Category Archives: Jews

Bitter Burnt Ends: Talking to a Farrakhan Fan

Posted on by
13

A true story, plus

A True Story

The flight from New York to Denver was on a narrow-body plane, so first class wasn’t all that roomy. The person sitting next to me didn’t seem to mind the proximity of our seats, and leaned in – all the way. By the expression on his face, it looked like I was in for a long flight of listening.

We were similarly dressed in business casual attire. He was a light-skinned handsome black man, clean shaven with very short hair on his head. I looked like a hippy in comparison. But I guess my pleasant disposition encouraged him to prattle on and on and on.

I admit, I do not really remember what he said. I just remember laughing to myself – about an hour into his monologue – about his comment that people had suggested that he host a TV talk show. I laughed because the man never paused a moment to ask anything about me in an hour, so how could he imagine that he had any talent for interviewing people?

The conversation took a sharp turn when the food service began.

When the flight attendant brought me my kosher meal, the man looked astonished. I was not wearing a kippah on my head during the business trip so he did not entertain my being Jewish, and opted not to venture into any religious topics up until that moment. The kosher food gave him a new line of talking points.

As I began to eat, the man began to tell me how much he admired Louis Farrakhan who headed the Nation of Islam. He said that he understood that Farrakhan said some disparaging things about Jews, but overall, he did so much important work for black men that the good outweighed the bad. Black men needed real healing and to find a source of pride and power, and Farrakhan gave thousands of black men just that.

The food soured in my mouth.

I put down my fork and asked the man to my right if he really understood the things that Farrakhan said. That he didn’t simply say something non-politically correct once, but over-and-again. His anti-Semitic comments were not an aside, but a core part of his message; he empowered blacks by denigrating whites and Jews.

My fellow passenger nodded but dissented; none of what I said was revelatory. While he didn’t agree with Farrkhan’s comments as it related to denigrating Jews, in the end, he felt the message was powerful. Poor black men saw another black man showing no fear, talking in a loud unambiguous voice to the power structure. The leader of the NOI’s voice and message were effective at empowering black men.

I tried once more to make him see my side: did he understand that Farrakhan’s message was not only about pulling black people up but tearing others down? Did he not comprehend that Farrkhan was a voice of hate, not one of pride? That a movement built on a foundation of racism and antisemitism was both brittle and vile?

His smile disappeared. The voice grew cold.

He objected strongly to my classification that the NOI was built on racism and antisemitism. He raised his voice and said that there was much much more to Farrakhan’s lectures, specifically, his demand that black men hold themselves to a higher standard and be more accountable for their own actions. My objections were based on a very narrow viewpoint, and clearly I wasn’t all that concerned about poor black men when I took a few inappropriate comments that related to my religion and blew them out of proportion. Such a selfish approach revealed my own racism, that a rich Jew sitting in first class couldn’t absorb a small insult when thousands of black men were clearly benefiting from the preacher’s words.

I opened a book and looked down for the rest of my flight.

Plus

It’s been over ten years since I took that flight. Louis Farrakhan has continued to demonstrate his racism and antisemitism in vivid fashion, and many people continue to come to his defense.

Powerful black people are not only his defenders, but actively court Farrakhan in spite of (because of?) his vile antisemitism and racism. They include Democratic politicians Keith Ellison, Maxine Waters, Danny Davis, Andre Carson and Al Green. They include TV personalities like Marc Lamont Hill and university professors like Cornel West. Women’s March organizers including Linda Sarsour (non-black Muslim) and Melissa Harris-Perry.

Current CNN anchor Don Lemon (who looks very much like my flight companion of fifteen years ago) interviewed Farrakhan back in 2007 when the NOI leader defended his comments about Jews and Lemon opted to not challenge the antisemitism. With Lemon’s current podium, he has picked up Farrakhan’s tone and suggested that it was time to lock up white men.

Louis Farrakhan and Don Lemon in 2007
(photo: Ashahed M. Mohamed)
The hateful messages have worked their way into society at large. On visiting Cal Berekely in San Francisco last year, I was greeted by a black woman wearing a shirt that read “White Man Bow Down.” Nice.

