John Ging: Invited by Pears, not Limmud - "Taking The Mick? - Follow The Money"

It is high time we had some more "Glasnost" (= openness) from the Pears Foundation, as one of the biggest funders of the UK Jewish Community.

http://www.pearsfoundation.org.uk/#31/israel-global-citizen

"Pears Foundation supports Israel by being a critical friend and encourages the country to keep faith with the founders’ vision to be a force for good in the world."

How many of the projects they finance are in some way hostile to Israel?

What are they doing to improve the knowledge about Israel among non-Jewish sixth formers?

As we know, access to money gives one a platform to impose ones views - however bizare they are.

John Ging, yes, shut him up at once, that's the Zionist way. As Robbie Burns put it " none ever feared that the truth should be heard, Save him whom the truth would indict! ... "
Anyway, as Zionists your minds are made up. You don't want Ging confusing you with facts.

@Jez Waterman
For facts; take a look at this:-

http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/why-are-you-protesting-against-israel

@Waterbrain, please cite where I tried to "shut him up".

Than try reading what I said: "I do not believe that Jewish organisations should give a platform to Israel's enemies. They have plenty of alternative platforms, as anyone who follows my blog will know."

Then go to SpecSavers for new reading glasses

http://www.specsavers.co.uk/

I believe there is a link between Pears and the NIF in fact many think they are one and the same.

Pears is a big donor to NIF, yes - but the precise amount is not published

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ScannedAccounts/Ends95/0001009195_a...

John Ging is one of the biggest propaganda liars in the UNRWA. He slandered the IDF pretending they shelled a school, deliberately. An investigation by a Canadian journalist proved him wrong: no school was even shelled, deliberately or not. Afterwards, Ging pretended he had never said anything like that and it was the Israelis who messed the whole thing.
When wrong, blame the victim of the slander.

UNRWA is the biggest money-launderer for the HAMAS, and Ging had to admit it, after denying it for years.

Ging indeed is an enemy of Israel. He has lots of good reasons for that. If he didn't keep the 'Palestinian refugee' going on, he would lose his position. And it is a pretty well-paid job!

Pears spends £1.285m a year on Israel-related projects. This divides into: applying Israel's academic expertise to the developing world; tackling disadvantage and disscrimination in Israel; and increasing understanding of British Jews about the problems of Arabs in Israel.

Why do they spend nothing on educating young people in the UK about Israel, when CAABU and the PSC are in schools?

How much does NIF get?

So, during his dreadful carreer serving 'Palestinian' narrative, Ging confused the whole world with his lies and was permitted to go on despite being proven a liar.

The day he tells a fact, the Messiah will arrive.

@Jon Cohen: "Follow The Money"

Actually, John Ging sometimes makes some factual statements that are useful from a pro-Israeli perspective.

According to BICOM's website in 2007: "Hamas has responded by firing mortar shells at the operational crossings [into Gaza], and thus the capacity of the passages cannot be maximised. This has been recognised by United Nation's Relief and Works Agency's (UNRWA) operations in the Strip, with John Ging, the director of UNRWA operations in Gaza, stating: "It is very clear the responsibility [to secure the passages] lies with the Palestinians and the Palestinian officials have to meet the security requirements."

That's a very powerful argument to present when explaining that Hamas (and not Israel) is responsible for the crossings being closed - it's powerful because John Ging said it.

Similarly, BICOM quotes Khaled Abdel Shaafi, the (Palestinian) director of the UN Development Programme for Gaza, as having said, in 2008: "This is not a humanitarian crisis... It's an economic crisis, a political crisis, but it's not a humanitarian crisis. People aren't starving." I found it incredibly useful to be able to tell people that this guy, of all people, had said this. Nobody on the other side of the debate can easily dismiss something that's been said by someone like this.

So I'm all in favour of hearing from the likes of Mr Ging, and also giving him a rigourous time in the Q&A. Had I been at Limmud, I might well have gone to hear him speak.

