Sunday, February 17, 2013

Israel fears for Tunisia's Jews

Mike L.

{Cross-posted at Geoffff's Joint, Bar and Grill and Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers.}
North African country's Jewish community suffering from wave of anti-Semitic attacks, including shattered gravestones, fiery protests and verbal violence. Israel urges world to intervene in crisis

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has instructed Israel's representatives abroad to ask the international community to pressure Tunisian government officials to safeguard the North African country's Jewish community, heritage and property.

The order was issued following fears for Tunisia's 2,000 Jews due to the hostile anti-Israel atmosphere in the country and anti-Semitic statements made by religious clerics.

Some 80 gravestones have been desecrated and plundered in Tunisia's Jewish cemeteries over the past month. Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali condemned the desecration of the cemetery in the city of Sousse, noting that security forces were working to prevent additional attacks on Jewish tombs.

"There appears to be an increase in anti-Semitic statements among local religious clerics and cases of public incitement against Jews," says a report written by Gideon Bachar, head of the Foreign Ministry's Department for Combating Anti-Semitism.

"For example, when Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh's visited Tunisia in 2012, he was greeted by masses chanting, 'Kill the Jews.' Additional incidents included the torching of a Jewish synagogue, a demonstration outside the main synagogue in the city of Tunis, and the use of Israeli flags as a rag at the entrance to the toilet at the Tunis-Carthage Airport."

"There are times in the course of history when the actions of ordinary citizens spark movements for change because they speak to a longing for freedom that has been building up for years. In America, think of the defiance of those patriots in Boston who refused to pay taxes to a King, or the dignity of Rosa Parks as she sat courageously in her seat." - Barack Obama (May 19, 2011)

"It has been less than two years since a vendor in Tunisia set himself on fire to protest the oppressive corruption in his country, and sparked what became known as the Arab Spring. Since then, the world has been captivated by the transformation that has taken place, and the United States has supported the forces of change." - Barack Obama before the UN General Assembly (September 25, 2012)

Yes. Yes. Yes.  I know.  It's not Obama's fault and nothing that he does, or doesn't do, matters if it has negative consequences.  He's a great president and the very best friend that the Jewish people have ever had in the history of the world.

Just because Barack Obama supports a deeply hate-filled and genocidally anti-Semitic political movement is no reason for Jewish people to disagree with his policies.  Of course, I understand that Obama's Jewish supporters will tell us that he doesn't support this movement despite the fact that he, himself, claims otherwise.  Look, just because he supports the "Arab Spring" and the "Arab Spring" is the rise of political Islam it doesn't mean that he supports political Islam, only the "Arab Spring."

See the difference?

The "Arab Spring" is a good thing.  Forget all those news reports that we've been hearing over the last few years of riots and rapes and murders and general chaos and blood-shed and shrieking calls for the genocide of the Jews in the Middle East, not to mention the persecution of the Copts in Egypt and driving Christians, in general, from the region.  The "Arab Spring" is more like Rosa Parks sitting courageously on her bus or, maybe, like "those patriots in Boston who refused to pay taxes to a King."

It must be true.

Barack Obama told me so.

35 comments:

  1. "...I find it shameful and see in all this the rise of a new fascism, a new Nazism. A fascism, a Nazism, that much more grim and revolting because it is conducted and nourished by those who hypocritically pose as do-gooders, progressives, communists, pacifists, Catholics or rather Christians, and who have the gall to label a warmonger anyone like me who screams the truth. ..."

    -- On Antisemitism - I Find It Shameful - Shameful Attacks on Israel, by Oriana Fallaci, 2002
    http://www.oerby.dk/sider/Oriana%20Fallaci.htm
    Audio: Part 1 of 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9Dl5YEy3o
    Audio: Part 2 of 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anTPuAQ1oUU

    The modern "Protocols of Zion" - How the mass media now promotes the same lies that caused the death of more than 5 million Jews in WWII - Part 7, by Francisco Gil-White

    "Before WWII, the Nazis and their sympathizers made popular all over the world the allegation that ‘the Jews’ controlled everything in secret, including the mass media, and that they would use this clandestine power to hurt us all. The accusations were widely believed because they were built on a long tradition of Western accusations against the Jews going back to the first century, when they were accused of killing God: a cultural inertia (see Part 1). The Nazi accusations of the supposed clandestine total power of ‘the Jews,’ plus supposed evil intent of the same, produced a pan-Western anti-Jewish hysteria that fueled the genocide of more than 5 million Jews, which repeated the consequences of similar accusations in previous centuries in the West (see Part 1). We are back where we started. It is almost impossible to be both alive and in the West and not have heard the allegation that “the Jews control the media.” As before, the accusation is a lie. This piece will demonstrate that most of the big media is not controlled by ‘the Jews,’ and that when people claiming a Jewish identity do own a big media company, this company will be especially careful to take an anti-Jewish slant. ..."

    http://www.hirhome.com/israel/mprot7.htm

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  2. I have to say, Obama's "Rosa Parks" quote above... which I love to quote frequently... has to be the single dumbest words to come out of any American president's mouth in my lifetime.