The theme of black and feminist extremists no longer resembles anything liberals once recognized. The calls are not about raising living standards for those doing poorly, but attacking those whom are perceived to be in a better situation. It is not about “believing women” as much as about disbelieving men. It’s a call to tear down the “patriarchy,” the institutions and white men in power, by any means possible.

The means are irrelevant. The end result is all that matters.

It is easy for BlackLivesMatter and Palestinian-American Linda Sarsour to find common cause in this world of intersectionality. The leaders of the “moderate” Palestinian Fatah party loudly proclaim that killing Israelis is legal and rational. Any means justify a just end. Literally, anything.

From my perspective, I am both appalled and outraged. I am appalled that calls for violence are not met with calls for arrest of those who promote such actions. I am astonished that racists and antisemites are not denounced. And I am outraged that in this upside down world of alt-left extremism, that I am called the racist for pointing out the obvious.

The means do not justify the ends. The slaughter of the Jewish Fogel family in Israel by two Palestinian men was not a “natural response to the (Israeli) occupation.” The racist and antisemitic chants from Farrakhan are not “important” and celebrities should not whitewash Farrakhan’s blatant Jew-baiting with ridiculous comments that “I do not know if he is an anti-Semite.” Farrakhan’s words came out of the mouth of the man who gunned down Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue.

There are methods being deployed and defended that are beyond comprehension, let alone beyond justification. Similarly, there are people like Farrakhan who are being courted and protected who deserve neither respect nor adulation.

Disgraceful words and deeds deserve nothing more than bitter burnt ends.

Related First.One.Through articles:

Black Lives Matter Joins the anti-Israel “Progressives” Fighting Zionism

The Democratic Party is Tacking to the Far Left-Wing Anti-Semitic Fringe

Older White Men are the Most Politically Balanced Demographic By Far

Between Right-Wing and Left-Wing Antisemitism

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

Join Facebook group: FirstOne Through Israel Analysis

Brooklyn’s Holiday Donuts

Posted on by
5

Okay, so my family has a bit of an obsession about food. It’s a statement that’s always true, and it gets worse on holidays.

On Chanukah, we make an annual pilgrimage to different areas of Brooklyn, NY to sample the great donuts. Well, not really “sample” as much as devour. Here are the highlights so you can participate in the fun.

Sesame. 1540 Coney Island Ave.

The store is located on the diagonal corner from the large Pomegranate kosher food store. The donuts are simply delicious. The shelves are often wiped clean and people must wait for the fresh donuts to be brought in from the oven around the corner.

Ever eat a lemon jelly donut fresh from the oven? It’s out of this world. The hazelnut? Amazing. The Lotus and regular jelly donuts were also terrific.


Selection of jelly donuts from Sesame

Grab a cardboard box for six when you enter the store. It’s easier to handle than the large box for a dozen as you try to grab some fresh donuts as the store workers bring in the next batch. (We had two six-packs and another plastic container for two more).

Bagels N Greens. 1379 Coney Island Ave.

This store is for people looking for elaborate donuts with multiple and complex toppings. Excellent flavor at a steeper price. They also have a nice lunch menu and chairs to sit – unique among the bakeries listed here. I suggest factoring in some healthy food somewhere in the donut crawl so your kids don’t think you’re totally insane.

Ostrovitsky’s. 1124 Avenue J

Nice, clean and well lit, the holiday donuts are just one of many great things to sample here (also try the chocolate horn – yum). The Rosemarie chocolate donut was marvelous. The place is often busy, with an organized line, but definitely worth the wait.


Line at Ostrovitsky’s worth the wait

Gombos Heimishe Bakery. 328 Kingston Ave

Gombos is in Crown Heights. Over the holiday, it is ALL about the donuts; there is nothing else really going on here. Prices are the cheapest and the selection and taste is quite good. They have a good mix of dairy and pareve donuts. The place is a bit of a balagan (crazy disorder) but a required stop if you have kids and/or buying dozens of donuts.


Some of the donuts at Gombos

Those are the top four bakeries if you’re looking for exceptional donuts and a great holiday experience. Here are some others that were sampled and worth visiting:

Weiss Bakery. 5011 13th Ave

Excellent bakery. Try the rugelach or chocolate horns. The donuts are okay, not required eating during the holiday.

