Stop Antisemitism

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A St. Louis man arrested outside of Central Reform Congregation last November admitted in federal court Monday to threatening to blow up the synagogue in 2021.

Cody Steven Rush admitted calling the St. Louis office of the FBI on Nov. 5, 2021 and saying, “I’m going to blow up a church.” Rush gave his name and identified his target as the Central Reform Congregation in the Central West End. Rush said he would take action the next morning when people were inside.

Rush said he hated Jewish people. He called back later and again threatened to attack the synagogue “while they are in service.” Asked if had anything else he wanted to say, Rush said, “Yeah, that I hate them with rage.”

In a third call, Rush gave his location, which was on the same street as the CRC. When authorities called Rush back, he again made threats.


(full article online)

Cody Rush admits threatening to blow up CRC -

A St. Louis man arrested outside of Central Reform Congregation last November admitted Monday to threatening to blow up the synagogue in 2021.

stljewishlight.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

“Hebrew is by no means the only language that has been the target of calls for change,” the New York Times concedes somewhere in the middle of a long article about Hebrew.

“Many world languages, like French, make every noun either masculine or feminine. And the United Nations has issued guidelines for nondiscriminatory communications in the six official languages of the organization: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish,” it adds.

So if French and other languages are the same way, why does the Times bother devoting a whole long news article — illustrated online with seven photographs — to a kerfuffle over gender in Hebrew? Maybe because an article about French wouldn’t provide the opportunity to bash Orthodox Jews.



The Times helpfully explains, “Some ultraconservatives and strict Orthodox Jews oppose the new focus on linguistic equality, since they reject the principle of equality in general.”

That is clumsily worded, unclear, and negative. My own view of it is that Orthodox Jews (and many others) would say they believe all humans are created with equal dignity in God’s image and should have equal civil rights to vote or to drive a car, but that does not mean all gender or other differences in language or in other regards are to be ignored or eradicated.

Note also the “they” pronoun. It’s used by the Times not in a friendly, inclusive way, as in, The strict Orthodox Jew prefers they/them pronouns.

It’s used in a nasty, exclusive way, as in, those bigoted not-just-merely conservative but ultraconservative and not just merely Orthodox but strict Orthodox Jews are against “the principle of equality in general” (as opposed to the principle of equality in specific?), unlike we enlightened New York Times readers, who are more equal than they are, those benighted strictly Orthodox Jews over there.

The New York Times is all for “the principle of equality in general” — unless and until it applies to giving equal, fair treatment to Orthodox Jewish views. Then the Times throws the principle of equality overboard, letting readers know without a lot of guile who the paper thinks is inferior.



The Times news article, published in English under the headline “Israel’s Biblical Tongue Collides With Gender Politics,” itself uses gender-specific honorifics — “Mr. Levinson,” “Ms. Shomer.” Does that mean the paper’s editors, or its publisher, “reject the principle of equality in general”?

If the Times itself is so committed to equality, maybe it should try enforcing a new policy of giving strictly Orthodox Jews equal space every time it publishes an article disparaging strictly Orthodox Jews.

NY Times: Orthodox Jews ‘Reject Equality in General’ | United with Israel

The New York Times is all for 'the principle of equality in general' — unless and until it applies to giving equal, fair treatment to Orthodox Jewish views.

unitedwithisrael.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

Two other issues the letter addressed were faculty members introducing anti-Semitic and anti-Israel biases in the classroom and creating biased curricula to that end.

Citing the American Association of University Professors Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, which states that while “[t]eachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject,” they “should be careful not to introduce” unrelated “controversial” content in the classroom, StandWithUs urged university administrations to investigate cases where instructors used course time to promote anti-Jewish or anti-Israel biases.

“Faculty members who use classroom time to espouse biases against Israel and Jews often do so outside the scope of the subject matter at hand,” the letter said. “This is in violation of professional standards and marginalizes Jewish students based on the Zionist component of their Jewish identity.”

“University administrators must recognize that words and ideas can have terrible consequences,” said Rothstein. “As a daughter of Holocaust survivors, I know firsthand the dangers that can arise when critical thought deteriorates, minority groups are marginalized, and bias and hate are normalized on campus.”

StandWithUs also stressed the issue of university “social-media accounts, listservs, and school logos or brands” being used to promote one-sided perspectives on political issues, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying when college departments engage in such use of school resources, “they likely act outside the scope of their departmental purview, professional standards of conduct and the bounds of academic freedom.”