    I defy anyone to find anything even close coming out of the face of any other president in the twentieth century.

    Even the very worst of Ronald Reagan's feel-good platitudes don't hold a candle in terms of pure dangerous stupidity.

    Martin Luther King must be spinning in his grave.

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    Replies
    1. It''s not stupidity, it's antisemitism.

      Delete
    2. Let's save the allegations of antisemitism for antisemitism.

      I think Obama was just doing as he likes to do, overstate and conflate. He has declared himself the progeny of King, when his background is not out of the American South, but Kenya.

      In this case, events have shown that his remarks were silly.



      Delete
    3. Let's save the wishful thinking and willful blindness for non-lethal situations.

      Delete
    4. "...Invisible Antisemitism

      "Is it familiarity or indifference that produces invisibility? In the case of antisemitism it may be both. One of the reasons why people today reject the charge of antisemitism is because, as mentioned, it is largely defined by Auschwitz in the Western imagination. If one is not prepared to physically attack or attempt to harm Jews one can safely remain aloof to the charge of antisemitism. In Western culture, the beliefs many people still hold about ‘the Jews’ are not seen to be antisemitic (read genocidal) but are simply felt to be reflective of day-to-day reality. In other words, what some of us identify as antisemitic ways of thinking most people see as simply reflective of a reality in which Jews are in fact wealthy, in fact powerful, in fact connected to one another, and in fact work together (or conspire) to protect their own communal and individual interests, which today include the fate of the State of Israel. Again, this is not new but fully consistent with classical forms of European antisemitism, in which antisemites point to 'reality' to illustrate Jewish power, conspiracy, materialism, criminality, or whatever negative association they want to affix to 'the Jews.' And the 'reality' they find then reconfirms their pre-existing antisemitism, as it does today. After almost 2000 years of indoctrination, which has worked very hard to fix the Western imagination—and our individual attention—upon this abstract collective called 'the Jews,' we should not be surprised to discover that Western culture is riddled with antisemitic perceptions and habits of thought about the Jewish People. And this complex invisible reality has not been exorcised by the Holocaust. Negative beliefs and attitudes about Jews are so normal and so ingrained in Western perceptions and attitudes that people—both gentiles and Jews—are simply unable to recognize them for what they are. Like a second skin, antisemitic thinking has become invisible to most people. ..."

      -- Western Culture, the Holocaust, and the Persistence of Antisemitism, by Dr. Catherine Chatterley

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    5. “But I am a Zionist!”, by Clemens Heni, 2008

      "For a liberal, voting for McCain is not without contradictions – but it is necessary.

      "On Germany, anti-Semitism, Israel, Iran and the new American Presidency

      "The art of the intellectual is to have his/her finger on the pulse of the times, in terms of both politics and social theory. Peter Viereck (1916-2006), almost forgotten today even in the USA, was such a splendid artist. In 1940, in light of Nazi Germany and World War II, he wrote in a brilliant article: 'But I am a conservative', which became a beacon for conservatives in America, so to speak. In doing so, he decidedly turned against his own father, Sylvester Viereck, an enthusiastic Nazi who was the first foreign journalist to interview Hitler in the early 1920s. Even more, it was a wake-up call in America, against the 'liberals' and 'leftists' who praised the Hitler-Stalin Pact as well as the USSR as a bulwark against war.

      "To this day, many think that anti-Zionism is harmless and anti-Semitism more evil, but that little or nothing connects the two. That is incorrect. Especially after Auschwitz, every form of anti-Zionism is anti-Semitic. I will explain this in the following.

      "After Auschwitz, it is no longer readily possible to stigmatize Jews as Jews. Usually, the term “Zionist” is used as code. That was or is easy to observe in the Soviet Union, the Eastern Bloc, but also in the Arab and Muslim worlds, and even in Latin America and Africa. In the West, Zionism and Israel became the concept of the enemy, especially for the (radical) Left, in particular after the Six-Day War in 1967 (but, as will be shown, even much earlier). “Liberals” or leftists such as Noam Chomsky, Tony Judt, Giorgio Agamben or Judith Butler are perfectly happy to be anti-Zionist and consider themselves far from propagating anti-Semitic sentiments. But that is exactly what they do. It is stated that Israel is a state (what a crime!), even a brutal nation-state and a priori racist and exclusive, just like all nation-states. It is almost amusing that many theoreticians and activists obsessively select no other country but Israel to deconstruct the principle of the nation-state. Where are all the demonstrations against Saudi Arabia as a nation-state or against North Korea, or against Latvia, Denmark, Finland, South Africa, Kenya, Sudan, Venezuela or Yemen? All of them “brutal nation-states” … But nobody fundamentally questions their existence. Israel, on the other hand, is questioned.

