A VERY personal reason for why Israel's deputy ambassador to Ireland should be expelled immediately

[WhistleblowerIRL]

The following news item has been published in the last 24 hours:

Deputy to the ambassador in Ireland: the pro-Palestinian activists are motivated by problems in sexual orientation

By Moav Vardi

Senior diplomat Nurit Tinari-Modai, has come up with a new plan to combat the delegitimization activities against Israel: to fight directly with the Israeli activists who take part in it. [“]You have to hurt their soft underbelly, publish their pictures, with the hopes of local activists understanding that they might actually be working on behalf of the Mossad,” she wrote the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and claimed that their motivation is not ideological.

An exceptional statement by a senior Israeli diplomat is published for the first time today (Tuesday), on Channel 10 News. The deputy to the ambassador to Ireland, Nurit Tinari-Modai, has argued that pro-Palestinian Israeli activists who defame Israel abroad are acting from psychological motivation, including problems of sexual identity. Ireland is one of the sharpest hot-spots of the pro-Palestinian activism against Israel, and some of the people who take part in that activity are Israeli.

In a cable Tinari-Modai sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem she proposes a new strategy: work directly against those Israeli activists, humiliate and shame them. “It is possible to obtain names of the Israelis… you have to try and hit their soft underbellies, to publish their photographs, maybe that will cause embarrassment from their friends in Israel and their family, hoping that local activists would understand that they may actually be working on behalf of Mossad,” writes the deputy ambassador.

“The activity of those activists against the state is, in my evaluation, not necessarily ideological (!) but grounded in psychological reasons (generally of disappointment with the parents, [or] sexual identity problems) or the need to obtain a residency visa in one of the countries in Europe,” adds Tinari-Modai.

This letter was met with fury by senior figures at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The deputy ambassador has become entirely confused, this result of going against the Israelis will empower the objectors. It would be better to fight against the delegitimization than to propose deranged ideas,” they told Channel 10 News there.

The official response by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs unrelentingly fights the delegitimization of Israel everywhere, but does not engage in witch hunts. Such proposals are not aligned with the spirit and customary practice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israels-dublin-embassy-planned-smear-palestine-activists-sexual-deviants-and


http://www.broadsheet.ie/2012/06/13/...or-to-ireland/

And here is the Hebrew version:

http://news.nana10.co.il/Article/?Ar...peID=0&sid=126

Just in case I am one of the Israelis that Mrs. Tinari-Modai has in mind, I would like to clarify the following:

1. I have been a proud member of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign for a good number of years. Here is the the proof:

http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/...php?auid=11634



2. I have taken great pride in my involvement with the Pro-Palestian cause. Here is one example:

http://jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.c...r-in-gaza.html



3. Yes, indeed, I come from a rather dysfunctional home. My father was a proud Likud supporter, so much so that Israel's current fascist Prime-Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, held one of his first public gatherings in our garden in Ramat Hasharon, shortly after he returned from being Israel's ambassador to the UN. My mother was an ardent supporter of Apartheid South-Africa and and worked as the secretary to South-Africa's ambassador to Tel-Aviv in the mid-late 70's. She was so good at her job, she was actually approached on behalf of Israel's current president, Shimon Peres (of the so-called left-wing Labour party), to become his English speech writer.



4. If my sexual preferences are any concern of Mrs. Tinari-Modai, or her husband, His Excellency Ambassador Modai, as representatives of the State of Israel, please feel free to discuss them with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Ireland, or your local psychologist. I am now a proud Irish citizen.



5. Here is my photograph, just to save you the trouble of 'naming and shaming' me:

[Dr. FIVE]

[C. Flower]

An exceptional statement by a senior Israeli diplomat is published for the first time today (Tuesday), on Channel 10 News. The deputy to the ambassador to Ireland, Nurit Tinari-Modai, has argued that pro-Palestinian Israeli activists who defame Israel abroad are acting from psychological motivation, including problems of sexual identity. Ireland is one of the sharpest hot-spots of the pro-Palestinian activism against Israel, and some of the people who take part in that activity are Israeli.

Stunning.

And so blatant.

