I Grew Up on Mercer Island
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
Sep 17, 2010 at 1:13pm
But when I was growing up, no one defaced the local Jewish schools with Swastikas.
And you know what else? No one defaces the synagogues here in Istanbul with them, either. In fact, I just walked past the synagogue here in my neighborhood. The Turkish police were discreetly--but with inarguable, utter seriousness--keeping an eye on it, making sure people knew not even to think of it.
I'm disgusted beyond expression that this happened where I grew up. Congratulations, anti-Semites of Mercer Island: Pleased with yourselves?
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Jul '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
Must have been a group of hateful Presbyterians.
Or Mennonites - they're famously anti-Semitic.
May '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
Disgusting behavior! I'm wondering if this was the act of a juvenile (physical and/or emotional) who thought they could get some attention.
Jul '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
Anti Semitism is becoming quite respectable again, even on Mercer Island. This is one of the reasons I am so pessimistic about our future. And I would not be so quick to blame Muslims for this. There are plenty of non Muslims who are anti semitic now.
Aug '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
I agree with Heather, or more correctly, with Jonah Goldberg and his exposing of the liberal fascism that so comfortably lies with the pro-Palestinian sympathizers on the West and Wrong Coast, and in Turtle Bay, up and down the Thames, Seine,Po, Danube, regrettably ubiquitous. I imagine a very immature, self-styled anarchist did this instead of his homework.
Gosh, we anarchists in the 60s and70s never thought much of swastikas . We were busy defacing everything with peace signs.
Show me a smart skinhead, a reasonable anarchist, or religious graffiti vandal. Where's Pim Fortuyn and Theo vanGogh when we need them ?
Aug '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
Probably need to ask Michelle Malkin who at the P-I is in charge of reporting this, and the appropriate police investigation that won't follow.
Jun '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
I think it would've been better to just describe what they did, and not spread the image far and wide for them. I imagine that's exactly what they hoped for. Unless, somebody can recognize the "style" of the tagging, and give police a name. Then there might be some advantage to distributing it.
Jul '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
Not as funny as you think, Kenneth. My former church, the Presbyterian Church USA, has for years busied itself delegitimizing Israel, accusing it of being the sole cause of all the problems of the Middle East. I have not been attending services for a while but would not be surprised if by now Jesus and his disciples were portrayed as ancient Palestinians, persecuted even then by the perfidious Jews.
But since most Presbyterians tend to be white and elderly, they probably lack the energy to go out and commit acts of outright vandalism. Yet, it is these trendy theories and outright lies which contribute to the current rise and acceptance of anti-semitism.
Edited on Sep 17, 2010 at 2:46pmJul '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
Ragnarok
But since most Presbyterians tend to be white and elderly, they probably lack the energy to go out and commit acts of outright vandalism. Yet, it is these trendy theories and outright lies which contribute to the current rise and acceptance of anti-semitism. · Sep 17 at 2:40pm
Edited on Sep 17 at 02:46 pm
You're right, they must have outsourced it to Amish skinheads.
Jun '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
Kenneth, I'm assuming that not all readers know that the Amish, skinheads or not, are Mennonites.
Jun '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
I have several friends, none of whom are Jewish, who very firmly and very quietly never let an anti-Semitic remark pass without challenge. I will also not allow such remarks in my presence. I don't make a show of my disagreement with such slurs, but neither will I allow the person making the remark to do so without comment. Usually, it takes much less effort than a person might think to back the anti-Semite down. This stance has improved my quality of life immensely in that any desirous of letting their inner anti-Semite loose resist so doing when I'm around. The point being that bigots only air their bigotry in public because they feel safe in doing so, and that is why I speak up.
May '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
Well let's hope this was some stupid prank accomplished by someone who had no idea what they were communicating.
There is room for anti-semetic analysis in the USA for sure. Helen Thomas did a great job of outing what is a growing trend on the left. Unfortunately, there can be no honest dialogue because from what I can see, the lefties who feel that way are unsurprisingly unwilling to come out and clearly state their opinion.
Aug '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
There's a reason there are several Presbyterian denominations now. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church and Presbyterian Church of America both split from PC-USA a few decades ago because of the drift into liberal Christianity. They keep going, too. The PC-USA is loosing a lot of congregations as they continue to follow cultural trends instead of the Bible. Associations of anti-semitism with Christianity confused me when I was younger because I grew up in a good church. I've since met a few people who explain that reputation. One of them sounds as bad as Mel Gibson, but he says it when he's sober.
Aug '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
This is really helpful information for me. Thanks!
And the defacing of Jewish high schools with swastikas makes my blood boil.
I grew up in a town where the reigning leftists had no compunctions about smearing someone they didn't like as a Nazi and antisemite entirely without cause -- it was their standard threat for anyone who dared stand up to them, though none of the people so threatened deserved it. Now swastikas, anti-Israelism, and even antisemitism seem hardly to raise an eyebrow on the left.
Have we learned nothing from the Shoah? Did that great tragedy happen utterly in vain, so that not even worthwhile lessons can be learned from it? It makes me sick.
For conservatives who want to stand in solidarity with Jews and Israel, I highly recommend the website Jewish World Review. Great stuff.
Edited on Sep 17, 2010 at 10:05pmJul '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
Gee, I grew up not liking folks from poverty rock.
Now I have a good reason to continue with that trend.
But then, I will never forget the care, and understanding that overflowed on the Ship Canal bridge the day the woman was contemplating jumping. All the loving encouragement she received from the oh so liberal and understanding Seattle Commuters.
So I'm really not all that surprised if I must say.
Jul '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
I grew up in Fresno, California. We didn't have any Jews. We had Armenians.
Folks referred to Armenians as "Fresno Jews".
Now, maybe some people said that in a mean-spirited way, I dunno.
But to me, as a kid, it was a good thing: the Armenians, who fled their own Holocaust a generation before, had come to our farming community with nothing but the clothes on their backs and made the desert bloom. They were the hardest working, the shrewdest businessmen. In the blink of an eye, they had ascended the economic ladder right to the top.
So somehow, by extension, I missed out on the whole anti-Semitic thing; I just figured that if Jews were like Armenians, we were lucky to have 'em.
May '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
"I just figured that if Jews were like Armenians, we were lucky to have 'em."
That reminds me of a joke in the The Joy of Yiddish: A Jewish businessman is taking a train trip across the country and strikes up a conversation with the man sitting next to him. They exchange descriptions of their home towns, and the other man says "I am proud to say that in my little town there are no Jews." The Jew replies, "And that is why it will <i>remain</i> a little town."
May '10
Re: I Grew Up on Mercer Island
Another classic joke:
An elderly Jewish man is walking downtown when he encounters a notorious anti-Semite. "Swine!" the bigot snarls. "Goldberg" smiles the Jew as he bows.