The letter urged universities to address discrimination and harassment students face for their perceived connection to Israel or their Jewish and Zionist identities. It called for university administrations to include training on anti-Semitism in faculty diversity training programs, to appoint a diversity officer focusing on anti-Semitism and to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism.



(full article online)

StandWithUs kickstarts second letter campaign to fight campus anti-Semitism

It highlighted five top issues of concern for Jewish students, as well as addressed faculty members and university administrations.

www.jns.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

John Cooper, the mayor of Nashville, Tenn., said “hateful, divisive rhetoric and anti-Semitism have no place” in the city after anti-Semitic propaganda fliers were discovered last week at the houses of private residents.

The fliers targeting the Jewish community were found outside more than 40 homes in Nashville’s West End neighborhood on Aug. 3, less than a mile away from two synagogues.


They propagated anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, including language such as “gun control is Jewish,” “Disney child grooming is Jewish,” “mass immigration is Jewish” or “the COVID agenda is Jewish.” The fliers also featured the Star of David on the forehead of various people. They were similar to other fliers found across the country in recent months, many of which have been attributed to the anti-Semitic group, Goyim Defense League.

“This disturbing anti-Semitic propaganda is similar in tone and style to that used for generations to target the Jewish people and paint them as the enemy,” Cooper said in a joint statement on Aug. 4 with vice mayor Jim Shulman, Metro Nashville Police Department chief John Drake, Council members Kathleen Murphy and Thom Druffel, the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, and the Gordon Jewish Community Center.

“We stand united in support of the Jewish community, and against the extremism and hatred of a small but dangerous faction of our city,” they wrote. “We will not surrender to these dangerous and damaging efforts intended to divide and distort. We will not stand idle in the face of treacherous and threatening attempts to sow chaos and fear.”

Nashville mayor condemns anti-Semitic fliers on 40-plus homes near synagogues

“We stand united in support of the Jewish community, and against the extremism and hatred of a small but dangerous faction of our city,” the mayor wrote in a statement with other city leaders.

www.jns.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

Five years ago, a rally cry of ‘Jews will not replace us’ Tonight marks the fifth anniversary of the start of the ‘Unite the Right’ rally at which white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other groups gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, to protest the removal of a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a city park. Two blocks away from the statue site was Congregation Beth Israel, a 400-plus family Reform synagogue led by Rabbi Tom Gutherz. Being on the front lines of the mayhem meant that his community was forced to grapple with the role of antisemitism in white nationalism – a movement that broke into public conscious following President Donald Trump’s election. It has continued to be buoyed by the mainstreaming of the “great replacement theory” and the attempt to overthrow the government on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol – where some similar groups participated in the rioting.

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Rabbi Tom Gutherz of Charlottesville's Congregation Beth Israel. (Eze Amos)

The Unite the Right rally “made us accelerate our self-reflection on the stories we have been telling ourselves,” Gutherz wrote in an essay for the Forward in November, “and to look harder at the things we have not known or not wanted to see.” Our Arno Rosenfeld traveled to Virginia last year to cover the civil trial of 14 men and 10 groups accused of conspiring to commit racist violence at the rally. They were found guilty of conspiracy to commit violence, and are now liable for more than $25 million in damages to the rally’s victims. James Alex Fields Jr. is serving multiple life sentences for driving a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 35 others. Today, there is a memorial service at that spot. But the wound remains fresh for many of those who were closest to the violence. “There’s not going to be closure,” Gutherz told Rosenfeld. The Forward

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

Despite the warm peace between Israel and the UAE, at least one member of the royal family has maintained her hate for Jews.

Sheikha Hind bint Faisal Al Qasimi has been sending out some outrageous tweets recently, displaying her hate and ignorance.

One was a bizarre attempt at a comparison between Jews killed in an organized, planned genocide in the Holocaust and millions of Muslims killed mostly by...each other.



Of course, Israel killing terrorists is the exact same thing as the Holocaust, in her twisted mind:




To hammer the point, she says that what Israel is doing is the "systematic annihilation" of Palestinians, just like the Nazis.





Yet she insists she is not antisemitic - one of her best friends is Jewish!





Al Qasimi makes her antisemitism crystal clear in this tweet:


"You know who."

(full article online)

Member of Emirati royal family has been spouting antisemitism in her Twitter account

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Secker, a long-time ally of Jeremy Corbyn who faced antisemitism charges before being threatened with expulsion from the Labour Party, then said:”For those Jews who place Israel at the core of their being, this is what they incorporate into their identity.

“But there are many Jews who resile from such obscenity.”

Secker then proceeded to list the names of organisations, including JVL and Jews For Justice For Palestinians who were “proud to state, not in our name!”