      "Not a single country in the world was founded without violence. Not a single country in the world is non-exclusive. So what? Why the focus on Israel? Why attack precisely the only Jewish state and not the dozens of Arabic, even Muslim ones, Iran to be precise, or other problematic regimes such as the ones in North Korea or China?

      "The relationship between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism as well as Jewish self-hatred was made a topic of discussion as early as 1976 in the most important German-language journal on Jews and anti-Semitism, Tribüne. And now things become truly interesting. Rudolf Pfisterer (Wider den Mythus von der Coexistenz, in: Tribüne, vol. 15, issue 59, 1976, pp. 6988-6997, here 6988f.) analyzes the situation for Jews in Arabic and Muslim countries especially in the period before 1933 and shows that anti-Zionism is much more than Israel-bashing, it is nothing less than hatred of Jews:..."

      http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/but-i-am-a-zionist/

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    6. "For a liberal, voting for McCain is not without contradictions – but it is necessary."

      I just wanted to see that again. ;)

      Delete
    7. And regarding antisemitism vs. anti-Zionism, I defy anyone to check out this Naked Capitalism thread to see if s/he can tell the difference.

      Delete
  3. Since Norway was mentioned, I think this video is instructive.

    Occasionally, the light is revealed in what otherwise is the closest thing to a Western totalitarian society that may exist.

    http://www.mrctv.org/videos/norwegian-msm-exposes-palestinian-antisemitism-funded-part-norway

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  4. Yet again in Belgium fun is made of the Jews and the Holocaust

    "2009: Crooked noses and yellow stars at the Aalst carnival (Belgium)..."

    "2013:...a group of participants in the UNESCO-affiliated Aalst Carnaval dressed as Nazi SS officers and paraded through the streets of Aalst, Belgium on a rail car reminiscent of those used to deport Jews to concentration camps during the Holocaust. Photos in the Belgian media showed the men dressed in full Nazi regalia with a Hasidic Jewish boy character on a railcar, decorated with posters depicting pails labeled, 'Zyklon,' the chemical used in the Nazi gas chambers."

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    French FM forbids diplomats to attend inauguration of Jerusalem tramway
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/08/french-fm-forbids-diplomats-to-attend.html

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    Finland: supermarket chain investigated for vicious anti-Semitism
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/

    "The free paper issued to over 360 000 homes by the J. Kärkkäinen supermarket chain, Magneetti Media, has been consistently publishing conspiracy stories for some time now, many of them anti-Semitic. There’s no question about it, J. Kärkkäinen has a 'Jew problem' as the following picture from their most recent publication that includes the entire reading of the fraudulent Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, shows."

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    Teacher of EU and NATO staff children denounces Jewish power in the USA
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2010/10/teacher-of-eu-and-nato-staff-children.html

    "The Jewish community is very powerful in the United States and every president, whether Democrat or Republican, has to consider this factor when making decisions, because the influence of this community can be critical, and not just in electoral terms ... "

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    New French F.A. Minister deplores leniency towards Israel
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-french-fa-minister-deplores.html

    "'We shall break with the excessive leniency of the French government towards the Israeli leadership. We shall tell them to move out quickly from the colonized territories.'"

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    European TV: French lawyer says Israel punishes Palestinian prisoners' corpses
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/12/european-tv-french-lawyer-says-israel.html

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    Secret EU paper aims to tackle Israel's treatment of Arab minority
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/12/secret-eu-paper-aims-to-tackle-israels.html

    "According to a European diplomat involved in drafting the report, work on it began more than a year ago at Britain's [!] initiative. The idea was to write a report that could be debated by a forum of EU foreign ministers. At some point, however, several countries, among them the Czech Republic, Poland and the Netherlands, expressed objections to its contents.

    "More evidence of the total lack of consideration European élites have for Jews and Israel. Considering how Europe treats their fellow Europeans, the Roma, and other minorities, European arrogance is amazing. ..."

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    Brussels : IDF child killer Christmas demonstration
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2010/12/brussels-idf-child-killer-christmas.html

    "'NGOs are exploiting Christmas for radical attacks against Israel, through politicized carols, cards, and messages.' (NGO Monitor)

    "An anti-Israel march (yet another one) will take place in Brussels on 26 December. The demonstration poster carries a drawing by Brazilian caricaturist Carlos Latuff (who won 2nd prize in the 2006 Iranian International Holocaust Cartoon Competition). The drawing shows - birth of Jesus and Christmas reference - a pram being hit by an Israeli missile...."

