Tag: Anti-Semitism

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Surveys show a disturbing degree of support for Hamas–and even justification of the October 7 atrocities–among younger Americans…and also, following the posting of Osama bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’ recently on TikTok, a significant number of people–again, especially younger ones reading it for the first time–reacted favorably to his message.  Anti-Israel views among the young […]

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The Hollow Men

 

…and hollow women, too.

I’ve been writing for years about the rise of toxic ideologies on America’s college campuses – totalitarian, anti-Israel, outright anti-Semitic – but still have been surprised by what has happened in these places since October 7.  We need to discuss the reasons why it’s gotten so bad.

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I am aware that it has never happened before, and I am confident that it can never happen in the future, but what if a wave of Anti-Semitism were to arise from an unwholesome provocation by Jews? How, then, would the guardians of truth handle such an unthinkable occurrence?  Preview Open

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The Latest Attack on Jews in the US

 

As the crowds scream their hatred at Israel and Jews at or near the universities, and support for the Hamas terrorists, the tensions between Jews and non-Jews in this country continue to grow. The practice of anti-Semitism to such an extreme degree is new for Jews, and we don’t know what it means for our future. As if those protests weren’t concerning enough, the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) practice is raising its ugly head:

The BDS movement was formed by the League of Arab States in the mid-1940s. It barred trade with Israel and encouraged boycotting groups that still chose to do business with Israel.

In 1977, the U.S. Congress passed anti-boycott legislation that prohibited American citizens or businesses from refusing to do business with Israel at the request of other foreign governments.

Blood Libel

 

When I first traveled to Israel in 1969-1970 for my junior year of college, an instructor in one of my classes brought up the topic of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. I had never heard of it, but what especially rooted in my mind more than 50 years later was the ugliness of the portrayals of the Jews in the book.

The Protocols were likely written in Russia in the early 20th century. Here is one description :

[The Protocols] is a fabricated text purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination. Largely plagiarized from several earlier sources, it was first published in Imperial Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages, and disseminated internationally in the early part of the 20th century. It played a key part in popularizing belief in an international Jewish conspiracy.

I Am a Jew

 

As I watched the pro-Palestinian protests erupt across the country yesterday, it was like watching a volcano seeping up through the cracks of the earth. Everyone knew the volcano was there, snarling under the surface, but as long as it was quiet, they could pretend that it wasn’t active. Yesterday, it went active, an angry and dangerous outburst.

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A few days ago, @westernchauvinist posted a short video of Douglas Murray, declaring not only his support of Israel, but he also made the statement, “I am a Jew.” He is not a Jew, but he wanted there to be no question of his solidarity with Jews and Israel, and as an American Jew, I appreciated his boldness.

The Squad Boycott: A Badge of Honor

 

Good riddance. Every time I heard a member of the Squad protest about Israel, I used to wince; now I consider their complaints a badge of honor for Israel. Their comments are trite and predictable and don’t begin to reflect the true state of affairs. President Herzog is planning to give a joint address to Congress, and the Squad members won’t be there.

These extreme Democrats continue to exaggerate and lie about the treatment of Palestinians in Israel, and in some ways, I wish their fellow Congressmen would ignore them. Calling Israel an apartheid and racist country is such hyperbole that I’m hoping people are waking up to their disingenuous diatribes. Rep. Cori Bush spoke out:

‘The Israeli government is responsible for enforcing an apartheid state and rampantly abusing the rights of Palestinians,’ Ms. Bush tweeted Thursday, ‘Congress should not be giving a platform to the President of a country that shows no respect for human rights. I will not be attending his joint address.’

I’m Tired of Writing about Holocaust Memorial Day

 

It seems that Jews can’t agree on the official day we should remember the tragedy of the Holocaust. One formal day, Holocaust Remembrance Day, is in January; the other day, Holocaust Memorial Day, falls on April 17. Either way, I dread writing on the topic, even though I periodically feel that I must.

Why do I dread writing about this topic? I know that people hate to be reminded of this human atrocity. They hate that the Jews insist on reminding the world that six million Jews died in Nazi Germany. (I have personally heard these complaints.) They tire of Jews holding on to their grief, and complaining that anti-Semitism continues to grow worldwide. This report provided the following summary on the anti-Semitic data:

Member Post

 

I almost didn’t put up this post; when this kind of incident happens so close to home, I feel nauseous. I don’t try to fool myself into believing that anti-Semitism doesn’t exist in Florida, but I also wish I didn’t feel obligated to let people know when it occurs. The video in about one minute […]

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Latest Slur Against the Right: Replacement Theory

 

When I read the jumble of definitions that were supposed to define “replacement theory,” I became extremely skeptical of its credibility and validity. Yet a part of me, given the current chaotic climate in this country, was reluctant to discard it out of hand and assume it wasn’t important, for a number of reasons.

