Im Tirtzu's New Campaign 'Outs' Leftist Artists, Including Oz and Grossman

[Israeli]

After previous campaign singled out members of human rights groups as foreign 'moles,' new campaign will release names of hundreds of artists linked to leftist causes.

Haaretz Jan 27, 2016

The right-wing group Im Tirtzu launched a new campaign singling out Israeli artists associated with leftists groups on Wednesday.
The new campaign, which follows in the footsteps of the group's recent video in which it "outed" individuals associated with human rights groups as foreign "moles," attacks several of Israel's most well-known artists, including writers Amos Oz, David Grossman and A.B. Yehoshua, actor Gila Almagor, and singers Rona Keinan and Chava Alberstein.
Under the banner "moles inside culture," the campaign will mount billboards and will also release a report listing of hundreds of artists considered by the group to be linked to the left.

Matan Peleg, the CEO of Im Tirtzu, told Walla that artists regularly come out against elected officials with "slanderous campaigns," while "hiding the fact that they're members of mole organizations." "The public has all rights to know these details," Peleg said, adding: "We'll not allow mole organizations to throw dust in the eyes of the public."
The preliminary list published by the group divides artists' names according to their activities in different organizations. Thus, the names of artists that took part in a Breaking the Silence event include actresses Sarah von Schwartze and Heli Goldenberg, directors Ofira Henig and Rani Blair, choreographer Ohad Naharin, and curator Gideon Efrat. The artists that according to the group are members of B'Tselem public council are author Amos Oz, actresses Gila Almagor and Rivka Michaeli, artist Dani Karavan, author David Grossman, and Prof. Ariel Hirschfeld. Playwright and director Joshua Sobol and former president of the Jerusalem Foundation Ruth Cheshin appear as members of Yesh Din's public council, and listed as part of the New Israel Fund's international council are poet Ronny Someck, authors Amos Oz and Sami Michael, as well as singer Shaanan Street. 

Writer Ronit Matalon, one of the artists labeled by Im Tirtzu as a Breaking the Silence supporter, called the group "a bunch of hooligans." "The problem is that the more isolated the country gets, the more it is perceived as a leper, it starts attacking itself, with complete lack of understanding. We should show persistent and determined resistance. We should resist and not be afraid."
"I shit on Im Tirtzu's head," said Dror Feuer, a journalist for Globes. "I'm proud to be on the list and proud to have attended a Breaking the Silence event."

Also on Wednesday, one of the founders of Im Tirtzu took to Twitter to defend Joseph McCarthy, who in the 1950s conducted an official witch hunt against communists in the United States. Ronen Shoval was responding to comments on Twitter by Israel Channel 20 editor Avishai Ivri. "[I'm] not familiar with the exact historical details regarding Joseph McCarthy, but you see who is coming out against him currently and you can't help but be in his favor," Ivri said in a tweet in Hebrew. Shoval, who was on the Habayit Hayehudi slate in last year's Knesset election, but was not elected to parliament, commented in Hebrew: "The historical details revealed that in most cases, he was correct."
The two were reprimanded in turn by Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Galon, who gave them a "history lesson" on her Facebook page.

Source: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.699911

[Little Tich]

1. They got away with the previous attempt to incite against left-wing NGOs, and I think it just made

them bolder.

I have a real problem with Im Tirtzu, because I define them as a fascist organization, and as such, it shouldn't be part of the democratic discourse. What they do is tasteless and dangerous.

I share Dror Feuer's sentiments when he said: "I shit on Im Tirtzu's head".

[shira]

2. Im Tirtzu fascist? I'm not sure you know what fascism is...

Last edited Thu Jan 28, 2016, 07:38 AM - Edit history (1)

Fascism is siding with actual fascist totalitarians who hate liberal, progressive values. Like siding with the neo-nazi Fascist Right or the Stalinist Regressive Left.

Or siding with Hamas, Hezbollah, the PA, ISIS, Al-Qaeda against anything western, American or Israeli. It involves making excuses for those who hate women, gays, religious minorities and every progressive/liberal value in the book....