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    Cannes film festival: Israel hatred meets with applause by journalists
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2012/05/cannes-film-festive-hatred-israel-meets.html

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  5. Top antisemitic slur film director Lars von Triers wins best movie at European film awards
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/12/top-antisemitic-slur-film-director-lars.html

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    Anti-Israel "Russell tribunal" coming to London from ... Belgium
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2010/09/anti-israel-russell-tribunal-coming-to.html

    "A top Belgian personality, Pierre Galand, President of the Belgian secular movement, advisor to the Rector of the Free University of Brussels, anti-Israel militant and the initiator of the Tribunal Russell on Palestine will be chairing a fund-raising event at the Molière Theatre in Brussels to bring the "Tribunal" to London. (Special NGO Report: "Pierre Galand (Belgium) Using Political NGOs to Promote Demonization & Anti-Semitism in the UN & EU")"

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    France: anti-Semitic Dieudonné shooting first "popular comedy on the Holocaust"

    "Only in France ... 'The antisemite', the first popular comedy about the Holocaust."

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    French writer: Israel knew of plans to kill Sadat and did nothing
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2013/02/french-writer-israel-knew-of-plans-to.html

    "'In their [Israelis] eyes, Yasser Arafat embodied Palestine, and Palestine is an obscene word in their eyes.' Gérard de Villiers"

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    'The Jews crucified Our Lord': Irish antisemitism and the complicity of the Catholic bishops
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-jews-crucified-our-lord-irish.html

    "'Palestinians living in Gaza are being treated worse then [sic] animals in a zoo. Ireland must do everything we can to end Israel’s collective punishment of civilians, which is a flagrant breach of international law." (Justin Kilcullen, director of Trócaire - he is also head of CONCORD, the Brussels-based powerful European confederation of 1,600 NGOs across 21 countries for relief and development. The European Union generously provides funds to Trócaire and CONCORD.)' ..."

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    Poll: Majority of Germans see Israel as 'aggressive'
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2012/05/poll-majority-of-germans-see-israel-as.html

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    The Committee to Protect Journalists blatant biais against Israel
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/12/committee-to-protect-journalists.html

    "At least 64 jounalists are in jail in Turkey and 42 en Iran. 42 journalists were killed in 2011 (none in Israel). But by cleverly using a photo the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) points the finger at Israel!"

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    Israel-bashing: Norwegian Church Minister in Jerusalem to open Gullvåg exhibition
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/12/israel-bashing-norwegian-church.html

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    Belgium's New Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and the Jews
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/12/belgiums-new-prime-minister-elio-di.html

    "Newly appointed Belgian PM Elio di Rupo stated in January 2009:

    "Killing in cold blood: 'What the Israeli government is doing in cold blood - killing innocent people, killing women and children - is totally unacceptable and I think that what happened in some parts of the world, I mean some people were dragged before international courts, should happen to those men and women who are responsible for what is being done [in Gaza]. There is nothing that can justify killing civilians. Nothing can justify killing children, women ... people like you and me. [...] I believe that one day or another they will be brought to justice.'"

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  6. Photo of Swiss teacher with nasi goreng pack in front of the Auschwitz gate
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/11/photo-of-swiss-teacher-with-nasi-goreng.html

    "On a visit organised by a Jewish association to the Auschwitz extermination camp, Bernard Junod, a Swiss teacher had his photo taken holding a pack of nasi goreng and posted it on Internet. And what a happy and smiling face he has.

    "On his Smartvote profile he indicated that his favourite book is «Mein Kampf» and that his favourite composer is Richard Wagner, much loved by the Nazis and Adolf himself. As to «Mein Kampf», Bernard Junod confirmed that he likes the book because the author came from nowhere and climbed to the top.

    "It is not uncommon in Europe for people to make fun of the Jews and of the Holocaust.

    "Source: 20 minutes. The title of the article is pretty unfortunate, it reads that a teacher 'shocks the Jews'. One would have thought that he has shocked more people than just the Jews..."

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    French historian: islamophobia has replaced antisemitism
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2013/01/french-historian-islamophobia-has.html

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    Norwegian diplomat posted cartoon showing Israeli PM 'deadly intestinal gas'
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2009/07/norwegian-diplomat-posted-cartoon.html

    "While we would like to think that the e-mail incident was just a mistake and that Mrs. Lilleng is no more anti-Israeli than anyone else in the Norwegian Foreign Department, these three shots from her now closed blog tell us otherwise."

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    [A NON-MUSLIM] Belgian NGO urges Muslims to boycott Israeli 'bleeding' dates during Ramadan
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2009/07/belgian-ngo-urges-muslims-to-boycott.html

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    French newspaper op-ed: analogy of occupation and rape of Palestine by Israel
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/11/french-newspaper-op-ed-analogy-of.html

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    Abravanel: Antisemitic ministers and Holocaust deniers enter the new Greek government
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/11/abravanel-antisemitic-ministers-and.html

    "In other words a minister of the Greek government [Adonis Georgiadis] was called by a neonazi [Konstantin Plevris] to defend his book which advocated the extermination of the Greek Jewish Community. (About Plevris see: - K. Plevris: "I am a Nazi and a fascist, I am racist, anti-democratic and I am an anti-Semite" and Kostas Plevris: Hitler could have rid Europe of the Jews but did not.) And guess what? Nicolas Sarkozy has sent his congratulations to the new Government. European politicians, the elites, the media and the European Commission have remained silent and focused their attention on Berlusconi's departure. Thus avoiding unpleasant subjects. ..."

