Showing posts with label bigotry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bigotry. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Sunday, June 4, 2017
If Someone Is Anti-Israel Are They Not Also Anti-Semitic
The British Election: Will Voters Opt for Intolerance and Xenophobia?
On June 8, British voters will head to the polls, three years early. When Prime Minister Theresa May called last month for a snap election, the assumption was that she would win easily and increase her parliamentary majority. Recent numbers, however, show the gap closing between May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Corbyn – who was given 200:1 odds of when he ran for the party leadership in 2015 – is doing surprisingly well again. This is despite the fact that Labour has been under fire for anti-Semitism in its ranks, and Corbyn himself has been accused of anti-Jewish bigotry. Corbyn denies having a problem with Jews, claiming that he is merely anti-Israel. Even if it were possible to hate Israel without being anti-Semitic – and I am not sure that it is – Corbyn's words and deeds demonstrate that he often uses virulent anti-Zionism as a cover for his soft anti-Semitism. For example, in a speech last year, he said that Jews are "no more responsible" for the actions of Israel than Muslims are for those of ISIS. In 2009, he announced: "It will be my pleasure and my honour to host an event in Parliament where our friends from Hezbollah will be speaking. I also invited friends from Hamas to come and speak as well."
The company that Corbyn keeps, too, suggests that at best he gives a free pass to bigotry, racism and anti-Semitism within the ranks of his own party, and at worst, he espouses them. He has shared speaking platforms and led rallies with some of the most infamous Jew-haters. He has attended meetings hosted by 9/11 conspiracy theorist Paul Eisen, author of a blog titled: "My Life as a Holocaust Denier." He has been associated with Sheikh Raed Salah – leader of the outlawed northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, a blood libel perpetuator convicted for incitement to violence and racism – whom he referred to as a "very honoured citizen" whose "voice must be heard." Corbyn was also a paid contributor for Press TV, Iran's tightly controlled media apparatus, whose production is directly overseen by anti-Semitic Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. One of the biggest criticisms of the "Corbynization" of British politics has been the mainstreaming of traditional anti-Semitism. The country's chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, has called the problem within the Labour party "severe." Consider the late Gerald Kaufman, a Labour veteran and close political associate of Corbyn's who touted conspiracy theories about Jews throughout his political career. When speaking at a pro-Palestinian event, Kaufman said: "Jewish money, Jewish donations to the Conservative Party – as in the general election in May – support from the Jewish Chronicle, all of those things, bias the Conservatives." While Corbyn condemned this remark, he refused to yield to widespread demands for disciplinary action against Kaufman. This is in keeping with what a key former adviser to Corbyn, Harry Fletcher, wrote: "I'd suggest to him [Jeremy] about how he might build bridges with the Jewish community and none of it ever happened." Let's be clear: I do not believe that Corbyn's rise in the polls is due to his hatred of Jews and Israel, but rather in spite of it. May called for elections and then refused to debate her opponents. She is running a lacklustre campaign somewhat reminiscent of U.S. Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton's last year. For his part, Corbyn is a populist, like U.S. President Donald Trump. Although politically polar opposites, they have much in common, such as a penchant for shooting from the hip and unpredictability. Furthermore, many British voters are unaware of Corbyn's anti-Semitic associations. Others know, but don't care. Those on the hard-Left, such as union activists and academics, include knee-jerk opponents of the nation state of the Jewish people and supporters of academic and cultural boycotts of Israel. Many of these favor trade and engagement with such egregious human-rights violators as Iran, Cuba, China, Russia, Belarus and Venezuela. Singling out Israel – the Middle East's only democracy, with one of the world's best human-rights records, rule of law and concern for enemy civilians — for boycotts itself is a form of anti-Semitism. Corbyn himself has called for boycotts of the Jewish state. He has advocated for an arms embargo, citing Israel's supposed "breach" of the human-rights clause of the EU-Israel trade agreement. He also led the call to boycott Israel's national soccer team in the European Championship in Wales. (Ironically, Israel only plays in this league because it was expelled from the Asian Football Confederation due to the Arab League's boycott.) Corbyn, as well, has been a vocal supporter of the so-called Palestinian "right of return," something that would lead to an Arab majority and Jewish minority within Israel, and render the two-state solution completely obsolete. Whether anti-Semitism is the cause or effect of the Labour party's problem is not important. What is relevant is that Corbyn not only has not stemmed the tide, but has played a big part in perpetuating it. British voters now have the opportunity to choose where they will go as a nation. Will they opt to move away from stability, rationality and tolerance toward simple mindedness and xenophobia? I sincerely hope not. Bernie Sanders has already made his choice. He is campaigning for Corbyn despite his record on anti-Semitism. Sanders will have to explain why a Jew is helping to elect a bigot with the views Corbyn holds about the Jewish people and their nation state.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.wha
|
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Are All Ills Of The World The Result Of Anti-American, Anti-Western, Anti-Israel Beliefs
The Bigotry of "Intersectionality"
What do the terrorist group Hamas and the anti-violence group Black Lives Matter have in common? What does the democracy of Israel have in common with the anti-Semitic Ku Klux Klan? What does the Islamic Republic of Iran, which throws gays off rooftops, have in common with gay right activists? What do feminists have in common with radical Islamic sexists who support the honor killing and genital mutilation of women? Nothing of course. Unless you subscribe to the pseudo-academic concept of intersectionality.