As for NIF - a lot of what is said about them is inaccurate. Professor Naomi Chazan spoke at Lib Dem Friends of Israel's fringe meeting at the last party conference, and she really reached out to the hearts and minds of some Lib Dem party members who might not always be enormously pro-Israeli - including when passionately explaining why she is strongly opposed to the BDS movement. She spoke as a Zionist, albeit one from what might be called the liberal left - and she spoke inspiringly about Israel's right to thrive as a Jewish state, and the need for peace.

She told the meeting: "Those who deny Israel the right to exist are not doing the Palestinians a favour, and those who deny the Palestinians the right to exist are not doing the Israelis a favour. Any solution has to respect the humanity and the human rights of the other. The fundamental reason for Israel's security is its democracy, its decency and its humanity."

Professor Chazan is to the left of where I am and I might disagree with her on some things (while liking her very much on a personal level), but any liberal democracy like Israel will always have a Left - and she is one of the most articulate people on it, including when it comes to delivering a pro-Israeli message to people who are on the Left here. Here is a report of a speech that she gave in Canada earlier this year: http://www.nif.org/about/nif-offices/canada/Verbin-Chazan.pdf - I think that what she says makes sense and is worth listening to.

Actually, John Ging sometimes makes some factual statements that are useful from a pro-Israeli perspective.

Sure, with a gun pointed at his head, he will.
He also said he was a friend of Israel. Would you believe that, Matthew? He's just like you! ;)

So I'm all in favour of hearing from the likes of Mr Ging

No doubt you are. I think he has already had too much hearing for the noises he is producing with his mouth. Enough of him, enough of UNRWA. Fire Ging, dissolve the UNRWA, end the 'Palestinian refugee' hoax.

And for the NIF, considering their undercover participation in the Goldstone report, better listen to the young Im Tirtzu group, real Zionists.

Absoloute rubbish.

The Pears Foundation is a fantastic organisation and contributes hugely to the future of British Jewry and indeed, of Israel.

It has taken on the tough issues, that need to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

So what if its a critical friend of Israel - most jews are. Are you not critical of the Rabbi's decree that Jews should not rent their homes to Arab,s or their wives letter which states that Jewish girls should not work, volunteer or be anywhere near non-jewish men (arabs), as if they have some sort of plague??

Israel is the soul of the Jewish people, what goes on in Israel affects the Jewish soul of the world - we have a say in this, maybe not the policies of the State of Israel, but the essence of what makes it a Jewish state, we certainly have a right to express our opinions on this, even Mick Davis in Hampstead.

If Israel loses the vision and high moral integrity on which it was set up, then Israel cannot depend on future generations of Diaspora Jews to connect positively with it.

Jez is an evil twat. I am pleased to see that he has achieved some sort of record: -5 points.

Ging, of course, is an even bigger evil twat, by some 17 orders of magnitude, a genuine 24-carat liar and enemy of Israel and Jews.
Why, then, is Matthew so keen to hear him talk? Except that as always. he tells us that he would have done so if only ...

concernzionist
Another trendy-lefty joins the fray;-
"So what if its a critical friend of Israel - most jews are."
What nonsense, most UK Jews are whole hearted supporters of Israel; as evidenced by the recent Pears funded, JPR survey;-
http://www.jpr.org.uk/index.php
95% have visited the country; 90% see it as the “ancestral homeland” of the Jewish people, and 86% feel that Jews have a special responsibility for its survival.
Pretty high percentages of unconditional support.

"Critical friends", we do not need, we have enough enemies for that.

@concernzionist

I have a problem responding to anonymous people but here goes anyway (you post on CIF I think)

I do not deny that Pears does some good things. I do have a problem with it using its financial muscle to parachute Ging into Limmud when he was not invited. I also have a problem with Ging being given a platform by a Jewish organisation. Many share that view.

You ask "Are you not critical of the Rabbi's decree that Jews should not rent their homes to Arabs?"

Yes but that is not State policy or the policy of a supranational organisation. Ging represents a supranational organisation. (And are you not critical of laws in Arab ccountries and the PA which pass the death sentence on anyone selling land to a Jew?)

