The too familiar routine of a Palestinian Arab viciously attacking a Jewish civilian unfolded again. An Arab repeatedly stabbed a Jewish civilian, and then another Jewish civilian witnessed the crime and shot the terrorist.
The sequence is straightforward. The perpetrator and victim are clear.
But only if you see the actions through the lens of coexistence, as most Israelis and the western world perceive.
For Palestinian Arabs and their sympathizers, Jews have no right to even be next to the Arab. The basic presence of Jews was the offense, and therefore the Arab is the actual victim twice over – first having to live with Jews, and then to be shot by those same “settlers.”
Palestinian media covered the event with the header “Israeli settler shoots Palestinian in Jerusalem,” making the incident appear as an unprovoked Israeli attack on Arabs, absolution via inversion.
The Jerusalem Post headline was the opposite: “Jerusalem stabbing attack: 41-year-old in moderate condition.” The audience readily understood that the terrorist was an Arab who attacked a Jewish civilian.
The Jerusalem Post article continued with “Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the stabbing was ‘a natural response to the occupation’s crimes against our Islamic and Christian sanctities in the city of Jerusalem. This act of resistance confirms once again the failure of all attempts to stop the escalation of the act of resistance in the occupied West Bank and the city of Jerusalem,’ he said.“
While Israelis attempt to live lives of coexistence, Palestinian Arabs believe that Jews have no history or rights to live in the land, especially in Jerusalem. The Arab street, political parties and media openly support violence to “resist” the presence of Jews.
The nature of the conflict is clear: an Israeli vision of coexistence compared to an Arab vision of a Jew-free land.
If one were to be generous about the many flaws in journalism today, one could argue that the media model is so broken that the companies can no longer afford to hire enough or high quality reporters. As such, the papers simply do not do the homework required to properly educate today’s readership which already has access to tons of information online but may not be able to locate, assemble or analyze the copious volume of data.
FirstOneThrough has criticized the anti-Israel bias of The New York Times and its latest reporter on Israel, Patrick Kingsley (who is actually much better than past Times reporters), including just a few days ago regarding President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East. In his article “In First Visit As President, Biden Will Find Changed Middle East Political Scene.” Kingsley placed blame for the failure of peace between Israel and Palestinian Arabs squarely on the shoulders of Israeli action, absolving the Palestinian Authority of any criticism. One might assume that Kingsley was ignorant about the sentiments of Palestinian Arabs, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, the political-terrorist group which governs Gaza. It would be both pathetic and generous to consider that the journalist covering Israel and the PA didn’t know that Palestinian Arabs poll themselves every three months.
Alas, there is a reason that many Zionists shun the New York paper and describe it as a pro-Palestinian propaganda rag, as revealed on July 16, 2022.
New York Times article on July 16, 2022, page A8, which highlights select data from Palestinian polls (five red boxes with associated questions from June 2022 PCPSR poll)
Kingsley clearly read the results of the June 2022 poll, as he cited the findings of six responses about the unhappiness of Palestinian Arabs. However, Kingsley refused to mention Palestinians preference for war against Jewish civilians and the rejection of a two state solution proposed by Biden, in other responses found throughout the poll.
While The New York Times cited some responses from a Palestinian poll about Arab unhappiness (such as Q49), it neglected to mention the various responses supporting violence (including Q47, Q48/5, Q51 and Q52, above)
Poll question 64 asked people in the West Bank and Gaza “Concerning armed attacks against Israeli civilians inside Israel, I….,” a question which should be labelled a war crime. Outrageously, 25% strongly support and 27% support the idea – a majority of those polled.
The response to Q52 had 56% of Palestinian Arabs supporting armed attacks by Arab lone wolves inside of Israel. The response to Q51 showed that 59% of Arabs think that the lone wolf attacks “contribute to the Palestinian Interest in ending the occupation.”
The responses to many questions show that a majority of Palestinian Arabs favor armed attacks against Jewish civilians and reject a two state solution (Q42 has 69% opposing two states and Q45 has 69% opposing negotiations with Israel). But Kingsley opted to not cite any of those findings.
Instead, the article titled “Biden Gives Palestinians Funding and Sympathy, But No Long-Term Plans” ended with a quote that Biden “empathized with Palestinian frustrations. ‘The Palestinian people are hurting now – you can just feel it, he said‘” echoing the statistics of Palestinian unhappiness but not their thirst for blood nor the destruction of Israel.