He added these groups stand for “human rights everywhere” adding “human rights for only Jews are hollow rights.”


(full article online)

Senior Jewish Voice For Labour official calls Jews who support Israel ‘obscene’

Glyn Secker launches enraged attack on "Jews who place Israel at the core of their being", describing their Zionist identity as an "obscenity".

www.jewishnews.co.uk

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

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In 1922, a Jew who graduated from harvard in 1900 wrote a letter to the president of the university Lawrence Lowell about newspaper reports that Harvard was limiting the number of Jews who would be accepted at the university.

Powell's response was that limiting the number of Jews at universities was good for Jews.

The logic is convoluted and recognized at the time as being absurd, but this is how antisemites who don't consider themselves antisemites think.

The exchange of letters was published in the New York Times and various Jewish publications in June of that year. Here is Lowell's initial reply:

Dear Mr. Benesch: There is no need of cautioning you not to believe all that you see in the newspapers. As a colleague said to me yesterday, there is perhaps no body of men in the United States, mostly Gentiles, with so little anti-Semitic feeling as the instructing staff of Harvard University. But the problem that confronts this country and Its educational institutions is a difficult one, and one about which I should very much like to talk to you. It is one that involves the best interests both of the college and of the Jews, for I should feel very badly to think that these did not coincide.

There is most unfortunately, a rapidly growing anti-Semitic feeling in this country, causing—and no doubt in part caused by—a strong race feeling on the part of the Jews themselves. In many cities of the country Gentile Clubs are excluding Jews altogether, who are forming separate clubs of their own. Private schools are excluding Jews, I believe, and so, we know, are hotels. All this seems to me fraught with very great evils for the Jews, and very great perils for the community.

The question did not originate here, but has been brought over from Europe—especially from those countries where it has existed for centuries. The question for those of us who deplore such a state of things is how it can be combated, and especially for those of us who are connected with colleges, how it can be combated there —how we can cause the Jews to feel and be regarded as an integral part of the student body. The anti-Semitic feeling among the students is increasing, and it grows in proportion to the increase in the number of Jews.

If their number should become 40 per cent of the student body, the race feeling would become intense. When, on the other hand. the number of Jews was small, the race antagonism was small also. Any such race feeling among the students tends to prevent the personal intimacies on which we must rely to soften anti-Semitic feeling.

If every college in the country would take a limited proportion of Jews, I suspect we should go a long way toward eliminating race feeling among the students, and, as these students passed out into the world, eliminating it in the community.

This question is with us. We cannot solve it by forgetting or ignoring it. If we do nothing about the matter the prejudice is likely to increase. Some colleges appear to have met the question by indirect method, which we do not want to adopt. It cannot be solved except by co-operation between the college authorities and the Jews themselves. Would not the Jews be willing to help us in finding the steps best adapted for preventing the growth of race feeling among our students, and hence in the world?

The first thing to recognize is that there is a problem—a new problem, which we have never had to face before, but which has come over with the immigration from the Old World. After the nature of that problem is fairly understood, the next question is how to solve it in the interest of the Jews, as well as of every one else.

Very truly yours,
A. LAWRENCE LOWELL.

Lowell is saying that hating Jews is a natural part of being human. The more Jews, the more hate. If only there would be fewer Jews, then antisemitism can be limited.

In fact, as Mr. Benesch pointed out in his response, if there were no Jews at all, then that would solve the problem, right?

The last paragraph says it all. Too many Jews on campus is the problem, and Harvard was looking for a solution - and it found one: discriminate against them.

People use similar convoluted logic to justify bigotry today, and they are just as certain that there is no prejudiced bone in their bodies. And in a hundred years, we will marvel at how today's intelligent people accepted today's version of antisemitism as normal.

100 years ago: When Harvard's president said that discrimination against Jews was GOOD for the Jews

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

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The former director-general of Al Jazeera on Friday shared and then deleted an image that said “the same killer” — inferring Jews — was responsible for the deaths of Jesus Christ and slain Palestinians.

The image shared by Yasser Abu Hilala was a composite of art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling a dead Jesus, and a Palestinian woman in a similar pose by the body of a young Palestinian, presumably her son.

Text emblazoned on the image declared: “After 2000 years & it’s the same killer…”

(full article online)

Ex-Al Jazeera chief tweets that ‘same killer’ behind deaths of Jesus, Palestinians

Yasser Abu Hilala later deletes image 'to prevent confusion,' says everyone can understand it 'in their own way'

www.timesofisrael.com

 

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