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Jewish Groups Lambast Wikipedia for Its ‘Attack on ADL’s Credibility’ About Antisemitism, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt speaks during the organization’s “Never Is Now” summit at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan in New York City, US, Nov. 10, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

A total of 43 Jewish organizations signed a letter sent to the Wikimedia Foundation on Monday night that criticized Wikipedia’s conclusion last week that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is not a credible source for information about antisemitism and the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The Jewish groups — which include B’nai B’rith International, the American Jewish Committee, and American Jewish Congress —  expressed concerns regarding Wikipedia’s “attack on ADL’s credibility” and accused the free online encyclopedia of “stripping the Jewish community of the right to defend itself from the hatred that targets our community.”

“We urge you to immediately launch an investigation into this decision and the motivations behind it, and to start the process for administrative reconsideration” stated the letter, which was spearheaded by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and sent to the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees. “We hope that you will simultaneously speak out clearly and unequivocally in support of the Jewish community’s right to defend against antisemitism.”

Wikipedia’s editors, who are a group of volunteer moderators, voted last week in support of labeling the ADL as a “generally unreliable” source on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Other “generally unreliable” sources, according to Wikipedia’s editors, include Amazon reviews, Russian state media, the National Inquirer, and Newsmax.

The editors also overwhelmingly agreed that the ADL is unreliable on the topic of antisemitism, but a formal declaration on that matter has not been made as of yet. The Wikipedia editors said in an online forum that the ADL’s role as both a pro-Israel advocacy and research organization prevents it from being able to provide unbiased information about Israel or antisemitism.

In their letter to the Wikimedia Foundation, the Jewish organizations — including the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) and Hillel International — said antisemitism is not only “one of the oldest and most pernicious forms of hate,” but also “in many ways, one of the most often misunderstood.” They said they are worried that Wikipedia’s decision about the ADL “will enable others to undermine our community’s claims or charges of antisemitism and simultaneously use Wikipedia’s decision as cover to perpetuate antisemitism.”

“At a time when antisemitic attitudes are increasing, and antisemitic incidents are skyrocketing, this is simply unacceptable, and it puts our entire community at risk,” they added.

The Jewish groups additionally noted that they, as well as the ADL, rely on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism — which is the world’s most widely accepted definition of antisemitism. It has been adopted or endorsed by more than half of the United States and the District of Columbia, and is also used by over 1,000 global entities, including governments, universities, institutions, and other organizations.

“We are firmly united in the belief that an attack on ADL’s reliability over its use of the IHRA definition and advocacy on behalf of the Jewish people weakens us all,” the letter stated in conclusion. “Again, we urge the reconsideration of these actions and encourage Wikipedia to join us in combating antisemitism, rather than acting as a cover for those who seek to perpetuate the scourge of Jew hatred.”

The signatories included the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, American Sephardi Federation, Hadassah, Maccabi USA, Rabbinical Council of America, Iranian American Jewish Federation, and JCC Association of North America, among others.

The ADL criticized Wikipedia’s decision regarding its credibility when it was first announced last week. The civil rights organization called the decision “a sad development for research and education” and “devastating for the Jewish community and society.”

“It is deeply disturbing that the many editors who flagged the severe flaws and inaccuracies in both the reasoning and sources being used in this campaign to delegitimize ADL are being ignored,” an ADL spokesman said in a statement. “They have provided point by point refutations, grounded in factual citations, to every claim made, but apparently facts no longer matter.”

“Who made Wikipedia the arbiters of truth?” asked ADL Director Emeritus Abraham Foxman. “For over 110 years the ADL has jealously guarded its credibility — gaining the respect of the public, media, and government. Who evaluates Wikipedias’ credibility?”

Wikipedia “only discredits its own site when it tries to bar ADL from pages on Israel or antisemitism,” said B’nai B’rith International, which founded the ADL in 1913, in a post on X/Twitter. B’nai B’rith added that it “proudly stands” with the ADL “against all attempts to stifle Jewish perspectives on issues affecting the Jewish people first and foremost.”