    "'Let’s talk about the myth of Auschwitz and Dachau and talk about these ovens, to talk about these gas chambers, whether the gas chambers were insulated to hold gas inside or they were simple bricks' (George Karatzaferis).' ..."

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    Greek member of Gov't: Jews crucified God the only time he came to earth
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/11/greek-member-of-govt-jews-crucified-god.html

    "When it is convenient Karatzaferis is a Holocaust denier speaking of the Auschwitz and Dachau tales (myth), and when it is convenient he is not and compares Israel to Nazism and accuses 'the main victims of Hitler's brutality turned into the same heinous murderers as their persecutor'. ..."

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    Sarkozy tells Obama that Netanyahu is a liar
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/11/sarkozy-tells-obama-that-netanyahu-is.html

    "President Sarkozy told President Obama during the G20 summit that the Prime Minister of Israel is a liar. Both leaders thought the microphones were off."

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  7. Forget About Nazis, Talk About 'Islamophobia'
    http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/forget-about-nazis-talk-about-%e2%80%9cislamophobia%e2%80%9d/

    "This week, there was a book presentation in Vienna, Austria, about ‘race, as a political and social construction’. One of the panelists at the event is Prof. Wolfgang Benz, head of the Center for Research on Antisemitism (ZfA) at Berlin’s Technical University. Benz has recently come under heavy criticism because he currently equates anti-Semitism with criticism of Islamism. ..."

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    "Islamophobia" or "Truthophobia"?, by Matthias Küntzel
    http://www.matthiaskuentzel.de/contents/islamophobia-or-truthophobia

    "Berlin's anti-Semitism center is going astray."

    "At a time when Jew haters in the Islamic world have become more assertive than ever, Berlin’s Center for Research on Anti-Semitism is concentrating on a different group: the 'new enemies of Islam.'"

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    1944 and 2010 – a Nazi historian and his student…
    http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/1944-and-2010-%e2%80%93-a-nazi-historian-and-his-student%e2%80%a6/

    The head of the Institute for Research on Antisemitism (ZfA), based at Berlin’s Technical University, was the student of, and is defender of, Nazi Karl Bosl.

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    How to deny the Iranian threat? The ZfA summer school 2009
    http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/how-to-deny-the-iranian-threat-the-zfa-summer-school-2009/

    "The Berlin Center is again organizing a troubling and controversial conference/summer school on antisemitism. It equates homophobia with anti-Semitism, and, much worse, it is in denial if it comes to Islamic anti-Semitism in general and the Iranian threat in particular."

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    Berlin Literature Festival promotes anti-Israel ideology
    http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/berlin-literature-festival-promotes-anti-israel-ideology/

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    Antisemitism and celebrating the Holocaust, by Clemens Heni
    http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/antisemitism-and-celebrating-the-holocaust/

    "We are facing a new movement in Europe: celebrating the Holocaust. We know that Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” is a bestseller in the Arab world. However, it is a new development in Europe and the European Union that people can publicly applaud Nazi Germany. Latvian-Turkish axis? Celebrating and not denying the Holocaust: What does this mean?

    "Before explaining this new and dangerous phenomenon let’s have a short look at the history of some types of anti-Semitism after the Shoah.

    "1) Silence..."
    "2) Projection of guilt onto the Jews: the victim as perpetrator..."
    "3) Holocaust trivialization..."
    "4) Holocaust Obfuscation..."
    "5) “Celebrating-the-Holocaust” Movement..."

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    Propagating feel-good anti-Semitism in the tageszeitung (TAZ)
    http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/propagating-feel-good-anti-semitism-in-the-tageszeitung-taz/

    "This article was published in the Norwegian journal rights.no of HumanRightsService on April 22, 2010

    "Introduction by Bruce Bawer :

    "In this essay, the German political scientist Clemens Heni provides us with a glimpse of the rising hostility toward Jews in today’s German media. His particular focus is on Die Tageszeitung, a leading German newspaper which in March broke a longstanding taboo by publishing (in Heni’s words) 'one of the most anti-Semitic articles to appear in Germany since National Socialism came to an end.' Currently based in Berlin, Heni received his Ph.D. at the University of Innsbruck, did postdoctoral work at Yale on the subject of anti-Semitism, and was a Felix Posen Fellow at the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism at Hebrew University in 2003 and 2004. He has published two books on Germany and anti-Semitism. ..."