Intersectionality – the radical academic theory, which holds that all forms of social oppression are inexorably linked— has become a code word for anti-American, anti-Western, anti-Israel and anti-Semitic bigotry. Nowhere has adoption of this radical paradigm been more pronounced then on college campuses where, in the name of "identity politics" and "solidarity," intersectionality has forced artificial coalitions between causes that have nothing to do with each other except a hatred for their fellow students who are "privileged" because they are white, heterosexual, male and especially Jewish. Students at the University of Illinois (UIC) recently took to social media to express their distress after flyers were plastered around campus calling for the "end of Jewish privilege." The flyer stated in bold letters that: "ending white privilege starts with ending Jewish privilege." The posters had outlines of silhouettes with Stars of David printed out, and an arrow pointing to them with the accompanying caption "the 1%." Although some of the posters identified Black Lives Matter as sponsors, it is not clear whether they were distributed by extreme right wing groups using hard-left anti-Semitic tropes or by hard left anti-Semites. In some respects, it does not really matter because many on the hard right and hard left share a disdain for Jews, their nation state and so called "Jewish privilege." The very concept of "privilege" – the idea that white people benefit from certain privileges in Western society, compared to non-whites living in the same social, political and economic environment – has a long and complex history in the United States. The subjugation of black Americans, and other non-whites, is an endemic problem that requires far-reaching legislative and grassroots action. By attributing this domestic social problem to so-called "Jewish privilege," radicals are engaging in traditional economic anti-Semitism; attributing far-reaching societal problems to Jewish status, occupation or economic performance. This practice resembles the vile, anti-Semitic propaganda of the 1930s, when splashed across Der Spiegel was blaming Jews – and so called disproportionate Jewish wealth – for Germany's losing WWI and the country's subsequent economic downturn. Canards about Jews' controlling world finances – first promulgated by the Tsarist forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion – was anti-Semitic back then and it is anti-Semitic today, whether espoused by the extreme left or right. There is no more evidence that Jews are responsible for economic or social inequality in contemporary America, than there is for Jews being responsible for any of the other crimes that formed the basis for traditional blood libels. Indeed, Jews disproportionately support racial equality and other liberal causes. Most successful Jews, like most successful people of other religions and ethnicities, earned this success by hard work, not special privilege. I certainly did not begin life with any privilege – despite finishing first in my class at Yale Law School, I was rejected by all 32 of the law firms to which I applied. The linking of unrelated "victimizations," despite their tenuous connections, is reflective of a broader trend in hard-left politics, whereby increasingly, radical activists demand that the demonization of "Zionists"—often used as a euphemism for Jews – be included, indeed featured, in the package of causes that must to be embraced by anyone claiming the label of "progressive." Lumping seemingly disparate groups under the "umbrella of oppression" leads to the forming of alliances between causes that at best, have nothing to do with each other, and at worst, are averse to one another's stated mission. Their only common feature is that to join, they must demonize the nation state of the Jewish people. Some intersectional feminists involved with the recent Women's March on Washington, for example, purport to be natural allies with anti-Israel Muslim groups that tolerate, if not accept, the "honor killings" and genital mutilation of women. Similarly, Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) – an organization that calls for "an end to violence against civilians, and peace and justice for all peoples of the Middle East" – invited Rasmieh Odeh, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and convicted terrorist, to appear as a speaker at its national conference later this month. The idea of Odeh – a terrorist who quite literally has blood on her hands –speaking for a Jewish organization that claims to propagate peace, flies in the face of logic. Fortunately, Odeh is being deported for perjuriously failing to disclose her murder conviction. Perhaps peace-loving members of JVP will have to applaud her on Skype. The following are among many examples of radical leftists conflating unrelated grievances. Consider the linking of our government's handling of the Flint water crisis to the "severe" water crisis in Gaza. Black Lives Matter activists have visited Gaza to express solidarity with the terrorist group Hamas, and with Palestinians oppressed by so-called racist Israeli self-defense measures. While Black Lives Matter claims to disavow violence in securing its political objectives, many of its most prominent members are far more eager to criticize the "Israeli genocide of Palestinians" than to criticize Hamas for using rockets to target Israeli civilians. During a recent interview on PBS's Charlie Rose program, Jonathan Haidt – social psychologist and Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University's Stern School of Business – had this to say about the conflation of various left-wing causes under the banner of intersectionality: "...There is a good kind of identity politics, which is, you know, if black people are being denied rights, let's fight for their rights, that's the good kind. But there is a bad kind, which is to train students, train young people to say let's divide everybody up by their race, gender, other categories. We'll