While Palestinians openly tell of their desire for the destruction of the Jewish State and the murder of Jews, the mainstream media and polite politicians only can see Arab “frustrations.” It’s absolution via calculated omission, and a lethal form of anti-Semitism.
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when America became so divided as a nation. Political parties and politicians had smeared opposing sides since the founding of the republic – especially during election season – but citizens were able to sit and converse with people of a different party.
Some people have squarely put the blame on Donald Trump. The man didn’t merely have a different set of priorities and policies, but his vulgarity, misogyny and various racist and demeaning comments put him beyond the pale for many Americans. The fact that he won the presidency, did not simply upset people but made them question the moral fabric of society.
The people who voted for Hillary Clinton in November 2016 did not simply support her, they internalized her September 2016 comments about Trump supporters when she said “You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.“
Clinton took aim at half of America, and the insult felt by the targets of the attack, as well as the concurrence of her supporters, continues to be felt today in a deeply divided America.
The Jewish community may similarly have broken during the 2022 primary season.
In commenting about various Democratic primaries, Jeremy Ben Ami, the head of the far-left wing Jewish pro-Palestinian group J Street smeared Jewish moderates as racists, saying “There seems to be something particularly on the line for some parts of the Jewish community when women of color speak out.“
J Street President Jeremy Ben AmiNY Times article on July 16, 2022
The vile smear would be bad enough if Ben Ami was attacking the Republican Jewish Coalition, the opposing right-wing political advocacy group to J Street. But Ben Ami was attacking fellow Democrats who support the agenda of the moderate Democratic group, Democratic Majority For Israel (DMFI) and the bi-partisan group AIPAC.
The divide in the United States is tragically growing deeper. We may now also be witnessing the cleft in the Jewish community break open, as J Street slanders Jews to the right of their far-left ideology as irredeemable bigots.
The New York Times is obsessed with telling the world the false narrative that Palestinian Arabs are helpless victims in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It pushed the fake story again, that Israel is solely responsible for Palestinian misery, ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit to the region later this week.
The New York Times absolving Palestinian Arabs of their direct participation in their fate.
Patrick Kingsley wrote that Biden “believes in a two state solution to the conflict.” Followed by a big “But…” which accused Israeli actions of undermining Biden’s goals.
In FOUR separate locations. the Times called out “Israeli occupation” and “settlement expansion,” including falsely alleging that Jews living in the West Bank “make a two state solution less viable.”
Another reason mentioned for the stalemate in peace discussions is “divisions within the Palestinian leadership.”
Lastly, the Times wrote that peace is far off because of “Israeli disinterest in peace negotiations.”
The Palestinian propaganda piece did not inform its readers that the PA continues to pay Arab terrorists who attack Israelis, and that funding such terrorism is a condition for the US to hand the PA any monies according to the Taylor Force Act.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Times refuses to accurately describe Palestinian Arabs as almost uniformly anti-Semitic, deny the history of the Jews in their holy land, have laws which prevent Jews from buying land, elected a Holocaust-denier to president, and who favor the Hamas terrorist group to lead the country now.
Palestinian Arabs are principally and directly responsible for their stateless situation, in continuing to deny Jews their human rights and dignity. But The New York Times prefers to peddle misinformation in its ardent defense of the “underdog,” even if those Arabs are anti-Semitic, Holocaust-denying terrorist-supporters. Or maybe because of it.
Catherine Parker, a resident of Rye, NY, is running for Congress in New York’s newly redrawn 16th district, one of the most Jewish districts in the country. She has much to say about the district’s current representative, Jamaal Bowman, and it’s and not pretty.
Parker agreed to be interviewed about issues of concern to the Jewish community, as she gets her message out to her constituents.
Catherine Parker, active in politics in lower Westchester for 15 years, is running for Congress to unseat Rep. Jamaal Bowman
On Israel and United Nations
Among the three people running for the seat in the Democratic primary, Parker is the only one who put Israel on her website as part of her agenda. Her website specifies:
“Israel is an important ally to the United States, and in Washington, Catherine will be a steadfast ally of the Middle East’s only democracy. Unlike her opponent who has consistently opposed U.S. policy supportive of Israel, Catherine would have voted in support of Israel’s right to defend itself and protect its citizens and she would have voted for funding of the Iron Dome.
“Catherine opposes the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement which aims to end international support for Israel. She believes wholeheartedly in a two state solution. When it comes to a deal with Iran regarding nuclear – a new Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – we need to see that it will be more protective and longer, stronger and broader than what was negotiated by President Obama in 2015. And unlike her opponent, Catherine supports strengthening the Abraham Accords and would have voted in support for the Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021.“
These very supportive statements about the Jewish State served as a basis for our conversation.