Perhaps it is the extraordinary brass neck of saying this in public that has got her colleagues backs up. This kind of campaign is normally carried out more discretely.

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/...l-deviants-and

There has been some concerted attacks on Pro-Palestine activists in the Irish media recently - David Cronin reports here.

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/...arity-campaign

[fluffybiscuits]

The following news item has been published in the last 24 hours:





Just in case I am one of the Israelis that Mrs. Tinari-Modai has in mind, I would like to clarify the following:

1. I have been a proud member of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign for a good number of years. Here is the the proof:

http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/...php?auid=11634



2. I have taken great pride in my involvement with the Pro-Palestian cause. Here is one example:

http://jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.c...r-in-gaza.html



3. Yes, indeed, I come from a rather dysfunctional home. My father was a proud Likud supporter, so much so that Israel's current fascist Prime-Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, held one of his first public gatherings in our garden in Ramat Hasharon, shortly after he returned from being Israel's ambassador to the UN. My mother was an ardent supporter of Apartheid South-Africa and and worked as the secretary to South-Africa's ambassador to Tel-Aviv in the mid-late 70's. She was so good at her job, she was actually approached on behalf of Israel's current president, Shimon Peres (of the so-called left-wing Labour party), to become his English speech writer.



4. If my sexual preferences are any concern of Mrs. Tinari-Modai, or her husband, His Excellency Ambassador Modai, as representatives of the State of Israel, please feel free to discuss them with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Ireland, or your local psychologist. I am now a proud Irish citizen.



5. Here is my photograph, just to save you the trouble of 'naming and shaming' me:

That is ******* outrageous. Not only has she cast slurs upon many of the characters of people involved in the movement , it could be taken to be a homophobic statement. Homosexuality as a psychological condition was removed from the American Diagnosticians Manual in the early 80's so she is straight out wrong there. What does she think she is going to achieve by accusing Irish Palestine movements of being sexual dysfunctional? She may want to look at the apartheid policies of Israel before doing anything.

Im gonna tweet this to Dominic Hannigan to be raised as an issue...

[DCon]

Well done Jonathan.

Thank You for raising this

[WhistleblowerIRL]

Thank you all for the support.

Here is the Irish Times piece about it this morning:

The Irish Times - Thursday, June 14, 2012

Israeli diplomat in Ireland advises 'shaming' activists

MARY FITZGERALD, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

ISRAEL’S DEPUTY ambassador to Ireland sent an email to colleagues in the Israeli foreign ministry suggesting it “humiliate and shame” Israeli activists sympathetic to the Palestinians and claiming their activism was rooted in psychological problems.

Israel’s Channel 10 News reported that Nurit Tinari Modai, who is cultural officer at the embassy and is married to ambassador Boaz Modai, advised that the foreign ministry should adopt a new strategy in which it would “try to hit [the activists’] soft underbellies, to publish their photographs.”

This, she wrote, might “cause embarrassment for their friends in Israel and their family” and sow suspicion among non-Israeli activists that “they may actually be working on behalf of Mossad” (the Israeli intelligence agency).

The channel, which described Ms Tinari Modai’s comments as an “exceptional statement” from a senior diplomat, quoted her claiming that such activism arises from psychological issues.

“The activity of those activists against the state is, in my evaluation, not necessarily ideological (!) but grounded in psychological reasons, (generally of disappointment with the parents, [or] sexual identity problems) or the need to obtain a residency visa in one of the countries in Europe,” she wrote.

The channel reported that the Israeli foreign ministry was taken aback by the content of the leaked correspondence. It quoted an official statement from the ministry in which it said that while it tries to combat “delegitimisation” of Israel internationally, it does not “engage in witch-hunts”.

In a statement, the Israeli embassy acknowledged the authenticity of the email but claimed Ms Tinari Modai’s remarks were in jest. “The incident referred to was not a serious discussion of policy at an official level. It was a private joke, sent by private email, which unfortunately was leaked,” it said. Recently, Ms Tinari Modai used the embassy’s official Facebook account to describe campaigners calling for a boycott of Israel as “Israeli self-haters and anti-Semites”.