My views on Mick Davis are expressed here:

http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/58-lambast-davis-letter-jc

Many UJIA donors share this view.

You say "If Israel loses the vision and high moral integrity on which it was set up, then Israel cannot depend on future generations of Diaspora Jews to connect positively with it."

Even if I agreed with the premise, I do not see why that necessitates Limmud hosting someone like Ging nor Pears parachuting Ging into Limmud.

And if a Disapora Jew terminates his 'positive connexion' with Israel just because Israel is sometimes the same as any other democracy, then he is a very fickle supporter.

Israel has only 'critical' friends, people who don't hesitate to say when something is wrong. But they are first of all friends.
Those who call themselves "critical friends" are in fact Israel-bashers, enemies and terrorist-supporters.

You will not hear a true friend say they are a "critical friend".

Because a true friend does not need to say it.

True friends do not wear their hearts on their sleeves, they keep their counsel to themselves until it is needed by their friend and then they are discreet.

dead right Jose

Ging is an enemy of Israel. He supports mainly the continuation of his own job. He supports the HAMAS by laundering money to it, through UNRWA.
Such a terror-supporting structure should be dissolved and its leaders sacked, just like Tonge from the LibDem.

http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Did_Israe...

Here is the most blattant example of Ging's lies.

Spot on concerned Zionist. Someone here gets it at last. I have yet to see these so-called friends of Israel be critical once. It's Israel first and foremost for them with the suspension of all critical faculties. Israel is their religion, not Judaism.
Israel is almost 63-years-old. It is a sovereign state with a vibrant democracy. It is big enough and ugly enough to battle its own battles. It does not need to be treated with kid gloves as if it is some sort of babe in arms. And it needs to be told some home truths.
You want to help Israel, tell it why it is losing support. Tell it why, according to the Jerusalem Post today it is becoming home not to all Jews, but to ethno-nationalists such as the Orthodox Zionists, immigrants, and non- and anti-Zionist Chareidim. And let's not forget the true underclass in Israel, the foreign workers who are doing the jobs the locals won't. What ever happened to Avodah Ivrit? Why is the middle class looking elsewhere.
Loudly, not meekly and discretely, we have to tell it that its greatest crime is not the growing wave of racism by state-employed rabbis, their wives and close family members. It's not the failure to make peace. It's not the failure of successive leaders to lead.
It's greatest crime is the betrayal of Zionism and the Jewish people.

The greatest enemies of Israel are those who by their silence, blind faith and acquiescence would allow it to slide along a path of self-destruction.

Jonathan, for a 'limmud fan' like yourself it would have been nice to see you there this year. Perhaps you could even have gone to the session in which John Ging spoke - eloquently and informatively - about his experiences in Gaza. You might even have learnt a thing or two. Listening to the conversations of those who heard him after his session, you would have been hard pressed to find people describing him as an 'enemy of Israel'.

It was in one of the largest halls in the university and it was packed, the audience for the most seeming to be extremely appreciative. Evidently there's a demand within the Jewish community (or certainly among limmudniks)to hear his views. Stop trying to censure opinions you dislike in Jewish settings and join the conversation.

theedgeofware, I was wondering when someone would have brought that up. Unfortunately, I only managed one day of Limmud this year. But from what I gather from those who were at that debate, Ging was scathing of the Palestinians, noting that two Hamas plots to assassinate him had been uncovered.
Still, if some people want to cover their ears and drown out any other voices, that's their business. They probably look to the Islamic states as role models they mention them so much.
Luckily, they are a minority because we have open minded people in this community.

I was at the lecture, and what struck me and my friends was how he barely looked at the audience, or to Rabbi Wittenberg who was interviewing him. His eyes were fixated on the floor a few feet in front of him and his hands firmly on his body, without any gesture or animation.