On BDS, Parker said that it’s “just a version of anti-Semitism.” She believes that it should have no standing or support in our government.
She said that aid to Israel should not be conditional, much as President Biden has stated. She offered that Israel’s security has enhanced America’s security, and with “Israel being attacked all the time from terrorist groups like Hamas, it [Israel] deserves our support.”
Parker added that she supported the Taylor Force Act which limited funds to the Palestinian Authority as long as it pays the families of terrorists. “If the PA is going to be paying stipends to terrorists, then as a country, we shouldn’t be providing economic aid [to the PA].”
Parker added that she doesn’t think that the United Nations is fair in regards to Israel. In particular, she pointed to the UN Human Rights Council which continues to target Israel, a theme the State Department discussed a few weeks ago. She had no comment about the unique perpetual agency devoted to the descendants of Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and said she would look into it.
Parker has never been to Israel but aligns herself with the Jewish State. While she has no position on Israelis living east of the Green Line in “settlements,” she is eager to visit the country and to learn more.
Iran’s Nuclear Program
Parker called the Islamic Republic of Iran “bad actors.” She was disappointed that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s attempt at diplomacy had seemingly broken down, and said she is “open to listening” to alternatives to deal with the menace, including military action.
Anti-Semitism
Parker supports the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism. She discussed her family’s long connection to former Rep. Nita Lowey and supports having Holocaust education in every school in the country. Parker views this as important to combat anti-Semitism and to benefit all of society.
Why She’s Running: Bowman
Parker went through a lengthy list of reasons why she’s running for Congress and it centers around Rep. Jamaal Bowman.
She said that she believes that Bowman’s advocacy for “Defund the Police is absolutely ridiculous.” The country has “many wonderful people serving us” and the key to combating some rogue officers is to have “implicit bias training” for active police officers.
Parker thinks that Bowman has made terrible policy decisions for the lower Westchester district and for the country, including voting against the infrastructure bill, against aid to Ukraine, and against supporting Israel.
She contrasted her style with Bowman who has a terrible working relationship with fellow Democrats in Westchester (writer’s note: I have repeatedly heard the same criticism). Parker commented about how she strives for bipartisanship in her dealings with Republicans and Democrats in passing laws that benefit the community, and wants to bring that kind of care to Washington, DC. She pondered that Bowman seems to be driven by personal motivation or his ties to the socialist fringe of the party, and clearly not to his constituents.
Summary
Catherine Parker is a seasoned local politician who is learning about the larger national and international issues that concern her Westchester constituents, including Jews. Her instincts seem good and she avoided wading into unfamiliar topics until learning more. I would not be surprised to see her win endorsements for her positions on anti-Semitism and Israel from a variety of groups including Democratic Majority For Israel (DMFI) which normally doesn’t fight incumbents, AIPAC, America’s Pro-Israel lobby, as well as other pro-Israel Democrats like Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15), just to the south of her district.
By way of comparison, Bowman is supported as part of the extremist “squad” endorsed by the Sunrise Movement and the Working Families Party, which also support Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush, all of whom have cast votes and made comments deeply hurtful to the Jewish community. Consider that the DC Chapter of the Sunrise Movement actually banned progressive Jewish groups from an event, including the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) and the Jewish Council on Public Affairs (JCPA). Even far left groups like Americans for Peace Now were appalled at the Sunrise Movement’s action, as the president and CEO said “This is boycotting groups because they are Jewish and state a general … support of Israel,” even though it’s not a core component of their mission, making the action blatantly anti-Semitic.
The differences between Bowman and Parker are dramatic.
The Democratic primary will be held on August 23rd with early voting beginning on August 13.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MN), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), members of the far-left “squad.” (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The terrible news seems to come out daily: anti-Semitism on the rise in cities and towns across the country. One of the worst locations is college campuses, where the government has the power to reduce the scourge, and refuses to do so.
Beyond The US And Beyond This Year
To be clear, the problem is not just local and not only recent.
In March 2022, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “I think that our universities, for far too long, have been tolerant of casual or indeed systemic anti-Semitism… it’s important that we have an anti-Semitism task force devoted to rooting out anti-Semitism in education,” calling out the Jew hatred in universities.
US President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13899—Combating Anti-Semitism in December 2019 to address the problem, stating “my Administration is committed to combating the rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incidents in the United States and around the world. Anti-Semitic incidents have increased since 2013, and students, in particular, continue to face anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on university and college campuses.”
