After several weeks of smearing the Jewish State in its latest defensive battle with the terrorists of HAMAS, The New York Times chose to address anti-Semitism in the United States. However, being alt-left, the former newspaper portrayed all of the assailants in a variety of alt-right / Republican / White supremacy clothing. Not a Black, Brown or leftist anti-Semite could be found.
The May 27, 2021 New York Times article was called “Anti-Semitism Surges in Wake of Gaza Clash,” and began on the bottom of the front page and continued along with three black-and-white images on page A17. The pictures, like the article, chose to sanitize “Pro-Palestinian” Arab anti-Semitism as well as hatred from the Black community.
The article stated:
“Until the latest surge, anti-Semitic violence in recent years was largely considered a right-wing phenomenon, driven by a white supremacist movement emboldened by rhetoric from former President Donald J. Trump, who often trafficked in stereotypes.
“Many of the most recent incidents, by contrast, have come from perpetrators expressing support for the Palestinian cause and criticism of Israel’s right-wing government.”
The Times wrote that there are seemingly two types of anti-Semitism – racists from the right-wing and those opposed to the Israeli right-wing. The two rights are both (presumably) wrong, and the “left” was noticeably absent from any accusation.
When the article wrote about two men recently apprehended in connection with attacks on Jewish persons and locations, it only mentioned their names, Waseem Awawdeh and Ali Alaheri. It did not mention their ethnicity (presumably Arab and Muslim) which the paper does frequently in articles with White attackers.
The article also noted the Charlottesville “Unite the Right rally in 2017” where people shouted “Jews will not replace us!” That event was attended by over 100 people. The paper failed to similarly write about the Black Muslim Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan’s address to thousands of people in 2018 where he said he’s not an anti-Semite, “I’m an anti-Termite.” Farrakhan posted a video of the remarks to his million followers, but the Times ignored the episode.
The Times went on to list the shootings of Jews by White gunmen in Pittsburgh and San Diego, but did not list any attacks by Black people such as the killings in Jersey City by an organized team of Black Israelites or the machete attack by a Black man at a rabbi’s house in Monsey, NY. Nor would it describe the rocks and bricks thrown into synagogues in Riverdale, NY or at the faces of Jews in Brooklyn by Black people.
Because that would alter the narrative that the progressive left is pushing: hatred and racism are solely the domain of White Republicans.
To underscore the progressive argument, the Times went on to write “Jews and others were particularly stung by comments by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has spent the past week repeatedly comparing mask and vaccine mandates to the treatment of Jews by Nazi Germany, and by the Republican leadership’s slow response to her remarks.” The article would not discuss the repeated disgusting anti-Semitic remarks of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and the Democratic leadership’s vigorous defense of her. No mention of Rashida Tlaib‘s (D-MI) only showing concern for anti-Semitism when she thought a White person committed the crime. No review of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) comparing the holding cells at the Mexican border to a concentration camp.
The omissions of Black, Brown and progressive anti-Semites were not oversights but a deliberate reorientation by progressive America after the murder of George Floyd to protect people of color.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) wrote about the Intelligence Project (IP) in October 2020 which called for demoting the racism and anti-Semitism by Black people because it would lead to over-policing. The report argued that Black anger is warranted while White anger is not:
“SPLC, and IP more specifically, recognizes the common language shared by our Black Separatist listing and federal attempts to criminalize Black activism. We reject federal law enforcement’s false and misleading contention regarding threats from Black separatists. We believe this contention is used to justify the over-policing and surveillance of communities of color. Contributing to a false dichotomy does not serve SPLC’s mission of racial equity…. The Black Separatist listing created a color line bias, separating hate and extremism by race and granting the appearance of a false equivalency of equal hate on both sides. But the hate is not equal. Black separatism was born out of valid anger against very real historical and systemic oppression…. Black separatism is a response to white supremacy and white nationalism…. We aim to expose these groups without helping the FBI in its definition of Black identity extremists.”
For the SPLC, Black Israelites may have killed Jews in Jersey City because of anti-Semitism, but at the core, their anger was justified because non-Blacks were moving into their communities. Progressives may note that Farrakhan peddles in anti-Semitism, but they consider it low-grade and based on righteous anger.
For progressives, racism can only be viewed through the lens of power, and they have concluded that Jews have all the power relative to People of Color and Palestinian Arabs, failing to note the deep anti-Semitism in that opinion.
The New York Times has been writing since the Obama years that anti-Semitism exists because the alt-right is racist and Israel is racist because it hated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The “Defund Police” and BlackLivesMatter movements are giving the progressive media additional leeway to absolve the anti-Semitism of Black and Brown people.
There is a message for Jews to internalize in observing how the left-wing media insists that the only real anti-Semites are right-wing White Republicans as it shields the anti-Jewish hate from people of color: Jews are simply tools in their political machinations to reorient America. Anti-Semitism is not a real concern for progressives but an issue to be used selectively to advance a massive redistribution of power and wealth.
Related First One Through articles:
Why Does the New York Times Delete Stories of Attacks on Jews?
Is the Southern Poverty Law Center Part of the Problem of Anti-Semitism?
Examining Ilhan Omar’s Point About Muslim Antisemitism
Mayor De Blasio is Blind to Black Anti-Semitism
If a Black Muslim Cop Kills a White Woman, Does it Make a Sound?
Organized and Disorganized Antisemitism
Palestinians are “Desperate” for…
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