Fascism is excusing & justifying as "natural" the impulse to murder mothers in front of their children, stab elderly people in the streets, and blow up kindergartens.

[azurnoir]

4. you're actually defending Im Tirtzu ?

[shira]

6. Nope. But if you think they're fascist, explain. n/t

[azurnoir]

7. I think a Jerusalem court did that quite well :)

[shira]

8. Explain briefly please b/c I'm not sure you know what Fascism is either. n/t

[azurnoir]

9. Read the thread the decision is posted here and I agree with it

[LeftishBrit]

15. They are certainly against democracy...

Last edited Fri Jan 29, 2016, 08:34 AM - Edit history (1)

and I would say indeed fascist, or at least McCarthyite.

They have certainly aroused condemnation from some 'regressive leftists' and 'Hamas lovers', e.g. the following comments:

'(I) oppose the use of the word ‘traitor’...We are a democracy and there are a multitude of opinions.”

'The demonization of people who have different opinions as traitors is obnoxious and dangerous to me'.

'Embarrassing, unnecessary, and degrading'


By the way, these three speakers are Bibi Netanyahu, Moshe Ya'alon and Naftali Bennett, as quoted in the 'Times of Israel'. I rarely agree with any of these on anything, but am glad to note that they perceive and oppose the threat to democracy posed by the likes of Im Tirtzu.

[shira]

16. I agree about McCarthyism. See my comment below. But against Democracy?

I wouldn't say they're against Democracy, free speech, legitimate criticism...

It's one thing to be against subversive groups that want to do Israel harm, demonize people, incite violence vs. israelis......it's another to attack individuals for their ties to such organizations, inciting against them. Amos Oz for example doesn't incite people to violence against Israelis.

Im Tirzu went way overboard in their advocacy, as most far Rightwing groups inevitably do.

[Israeli]

3. You are not the only one to ....

" define them as a fascist organization, " ......see :

http://972mag.com/jerusalem-court-okay-to-call-im-tirzu-a-fascist-group/78591/

I share Dror Feuer's sentiments with you .

[azurnoir]

5. Thank you says it well

[azurnoir]

13. .....l

Israeli State Implicated in Criminal Acts Against Human Rights Lawyer

Back in 2010, Im Tirzu (Fascists) published the private legal work product of Israeli human rights attorney, Michael Sfard, regarding the human rights work of his NGO clients. At the time, Sfard believed that Im Tirzu itself had broken into his offices to pilfer the confidential documents. As one would expect, given the Israeli police record of defending the rights of left-wing NGOs, the police closed the case for “lack of evidence.”

These legal materials were published in Sheldon Adelson’s Yisrael HaYom, the newspaper founded by the billionaire to get Netanyahu into the prime minister’s office and keep him there. The article claimed that Yesh Din, one of Sfard’s clients sought to classify IDF military assaults against Gaza as war crimes. Im Tirzu believed that such exposure would shame the NGO in the eyes of the Israeli public and forever mark it as a traitor to the Israeli State.

Haaretz’s best investigative journalist, Uri Blau, who now lives in exile in the U.S. after being labelled a criminal for reporting IDF secrets, reported that the stolen documents were procured by another right-wing NGO, Regavim. This group’s mission is to prove that rather than Israelis violating international law by stealing Palestinian land, it is Palestinians who are violating Israeli law in the West Bank. It’s a warped and twisted view of reality, but that’s what characterizes latter-day Israel.

Regavim thrives in the Wild West atmosphere of Likudist Israel. Like Ad Kan, it’s a rough-and-tumble outfit that uses whatever means at its disposal, legal or illegal, to bolster the Occupation and settlement enterprise. In this case, Blau shows conclusively that Regavim hired a private detective to break into Sfard’s office and steal legal materials. This is of course a grave offense. Not that the police will actually arrest anyone for the crime. The goal of the scheme was to prove that Sfard was collaborating with Israeli enemies in the EU in support of the BDS movement.