The United States government was trying to tackle the issue in November 2017 when it held a hearing to consider interpreting Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect Jewish students and other religious minorities from discrimination. At that time, Rabbi Cooper, Associate Dean, Director Global Social Action Agenda, Simon Wiesenthal Center called out for the government to help combat the hatred, arguing that “The failure of schools and Federal Government to protect Jewish students on campus from harassment is one of the most pressing issues for the American Jewish Community.”
But educational institutions and the government are backing away from providing protections to Jewish students on campus.
Failure of Leadership
The City University of New York (CUNY) has seen an enormous spike in anti-Semitic incidents. To combat the menace, over 100 non-profit institutions wrote a letter on June 28, 2022 to the NYC Council Committee on Higher Education to address “the alarming rise of antisemitism on campuses across the country, and at CUNY in particular.” After being postponed once, the committee finally met to address this serious issue, but CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez did not attend. Brooklyn Councilwoman Inna Vernikov was angered at the chancellor’s absence and said “last night, in a very cowardly fashion, the chancellor said he won’t appear. Instead he sent a lawyer to represent him. What a sham, what an insult to the Jewish community of New York.“
President Biden is similarly aware of the scourge of anti-Semitism on campuses and opted to delay action until after mid-term elections.
President Biden is aware of the scourge of anti-Semitism on campuses and opted to delay action until after mid-term elections.
Shortly after Biden took office in February 2021, Kara McDonald, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, embraced the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. She said “we musteducate ourselves and our communities to recognize antisemitism in its many forms, so that we can call hate by its proper name and take effective action. That is why the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, with its real-world examples, is such an invaluable tool.”
It was the logical and appropriate time for Biden to follow-through on Trump’s EO 13899 and the federal government’s efforts to apply the IHRA definition to Title VI. Title VI “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity that receives Federal funds or other Federal financial assistance.” As most colleges receive federal funds and would collapse without them, and the fact that Jews do not fall neatly into “race, color or national origin,” Jews were counting on inclusion in the Title VI clause together with the working definition of anti-Semitism.
But Biden decided to postpone a decision on the Title VI matter until December 2022, after mid-term elections.
Biden Fears the Far-Left Anti-Zionists
While Biden was willing to champion the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, he fears members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) within his party, and the threat that they will primary incumbent party centrists out of office. The IHRA definition has several references to Israel including “Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel“, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” and “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” These anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic statements often come from the mouths of Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Cori Bush (D-MO), members of the DSA. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), a leading shrill voice of the DSA, has stated plainly that her squad will come after centrists if the Democratic leadership doesn’t bend to their extremist policy demands, including lambasting Israel. Biden doesn’t want to anger the squad and risk his party’s slim majority.
President Biden with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (left) and Rep. Debbie Dingell, May 2021. (photo: Evan Vucci/AP)
While studies have shown that “much of the antisemitic activity [on college campuses] was perpetrated by anti-Zionist students and student groups” at schools with “faculty academic boycotters,” and the federal government has a clear pathway to clamp down on the Jew hatred, President Biden has chosen to place party politics ahead of the safety of the young adults of the most persecuted minority in America.
The White House announced that President Biden “will visit the Middle East region from July 13th to July 16th with stops in Israel, the West Bank, and Saudi Arabia.” The release added that Biden would meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “reaffirming his lifelong commitment to a two-state solution.“
The stampede of elephants in the room is that the Abbas has no authority, no mandate, no control and no abilities, and that Palestinian Arabs have no interest in a two state solution, preferring war.
Then U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden (L) shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah March 9, 2016. (photo: REUTERS/Debbie Hill/Pool)
Mahmoud Abbas – The Straw Man
No Authority. Abbas won presidential election in January 2005. That four-year term ended in January 2009, over 13 years ago. Abbas continues to suspend elections as he knows he would lose. According to a June 2022 Palestinian poll, if elections were held now, Abbas would lose to Ismail Haniyeh of the political-terrorist group HAMAS by 55% to 33%.
No Mandate. That same poll shows that Palestinian Arabs in both the “West Bank” and Gaza despise Abbas, noting that “demand for Abbas’ resignation stands at 72% in the West Bank and 84% in the Gaza Strip.” Further, “perception of corruption in PA institutions stands at 86%.“
No Control. The PA only controls Areas A and B in the West Bank. It has no control over Gaza after getting routed from the territory by HAMAS in 2007. Abbas has no control over a significant percent of his land and people, and cannot deliver anything to Palestinian Arabs or Israelis.