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  8. Riga, Viktor Arajs, march 16, the Latvian Legion and the Holocaust
    http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/riga-viktor-arajs-march-16-the-latvian-legion-and-the-holocaust/

    "Last Tuesday, March 16, some 200 former Waffen-SS members marched through the city of Riga, the capital of Latvia, accompanied by at least 1000 Neo-Nazis and other ordinary Latvians. I never have seen before in live such a parade of people and their units who had been actively involved in the Shoah.

    "Why could something like this happen in today’s world, 2010?"

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    Barry Rubin fails to address Lithuania’s hunt against Jewish anti-Nazi partisans
    http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/barry-rubin-fails-to-address-lithuanias-hunt-against-jewish-anti-nazi-partisans/

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    The Prague Declaration, Holocaust Obfuscation and Antisemitism
    http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/the-prague-declaration-holocaust-obfuscation-and-antisemitism/

    The Prague Declaration: Antisemitism with a democratic face…
    http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/the-prague-declaration-antisemitism-with-a-democratic-face/

    The “Prague Declaration” is Europe’s new Antisemitic Poison
    http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/the-%E2%80%9Cprague-declaration%E2%80%9D-is-europe%E2%80%99s-new-antisemitic-poison/

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    New book exposes indifference to Nazis after World War II
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-book-exposes-indifference-to-nazis.html

    "...Algemeiner: A new book claims that governments around the world were unwilling to track down Nazi criminals in the wake of World War II because of 'vested interests.'

    "The UK’s Daily Mail writes that 'Nazi Hunt: South America’s Dictatorships and the Avenging of Nazi Crimes,' by German historian Daniel Stahl, calls the half-hearted efforts of postwar governments a ‘coalition of the unwilling.’

    "Stahl writes that the French feared prosecutions would expose their collaboration during the war, the South Americans feared a spotlight on their own murderous regimes and the West Germans wanted to help ‘old comrades’ get away. ..."

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  9. French Protestant NGO refuses to attend Shoah commemoration
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2013/02/french-protestant-ngo-refuses-to-attend.html

    "Sadly European Jews fail to see what is going on. Strange that a French Jewish umbrella organisation invited CIMADE, an NGO involved in anti-Israel militancy to attent a Holocaust commemoration ... and they were only too happy to decline and to publicise their views..."

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    Must Jewish celebrities behave like Dhimmis?

    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2013/02/must-jewish-celebrities-behave-like.html

    http://jewishrefugees.blogspot.com/2012/12/must-jewish-celebrities-behave-like.html

    "...Cluzet has never been challenged for falsely alleging, on France's FR 2 (the TV channel which first broke the 'Al Dura' hoax), that Hamouri was jailed by Israel merely for speaking out against Israeli 'colonialism'. In spite of the main watchdog against antisemitism (BNVCA) berating them for 'disinformation and incitement to hatred', the French media have never made any effort to correct Cluzet's lies."

    "Where do Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano stand? The two friends are ostensibly proud of their heritage. Their first film was based on their experiences running the Jewish summer camp of Yaniv. They appeared on French-Jewish radio to promote their film 'Untouchable'. But instead of condemning Cluzet's political views, they gave evasive and mealy-mouthed answers. They claimed that Cluzet had been misunderstood and misrepresented. Cluzet is not the first, nor will he be the last, actor to hold anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian views. Hollywood is full of 'useful idiots' like him. Hardly a week goes by without some celebrity climbing on a boycott bandwagon or signing petitions. If Cluzet is nominated for an Oscar in February 2013, shouldn't the media and the selection committee be made aware of his political militancy? Equally, the issue here is whether two proud Sephardi Jews should use their position in the public eye to correct defamation and distortion. Do they have a duty not to let Cluzet get away with it ? Or must Jews who have achieved fame and fortune always behave like dhimmis?"

    ----

    European Jewish NGOs members of NGO headed by a Muslim Brother
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2011/12/european-jewish-ngos-members-of-ngo.html

    ----

    Anti-Semitism in Europe: Jews who can do so, leave Europe
    http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2013/01/anti-semitism-in-europe-jews-who-can-do.html

    "In an interview in a French magazine a few years ago, a man who survived the death camp in Auschwitz said: 'In the 1930s, the pessimists found ways to survive; it was the optimists who died.'"

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  10. Jeez, Dan.

    Is that all ya got?

    ;O)

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  11. No. But I just wanted to give at least a small sample indicative of what the situation is.

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  12. Greetings, fellas. I just got back home after giving in to my Irish side and stopping at a corner pub for a couple Lagers (I usually drink better beer, but hey that stuff's cheap, it's Our Thing and it actually ain't bad, either). The experience, as usual, was pretty much just like this.

    They absolutely nail the Kenzo Experience (2:29 - 3:38). Yo.

    ;)

    Anyway.

    I know I'm not gonna change any minds here, and after this comment I'll simply agree to disagree. Whoever wants the last word, can have it.

    Is the president naive? Possibly.