Taam Eden Bakery. 4603 13th Ave

Right down the block from Weiss Bakery is Taam Eden. Very nice selection of donuts at good prices.

Schreiber’s Homestyle Bakery. 3008 Avenue M

Quite close to Sesame, is a small (not as clean as one would like) but definitely delicious bakery called Schreiber’s. In addition to the pretty good and very tasty selection of donuts, are lace cookies which among the best in Brooklyn.

Mansoura Bakery. 515 Kings Highway

Mansoura is a Syrian bakery and does NOT carry donuts. They do carry some amazing baklava and other Sefaradi dishes. Note that it’s not so close to the other bakeries.


Baklava at Mansoura

Enjoy the holiday AND the food!

Related First.One.Through articles:

Today’s Inverted Chanukah: The Holiday of Rights in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

Join Facebook group: FirstOne Through Israel Analysis

 

“Free Israel” and the New Pro-Zionist Placards

Posted on by
5

There are some pro-Palestinian slogans which have become popular such as “Free Palestine.” Such language presumes that the country of Palestine exists today and is in a state of occupation by a foreign power(s). Many people believe that the contours of such “Palestine” is as it was in 1922 when the British assumed the Mandate of Palestine, or the configuration of 1924, after the British split off the land east of the Jordan River for the local Hashemite tribe which became the country known as Jordan today.

Their calls to “Free Palestine” are often accompanied by “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” This clarification of “Palestine” clearly excludes the area of “Trans-Jordan” and targets areas west of the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: Israel, Gaza and the region commonly referred to as the “West Bank.” The call for “freedom” is a call for an eradication of the Jewish State of Israel.

A CNN talking head by the name of Marc Lamont Hill made both of these calls at the United Nations this week. After he was fired from his CNN gig for the comments to destroy Israel, he poked his fingers into the cloud on Twitter and later in an article, stating that he was not calling for the killing of Jews, just the eradication of the Jewish State which should be replaced by a “bi-national” state throughout the region. Just a few sentences later he reversed that opinion calling for “a redrawing of borders to the pre-1967 lines,” seemingly suggesting that he does not want a single bi-national state in the land “from the river to the sea,” but one bi-national state in Israel and a separate purely Arab state of Palestine.

All of Lamont Hill’s comments and explanations are against a backdrop of his oft-repeated comments that the entirety of Israel is illegal, “stolen by greed and destroyed by hate,” with laws “written in the blood of the innocent.” He calls for a “revolutionary struggle” and “fight for freedom” against Israel.

This far left-wing mouthpiece was seemingly now tripping over himself as he tried to keep his job as a teacher at Temple University, and maybe have a shot at making some coin at other venues spouting his radical opinions.

His comments and explanations shed light on the various audiences which listen to such diatribes.

One group includes radical Islamists that instigate violence against the Jewish State. These forces include terrorist groups like the political party Hamas, Hizbullah and Palestine Islamic Jihad, as well as student groups like Students for Justice in Palestine. These organizations are hate groups which loudly embrace the calls of “Free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea…” in the most straightforward manner: destroy Israel.

A second group who loves these slogans are relatively more moderate and include radical progressives. They do not want to slaughter millions of Jews in Israel (ain’t that special?), but they also don’t believe that the Jews have any rights to live in “Palestine.” This group seeks to normalize the notion that Israel is an illegal enterprise and that the Arab terrorist groups are nothing more than “resistance groups” against the theft of their land and heritage.

The first group seeks a war of arms and the annihilation of Israel. The second group wants Israeli Jews neutered, without a Jewish State.

Lamont Hill’s first declaration at the UN was made for the former, the Arab and Muslim extremists that call for the eradication of the Zionist experiment.

Lamont Hill’s subsequent “clarifying” statements were for the alt-left wing, which hopes that through the normalization of extremist language and demands such as boycotts of Israeli professors and goods and calling Israel a “colonial power” which “ethnically cleanses” the land of Arabs, it can arrive at a very favorable pro-Arab result in negotiating a two-state solution. With the pro-Israel camp beginning in a middle-of-the-road position while the pro-Arab camp starting in the far extreme, a compromise would highly skew in favor of the Palestinian Arabs.