It felt a little pre-prepared, like he'd been given the questions beforehand. Rabbi Wittenberg was very gentle with him. He could have been a lot tougher. We all left feeling that he'd prepared a speech just for the Jews, and that if he'd been with a Muslim or Christian audience, it would have been very different.

Is there a video anywhere (I think they were filming it)? Then I'm sure everyone can judge for themselves.

you would have been hard pressed to find people describing him as an 'enemy of Israel'.

Ging is the biggest liar found in this part of the universe. He is on par with the author of the "Protocols" for that.
I think 99% of the Jewish community agrees with that, since his Big Lie during Cast Lead about the so-called shelling of a UN School in Jabaliya.
Pretending no one considers him as an enemy of Israel is a big lie, shared mostly by utlra-Lefties and nutty religious anti-Zionists.

Unfortunately, I only managed one day of Limmud this year.

And I thought you were enjoying the Israeli weather! Was that a lie too?

Ging was scathing of the Palestinians, noting that two Hamas plots to assassinate him had been uncovered.

HAHAHAHA. The HAMAS will never kill the hand that feeds it! These 'plots' are just stories for babies. How long do you think Ging could survive without the support of the HAMAS? Even with a hundred bodyguards, maybe five minutes.

Stop trying to censure opinions you dislike in Jewish settings and join the conversation.

Poor edgeofnowhere, you're not going to help by crying "censure", while this liar has the greatest audience in the world, thanks to his hard-earned (by using big lies) position.

Among the big lies of John Ging, are the repeated use of "humanitarian crisis" about Gaza. Ever heard about someone dying from hunger in Gaza? Never! About an epidemic in Gaza? Never, except for the annual flu epidemic.

You've heard about clean water scarcity, haven't you (water itself is scarce throughout the Middle East, btw)? But what about the effects of clean water scarcity? Never! How can clean water be scarce and see no effect of clean water scarcity? Miracle in Gaza?

Ging has been lying too long. What Kahina described of his attitude shows he knew that he was in front of a hostile audience and was expecting to be roughly treated, as he deserves. And he knows very well about his lies. I guess questions about the Jabbaliya School lies were censored by the Limmud staff.

http://www.hrw.org/he/node/11130/section/11

Here is Pears financing a Report from the (subsequently) discredited Human Rights Watch organisation.

Here is what NGO Monitor says about HRW:

While HRW claims that "The hallmark and pride of Human Rights Watch is the even-handedness and accuracy of our reporting", this is not reflected in its agenda regarding Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Systematic NGO Monitor analyses demonstrate that publications related to Israel lack credibility, and highlight disproportionate condemnations of Israel.

In October 2009, HRW founder Robert Bernstein published an article in the New York Times, strongly criticizing the organization for ignoring severe human rights violations in closed societies, for its anti-Israel bias, and for "issuing reports...that are helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state." In a lecture at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (November 2010), Bernstein expanded on these ideas and noted that "Human Rights Watch’s attacks on almost every issue [have] become more and more hostile [toward Israel]."

HRW was an active participant in the 2001 Durban conference, and continues to campaign in favor of boycotts and other measures against Israel.
Many HRW officials, including the heads of the Middle East and North Africa Division, have a history of ideological bias that is inconsistent with the requirements for objectivity and universality in human rights reporting.

http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/human_rights_watch_hrw_

HRW is not an organisation which should be funded by "a British Family Foundation Rooted in Jewish Values"

Jose, just for clarification. I was in Israel till Monday, at Limmud on Tuesday, working on Wednesday. Were you at Limmud with Jonathan Hoffman?

Kahina, at least you were at the lecture.

Kahina, at least you were at the lecture.

The best thing that could ever happen to the 'Palestinians' would be that the UNRWA disappears. The UNRWA is the organisation that makes terrorism possible in Gaza and Judea Samaria.
Deprived ot the UNRWA's aid and salaries, the 'Palestinians' would have to find a real work to live on. They could not spend the day and the night working for the terrorist infrastructure and expecting payments coming out only from HAMAS's pockets.
Deprived of UNRWA's aid, a 'refugee' would be on par with other real refugees in the world. That is, only 'Palestinians' aged 64 and more could be considered as such. In less than 30 years, only a handful of them would remain. Therefore, it would be the end of the aid, the end of the claims for a non-existing "right of return".