    Is the president arrogant? Absolutely. Then again, that's pretty much a requirement of the position. If one does not hit at least an 8.9 on the Arrogance Richter Scale, one likely isn't making it past the New Hampshire primary. Let alone into the White House.

    Is the president spiteful? Possibly. He's only human, after all, and I think that's the likely explanation for most of what he's done lately.

    Look, once things start getting off into the weeds of "invisible antisemitism" and all that, nothing is accomplished. Aside from most people then tuning out.

    I'm not claiming that such a thing isn't a real phenomenon (it is), and I'm not claiming that bringing it up is unfair (it actually fits many leftists quite to a t). I would, however, make the point that calling the president an antisemite, clearly without any solid evidence of same, accomplishes absolutely nothing.

    Aside from turning many people away from any further argument(s) you make against his policies, that is...

    Which is to say, there's something to be said for tact. Even if you do believe (which I absolutely do not) that such a charge is true. Choose your battles, for the better good.

    Once again, feel free to take the last word. I'll agree to disagree, and I'd hope that I'm not the only one here.

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    1. Jay,

      I'm basically with you on this.

      I do not recall Obama repeating any anti-Semitic tropes.

      The problem is that he is backing a large-scale anti-Semitic movement within a population that outnumbers the Jews 60 or 70 to 1 in the Middle East.

      That being the case it is not difficult to see how members of the threatened population (us) might come to that conclusion.

      I don't know that Barack Obama is racist toward Jews, but I certainly understand how someone like Randall might.

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Mike. I can surely understand that point, and if I can clarify what I mean to say a bit more (and if we can forget that I said I wouldn't comment on this again, heh), I would say that I think there's quite a large difference between calling out obvious internet antisemites, or fanatical enablers of same (like David Harris-Gershon), and leveling such a charge against the president of the United States.

      Let's pick our battles, is I guess my main point here.

      If we're gonna argue against what he's doing, let's do it from rock-solid ground.

      Know what I mean?

      Delete
    3. Yup. I agree.

      I've never been one to worry much about tactics. I just say the truth as I see it and let the chips fall where they will, but I have never said that Obama is an anti-Semite, either.

      I think that we are in agreement and I think that Randall, good guy that he is, should make his case.

      Is Barack Obama an anti-Semite?

      That's the question under discussion at this moment, I guess.

      I can immediately think of arguments both pro and con.

      I tend to lean toward con, but in a sense it doesn't matter. What does matter is that Obama, in my opinion at least, is getting ready to launch the next round of the delegitimization effort.

      I don't care about Obama's intentions, I care about his effects.

      Delete
    4. Yes, I agree that you and I... agree. Heh.

      I will also note here that I like Randall, and I hope he doesn't take this discussion personally.

      Delete
    5. I hope that he does disagree and outlines precisely why he does so.

      Shit, if he doesn't do it, I'll do it for him.

      This is a place where people can disagree without acrimony. We've always been like this. I am damn proud of that fact, actually.

      I want Randall to make his case.

      Why is Barack Obama an anti-Semite?

      I think that this is a very interesting question at least, in part, because it is taboo.

      Delete
    6. This -

      "This is a place where people can disagree without acrimony. We've always been like this. I am damn proud of that fact, actually."

      Concur.

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    7. Actions. Actions. What have been the actions of Barack Obama? That is what matters.

      The actions of Barack Obama:

      [1] [2] [3]*

      (Note: * I apologize for my harsh writing in item 3.)

      ----

      And Barack Obama is not the "main" issue. Barack Obama is just part of a larger problem -- the problem of anti-Jewish / anti-Israeli bigotry among the makers of the foreign policy of the U.S. government, and, therein, the problem of what is an anti-Israeli agenda and campaign being engaged in by the makers of foreign policy of the U.S. government. And the issue of Barack Obama is not about him as a person. It's about his actions and the effects of his actions. Barack Obama is currently the President of the United States of America, and the administration that is his administration is currently the administration of the U.S. government, so, therein, although the issue of Barack Obama himself is not the "main" issue, Barack Obama and the U.S. administration that is the U.S. Presidential administration of Barack Obama is a crucially important issue -- one of the most important issues.

      It's not about "personalities". It's not about abstract concepts about the "goodness" or "badness" of certain ideologies or personalities. It's not about "self-identity". It's not about attaching one's own "self-identity" to certain political ideologies or to certain personalities. It's about seeing what is the case and doing what is beneficial.

      ----

      "I don't know that Barack Obama is racist toward Jews, but I certainly understand how someone like Randall might."

      "racist toward Jews"

      I think a more correct phrase to use in this case is the phrase "bigoted toward Jews". What does "bigoted toward Jews" mean? Bigotry towards Jews -- anti-Jewish bigotry -- is not some "special" thing. The bigotry in anti-Jewish bigotry is not some "special" thing. Anti-Jewish bigotry is not some "special" thing that needs "special" defining. Anti-Jewish bigotry -- bigotry towards Jewish people -- does not need to meet some "special" qualifiers or "special" standards to be bigotry. Bigotry towards Jews -- anti-Jewish bigotry -- is simply bigotry towards Jews. And bigotry towards Jews is pervasive in the way of thinking of most people in Western societies. The lack of recognizing bigotry towards Jews as being bigotry is, itself, bigotry towards Jews.