It’s clever and horrifying.

Solutions to these radical Islamist extremists’ and far left-wing progressives’ assaults on Israel are two-fold: a vigorous challenge to the slogans and people, as well as a re-positioning of the pro-Israel stance in a similar refrain. Hopefully the two-pronged approach will bring the pro-Palestinian parties towards the middle and enable an enduring peace.

Challenge the Extremist Slogans and People

Lamont Hill should not have been fired from CNN in November 2018. He should have been fired from CNN, Temple University and every other venue back in January 2015 when he reached back into the vile antisemitic screed of the Middle Ages calling a blood libel on the Jewish State, with accusations of stealing and killing the “blood of the innocent.” Where was the outcry back then?

This treatment harkens back to when the acting-President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas stood before the United Nations and denied the history and heritage of Jews in Israel, calling them “racists” and “colonial occupiers” committing “ethnic cleansing” of Arabs, to which he received a standing ovation. Abbas’s long history of Holocaust denial, vilifying Israel and promoting attacks on Jews was long ignored by the western press. It was only in April 2018 during a long-winded speech of vitriol that the media thought that maybe Abbas had gone too far. In fact, his speech included virtually all of his same antisemitic remarks he had used in the past. The only thing that was new was the sudden awareness of Abbas’s vileness.

It is incumbent on everyone to not be sanguine that the media and universities will call out the anti-Semites who are given podiums and positions of power. People must demand these voices of hate be stripped of those positions. TODAY, call and write Richard Englert, President of Temple University to remove Marc Lamont Hill. You are free to attach this article.

Richard M. Englert
President of Temple University
Second Floor, Sullivan Hall
1330 Polett Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19122

215-204-7405 (phone)
215-204-5600 (fax)
president@temple.edu

New Pro-Zionist Placards

Concurrent with calls to remove the hated language and mouthpieces, should be the re-positioning of the Israeli posture. It is time to match – or better yet, mimic – the pro-Palestinian Arab slogans. Perhaps people will appreciate the offensiveness of the long-used Arab comments.  Or it will simply provide symmetry of the two opposing sides.

Here are some examples:

  • “Free Israel.” – A call to remove all of the Arabs from the Jewish state. It seems that many Islamic extremists and left-wing progressives believe that Israel with a 25% non-Jewish population is racist anyway. Maybe they will pause and rethink their position of a Jew-free Palestine.
  • “From the River to the Sea, Israel will be free.” – A call to fully re-take Gaza and all of the “West Bank” again. Evict all Arabs to any of the dozens of Arab countries where they can enjoy the “Arab culture” which they feel Israel is destroying.
  • “Boycott Palestine / Jordan” – The country of Jordan occupies 77% of 1922 Palestine. The population there is majority Palestinian and the Queen is Palestinian. It is time to boycott this country that not only robbed the Jewish State of much of its dedicated homeland, but passed laws forbidding any Jew from obtaining citizenship. Do not visit the country and do not accept a professor to teach or lecture. Ban Jordanian/Palestinian students from participating in university exchange programs and don’t let them compete in any sort of competition.
  • “Stop the Genocide of Jews” – March in the streets calling out the car ramming attacks, the stabbings, bombings, stonings and firing at cars perpetrated by Palestinian Arab terrorists.
  • “Terrorism Palestinians” – The problem is not just with the terrorist group Hamas that attacks Israel or the Fatah party that pays money to terrorist families and names schools and squares after the killers. The Palestinian people themselves vote for these antisemitic thugs. Polls show that 93% of Palestinian Arabs are anti-Semites and other polls show that the Arabs support violence against Jewish Israelis.
  • “Stop the Arab ethnic cleansing of Jews” – Over 850,000 Jews were expelled from Arab countries since 1948. The Jordanians expelled all of the Jews from Judea and Samaria, including the eastern part of Jerusalem. Arabs continue to call for elimination of Israel, with 30 countries still refusing to acknowledge Israel’s basic existence.
  • “Stop the Seige of Israel” – Israel is under a blockade of acceptance, over 70 years after the reestablishment of the Jewish State. At this time, 30 countries still refuse to acknowledge its existence. More radicals seek to boycott Israel’s people and produce.
  • “Pray for Israel” – Israel is under siege by radical Islamic terrorists and far left-wing progressives. Fight the hate.
    • “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3
    • “Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed,
      And whoever curses Israel will be cursed.” Numbers 24:9