No Ability To Negotiate. Since 2007, Abbas has been unable to negotiate even a unity government between his Fatah party and the rival HAMAS. How could anyone imagine he has the skill or ability to negotiate with Israelis?
Why would anyone negotiate with such a person on the most fundamental principles that the person has no ability to deliver? Because it supplies multiple fig leaves: that the Palestinian Arabs have set up a government and are capable of ruling themselves to ultimately become an independent state to show the world on one hand; and on the other, to make the Palestinian Arabs feel like the world cares.
Mahmoud Abbas – Against Basic U.S. Principles and Human Rights
The United States – and the civilized world – have basic principles regarding human rights which Abbas tramples upon.
Funding terrorism. The US Congress passed the Taylor Force Act which “condition[ed] assistance to the West Bank and Gaza on steps by the Palestinian Authority to end violence and terrorism against Israeli citizens.” Abbas doesn’t care, and told the world at the United Nations that he celebrated martyrs and was commited to pay Palestinian terrorist families “even if it costs PA its last penny.”
Inciting terrorism. Abbas fans the flames of a violent jihad against Jews. He frequently lies that the Al Aqsa Mosque is in danger of being attacked by Jews to foment violence by any means.
Denying Jewish History. Abbas wrote his doctoral thesis on Holocaust denial, pretty abhorrent on its face. He further denies over 3,000 years of Jewish history in the Jewish holy land, calling Jews “colonial invaders.” He denies that the Jewish temples stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and mocks Jews that they are trying to “Judaize” Jerusalem.
The world pretends that this anti-Semitic extremist is a moderate. The sad reality is that he is a moderate, solely by Palestinian Arab standards.
Palestinian Arabs Don’t Want Two States, They Want ’48
Jews Have No Rights Whatsoever In The Land. The average Palestinian Arab in the Palestinian territories believes that the land is 100% Arab and that Jews have no rights to be there. Their position is plain that they do not want to share the land. It is founded on a national narrative that Jews are “colonial invaders” who came to the land as a function of “European imperialism.” That is why pro-Palestinian supporters shout “we don’t want two states, we want ’48,” and “from the river to the sea,” that the entirety of the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River will be Arab.
No Interest In A Two State Solution. Not surprisingly believing that Jews have no history or rights, Palestinian Arabs have no interest in a two state solution. They’ve rejected it from the 1947 Partition Plan until the latest June 2022 poll, when only 28% of respondents favored the idea, with 69% opposed.
Preference For War. Rejecting coexistence, Palestinian Arabs want either the global community to pressure Israel out of existence or to wage war for Israel’s destruction. In June 2022, 56% want the PA to join more international organizations (counter to the parameters of the Oslo Accords signed between the PA and Israel to advance peace), and 55% want to start another armed “initifada,” meaning jihadist terrorism. Currently, 56% of Palestinian Arabs favor attacking Jewish civilians inside of Israel, with 59% believing the terrorism “contributes to the national interest.“
Deeply Embedded Anti-Semitism. The Anti-Defamation League conducted a poll in 2014 about anti-Semitic attitudes around the world. Palestinian Arabs were by far the most anti-Semitic, with almost every single person – a sickening 93% – hating Jews.
It is no wonder that there are so many Palestinian terrorist groups and that the Palestinians intend on voting for one should elections ever be held again.
The US President Honors Anti-Semitism And Wastes Political Capital
Despite the plain facts that Abbas is a straw man who leads anti-Semites not interested in making peace with Israel, President Biden is going to travel to meet him. In doing so, Biden will be giving honor to this despised leader and upsetting 65% of Palestinian Arabs who don’t want the PA to engage with Biden. Even worse, decent Americans will be forced to watch their president listen to the rants and demands of an anti-Semite who supports terrorism, knowing that Biden will just smile and hand Abbas millions of dollars.
The United States invested billions of dollars in Israel and got a strong reliable ally in the Middle East with a vibrant democracy, economy and record of human rights. The US also invested billions of dollars into the Palestinian Arabs, which remains corrupt, inept and hostile to peace and decency. When will people pause to reflect on the return on investments from human and monetary capital?
The end of June 2022 encapsulated the far-left and anti-Israel sentiments of J Street. While it is not news that the group is slightly more centrist than anti-Israel groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow, it is interesting to see how the group is relishing defeating moderate Democrats, much like the left-wing anti-Zionist extremists from the Democratic Socialists of America.
