Zionist Arts and Crafts in the Bay Area

The unhinged barabism and atrocities of October 7 have unified the Bay Area community in many ways.  Its been particularly gratifying to see the various ad hoc "Arts and Crafts" collectives that have sprung up, engaging in random acts of urban beautification.

The "Kidnapped Posters" are everywhere.

They are most commonly seen in public venues, but the bravest family in Berkeley has the posters directly on their garage door.

We've also seen grafitti abatement:
From San Francisco Ocean Beach    

Before

After

Some low energy fun with Sharpies

Quick art projects and banner drops

More elaborate art projects

And some general "We're just messing with you" alterations, additions and deletions.

This may have been a Palestinian flag in a different life

Thanks for all your contributions to bring light and beauty to our community.  Remember the words of our ancestors:   "We are not obliged to complete the work, nor are we free to desist from it".   

Keep sending those photos in!  If you want to claim credit for the art work, let us know

Zionists in Berkeley

Its good to see Jews and their allies fighting back. 
As seen in Berkeley, Sunday May 5, on the pedestrian bridge over I 80.  The Berkeley action was modeled after a similar action in Lafayette that began shortly after the October 7 atrocities.

Thanks to Ido and others for the photos. 

The vigil was covered by the local Jewish paper- the J Weekly. Read the full story here:

New East Bay overpass vigil — this one in Berkeley — calls attention to hostages

No, Virginia. Its NOT a Genocide

The shrill cries of " Its a Genocide!!!!" are repeated everywhere- from social media to city council chambers, to the ubiquitous anti-Israel protests.

No, its not.

This is a war.
A war Hamas started. 
A war that Hamas is losing (badly). 
And a war that Hamas can end today, by surrendering and freeing the kidnapped Israeli hostages.

In our lifetime, there have been many wars, military actions and insurrections

1. The Second Congo War (5,000,000 dead)
2. The Vietnam War (4,000,000 dead)
3. Soviet–Afghan War (2,000,000 dead)
4. The Nigerian Civil War (2,000,000 dead)
5. The Second Sudanese Civil War (1,500,000 dead)
6. The Syrian civil war (600,000 dead) 

7. The Angolan Civil War (500,000 dead)
8. The First Sudanese Civil War (500,000 dead)
9. The Ethiopian Civil War (900,000 dead)
10. The Iran–Iraq War (1,000,000 dead)
11. The Rwandan genocide (700,000 dead)
12. The Bangladesh Liberation War (2,000,000 dead)
13. The South Sudanese Civil War (350,000 dead)
14. The Yemeni Civil War (380,000 dead)
15. The Boko Haram insurgency (350,000 dead)
16. The Somali Civil War (400,000 dead)
17. Burundian Civil War (300,000 dead)
18. The War in Darfur (300,000 dead)
19. The Russian invasion of Ukraine (300,000 dead)
20. The First Congo War (600,000 dead)
21. The Colombian conflict (400,000 dead)
22. The Mexican drug war (300,000 dead)
23. The Tigray War (350,000 dead)
24. The War in Afghanistan (250,000 dead)

Even if we believe the death toll from the Hamas run Gaza Ministry of Health (and we have no reason to believe them) the total is far far less than any of these actions. 

No, Virginia.   Its not a genocide. 

Believe Jewish Students: Antisemitism at Berkeley High

Imagine being a Jewish student at Berkeley High. Imagine being an Israeli-American student. Imagine walking into your classroom and seeing this. No nuance. Nothing with educational content or promoting critical thinking. One sided platitudes. 

Anti-Israel propaganda in a Berkeley High Classroom

What would you do? Would you say something? Or would you just remain silent, hoping that nothing slips out that might affect your grade or college recommendations?

Earlier this year,  the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed a federal civil rights complaint alleging antisemitic bullying by both peers and teachers in Berkeley K-12 schools.

From the ADL 

The complaint documented how BUSD teachers are weaponizing disciplines such as art and history to promote anti-Semitic tropes about Israel. At Berkeley High School, a history teacher screened an anti-Zionist video and forced students to analyze Israel as an apartheid state. This teacher sharply squelched dissent, stating that materials which oppose the apartheid narrative are “laughable.” A high school art teacher showed students violent pro-Hamas videos and displayed anti-Israel and anti-Semitic images during class, including a fist punching through a Star of David. Indoctrination attempts occur in classes for young children. In one second-grade classroom, a teacher hung a Palestinian flag in the window and encouraged students to write “Stop Bombing Babies” on sticky notes to be posted next to the classroom of the only Jewish teacher.

Read this heartbreaking first hand account of one family's struggles with systemic antisemitism in the Berkeley Public schools.

Its a sad testament that no local news source would carry this- and that it had to published in the New York Post.

Written by  Ilana Pearlman, a Berkeley mother of three. Check out How DEI is failing my diverse, Jewish Berkeley, California family.

"Because rather than study free from fear, our kids now endure chants such as “Kill the Jews.” They must study in classrooms with posters asking, “How’s the school/work/life/genocide balance going for you today?” There’s been graffiti at the bus stop in front of Berkeley HS stating “Kill all Zionists.” Jewish students share stories of being told to pick up pennies or having their yarmulkes pushed off of their heads. 