Most of the 'Palestinian' problems can be solved by the dissolution of UNRWA. And it will save a lot of money for the real refugees too.
When Israel's enemies won't have so much funding, Israel will also not need military aid from anyone.

Enough of these clowns that funnel billions of dollars of taxpayers' money. Fire Ging, dissolve the UNRWA: peace will be much easier to reach.

Kahina, at least you were at the lecture.

While you were not, by the way. But who cares? John Ging is a liar that puts the blame on the victims of his lies when exposed. What can one expect from such a shameless liar?

Jose, just for clarification. I was in Israel till Monday

And I was on planet Mars yesterday, coming from Jupiter on Wednesday. Nice view of Saturn rings from there.

The fact it took so long to take off from Jupiter is that they had to shut the astroport for some hours because of the methane storm on the 'ground' (there's no ground on Jupiter, of course, but these antigravity platforms do the job).

Ad homs usually appear when someone is found out. Actually, I really don't care what you think Jose. Your obsessive incontinent starling-like postings here will be ignored.

Raymond Simonson, executive director of Limmud, comments:

"Jonathan Hoffman has the facts wrong here. Pears Foundation has never attempted to foist any presenter on us for any Limmud event, including this year's Conference. John Ging was indeed an invited presenter this year. Charles Keidan (director of Pears Foundation) who has met Ging helped facilitate his participation, and Jonathan Wittenberg prepared and led the 'in conversation with' session.

"Limmud is extremely proud of its complete organisational independence. We can honestly say that none of the organisations that fund us have any influence on the programmatic content of our events. We're clear to our funders that we wouldn't accept any such demands or conditions even if they tried.

"If I can quote Carolyn Bogush, the organisational chair of Limmud, who puts it quite eloquently in my opinion: 'The diversity of the programme and of the presenters of all Limmud events reflects the diversity of the Limmud volunteer community and participants, and therefore the diversity of the British-Jewish community.'

"For the sake of factual accuracy I should also point out that Hoffman is wrong to claim that Pears are our largest funder. That would be UJIA, followed by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation."

"For the sake of factual accuracy I should also point out that Hoffman is wrong to claim that Pears are our largest funder. That would be UJIA,"

This explains that!

Ad homs usually appear when someone is found out.

Well, then I wasn't: it was not ad homs but just appeal to ridicule.

Your obsessive incontinent starling-like postings here will be ignored.

Your name-calling have no effect on me, Milligramsam, and that is not the first time you pretend you will ignore me (remember?).

Limmud is extremely proud of its complete organisational independence.

Then why provide a platform to someone who shamelessly used a big lie to slander and libel Israel? Don't you think apologies were not required first?

Since Ging heads the organisation that is responsible for the 'Palestinian refugee' problem, why not invite rather someone from UNHCR and ask him what they think UNRWA should do?

@Rocker/Simonson

If Limmud invited Ging, what's this with the 'facilitate'?

Would Ging not have accepted unless Keidan 'facilitated'?

Either way Limmud should not offer a platform to someone as hostile to Israel as Ging.

Assuming what Simon reports above is right, it actually makes matters worse, if Pears only "facilitated" the Ging contact but the Limmud organisers themselves thought it fit to invite John Ging is truly bizare. Do they really have such short memories?
Who will they invite next time?
Ismail Hanniyeh?
Khaled Meshal?
Hassan Nassrallah?

@Simon Rocker

As you now seem to be the Limmud spokesperson, maybe you could explain why "Breaking the Silence" was given four solo sessions at Limmud (Avner Gvaryahu). BTS (funded by the EU) seeks to indict Israelis as war criminals.

No way should a Jewish organisation be giving a platform to BTS. In the long run this could be much more damaging than Ging's vacuous platitudes designed for a Jewish audience.