On June 29, J Street posted about its elation that its alt-left candidate for Congress in Illinois defeated the primary challenger favored by the centrist group Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI). J Street led its press release with “Following principled progressive Delia Ramirez’s landslide victory over DMFI-endorsed Gilbert Villegas in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 3rd congressional district,…” The group just could have led that it’s happy its preferred candidate won, but it opted to focus on the defeat of DMFI’s preferred candidate.
J Street said that its PAC spent $140,000 on supporting the Working Families’ Party candidate, to combat funds from “the AIPAC-aligned Democratic Majority For Israel (DMFI) and other right-leaning groups.” Note that AIPAC and DMFI are not “right-leaning groups” but centrist; it’s J Street that’s far-left, making those groups appear right-leaning from their perspective.
J Street then doubled down on mischaracterizing the centrist pro-Israel groups stating “In an election cycle that has seen the ultra-hawkish right-wing group AIPAC and its allies like DMFI… (emphasis is J Street’s)” These are inflammatory and blatantly untrue statements that DMFI – a purely Democratic group! – is “ultra-hawkish” and “right-wing.”
J Street is completely untethered from reality.
J Street is continuing on its far-left, Arab-centered mission on June 30th.
Jeremy Ben Ami, the president of J Street, is going to speak with Jim Zogby of the Arab American Institute. Their topic is rebuking the United States for the alleged crimes of the Jewish State. It will continue Zogby’s assertion that “Sanctions [against Israel] and accountability become absolutely essential to this discussion. We’re beyond dialogue, we’ve been beyond dialogue for decades now. We are now at the point where there must be a price paid.“
June 30 event with President of J Street urging the United States to punish Israel
Ben-Ami is featured with Zogby, who came after the Anti-Defamation League in May 2022, because it correctly pointed out the anti-Semitic comments from the head of CAIR in San Francisco who said that Zionist synagogues are enemies. Zogby added that Israel has “brutal and aggressive hardline apartheid policies” and decries “settler colonialism.“
Sounds like the right company for J Street’s president.
J Street is the home for left-wing pro-Palestinians who seek to market themselves as pro-Israel centrists to mislead the public that their extremist views are in line with the government of Israel and Zionists around the world. The group is slowly revealing its true alt-left bent, stating that its opponents are not limited to the Republican Jewish Coalition, but centrist Democrats like DMFI which it falsely labels as “ultra-hawkish” and “right-wing,” as it simultaneously joins forces with leading Arab critics of Israel.
New York’s 16th Congressional district has been reshaped by the latest census, and now includes more of Westchester than it had earlier, and drops sections of the Bronx which are now in NY-15 held by Rep. Ritchie Torres. The current congressman for NY-16 is Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who is facing a number of challengers in the Democratic primaries to be held on August 23rd (early voting begins August 13).
According to the non-partisan website fivethirtyeight, the newly redrawn NY-16 leans heavily towards the Democratic Party, voting for Joe Biden over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election by a margin of +40. That means that the Democratic primary is truly the election for this congressional seat.
One of the Democratic contenders, Vedat Gashi, spoke with me about issues of particular concern to the Jewish community.
General Background
Gashi describes himself as a “common sense” Democrat who has nothing in common with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) which has backed Bowman. Gashi grew up in Kosovo and came to the United States at age four. He later returned to Kosovo as an adult to work for the United Nations as the country gained its independence in the dissolution of Yugoslavia. His memories of Israel’s involvement with Kosovo – even before it became independent – left a positive mark on him.
Gashi is appreciative of the Jewish community as well. As a secular Muslim, he said he was appalled at President Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban” which would have restricted people like him from coming to the US (writer’s note: Trump did not ban all Muslims, but people from seven Muslim-majority countries, which did not include Kosovo). When Gashi went to JFK Airport to protest the ban, the first people he saw protesting were Jewish groups. These incidents gave Gashi a sense of warmth toward the Jewish community.
A full background of Gashi’s background can be found on his website. Unfortunately, there is little else on the site, such as his positions on important issues.
Vedat Gashi, running for congress in 2022 to represent NY-16
On Israel
Gashi is instinctively pro-Israel but not very well versed on specific topics.