Martin O’Quigley, chair of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, criticised what he said was an attempt to “attack human rights activists’ characters and motivations”. He said the proposal chimed with Israeli think-tank the Reut Institute advocating a campaign of “sabotage”, “attack” and “naming and shaming” of pro-Palestinian activists.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...317876949.html

[C. Flower]

In a statement, the Israeli embassy acknowledged the authenticity of the email but claimed Ms Tinari Modai’s remarks were in jest. “The incident referred to was not a serious discussion of policy at an official level. It was a private joke, sent by private email, which unfortunately was leaked,” it said. Recently, Ms Tinari Modai used the embassy’s official Facebook account to describe campaigners calling for a boycott of Israel as “Israeli self-haters and anti-Semites”.

It would be nice to think that Modai is a loose cannon, but sadly, dirty tricks is the name of the game with the Israeli "diplomatic services."

Weren't there discussions in the recent past about the targetting of Ireland for various form of special propoganda / diplomacy, to try to overcome the support in Ireland for the Palestinians ?

I'm confused by one aspect of all this. If they don't like the Irish, how come they keep using our Passports?

[Ephilant]

I'm confused by one aspect of all this. If they don't like the Irish, how come they keep using our Passports?

They're even easier to forge than Greek ones... And less suspicious

[WhistleblowerIRL]

David Norris raised the issue in the Seanad today:

Would the Leader be kind enough to clarify for me a serious report I have received? Apparently, there was a programme on Channel 10 News in Israel on which it was stated they had in their possession a communiqué to Jerusalem from the deputy Israeli ambassador, Ms Nurit Tinari Modai, in which she stated they should be working against Israeli activists supporting Palestinian human rights. I have worked with many of these groups, including Professor Gideon Halper and the Rabbis for Human Rights. I want the Leader to ask the Government to establish the credibility of this communiqué because if true, it is extremely serious. Ms Modai suggests undermining, attacking and shaming these activists, publishing their names and photographs and suggesting they are working for Mossad, a move that would certainly expose them to considerable danger. According to media reports, she states it is possible to obtain the name of Israeli activists and Israel should “try to hit [the activists’] soft underbellies, to publish their photographs”. This, she wrote, might “cause embarrassment for their friends in Israel and their family” and sow suspicion among non-Israeli activists that “they may actually be working on behalf of Mossad”. Significantly and worryingly she states: “The activity of those activists against the state is, in my evaluation, not necessarily ideological (!) but grounded in psychological reasons, (generally of disappointment with the parents, [or] sexual identity problems) or the need to obtain a residency visa in one of the countries in Europe.” I am well aware of the circumstances and if the deputy Israeli ambassador is sending these types of communiqués, we have real cause for concern about the activities of the Israeli embassy. I seek clarification on this matter.

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/seanad/...6/14/00004.asp

[C. Flower]

SAn Cathaoirleach: Senator Norris, please.

Senator David Norris: All I asked for was a clarification of a diplomatic communiqué because if it is true it is dynamite-----

An Cathaoirleach: The Senator must resume his seat.

Senator David Norris: -----and reflects on other issues, including a previous election.

It appears that Senator Norris feels that he may himself have been subject to this type of smear campaign.

[WhistleblowerIRL]

Upon further reflection since I first heard about this latest 'strategy' suggested by the Israeli embassy to Dublin, I would like to use this platform to publish an open letter to Mrs. Tinari-Modai, deputy and wife to Israel's ambassador to Dublin.

Dear Mrs. Tinari-Modai,

I would like to draw your attention to some further anecdotes/background information that my file at the Israeli embassy may not have informed you of when you went through it. In the spirit of 'sharing is caring', I would like to share these with you.