assign them morale merit based on their level of privilege is bad, and victimhood is good. Okay, now let's look at everything through this lens. Israel, the Palestinians are the victims. So therefore, they are the good and the Jews or the Israelis are the bad... [T]here is one totalizing perspective. All social problems get reduced to this simple framework. I think we are doing them a disservice. I think where actually making students less wise." There is a certain irony of many feminists and gay-rights activists refusing to condemn the sexism and homophobia in the Arab world. Increasingly, they try and force other progressives to adopt a "No True Scotsman" worldview, in which they are made to feel that to be a "true progressive," one must embrace a wide variety of so- called hard-left causes, regardless of how unrelated they may be – as long as they also condemn Israel. The essence of anti-Semitism is the bigoted claim that if there is a problem, then Jews must be its cause. Hitler started by blaming Jews for Germany's economic downturn. Today, many hard-left activists explicitly or implicitly blame Jews and Zionists for many of the evils of the world. All decent people must join in calling out intersectionality for what it is: a euphemism for anti-American, anti-Semitic and anti- Israel bigotry. Exposing and condemning "intersectionality" for the bigotry that it represents is critical to ensuring that those repressive extremists, who falsely claim the mantle of progressivism, are not able to hijack important liberal causes in support of their own bigoted agenda. Professor Alan M. Dershowitz is Professor Emeritus of Harvard Law School.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
|
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Everytime The World Goes Crazy, Jews Are Blamed . We Are In One Of Those Times
JEWS: HUMAN CANARIES IN THE WORLD'S COAL MINE
Exclusive: Joseph Farah cites 'rising tide of anti-Semitic hatred around the world'
- image: http://www.wnd.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-print/images/print.png
- Text smaller
- Text bigger
It was an ugly scene in Australia the other day – a scene growing all too familiar around the world, from Europe to Down Under to the United States where Muslim immigration and birth rates are about to reach the tipping point at which followers of Islam outnumber the world's second-biggest population of Jews.
You can see for yourself the ugly aftermath of an attack by a single, intoxicated Middle Eastern man on a member of an ultra-Orthodox synagogue in Melbourne in which the assailant, held by several congregants, spews anti-Semitic verbal venom, shouting "go back to Israel."
It's a brazen peek into rising tide of anti-Semitic hatred around the world as radical Islamic terrorist attacks continue.
Who's paying the price for the latest murderous mayhem that struck Paris taking the lives of 130 people? Who else? The Jews – historically the human canaries in the coal mine over the last 2,000 years of world history.
The chief rabbi of Brussels issued an ominous warning last week. Avraham Gigi told an Israel radio station that the Belgian capital has been on virtual lock-down in recent days.
"There is a sense of fear in the streets," he said. "The Belgians understand that they too are targets of terror. Jews now pray in their homes [as opposed to at synagogues], and some of them are planning on emigrating. Since Shabbat the city has been paralyzed. The synagogues were closed, something which has not happened since World War II. People are praying alone or are holding small minyanim [small prayer groups] at private homes. Schools and theaters are closed as are most large stores, and public events are not permitted. We live in fear and wait for instructions from the police or the government."
There are only about 50,000 Jews left in Belgium.
"There are 25,000 Jews in Brussels, 18,000 in Antwerp, and the rest live in smaller places," said Gigi. "There has been aliya to Israel as well as emigration to Canada and the U.S. People understand there is no future for Jews in Europe."
Economic conditions and anti-Semitism are pushing young people to leave Belgium and move to Israel or other places.
"I think making aliya to Israel is an important thing for every Jew," Gigi said. "It is something that Jews in every generation yearned for. But Jews should not make aliya out of fear because this will result in a poor absorption experience as a feeling that something was left behind will always remain. People should make aliya out of a love for Israel."
In Germany, even the planned opening of a new kosher supermarket was enough to raise security concerns.
Seventy years after the end of the Holocaust, in the capital city of Germany, the opening of a kosher supermarket creates a sense of panic.
Didn't the world collectively sigh "never again" a generation ago?
But this is not a trend that should be a concern solely of Jews.
When the Jews face this kind of bigotry and persecution and scapegoated for the world's problems, it's a sure sign of the kind of madness, instability and unspeakable violence that has repeated itself through history. It affects everyone – and everything. It spreads like a virus.
Once again, the Jews are being blamed.
While the re-creation of the Jewish homeland in Israel has provided a safe harbor with a strong and robust young nation, it has also intensified the bigotry. Israel itself has become a flashpoint, a source of contention, an excuse to hate the Jews.
You might expect terrorist attacks on other nations by Israel's fiercest enemies to create empathy for what Jews experience as part of their everyday lives. Just the opposite is occurring, as I pointed out in a recent column.
The sick and twisted and demonic reaction has been to do what the world has always done – blame the victims first, blame the Jews, again.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/11/jews-human-canaries-in-the-worlds-coal-mine/#CWfbuzDJzRsKS0pi.99
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)