As it relates to Bowman’s vote against supporting the Abraham Accords in April 2021, Gashi said he was “disappointed” in Bowman’s vote because the Accords clearly advanced US’s foreign policy interests. He assumed that Bowman did so because of pressure from the DSA, and Gashi used that point to highlight that he would not abide by any party orthodoxy but consider each issue as it impacted the people in his district. He added that the DSA’s comments which blamed American and NATO policies for causing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as indicative of the far-left group’s “tenuous grasp of reality.”
Gashi said that the people behind the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) of Israel are anti-Semitic. He believes that people who call Israel an “apartheid state”, such as Bowman’s senior policy advisor Rajiv Sicora, “don’t want Israel to even exist”. In contrast, Gashi believes that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and is a strong American ally.
Bowman is tied to other DSA-backed politicians like Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), as he votes alongside them 98% of the time. Gashi thinks that Tlaib and Omar have made many anti-Semitic comments, such as Tlaib’s screed that Jews and Zionists profit from racism “from Gaza to Detroit,” and Omar’s comments about Jews buying control of Congress and hypnotizing the world. He finds their comments “deeply racist” and offensive.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), three members of the ‘Squad’ of Democratic Socialists on November 30, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Regarding Bowman co-sponsoring the May 2022 Tlaib-led legislation that called the founding of Israel a ‘Nakba’ (catastrophe), Gashi said that sponsors of such legislation do not believe Israel has the right to exist. He said he arrived at such a conclusion from being informed about how Serbs treated Kosovo. Serbs believed Kosovo to be “nothing more than a parking lot,” an empty vessel without meaning or ownership, much the way some anti-Israel people continue to look at the Jewish State today. He noted that the founding of many countries included wars and displacements but that doesn’t mean the new country shouldn’t exist.
Gashi did not have a strong opinion about “settlements.” He noted that he saw some when he visited friends in Israel several years ago, with many being fully established towns which are a far cry from what the name implies, which is a couple of shacks. He offered no opinion about whether they are legal or whether UN Resolution 2334 was appropriate.
As it relates to a number of other regional issues such as the Taylor Force Act and the Palestinian Authority’s desire for a consulate in Jerusalem, Gashi knew little about the topics.
United Nations / Iran
Gashi worked for the United Nations in Kosovo for a number of years and believes that the organization is an “unwieldy animal” with many difficult actors like Russia, however, Gashi believes that there is opportunity for the United Nations to be a positive force. During our interview, Gashi noted he was not familiar with the many resolutions and committees within the United Nations that attack the Jewish State but seemed interested to learn more.
Regarding the Iranian nuclear deal, Gashi said that “Iran achieving nuclear capacity would be a terrible outcome and needs to be opposed every which way we can, if not diplomatically, then by other means”. He added that “it is an existential problem”.
Anti-Semitism / Religion
Gashi was not familiar with the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism but stressed that “words are important.” Drawing on his experience in Kosovo, he shared that politicians were reluctant to use the term “genocide” because it would compel certain actions, even though avoiding its usage “led to more ethnic cleansing” in his home country. He did not know why President Biden agreed to the IHRA definition and then refused to enact it for Title VI to protect Jewish and Zionist students on campuses, until December 2022, which is after mid-term elections.
Gashi was also unfamiliar with Senator Diane Feinstein grilling of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett saying “the dogma lives loudly within you and that’s of concern,” as it related to ACB’s Catholic beliefs, suggesting it would possibly disqualify her for office. He said that “all manners of good and bad deeds have been attributed to religiosity. Religiosity in and of itself, is neither good nor bad. Faith, in general, is a good thing.” He did say that Feinstein’s comment was inappropriate.
Schools / Police
Gashi would not engage in a discussion about charter schools or monies for parochial schools. He seemed more concerned about upsetting teacher unions and keeping funding inside of the public school system. Whether he would tackle the issue of prioritizing educating children rather than winning support of powerful unions remains to be seen, as he would not voice an opinion going into a Democratic primary where he is competing against a radical socialist who was formerly a teacher.
Gashi did come after Bowman about his stance to “Defund the Police.” He felt that Bowman’s endorsement of the socialist platform was dangerous for the district and country. He added that Bowman continues to lie about his comments and vote on the manner, much as Bowman clearly lied to his constituents about supporting the infrastructure bill when he voted against it.
Summary
Gashi presents as a left-leaning politician, yet far to the right and much more honest than Bowman. He is not well-versed in various issues of concern to the Jewish people in his district but seems eager to learn and approach the issues thoughtfully.
There is perhaps nothing as shocking and horrible as the murder of young children at school.
