Bill de Blasio is Stoking Anti-Semitism

From Batya Ungar-Sargon, at the Forward, "De Blasio is stoking anti-Semitism. He’s not alone."

'Black Jews'

Seen on Twitter.

This person deleted her account.

Let’s go over everything that’s wrong with progressive thinking among minority groups....A hateful black man stabs Jews, & there is an immediate focus on black Jews & white supremacy. White supremacists & black Jews were not involved here... #Monsey pic.twitter.com/99O8JAPa1c

— Rocky KAG 🌐 (@IWiIlkaga) December 29, 2019

'We're Not Safe as Jews in New York'

From Emma Green, at the Atlantic:

After Saturday night's stabbing, Monsey families are no longer thinking of sweet celebrations. Moms told me they plan to teach their kids self-defense tactics to use walking to the bus.

This is what anti-Semitism is doing to American Jewish communities.https://t.co/7amduhp4iN

— Emma Green (@emmaogreen) December 29, 2019

The Return of Pogroms to Jewish American Life

It's Batya Ungar-Sargon, at the Jewish Daily Forward, "Why No One Can Talk About The Attacks Against Orthodox Jews" (via Memeorandum):

After the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Shabbat that killed 11 people last year, and another fatal shooting at a shul in Poway, California six months later, one often heard that the great threat to Jews – even the only threat – comes from white supremacy. Conventional wisdom said it was the political right, and the right’s avatar in the White House, that was to blame for the rising levels of hate against Jews.

But the majority of the perpetrators of the Brooklyn attacks, and the suspects in Jersey City — who were killed in a shootout with the police — and now Monsey, were not white, leaving many at a loss about how to explain it or even talk about it. There is little evidence that these attacks are ideologically motivated, at least in terms of the ideologies of hate we are most familiar with.

And therein lies the trouble with talking about the violent attacks against Orthodox Jews: At a time when ideology seems to rein supreme in the chattering and political classes, the return of pogroms to Jewish life on American soil transcends ideology. In the fight against anti-Semitism, you don’t get to easily blame your traditional enemies — which, in the age of Trump, is a non-starter for most people.

Of course, the rise in anti-Semitism is not incidental to the times we live in. While the Brooklyn attackers are, at least according to demographic trends, extremely unlikely to be Trump supporters, our president, who has a penchant for anti-Semitic tropes, is a conspiracy theorist, and anti-Semitism often manifests as a conspiracy theory about secretive Jewish power.

But conspiracy theories flourish on the left as well in today’s day and age. They twist and torque those rigid ideologies to which so many are enslaved, reshaping the extremes from polar opposites into a horseshoe whose ends meet — again and again — to justify, excuse, or muzzle criticism of anti-Semitism.

It has resulted in a staggering, shameful silence when it comes to speaking out on behalf of the wave of pogroms against the Orthodox. For many people, it seems when they can’t blame the other side of the political aisle, they would rather say nothing at all.

This is not acceptable. The Jewish community’s most visible, vulnerable members need Americans to stand up and say “no more.” They need us to climb out of our trenches and find common ground to fight this ugly resurgence of anti-Jewish hatred.

We can only fight this fight together, because it is a pox on all of our houses. It is only by remembering what unites us as Americans that we can help our fellow Jews and, as “Maoz Tzur” suggests, hasten the time of salvation.

Leftists Allowing — Encouraging — Anti-Semitism to Flourish

From Karol Markowicz, at the New York Post, "How liberals are allowing anti-Semitism to flourish" (via Memeorandum):

I first wrote about the uptick [of anti-Semitic attacks] in May. The reason the city’s liberal political class was ignoring it, I ­argued, is that the criminals don’t fit their picture of Evil Bigots. They aren’t, for the most part, MAGA-hat wearing white guys with tiki torches. In fact, many of the attackers are people of color, as investigative reporting by Tablet’s Armin Rosen and others has shown.

Imagine if they were white ­nationalists. How much faster would the mayor and other city leaders have taken action?