School administrators are well aware of this abuse, but to no avail. “I just stopped reporting things because . . . all it did was make the bullying worse,” one student told me. "

The Berkeley Unified school District now faces a federal investigation.The goal- to determine whether the harassment of Jewish students violated’ protections under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and to determine whether there was retaliation against parents who complained about harassment.

If you or your children have faced antisemitism or bullying in the  Berkeley Unified School District , now is the time to speak up.  More first hand reports will strengthen the complaint and ensure that the district is held accountable for their actions.

  

Attention Students: Have you been victimized by Students for Justice in Palestine?

A class action lawsuit against Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is being planned and plaintiffs are needed If you or someone you know has experienced harassment, intimidation, or discrimination from SJP on campus, please submit your story here: http://SJPvictims.com OR email: civilrights@meforum.org OR (215)546-5406 ext. 104 OR DM StopAntisemitism on Twiter and they will connect you. Your story could be crucial in building this case and holding SJP accountable!

Meet Elana Auerbach, Candidate for Berkeley City Council

Elana Auerbach is running for Berkeley City council in District 4, in a special election scheduled for May 28.   District 4 covers the downtown business district and central Berkeley. The sudden resignation of Kate Harrison has left the 4th district seat vacant.

Elana Auerbach is a quintessential "How Berkeley can you be?" candidate. 

Elana's commitment to "public service" began with her involvement in the "genital-focused" One Taste sex cult, which has been accused of human trafficking.  Elana and her husband eventually left the cult, but Elana has found an equally dubious way to give her life meaning.

Elana Auerbach is proudly identified anti-Zionist.   One day after  October 7, the single largest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust, Elana joined local extremist groups to rally in front of  San Francisco's Israeli Consulate, in the time-honored local tradition of gloating over the deaths of innocents

Look at Elana's smile!

Elana Auerbach celebrating the October 7th massacre

Elana's been making appearances at UC Berkeley's "How dare the Jews fight back" encampment, proudly posing with fellow outside agitator, Russell "Rusty" Bates.

Elana Auerbach and Rusty Bates at anti-Israel encampment, UC Berkeley

Lest anyone think they are participating in a peace rally, the encampment at Cal Berkeley features a banner promoting "Victory to the resistance".

October 7 gave the world a glimpse of what Palestinian "resistance" looks like.

Who's Elana's good buddy, Rusty Bates?  Rusty's a Berkeley fixture, an unhinged antisemite known for interrupting Berkeley City Council meetings and Jewish community events on and off campus.

Rusty Bates interrupting Berkeley  City Council meeting

                                   

Rusty Bates arrested in front of the Israeli consulate, 2014

Apparently Elana Auerbach's mother never told her that you are known by the company you keep.

So Berkeley voters, its time to mobilize.  That means registering and voting.   Lets work together to keep partisan extremists off the Berkeley City Council, and lets keep the focus on building a better Berkeley.

Palestinian Children killed in 2023

Palestinian Children killed in 2023

This will be a running list

15 year old Adam Ayyad. 

Dhesiheh refugee camp Jan 2 2023
PFLP operative killed throwing molotov cocktails, leaving a note about his hope for martyrdom






16-year-old Amer Ghazi Mahmoud Zeitoun (Amer Abu Zeitoun)
Balata refugee camp January 5 2023
Member of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group

14 year old Omar Khaled Lutfi Khumour
Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem.  January 16, 2023
PFLP operative.  Carried a note about his hope for martyrdom

Described as either 17, 16 or 15 years old Mohammad Ali Salah

Shu’afat camp Jan 25, 2023
Masked, and carried a fake weapon, which he pointed at Israeli troops

17 years old Hamza Amjad Al-Ashqar 

Al-Masaken Al-Shabiyeh neighborhood - Nablus February 7, 2023
Lions Den

14 years old  Qusay Radwan Waked 
Jenin February 12, 2023
Official Martyrdom poster below

         

                                                                                                                                                                 

17-year-old Mahmoud Al-Aidi

Al-Fara'a camp in Tubas February 14 2023 

Killed throwing explosives devices at Israeli troops

16 year old Montaser Al-Shawa
Died of wounds he sustained two weeks during a confrontation in Nablus February 20 2023

15 year old Mohammad Saleem
March 2, 2023
Killed while throwing explosives
Given a full military funeral

15 year old Walid Saad Daoud Nassar
March 8, 2023
Jenin

16 year old Amir Mamoun Mohammad Odeh
March 10 2023
Qalqilya
al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades operative

16-year-old Omar Awadin, ( nicknamed on Palestinian channels "al-Shaheed al-Mujahed" - "the Martyred Warrior ( one who engages in Jihad)"

Jenin
March 16, 2023

17 year old Jibril Muhammad Kamal Al-Lada'a. 

May 1 2023

Hamas described him in an official statement as its "fighting martyr."

His posts on social media show that he was seeking "martyrdom"