The United States has seen and mourned the tragedy too often, most recently at Uvalde, TX where an 18-year old killed 19 students and two teachers. Ten people were killed and 13 wounded in 2018 when a 17-year old shot people in a high school in Santa Fe, TX. In February of that year, a 19-year old killed 17 and injured the same number at a high school in Parkland, FL, and a month earlier, a 15-year old killed two students and injured 18 others in Marshall County, KY.
Not all of the shooters in the school attacks are teenagers. Almost all are male and every attack was committed by “lone wolves” acting out of hatred or mental distress.
Society has uniformly mourned the innocent victims, even while debating how to deal with the terrible violence. The loss of young lives is a shocking amputation for the families, a scar on society.
Flowers at Robb Elementary School, Uvalde, TX on May 28, 2022 (photo: AP/ Jae C. Hong)
Civil society is appalled at the senseless violence. It ponders how to treat mental sickness and retard the hatred of killers and would-be murderers, methods to keep armaments out of those hands, and ways to better protect vulnerable schools. The media and public officials even consider not mentioning killers’ names or publishing any ‘manifestos’, in the hopes that it will dissuade other killers.
At least in the United States. That’s not the tactic the world applies to slaughtered children in Israel.
Palestinian Arab terrorists have long targeted Jewish children for murder. Palestinian society celebrates the slaughter and the world excuses those murderers.
Consider the May 1974 attack in Ma’alot, in northern Israel. Several Palestinian men coordinated an attack (not a lone person with mental illness) which took 115 people, including 105 children, hostage at the Netiv Meir Elementary School. The two-day rampage left 31 Israelis dead (including 22 children) and 70 injured.
The three armed Palestinian terrorists were members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). The leader of the DFLP, Nayef Hawatmeh, was awarded the “Star of Honor” for his contribution to Palestinian society by Mahmoud Abbas, the acting president of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
“By the authority vested in us, and for the public good, we have decreed the following: ‘Brother Nayef Hawatmeh is decorated with the highest order of the Star of Honor in recognition of his important national role in service of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people, and in recognition of his efforts to raise the flag of Palestine since the launch of the Palestinian revolution, through the stages of the ongoing struggle. [Signed by] Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine.“
PA President Abbas awarding terrorist Hawatmeh the ‘Star of Honor’ on May 28, 2013
Another Palestinian terrorist group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also attacked a school in northern Israel in April 1974. The Kiryat Shmona massacre killed 18 Israelis, including 8 children. The three Palestinian Arab murderers were killed at that time.
Marking the 42nd anniversary of the massacre, the official PA newspaper celebrated the attack and called out the terrorists heroes: “The heroes [of the operation] were the Martyrs Munir Mughrabi ‘Abu Shaker’, a Palestinian born in 1954, Ahmad Mahmoud ‘Abu Shaker’, a Syrian born in Halab in 1954, and Yassin Al-Hourani ‘Abu Hadi’, who was born in southern Iraq in 1954.“
Palestinian Arabs have also targeted school buses carrying Jewish children. In May 1970, Arabs fired rocket-propelled grenades at a bus which killed twelve people, including nine schoolchildren. In April 2011, the political-terrorist group Hamas fired a laser-guided anti-tank missile at a school bus, killing a young child.
Avivim school bus massacre 1970Shaar Hanegev school bus attack, 2011
Hamas has killed hundreds of Israeli civilians, including bombing the Hebrew University cafeteria in 2002, killing nine people, including 5 Americans. The attack was celebrated with hundreds of Palestinians pouring into the streets of Gaza City, vowing more attacks. The Palestinians love and support Hamas, with over half supporting the terrorist group and likely to elect the Hamas leader president of the PA, should elections ever be held.
Cafeteria of Hebrew University bombed by Hamas July 2002 (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
In 2015, a United States court found the PA liable for supporting the terrorist attacks and ordered to pay $218 million to the victims, which was tripled due to its being related to terrorism. The courts ultimately threw out the ruling because Americans weren’t specifically targeted and the attacks did not happen on US soil.
While the fines were deemed inappropriate to enforce, the judgment which concluded that the PA was behind attacks on schools and civilians remains valid. Yet President Biden plans on meeting with PA President Abbas next month in any event. A representative of the European Union said yesterday that Israelis are to blame for Palestinian terrorism, as young Palestinians see homes being demolished, as he ignored the glorification of murderers at Palestinian schools.
How can the world mourn the killing of young American children at school by lone gunmen, while simultaneously excusing the slaughter of Jewish children by organized Palestinian political and terrorist groups?
First One Through 