“A lot of folks were told it was unacceptable to be anti-Semitic,” de Blasio said in May. “It was ­unacceptable to be racist, and now they’re getting more permission.” The message was subtle but unmistakable: De Blasio was trying to pin the attacks in bright-blue New York on President Trump.

Hizzoner didn’t surrender the fantasy for some time. In June, he said: “I want to be very, very clear, the violent threat, the threat that is ideological, is very much from the right.”

He left unclear how the Big ­Apple had come to be populated by ideological far-right types beating up on Jews. His comments ­underscored his inability to truly counter the type of street-level ­anti-Semitism spreading through the city.

Will he face the facts now? Or will Jews need to actually die, not just be pummeled, for our leaders to grasp the threat?

“Anti-Semitism is an attack on the values of our city — and we will confront it head-on,”

De Blasio tweeted after this latest round of violence against Jews. He has to stop beating around the bush. These attacks aren’t an ­attack on “our values.” They’re attacks on visibly Jewish people.

De Blasio needs to stop trying to find a “them” to be the opposite of his “us.” His juvenile obsession with having the right adversaries allows anti-Semitism to flourish.

I used to write about Europeans and their apathetic attitudes ­toward the Jew-hatred around them. Synagogues torched, Jews beaten — just another day on the Continent.

But now the demon is here, in America. Worse, it’s stalking Jews with increasing regularity in New York City, my city, home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel. Hizzoner’s vague universalist rhetoric obscures this raw reality.

And it isn’t just his ideological blinders. The mayor has also helped create an anti-police ­atmosphere, in which the vigilant presence of officers is considered a bad thing. At an anti-police rally last month, there were signs calling for violence against the NYPD.

De Blasio’s response? He insinuated that the idea that there’s anti-police sentiment in our city is, yes, another right-wing plot.

In 2020 I don’t want to read ­another column like this one...

New York Anti-Semitic Attacks (VIDEO)

At CBS News 2 New York, via Memeorandum, "NYPD Investigating 9th Anti-Semitic Attack Reported This Week."

And on Twitter, be sure to read the entire Seth Mandel thread:

That Jews cannot walk the streets of New York City without the fear of being attacked is outrageous.
We need to wake the world up to rising antisemitism.
Please watch and share this video. pic.twitter.com/nYOVWvcJyr

— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) December 27, 2019

I often relay stories of being stopped from eating off nonkosher menus in NYC by non-Jewish workers (say, in Dunkin Donuts, which has a kosher and nonkosher list of products). Being visibly Jewish in NYC meant something very special, very warm, very home.

Now it means fear.

— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 27, 2019

Progressive Anti-Semitism

From Blake Flayton, a sophomore at George Washington University, at NYT, "On the Frontlines of Progressive Anti-Semitism":

An important article from The New York Times today: https://t.co/khHcDWBBgB

— Ayaan Hirsi Ali (@Ayaan) November 14, 2019

At many American universities, mine included, it is now normal for student organizations to freely call Israel an imperialist power and an outpost of white colonialism with little pushback or discussion — never mind that more than half of Israel’s population consists of Israeli Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, and that the country boasts a 20 percent Arab minority. The word “apartheid” is thrown around without hesitation. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is repeatedly dragged into discussions ranging anywhere from L.G.B.T.Q. equality (where to mention Israel’s vastly better record on gay rights compared with that of any other country in the Middle East is branded “pinkwashing”), to health care to criminal justice reform.

At a recent political club meeting I attended, Zionism was described by leadership as a “transnational project,” an anti-Semitic trope that characterizes the desire for a Jewish state as a bid for global domination by the Jewish people. The organization went on to say that Zionism should not be “normalized.” Later, when I advised a member to add more Jewish voices to the organization’s leadership as a means of adding more nuance to their platform, I was assured that anti-Zionist Jews were already a part of the club and thus my concerns of anti-Semitism were baseless.

I expected this loophole, as it is all too common across progressive spaces: groups protect themselves against accusations of anti-Semitism by trotting out their anti-Zionist Jewish supporters, despite the fact that such Jews are a tiny fringe of the Jewish community. Such tokenism is seen as unacceptable — and rightfully so — in any other space where a marginalized community feels threatened.