1. During the Shiv'a (week of mourning) for the passing of Mr. Ephraim Evron I had the 'pleasure' of meeting the late Mr. Ezer Weizman - Israel's president at the time, at the Evron home in Tel-Aviv. During his extensive career in the Israeli civil service Mr. Evron was Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Israel's ambassador to Washington. He later became president of Haifa University. While I find the political philosophy of both Mssrs. Weizman & Evron morally repugnant, they were both gentlemen of a certain charm and grace. Mr. Weizman lamented the increasing absence of such qualities in senior diplomats as the years progressed. Having been involved in the training of new diplomats to the Israeli diplomatic core for decades, Mr. Evron often reflected in his retirement about the growing vulgarity and sloppiness of young Israeli diplomats. He no doubt had people like you and your husband in mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephraim_Evron

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezer_Weizman


2. On a more practical note - why not make me an official Mossad agent, instead of just making me an alleged one as you have proposed to do?!? As you may have gathered by now, I am currently out of a job. For further details about how this came to be, please consult ministers Noonan, Burton and a yet-to-be-named Fine Gael minister who is trying very hard to forget that he met with me to discuss UniCredit Ireland and the Financial Regulator's delinquencies at well-known solicitor's firm in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 (not too far away from the Israeli embassy, where I had my phone taken away and was locked up in an office for a lengthy time when I last visited there).

ABC TV in Australia made a documentary in November last year in which my story featured prominently. Here is the link to it, if your sloppy office has yet to record that in my file:
http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2011/s3367080.htm

Undoubtedly, the facts and figures of my 3 year military service in the Israeli 'Defence' Forces would make an equally riveting documentary.

However, I do have one stipulation before I take the job. I would like my salary to be paid into my AIB account in Dublin in order to keep things nice and tidy. Having spent a considerable amount of time working for the CFO of Israel's fourth largest bank, now called Mizrahi-Tefahot, I am well aware of how the State of Israel pays people into off-shore accounts. I can easily provide you with my account details. I have no doubt that you have my Israeli ID number 028.....6 and military ID number 501...4 in the file on your desk. These numbers are not quite tattooed on my arm, but they are very much recorded in my memories of your fascist state.

As an student of economics at Tel-Aviv University I also worked for a short while at the Banking Supervision Dpt. of the Bank of Israel (Israel's central bank). Unfortunately, I do not seem to posses the 'talent' of Jacob Frenkel, the bank's governor at the time. Prof Frenkel went on to work as a Vice Chairman of a particularly healthy financial institution called AIG and is currently Chairman of JP Morgan Chase International. I believe JP Morgan recently had a small risk issue which cost the bank 2 billion USD. I am sure Prof. Frenkel used his regulatory experience to bring his sister company into full compliance. Perhaps I could help Mossad comply with International law when it comes to the issuing of passports, especially those of other countries.

I hope my career at the Mossad will be a rewarding one. The late David Kimche, a deputy director of the Mossad, who lived a few streets away from my family home (same home mentioned above in connection with Prime Minister Netanyahu), seemed to have great misgivings about his career at the service of the Jewish homeland. While Stephen Spielberg, a kind hearted, but rather misguided film director, made the film 'Munich', Mr. Kimche went on record to say that the Mossad's retaliation for the assassination of the Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics was a futile exercise. In a televised interview with one of the athlete's widows, she recounted begging the Mossad to stop the retaliation killings as no amount of bloodshed was going to bring back her dead husband.

https://www.mizrahi-tefahot.co.il/cg...ngHomePage.jsp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Frenkel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kimche



Yours faithfully,
Jonathan Sugarman

[C. Flower]

which cost the bank 2 billion USD

... and the rest...

[Ephilant]

Last night, live on NET TV, the Greek state braodcaster, ex minister for foreign affairs Dora Bakoyannis shocked the nation by describing her opponents as "kolomparistika".
I will leave it up to you to find out what exactly this means, suffice to say it is the most offensively vulgar way of describing somebody as gay. The use of this word is way across the line you don't cross, for any reason. But coming from somebody who is seeking office and has ministerial ambitions, it is totally unacceptable.
anybody feeling they want to tackle her over this, here is where you can do this
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dora-B...15861695091157

[Binn Beal]

Bravo Jonathan!

[Seán Ryan]

Very well done and said Jonathan.

I sincerely hope that the IPSC and yourself take this argument outside the offices of RTE (in protest) to promote this issue into the national spotlight. This needs to be thrashed out in the open.