First, replacement theory is a mish-mash of theories that the Left has chosen to lump together, a kind of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach. The problem with this “theory” is that the Left can conveniently modify it to suit their needs and use it to attack others. For example, one broad definition is:

At the extremes of American life, replacement theory — the notion that Western elites, sometimes manipulated by Jews, want to ‘replace’ and disempower white Americans — has become an engine of racist terror, helping inspire a wave of mass shootings in recent years and fueling the 2017 right-wing rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that erupted in violence.

This week on “The Learning Curve,” co-hosts Gerard Robinson and Cara Candal talk with Bari Weiss, former New York Times op-ed editor and writer, and author of How to Fight Anti-Semitism. Bari shares what motivated her to write this book, its reception, and key lessons for teachers and students alike.

She also explains why we’re now seeing a rise in anti-Semitism, how educators can best combat it, and the connection she observes between the current upsurge in anti-Semitism and cancel culture. Bari discusses her experiences on the editorial boards of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and her courageous decision to resign from the Times, as well as the public praise and criticism she’s encountered since her resignation.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Was Not a Saint

 

Many people have sung the praises over the last few days for Desmond Tutu, who passed away at the age of 90. As CNN described him:

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Anglican cleric whose good humor, inspiring message and conscientious work for civil and human rights made him a revered leader during the struggle to end apartheid in his native South Africa, has died. He was 90. In a statement confirming his death on Sunday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his condolences to Tutu’s family and friends, calling him ‘a patriot without equal.’ ‘A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world,’ Ramaphosa said.

He received many awards and commendations for his efforts in South Africa and around the world. But he also had a distinction that is not praiseworthy: Tutu was also a blatant anti-Semite.

Wall Street Journal letters editor Elliot Kaufman joins Theodore Kupfer to discuss Kaufman’s report on the Crown Heights riots, which happened 30 years ago last weekend.

Find the transcript of this conversation and more at City Journal.

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Boston Globe opinion writer Jeff Jacoby about the troubling increase in antisemitic incidents, including the recent attack on a Boston rabbi, and how our current political rancor fans the flames of bigotry nationwide.
Related: The Boston Globe: How to speak out against antisemitism

Guest:

Canary in the Coal Mine, or You Could Be Next

 

After the last attacks on Israel by Hamas, the canards began to escalate against Israelis once more: they stole the land, they abuse the Palestinians—well, the list goes on. In recent months there has also been discussion on this site about whether anti-Semitic attacks in this country are increasing or not, whether the concern was being exaggerated or should be seriously addressed.

I’ve decided to take a different approach to the “Jewish question.” From my perspective, there are three types of attacks on Jews that have a great deal to teach us and serve as a warning: (1) the relevance of the merging of anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist thought in these times; (2) the subtlety of criticisms of Jews, and how Jews are adding credence to these statements, (3) the lessons that need to be learned from the current situation by Jews and non-Jews alike.

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Was Henry Ford a Nazi?

 

A lot of people already think they know. Such a stark, blunt question deserves a direct answer: No, he wasn’t. Ford did not support Hitler or his ideology. He wasn’t a Nazi, officially or unofficially.  What Ford was, however, was pretty awful without ever getting near a swastika armband. He was one of the most powerful, influential anti-Semites in history, and did immense harm all over the world by lending his once-golden name to vicious lies. Ford didn’t go around quoting Hitler, but Hitler was grateful that “a great man like Ford” was sounding the alarm.

Ford’s notorious publicity campaign against the Jews began after World War I when he bought a local newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, and turned it into a heavily subsidized powerhouse of anti-Jewish agitation. That campaign largely ended by the end of the Twenties, by which time he had other, more pressing problems. Hitler didn’t come to power until 1933. But the effects of Ford’s pseudo-history lingered for decades to come, for the millions of Jews he slurred, and for the reputation of Henry Ford himself.