Blau discovered that Regavim had paid the PI for his work and that, since over one-third of Regavim’s funding comes from governmental entities (like Settler Councils and the like) that it’s quite possible that the Israeli taxpayer paid for the break-in. The costs of the PI’s three-year surveillance of Sfard’s office could’ve have been as much as $250,000.

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2016/01/27/israeli-state-implicated-in-criminal-acts-against-human-rights-lawyer/

[shira]

10. Okay, Im Tirtzu's ridiculous. This reeks of McCarthyism.

I originally didn't even read the article. All I saw was "fascist" and that's what I responded to.

[Israeli]

12. Sure shira ....sure ....nt.

[azurnoir]

14. apparently Bibi's not too keen on them either

http://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-raps-rightist-group-dont-call-political-opponents-traitors/

[Israeli]

17. Sure azurnoir.....

Analysis : Lowbrow Right-wing Group Has Friends in High Places

A message to Israeli politicians: if you will allow it, Im Tirtzu will run roughshod over the country.

Yossi Verter Jan 30, 2016

This week saw the launch of a new campaign by Im Tirtzu, this time against left-leaning Israeli artists. The group takes its name from the first words of Theodor Herzl’s motto, “If you will it, it is no dream,” and this fascist, lowbrow organization is descending to new depths of moral beastliness. In doing so, it is putting a smile on the face of rabid anti-leftist, U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy as he mutters from his grave, “I have successors!”

The previous week ended with a massive political attack on Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who dared enforce the law in Hebron and ordered the Israel Defense Forces to evacuate settlers from two houses before their legal standing was fully finalized. Let there be no doubt – it’s all interconnected.

Likud ministers Yariv Levin (Tourism), Zeev Elkin (Immigrant Absorption; Jerusalem Affairs) and Miri Regev (Culture and Sports), for whom the law is a mere recommendation except when it serves their agenda, fought Ya’alon tooth and nail.

MK Oren Hazan (Likud), meanwhile, threatened not to vote with the coalition until such time as our precious children are permitted to return to their homes. And only in Israel are a justice minister (Ayelet Shaked) and education minister (Naftali Bennett) – both from Habayit Hayehudi, which published a strong statement condemning Ya’alon – capable of such blatant disregard for the laws of a state.

The most surprising figure among those who attacked Ya’alon was Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud), a rich man’s Oren Hazan. He accused the “political level,” and by implication the defense minister, of “fanning the flames” (you see, it wasn’t settlers who did the fanning but those who evicted them). He added that, especially in these times, “It is only right to send a message that we have come home.”

Prior to Edelstein, every Knesset speaker tried to disengage from the faction and ideology they had come from and to behave in a dignified, nonpartisan and statesmanlike way, as the position requires. And they usually succeeded. Reuven Rivlin was the most statesmanlike of all, which eventually led to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ousting him from office and replacing him with Edelstein.

The current speaker operates according to different norms. He rebelled in the past when then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon led the disengagement from Gaza (in 2005), and he remains a kind of rebel now in his second term as the second-highest ranking official in the land (after the president).

Didn't he read the part in the job description about being nonpartisan?

His troubling attack on someone who is a stickler for the law passed without a word, totally under the radar and with nary a whisper of public protest. True, Edelstein isn’t an interesting character, but that’s not the only reason. It’s a sign of the times, and a sign of this government.

Im Tirtzu wouldn’t be allowing itself to run riot like this if its leaders weren’t feeling strengthened by winks from senior politicians in the cabinet and Knesset, mainly in Habayit Hayehudi but also in Likud – and at the top of the pinnacle. This time, though, the group overdid it, and even its supporters admitted as much. On Thursday, Naftali Bennett tweeted (albeit very late in the day) that the campaign against the artists was “embarrassing, pointless and degrading.”