All of this puts progressive Jews like myself in an extraordinarily difficult position. We often refrain from calling out anti-Semitism on our side for fear of our political bona fides being questioned or, worse, losing friends or being smeared as the things we most revile: racist, white supremacist, colonialist and so on. And that is exactly what happens when we do speak up...

More.

Jake Tapper Insinuates Rep. Josh Hawley as Anti-Semitic

This is something else.

Click through at the links and read all the tweets. Tapper got torched.

Here, "Facts First: CNN’s Jake Tapper Dishonestly Insinuated Josh Hawley Is An Anti-Semite And It Did Not Go Well."

Via Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "This is CNN."

Bari Weiss: Anti-Semitism is a 'Thought Virus' (VIDEO)

Her book's at Amazon, Bari Weiss, How to Fight Anti-Semitism.

And with Bill Maher last night:

Bari Weiss, How to Fight Anti-Semitism

*BUMPED.*

Out next month today, at Amazon, Bari Weiss, How to Fight Anti-Semitism.

A Rising Tide of Anti-Semitism

A surprisingly good (and contrite) editorial on the paper's epic anti-Semitic cluster in its international edition last week.

At the New York Times:

From the Editorial Board: "Anti-Semitism can often still be dismissed as a disease gnawing only at the fringes of society. That is a dangerous mistake." https://t.co/ZPup2sFIrX

— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) May 1, 2019

The cartoon can be found here.

Also, at Commentary, "An Editorial Culture of Complacency."

And see Bret Stephens, who's a former editor of the Jerusalem Post and a former contributing editor at the Wall Street Journal. Now at the New York Times, he hammers his own newspaper, "A Despicable Cartoon in The Times."

The Axis of Anti-Semitism

This is the most amazing essay, seriously.

I've never read a more concise analysis of the global jihad threat, and not just to the Jews, but to Western civilization.

From Benjamin Kerstein, at Algemeiner, "Ilhan Omar and the Axis of Antisemitism":

Read @benj_kerstein on the axis of anti-Semitism now gathering against diaspora Jews. From the right, the left and Islam. Important piece. https://t.co/VMaKZrL0EQ

— Eli Lake (@EliLake) March 11, 2019

American Jews are facing a perfect storm of antisemitism. On the one side are the antisemites of the right: the hate that coalesced in the “Jews will not replace us” conspiracy chant at Charlottesville and then the horrific massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue. From the left comes the pathological intersectional hatred of Israel that extends into the hatred of the 90 percent or more of world Jewry that embraces Zionism and ultimately to the Jews themselves as a people. And finally the vulgar, debased antisemitism of much of the Muslim world, part religious and part nationalist, that may well be the most violent and threatening of the three.

What we are seeing is, in other words, the emergence of an axis of antisemitism; one that threatens not only the Jews, but American democracy itself.

It is the latter two forms of antisemitism that have resulted in the recent scandals involving Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and the wretched failure of the Democratic leadership in Congress to appropriately condemn her by name and antisemitism as a specific phenomenon, preferring instead to defer to their far-left and pass a pathetically watered-down resolution that elides the issue by dilution, effectively handing antisemitism its first ever legislative victory in the United States. In other words, this antisemitism, intersectional in nature, brutal in rhetoric, violent in discourse, now wields not inconsiderable political power.

The most violent faction of this axis of antisemitism is, one regrets to say, born of Islam. This religion, a descendant of Judaism itself, has always contained elements of antisemitism. Muhammad himself massacred the Jews of the Hijaz. The history of Jews in Muslim lands had its golden ages, but it also had a multitude of expulsions, forced conversions, and massacres. And it ended, we should not forget, in the expulsion of a million Jews who found refuge in the new Jewish state...

RTWT.