The post Jewish Groups Lambast Wikipedia for Its ‘Attack on ADL’s Credibility’ About Antisemitism, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Palestinian Filmmaker Who Accused Israel of ‘Genocide’ Wins Top Prize at Film Festival With Israel-Set Drama

A promotional photo from “Happy Holidays.” Photo: 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival

A Palestinian filmmaker who has accused Israel of “genocide” during the ongoing war in Gaza took home the top prize on Sunday at the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival for a family drama set in Israel that includes Jewish and Arab characters.

Director Scandar Copti won the Golden Alexander for best feature film and a 10,000-euro cash prize for his film “Happy Holidays,” an Arabic- and Hebrew-language film that follows four interconnected characters who “share their unique realities, highlighting the complexities between genders, generations, and cultures.” One character, named Rami, is a Palestinian from Haifa who must deal with his Jewish girlfriend’s sudden decision to change her mind about her planned abortion.

Copti directed and wrote the screenplay for “Happy Holidays.” He also directed the Oscar-nominated 2009 film “Ajami.”

“Happy Holidays” is Copti’s second film, and it premiered in early September in the 2024 Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section, where it won the award for best screenplay. During his virtual acceptance speech at the Venice Film Festival, Copti accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza, where the Israeli military has been waging a campaign against Hamas terrorists.

“Over the past 11 months, our shared humanity and moral compass has been tested as we witness the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” he said in comments which elicited applause from the audience. He talked about the “painful reality” in Gaza and said “Happy Holidays” examines “how moral narratives can bring us together as communities, but also blind us to the suffering of others. It explores how traditions and indoctrination can distort our values and make injustice seem acceptable.”

“True freedom is interconnected,” he added. “None of us are free until all of us are free, from all sorts of oppression.”

The jury at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival — which included filmmaker and producer Sara Driver, filmmaker Denis Côté, and producer Konstantinos Kontovrakis — applauded Copti’s film “for intricately weaving different narratives and perspectives that fully expose the complexity of national, gender, and class dynamics that can divide societies and for seeing the future in the face of a young woman.”

The post Palestinian Filmmaker Who Accused Israel of ‘Genocide’ Wins Top Prize at Film Festival With Israel-Set Drama first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Gal Gadot Shares Family Photo From Her Daughter’s Bat Mitzvah

Gal Gadot arrives for the Ninth Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, April 15, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci

Gal Gadot’s eldest daughter Alma recently celebrated her bat mitzvah, and the Israeli actress posted Sunday on Instagram a family photo from the milestone occasion.

The “Wonder Woman” star, 39, posted a photo of herself, her husband Jaron Varsano, and their four children — daughters Alma, Maya, 7, Daniella, 3, and Ori, 8 months. Alma, in a lavender dress, can be seen standing in the center of the photo, and in the caption, Gadot wrote a heartfelt message to the bat mitzvah girl.

“My baby is celebrating her bat mitzvah. I can’t believe the amazing person you’ve become,” Gadot wrote to Alma, who turned 13 on Nov. 5. “Your joy, humor, curiosity, and big heart of yours are absolutely magnetic. You teach me so much about motherhood, life, and myself. Thank you for choosing me to be your mother, for choosing us to be your parents. There is no mountain too high for you, and no ocean too wide and deep that you cannot conquer.”

Gadot concluded her message by saying, “Love you forever and always, Ima.” She also included in the post a selfie that Versano took of himself and Gadot with Alma when she was just born.

The comments section of the post was filled with “mazel tov” messages from Gadot’s fans but also some of her celebrity friends, including Selma Blair, Rachel Zoe, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Ginnifer Goodwin, Sarah Silverman, Jessica Seinfeld, Elizabeth Berkley, and cartoon voiceover actress Tara Strong.