And just as happened previously, after Bennett’s condemnation it was Netanyahu’s turn to issue a reluctant statement, his eyes darting ever rightward. When Bennett shifts a smidgen to the left, the prime minister follows in his wake like a mime artist, or simply a coward.

Miri Regev, the queen of provocations and the destroyer of culture in Israel, also tweeted something. But it was actually MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) who claimed the hypocrisy award. All of a sudden, he was shocked by the group’s actions.

Im Tirtzu’s most enthusiastic ally in the vicious pursuit of Breaking the Silence now became a man of reason. “The extremists have lost their senses,” he wrote. “We must not allow the persecution of artists, intellectuals and writers in Israel.” Combat officers in the reserves, of course, is just fine.

Source: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.700309

[azurnoir]

18. To be sure but in the case of Bibi and some of his acolytes one says what one must

for 'forms' sake

[Israeli]

19. You can fool some of the people ....

...some of the time azurnoir.....but today's social media does not allow.. " for 'forms' sake " :

Update:
The following video of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making a fundraising pitch for Im Tirzu in 2012 has been circulating on social media today.

Source : http://972mag.com/dont-be-fooled-bibi-and-im-tirzu-are-one-and-the-same/116389/

[azurnoir]

20. true enough but also keep in mind that it depends on the target audience

so while ToI fans especially in the US may be comforted by Bibi's mouthings, they may not be readers of +972, it isn't a matter of access so much as one of awareness

[Israeli]

21. Bibi's " target audience " is the Diaspora ....

.......especially the American Diaspora .

Not so sure about matter of access or awareness azurnoir .....one thing for sure I can tell you that scares the hell out of us ...is that Bibi will push for the Diaspora to have the right to vote in our elections .

[azurnoir]

22. the US is not only home to most of the 'diaspora' but here there are as many if not more non-Jews

who's support Bibi wants, needs, and sadly has this is especially true when it comes to politicians

[Israeli]

23. This I know ...

....when it comes to your elections ....Trump or Clinton ....Bibi wins either way .

[azurnoir]

24. someone IRL pointed out to me that Bernie Sanders may be the only American politician

that can and will deal with Bibi on a level playing field, as I told another poster a meeting between them would be something to behold IMO

[Israeli]

26. Yes it would azurnoir.....

and I hope we see such a meeting in the future .....good luck with Iowa , I would love to see him beat Hilary .

[shira]

25. Im Tirtzu director suspends self after controversy

The director of the Im Tirzu organization says he is “suspending” himself from his position.

Matan Peleg tells Channel 2 that someone must take responsibility for the controversial campaign that “outed” left-wing artists and cultural figures as “foreign agent moles.” It was not immediately clear how long his self-imposed suspension would last.

The right-wing group apologized Friday for the campaign, which sparked a firestorm of criticism and was likened to McCarthyism.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-january-31-2016/

[Israeli]

27. Amos Oz's grandson to Im Tirtzu: You are Israel's cancer.........

Dean Oz Salzberger says he is committed to fighting the right-wing NGO.

Dean Oz Salzberger attacked the right-wing NGO Im Tirtzu for labeling his grandfather, the famous author Amos Oz, as a "foreign agent" in its recent campaign against cultural figures in Israel.

Politicians from across the political spectrum slammed the campaign, which labels hundreds of Israeli cultural figures as foreign agents for their affiliation with left-wing groups.

The campaign poster, headlined “Foreign agents in culture,” featured prominent cultural figures including Oz and fellow writer Yehoshua Sobol and actress Gila Almagor. Oz was targeted for his affiliation with the B'Tselem group that monitors IDF activity in the West Bank.

Despite Im Tirtzu apologizing for the campaign, Oz's grandson said he was committed to fighting what he called the "ugly" NGO until it is "ejected."

"You are the cancer in our society. You are the real foreign agents," Oz Salzberger said of Im Tirtzu.

On his Facebook page Oz-Salzberger wrote on Saturday: "Attached here is a photo of my grandfather Amos ('the foreign agent') who is crying from excitement at my IDF officer's graduation a few months ago."

