Israel who actively promote the BDS Arab boycott of Israel.
Source
More articles by David Bedein on Israel National News
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Author.aspx/40And on his website
http://israelbehindthenews.com/
READ ALSO:
IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE BDS MOVEMENT
By investigative journalist Lee Kaplan - April 14, 2016
http://israelbehindthenews.com/exclusive-undercover-investigative-films-expose-inner-workings-of-bds/14626/
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