Israel has been under assault in the media and corridors of power, and the radical Islamists and alt-left progressives have been given tacit approval and encouragement to shout their blood libels louder. It is well past time for the pro-Zionist community to respond.

Related First.One.Through articles:

Where’s the March Against Anti-Semitism?

The Three Camps of Ethnic Cleansing in the BDS Movement

Ending Apartheid in Jerusalem

I am a Zionist. A Deep Zionist. An Amazed Zionist. A Loud Zionist.

The Anger from the Zionist Center

Students for Justice in Palestine’s Dick Pics

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

Join Facebook group: FirstOne Through Israel Analysis

 

Marking November 29 as The International Day of Solidarity with Jews Living East of the Green Line

Posted on by
6

For many years, the United Nations has chosen to mark the anniversary of the November 29, 1947 vote to partition Palestine into distinct Jewish and Arab states as a day of solidarity for only one of those groups – the Arabs.

The times they aren’t a changin’.

On November 28, 2018, the UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres spoke at the Meeting of Committee of the Inalienable Rights of Palestinian People (that’s the actual name of the group). Not only does the UN only have a unique group for the Arabs from Palestine and none for the Jews, but the UN also argues that the Arabs have “inalienable rights” to a separate country – not autonomy or self-determination – but a special unique country, which is also a right not afforded to any people anywhere on the planet.

Speaking at such a forum the day before the November 29 anniversary, Gutteres gave the audience the red meat they so covet. After calling on Israel to stop building “illegal settlements,” he added the following:

“I call on all actors, and first and foremost the leadership of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, to take bold steps and restore faith in the promise of General Assembly resolution 181, of two States living side-by-side in peace and security, fulfilling the legitimate national aspirations of both peoples, with borders based on the 1967 lines and Jerusalem as the capital of both States ‑ East Jerusalem being the capital of the Palestinian State.

It is the only way to achieve the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. It is the only option for a comprehensive and just peace, and I call on the international community to intensify its engagement and reiterate its commitment to assist Palestinians and Israelis in reaching the two-State solution.”

Moving past the absurdity that no people on the planet have inalienable rights to their own sovereign country, just to self-determination (hey, anyone want to start a country tomorrow?) it is further absurd to state that the only formula to achieve such right is based on armistice lines from a war fought over 70 years ago in which all parties agreed would NOT serve as permanent borders, and that dividing a capital city between two countries has any logic, when it is a formula only used in war-time (Berlin, Beirut, Nicosia anyone?)

But it moves past the absurd to discriminatory and antisemitic to declare that Jews should be banned from living anywhere east of that Green Line. That the only way that an Arab state could exist is to be Jew-free and controlling Judaism’s holiest location.

People who want to see peace in the region should stand firmly against this antisemitic formula for a two-state solution. A viable – and peaceful – independent Palestine could exist:

  • WITH Jews living throughout the land;
  • with borders that DO NOT follow the 1949 Armistice Lines / Green Line;
  • with BETHLEHEM, an integral part of the corpus separatum that was voted upon on November 29, 1947, as the Palestinian capital city

The world continues to declare that Palestinian Arabs have unique rights and Jews uniquely have none: Palestinian Arabs must have a distinct country; Jews must be banned from living in parts of their holy land.

It is past time to call out the insanity and antisemitism, and mark November 29 as a day of solidarity with Jews in Israel and its territories. It is time to recall:

  • that international laws of 1920 and 1922 specifically ENCOURAGED Jews to live throughout Palestine, including in Judea and Samaria which were later renamed the “West Bank”;
  • international laws and human rights laws that forbid the discrimination of anyone based on religion from being able to live in Palestine, including the West Bank and Gaza (Article 15)

These are not “right-wing” positions. These are positions based on human rights and international law.