The Democrats and Anti-Semitism

So far, Noah Rothman's written the best piece on Ilhan Omar and the Democrats' turn to unbridled, unabashed anti-Jewish hatred, with special attention to the double standards of the House resolution condemning "all forms" of racism.

https://t.co/LMaOZ8aGfE

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) March 7, 2019

All bigotries matter. https://t.co/LMaOZ7T4R4 pic.twitter.com/n966ZO6W5X

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) March 7, 2019

Lee Zeldin's Floor Speech Slamming Ilhan Omar and Democrats' Weaselly House Resolution Condemning 'All Forms' of Racism (VIDEO)

Seems there's a consensus that we've crossed a line in American politics, and the country's heading down a dark road. I've been reading one commentary after another on Ilhan Omar and the spineless Democrat House weasels, and I'm personally and deeply depressed. I thought I loathed the left, but seems there is no bottom to Democrat-leftist demonology.

The question for me today was whether it was possible to despise the #DemocratParty even more? Turns out, indeed it was. Yes indeed it was. 🤔 #IlhanOmar #Democrats #AntiSemitism #RadicalLeft

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) March 8, 2019

Here's Congressman Lee Zeldin:

H.Res.183 was spineless, watered down & filled w moral equivalency & double standards. Watch my floor speech explaining my NO vote to this resolution. Name names & remove Rep Omar from @HouseForeign. No double standards! pic.twitter.com/Rj17P6MHFI

— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) March 7, 2019

And at Fox News, "Rep. Zeldin Explains 'No' Vote on 'Watered Down,' 'Spineless' Anti-Hate Resolution."

Added, from Captain Ed:

Zeldin’s point about the resolution being “spineless” hits closest to the overall lesson from this episode, which is this: Nancy Pelosi’s power has entirely evaporated. Had Pelosi acted like a real caucus leader with authority, she would have immediately booted Omar from her seat on Foreign Relations and demanded a full apology, with a censuring resolution a consequence for lack of compliance. That is precisely what Kevin McCarthy did with Rep. Steve King after his white-supremacy comments despite having struggled to get his position as caucus leader just a few months ago.

Pelosi has had the reins of her caucus for two decades now, and yet couldn’t act. Pelosi just got faced down by a first-term backbencher and a small cadre of extremists in her caucus, mainly because she didn’t attempt to exercise any authority. She dithered and vacillated, perhaps mindful of the narrow circumstances that gave her the gavel in the first place in January. In that vacillation, the extremists took her measure and forced her to retreat. The result was Pelosi’s ridiculous “All Hate Matters” sham resolution for which Omar herself voted — while laughing at the absurdity.

Pelosi still holds the gavel, but it’s now purely symbolic. The lunatics and the anti-Semites are running the House Democratic asylum. Pelosi has no legs left on her leadership, and everyone knows it. That’s why Democrats want to talk about Republican dissenters to this grotesquerie rather than what really happened this week in the House. Zeldin’s just forcing everyone to confront reality.

Meghan McCain in Tears Over Ilhan Omar's Anti-Semitism, Gets Attacked With Leftist Vitriol and Anti-Semitic Memes

Oh boy, did this get people fired up, and not in a good way.

And keep in mind, I'm not fan of Ms. Meghan.

At the Daily Beast, "Meghan McCain Breaks Down in Tears Over Ilhan Omar’s ‘Scary’ Israel Comments."

Here's the clip, and this vile anti-Semitic cartoon below:

Don't care if it's "officially" anti-Semitic or not. But imagine reax to a cartoon mocking a white woman upset about anti-black racism that showed her in Afro wig & "Happy Kwanzaa" T-shirt, holding a slice of watermelon and a copy of "Roots," w/pile of black-themed books/DVDs pic.twitter.com/KUs9jqHM33

— Cathy Young (@CathyYoung63) March 9, 2019

Don't care if it's "officially" anti-Semitic or not. But imagine reax to a cartoon mocking a white woman upset about anti-black racism that showed her in Afro wig & "Happy Kwanzaa" T-shirt, holding a slice of watermelon and a copy of "Roots," w/pile of black-themed books/DVDs pic.twitter.com/KUs9jqHM33

— Cathy Young (@CathyYoung63) March 9, 2019

Do we really need a dialogue around why invoking the holocaust in this flip and dismissive fashion is hateful? A round table to uncover the anti-semitism in the penumbra of meaning here? Some moral clarity, please. This is point blank repulsive. @MeghanMcCain doesn’t deserve this https://t.co/M333YgsyjP

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) March 8, 2019

More at Fox News, "Meghan McCain accuses Jewish artist of anti-Semitism after mocking her comments on Omar."