      Western Culture, the Holocaust, and the Persistence of Antisemitism, Introduction YIISA Seminar, Yale University, 5 March 2009 Dr. Catherine Chatterley University of Winnipeg (Canada), Department of History:

      Video of the Talk (Streaming Video (RealMedia)): http://streaming.yale.edu:8080/ramgen/cmibroadcast/yiisa/chatterley_030509.rm
      Direct Link to streaming video file: rtsp://128.36.236.13:554/cmibroadcast/yiisa/chatterley_030509.rm?cloakport=8080,554

      Discussion Draft of the talk: http://web.archive.org/web/20090422150719/http://www.yale.edu/yiisa/chatterleypaper3509.pdf

      YIISA (Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism) was founded in 2006 and was was shut down in 2011. It was shut down in accordance with, and as part of, the anti-Jewish bigotry that is discussed in this talk by Catherine Chatterley.

      Antisemitism in America - Yale Kills YIISA, by Clemens Heni
      http://clemensheni.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/yale-kills-yiisa/

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    8. Actually, I want to retract that question because it makes it sound like Obama is, in fact, an anti-Semite and I am asking what made him so.

      That is not the question. The question is this:

      What is the argument necessary for us to conclude that Barack Obama is an anti-Semite?

      Delete
    9. This is an argument that goes nowhere, in my opinion.

      It is why I asked where is the antisemitism initially.

      Obama is certainly not Israel's BFF as some have indicated, but people should be careful not to throw around labels when there is disagreement.

      Better to identify the real antisemites, of which there is no shortage, and not make the word become like "racist," which Lars Hedegaard has described:

      “After several years of misuse, the word ’racist’ means nothing more than a person considered by the rulers to be a threat to their power, and whom they thus persecute by all means possible. Being called ’racist’ in Sweden today is similar to being branded an ‘outlaw’ during the Middle Ages – a person standing outside the protection of the law, and whom one can thus freely lie about, assault and even kill.”

      http://www.d-intl.com/lars-hedegaard-sues-swedish-media-for-libel/#.USJ2zmdfIus

      Delete
  13. And totally o/t, but I've finally decided I've gotten the hang of this blog thing, and I've launched my blog fer' real this time...

    JayinPhiladelphia

    I have work to do on design and whatnot, but I've figured out what I need to focus on (urban history, transit issues, the effects of deindustrialization, etc etc), and I'm a ready to go.

    Hope youze will all stop by from time to time to check out what I'm up to, if youze are so inclined. I can commit to at least one new post a week for now...

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    Replies
    1. Fabulous!

      Congrats, Jay, and I will look forward to reading your writing.

      Good for you, dude.

      Delete
  14. That's what I get for being too brief in my remarks. ;) But it contributed to making this an interesting thread.

    To start with, I take it as a given that Obama's antisemitic. But I also agree with Dan and others who discourage dwelling on his motives. (Now if I could only practice what I preach.)

    As Dan pointed out, what matters is the antisemitism of our elites. This antisemitism is a part of a feudal world view that leaves the Jews without a significant role.

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    Replies
    1. If this comment was a petition, I'd sign it.

      This is precisely what I'm still struggling to understand -

      "Progressive elites begrudge our success overall, in favor of cultures that openly deny the human rights of their own peoples, and particularly minorities. Wrapped in their theories, their anti-Western orientation causes them to discriminate against Jews that still must seek self-determination, treating no one else the same, yet they are blind to their own bigotry, not to mention the humanitarian racism that goes alongside."

      Where is the switch one needs to flip to get more to take a step back and ponder this? As one whose own switch was flipped on this very question even I don't know...

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    2. Is Obama an anti-Semite?

      An anti-Semite is someone who repeats the kinds of anti-Semitic tropes that have lead to anti-Jewish violence in the past. Obama does not do this.

      I see no evidence that Obama is an anti-Semite. He is, however, someone who is enabling the foremost anti-Semitic movement in the world today which is political Islam, which is the Muslim Brotherhood.

      In this way the question becomes irrelevant because even if he is not, and I assume that he is not, who cares? He's the president of the United States and he is helping bring anti-Semites into power both internationally and domestically.

      For me that's the bottom line.

      Delete
  15. Just out of curiosity, I wonder how many of those who smear and disparage me have bought dinner tonight from an Egyptian shawarma vendor who keeps a framed photo of Morsi at his grill? Or how many of them even live within like 500 miles of such a place? Not to mention right down the block...

    Diversity runs much deeper than the simple thoughts of some random anonymous jerkoff on the internet, is my point here.

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