“Look at this beautiful Jewish family!!!!” wrote Chelsea Handler. “Borat” star Sacha Baron Cohen jokingly wrote in a comment, “Hold on, you’re Jewish? Well, then  Mazel tov.” Actress Isla Fisher commented on Gadot’s post saying, “You have the most beautiful family. I can’t believe Alma is having her batty! I could cry. I’m so so proud of her.”

Gadot said in a May 2017 interview, “The best thing is to become a mother and to give life.” In 2022, she talked more about her love of motherhood and childbirth. “I love giving birth. I would do it once a week if I could. It’s so magical,” she told InStyle at the time. “And I always take epidurals, to be fair, so it’s not so painful. Just the moment you feel like you’re creating life, it’s incredible. That is the badass thing I do: the juggling between my family life and my acting career.”

The post Gal Gadot Shares Family Photo From Her Daughter’s Bat Mitzvah first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Israel Urges Soccer Fans Not to Attend Upcoming Paris Game After Antisemitic Attacks in Amsterdam

Pro-Palestinian protesters face Dutch police while taking part in a non-authorized protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Nov. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Anthony Deutsch

Israel has urged its citizens not to attend the Israeli national soccer team’s upcoming match in Paris this week, in light of the violent antisemitic attacks against Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam last week.

“In the past few days, there have been calls among pro-Palestinian/terrorist-supporter groups to harm Israelis and Jews, under the pretense of demonstrations and protests, taking advantage of mass gatherings (sports and cultural events) to maximize the damage and the media coverage,” Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) said in a public alert issued on Sunday. It additionally noted that “preparations to harm Israelis have been identified in several European cities,” including Brussels, “major cities” in the United Kingdom, Amsterdam, and Paris, where a UEFA Nations League match between Israel and France is set to take place in the city on Thursday at the stadium, Stade de France.

“Given the dynamics of these incidents: independent parties who group online, their broad presence in various countries around the world, actual attempts to hold demonstrations and protests (some of them violent), and concerns that supporters of terrorism/lone wolf attackers will try to blend into these riots with the goal of carrying out an attack — The National Security Council recommends that Israelis abroad … In the coming week, categorically avoid attending Israeli sports/cultural events abroad, and specifically the Israeli teams’ upcoming match in Paris,” the NSC statement read.

The NSC also recommended that Israelis traveling abroad should stay away from all demonstrations and protests, avoid identifying in public as Israeli or Jewish, and check ahead of time if their travel destination can be “problematic” because of demonstrations, riots, crime, or “population of immigrants from countries that are hostile to Israel.”

Late Thursday night and in the early hours of Friday morning last week, hundreds of Israeli soccer fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv were attacked by anti-Israel and antisemitic gangs in Amsterdam following a match between the Israeli team and their Dutch rivals Ajax. The NSC said a “pro-Palestinian mob” led the violence “in what appeared to be a coordinated attack.” Israeli officials said 10 citizens were injured in the violence.

More than 60 suspects were arrested in connection to the attacks, and Amsterdam prosecutors said that four of the suspects, including two minors, remained jailed Saturday and would be arraigned this week, The Associated Press reported. Maccabi Tel Aviv fans returned home to Israel over the weekend following the violence in Amsterdam, and among them were over 170 witnesses of the attacks and more than 230 victims, Israel police said.

Dutch officials and leaders from around the world, including US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the violence as antisemitic and many of them described the attacks as a “pogrom.”

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced on Sunday that he canceled his trip to Azerbaijan for the United Nations Climate Change Conference so that he can stay in the Netherlands to deal with the aftermath of the attacks. He has since talked about the incident with representatives of Amsterdam’s Jewish community, Israel’s new Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, and on Tuesday he will hold talks with Jewish and social organizations about combating antisemitism.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau confirmed on Friday that the France-Israel match will take place in Paris as planned, despite pressure from pro-Palestinian activists to cancel the game. French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the game and 4,000 police officers will be deployed around Stade de France for Thursday’s match to ensure security in and around the stadium, according to French news broadcaster BFM TV.

The post Israel Urges Soccer Fans Not to Attend Upcoming Paris Game After Antisemitic Attacks in Amsterdam first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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