Norman Podhoretz, Why Are Jews Liberals?

I donated my copy to the library a couple of years back, but maybe I shouldn't have. The Democrats are hatin' on the Jews like there's no tomorrow. We're going to see some partisan realignment in 2020's voting, or we should see some. If Jewish voters keep backing the racist Dems I'll be gobsmacked. *Shrugs.*

At Amazon, Norman Podhoretz, Why Are Jews Liberals?

And prompted by John Hinderaker's post, linked at Instapundit, "THEY’VE EMBRACED IT: John Hinderaker: Do The Democrats Hate Hate? No."

Like the Labour Party in Great Britain, the Democratic Party has become a haven for anti-Semites.

Seriously.

And to Think, I Was Actually Following This Guy *SHRUGS*

It's Nicholas Fuentes, who I thought I'd give a follow a month or two ago, but then I saw him tweeting vile anti-Israel tropes, and dink! Unfollowed the f***er.

And for some reason, I just came across this editorial, out today, at the Iowa State Daily, "Editorial: Iowa State deserves the right to know about controversial speakers."

I'm not for punching Nazis, but I don't think top conservatives should be mainstreaming racist goons like this guy, and apparently Fuentes was getting some attention from "alt-right" icons at CPAC, including Faith Goldy, who I like (but who is too close to genuine racists).

In any case, we live in interesting times, as they say.

Completely unedited pic.twitter.com/l9psFUvwZg

— Nicholas J. Fuentes (@NickJFuentes) March 3, 2019

Batya Ungar-Sargon is Just Wow

Batya Ungar-Sargon writes for the Jewish Daily Forward, and this piece is incredible, at Memeorandum, "The Left Is Making Jews Choose: Our Progressive Values or Ourselves."

This piece is da bomb dang! #IlhanOmar #AOC #RashidaTlaib #Democrats #AntiSemitism 👀 https://t.co/GXk6LPdfJp

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) March 6, 2019

While reading it earlier I googled her and found that she's got a shady history, to put it mildly. What can you do? I followed her, in any case, but see this post, "Haredim in Ramapo: A Dishonest Account From a Dishonest Writer."

Belgian Carnival Float Features Puppets of Grinning Jews and Money Bags

Following-up, "Labour Party MP Chris Williamson Warns of 'Dark Forces' Undermining Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn; Theresa May Calls for His Suspension (VIDEO)."

I shouldn't be so optimistic that citizens of democracies will rebuke the hate, if Belgium is any example.

At JTA:

Half a lifetime ago, I lived in Belgium. I have never seen something more shocking and yet, been totally unsurprised. https://t.co/E97MONGaiF

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 4, 2019

Labour Party MP Chris Williamson Warns of 'Dark Forces' Undermining Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn; Theresa May Calls for His Suspension (VIDEO)

Background here, "Chris Williamson warned of 'dark forces' undermining Corbyn, as councillor joked about 'Jew process': Exclusive: Shocking recording reveals Cllr Jo Bird joked that 'due process' should be dubbed 'Jew process'."

And at the BBC, Williamson was indeed suspended, "Labour activists backlash over anti-Semitism row."

It's bizarre to me that hatred of Jews has become so mainstream and central to leftist politics, but it is what it is, and the bright side is that such hatred should keep them out of power. It should, that is, as long as the general electorate in democratic societies rebukes exterminationist ideological anti-Semitism.

BREAKING: Prime Minister @theresa_may calls for @DerbyChrisW to be suspended from @UKLabour to show that @jeremycorbyn "actually wants to take action against racism".

She also praised the work of @CST_UK, in response to a question from @JamesCleverly.#LabourAntisemitism #PMQs pic.twitter.com/nNTM6QeX8M

— Jewish Telegraph (@JewishTelegraph) February 27, 2019