Where Have You Gone, Samuil? A Journey Through Identity and Exile with Vladislav Khodasevich (Borscht Report #9/Group Writing)

 

When it comes to pre-WWII Russian literary critics and poets, Vladislav Khodasevich is not well known, particularly in the West. Compared to someone like, say, Bunin or Tsvetaeva, he’s been largely ignored. But Khodasevich deserves attention, both as a skilled memoirist and poet, and as one of the few who chronicled the whole journey of his generation through the realities of WWI and the White exile, grappling with issues of right, honor, and Russian identity, especially for those who carried non-Russian blood in the vast multiethnic empire. 

Born in Moscow in May of 1886, Khodasevich was the son of a Polish nobleman and a Jewish woman. Unlike the union of Vera and Vladimir Nabokov, though, theirs was not an unusual act of mutual tolerance. Jacob Brafman, Khodasevich’s maternal grandfather, was a famous convert from Judaism to Orthodoxy, who wrote The Book of Kahal, a forerunner to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. He entered the law faculty of Moscow University in 1904, then switched to history and philology the next year, staying on until 1910. It was during his time at the university that Vladislav met Samuil Kissin, a law student and aspiring poet from Orsha who was a year older than he. Twenty years later, he said Kissin, whom he affectionately nicknamed Muni, was “как бы вторым «я»” (like my second self) and reflected on how “we lived in such a faithful brotherhood, in such close love, which now seems wonderful to me.”

Despite his training, Khodasevich did not want to be a historian or a philologist, but, like Kissin, a poet, and dropped out in the final year of his course. He frequented Moscow’s literary salons and cafes, and published articles and poems for famous literary magazines, like Golden Fleece and Libra. Although he was the descendant of a noble family, his father had come to Russia impoverished, and Kissin, who hailed from an observant Jewish merchant family (he was trained in Hebrew and the Talmud at home during his childhood) actually had a much more secure financial position, though he was always willing and happy to support his friend along with himself. 

This Time It’s Personal

 

When I heard that the chancellor of Rutgers University had retracted his statement condemning anti-Semitism, I was spitting mad. And I’m trying to get my head around the spineless, hateful, and bigoted statements that university executives all over the country are prepared to make in order to pacify the angry crowds.

In case you missed this story, chancellor Christopher Molloy initially sent out the following email:

Recent incidents of hate directed toward Jewish members of our community again remind us of what history has to teach us. Tragically, in the last century alone, acts of prejudice and hatred left unaddressed have served as the foundation for many atrocities against targeted groups around the world . . .

How Not to Win Friends and Influence People: Noa Tishby

 

red green capitalI wanted to like Noa Tishby. I was prepared to hear her out as a courageous voice in Hollywood and a potential cobelligerent against the new Red-Green alliance.* I value Scott Johnson’s opinions in the main, having followed PowerLine Blog since they eviscerated Dan Rather’s attempt to steal the 2004 election with a blatantly fraudulent story about George W. Bush’s Texas Air Guard service record. Scott recommended readers to “meet Noa Tishby.” So, I read Robert Sarner’s Times of Israel profile “Israeli actress Noa Tishby’s ‘Simple Guide’ to Israel shakes up US progressives.” So far so good. Then, I followed the link to Matt Lewis’s long-form web video interview of Noa Tisby on the new book she reportedly wrote entirely on her own, Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth. Sad.

I embed, you go watch and decide, then come back to check my opinion. Or read on and then go check my assessment against the tape. By way of warning, this was not safe for younger children’s ears. This is so for all too many web-exclusive videos. She asks the profanity question, common these days as a “mind if I smoke” question used to be. Once the cursing/smoking light is on, the filter comes off, especially late in the interview when she talks about being a woman in Hollywood with “Weinstein” being the daily norm for decades.

Quote of the Day: Miracles Do Happen

 

“Bahrain, for its part continues to astonish Israelis with its enthusiasm over its the newly opened peaceful ties with Israel. Last weekend, Sheikh Khaled bin Khalifa al Khalifa, a member of Bahrain’s royal family who serves as the Chairman of the King Hamad Global Center for Co-Existence and Peace signed an agreement in Washington with Elan Carr, the US anti-Semitism monitor where both sides committed to work together to fight anti-Semitism. The Bahraini center adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism. The IHRA definition defines anti-Zionism as a form of anti-Semitism.” —Caroline Glick

Although the outcome of the Abraham Accords in August was shocking and difficult to imagine, this next step is also deeply satisfying.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have joined Israel in the Accords, and I’m sure it took a great deal of effort to bring it to fruition. Also, Sudan has been removed from the terrorist list and is working on normalizing relations with Israel, as are at least four other Arab countries.