"A few days ago you [Im Tirtzu] gave license for the killing of my grandfather and others. People who have different opinions than yours. In the case of those targeted they were also lovers of Israel and of their fellow man and Zionists. But even if they were not it is their right not to be incited against," he wrote.

"My grandfather, like any citizen of Israel, has the right to express his opinions. Without apologizing. Without pledging allegiance. That's how democracy works," he wrote.

Continuing to direct his statement at Im Tirtzu, Oz-Salzberger said the group's ideology was "light years away from from the ideas of the Zionist movement." He added that the group's ideology was foreign to Judaism and dangerous to Israeli democracy.


Source : http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Amos-Ozs-grandson-to-Im-Tirtzu-You-are-Israels-cancer-443342

[Israeli]

28. The Fight Against Fascism Must Start in Israel Today ......

In Israel, in some circles being left-wing has become synonymous with being a traitor. Our lawmakers must kickback, before it's too late for us all.

Iris Leal Jan 31, 2016

There are various answers to the question of when the border is crossed and the suffering changes from bearable to intolerable. The pain threshold varies from society to society, from person to person. The Jewish people experienced suffering for many years until, in the 20th century, its measure of suffering overflowed, yet it survived nonetheless.

Germany decided that from the pit into which it had descended, it would emerge wiser, more cautious and better prepared. The proof is an essay by its greatest author, Thomas Mann, which is taught in every school: “It is quite impossible for one born there simply to renounce the wicked, guilty Germany and to declare, ‘I am the good, the noble, the just Germany’ ... it is all within me, I have been through it all.”

This is the spiritual property the German people saved from the furnaces of its dying humanity. What it means is that one must always keep an eye on the aging fascist beast.

How strange it is that here of all places, in the land of the Jewish people, so well-versed in suffering – as if the phrase “well-versed in suffering” reflected some dangerous kind of resistance – we are allowing it to raise its head unhindered. These aren’t my words, but those of MK Benny Begin, who comes from the aristocracy of the ruling Likud party. Publicly and unequivocally, Begin says we are on the verge of “a new peak of ugliness.” He used the word “fascism” explicitly and demanded an investigation into how its existence became possible, and who made it possible.

Presumably even Begin knows that the start of the process was making two different terms become synonymous: leftist = traitor. And this process of identification was started, promoted, inculcated and maintained by the prime minister, justice minister, education minister and culture minister – accompanied by the Knesset choir. The only thing that can be done now is to create an equally effective coupling: Labeling human rights organizations, recruiting artists to serve as regime propagandists, intimidating intellectuals and deliberately blurring history in a school civics textbook are tools of fascism.

To reverse direction a moment before we enter the abyss, it’s vital to demand that every Knesset member who doesn’t identity with these actions calls them by their name and rejects them. Do you remember Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand for his ministers to “be like [Moshe] Kahlon”? Well, today, every lawmaker and cabinet member must be like Benny Begin. They must not lose their reason. They must say wholeheartedly that the border has been crossed! No more!

Medical research shows that the wrong kind of resistance poses great dangers. It’s well known that if an infection begins in the body and is treated with antibiotics in the wrong dosage or for too short a time, the bacteria will develop resistance to the drug. Therefore, accepting the Im Tirtzu organization’s apology for targeting left-wing artists is like stopping the treatment in midcourse. Opening a season of small, banal protests is like administering treatment in the wrong dosage. Worst of all, if we accept the denunciations of Im Tirtzu by Netanyahu, Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett, we’ll allow the infection to run riot.

To put them in their proper historical place, these ministers and Miri Regev must be denied the possibility of carrying out the constitutional and ideological revolution they have begun. Instead, they must be turned into a stage in our dynamic development as a moral society – a stage we have overcome, and thanks to which we have grown stronger, because we were wise enough to declare total war on the fascist beast, which was on the threshold when it awoke with a sickening yawn.

Source: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.700632