View of Jerusalem, from Hebrew University
(photo: First.One.Through)

I stand with the rights of Jews to live throughout their holy land, including in their holiest city of Jerusalem.

Related First.One.Through articles:

Time to Dissolve Key Principles of the “Inalienable Rights of Palestinians”

The Palestinian State I Oppose

The UN’s #Alternative Facts about the 1967 Six Day War

Enduring Peace versus Peace Now

Ending Apartheid in Jerusalem

Related First.One.Through videos:

The 1967 “Borders” (music by The Kinks)

Judea and Samaria (music by Foo Fighters)

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

Join Facebook group: FirstOne Through Israel Analysis

Google to Stop Displaying Pictures of Israeli Flags in East Jerusalem and West Bank

Posted on by
2

A satire?

In response to Airbnb’s decision to not show any listings of rooms owned by Jewish Israelis (ROJI’s) for rental anymore, other technology firms have begun to rethink their position on the subject as well.

  • Google has decided to ban the display of the Israeli flag at the Kotel, as it harms the sensibilities of Arab Muslims
  • YouTube will block videos of Jews walking on the Temple Mount, as it is a core issue blocking peace in the region
  • Vice Media will only refer to Jerusalem as “Al Quds” and the Temple Mount as “The Al Aqsa Compound” to avoid offending 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide
  • Uber will no longer pick up any Jews in the West Bank
  • Spotify will only play Arabic songs in the Middle East, to keep the Arab culture pure
  • Expedia will only list hotels owned by non-Jews in Israel and the West Bank, to show its stance in opposition to Jewish colonialism
  • Amazon will only sell books which refer to the entirety of Gaza, the West Bank and Israel as “Palestine”
  • Facebook declared that the pages of Hamas and Islamic Jihad will both be reinstated and that of the Zionist Organization of America will be blocked
  • Netflix announced the cancellation of “Fauda” and will replace it with a new show called “Jihad”
  • Apple will no longer buy any Israeli technology companies that help the “occupation”
  • Microsoft said that it’s Skype program will no longer be available to any Zionists, as determined by an algorithm embedded in its operating system
  • Intel is working on a patch to its Mobileye business that will disable all safety features if a Jew or Zionist is driving

The United Nations and The New York Times noted that these were already established policies so did not need to make any updates or changes.

Related First.One.Through articles:

“Protocols of the Elders of Zion – The Musical”

Ben & Jerry’s New Flavor: Milano Zio

Israel’s Kite Business Gets a Second Wind

Fun With Cause-and-Effect: Gaza Border Protests

Netanyahu’s Doctoral Thesis on the Nakba

Palestinian Job Fair for Peace

Silwan Circulars, Christmas 2014

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

Join Facebook group: FirstOne Through Israel Analysis

Ben & Jerry’s New Flavor: Milano Zio

Posted on by
8

A satire.

Ben & Jerry’s unveiled its latest ice cream called “Pecan Resist,” a flavor that pays homage to the anti-Trump movement. The company’s founders announced that proceeds from sales of Pecan Resist will go to benefit four progressive groups including the Women’s March. The cover of the ice cream packaging includes illustrations of the organizers of the Women’s March, including those whom are fiercely anti-Zionist and proudly associate with antisemites including Louis Farrakhan.

Being progressive capitalists at heart, Ben & Jerry’s has opted to sell yet another flavor trying to appeal to progressives who aren’t antisemites. It is called “Milano Zio,” named after Alyssa Milano who refuses to be associated with the Women’s March until its promoters Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory condemn Farrakhan.

While Pecan Resist was mostly dark with chocolate ice cream and included an assortment of nuts, Milano Zio will be made of vanilla ice cream with pieces of Milano cookies to add a drop of color and crunch. A small sliced carrot will sit atop the ice cream, as a shout out to gefilte fish.

Asked by reporters why they decided to launch a new flavor trying to appeal to Jews and Zionists, the ice cream makers directed them to look at the message on the container. It reads:

“Together we can build a more just and equitable tomorrow. Just as Pecan Resist can foster a future that values inclusivity, equality, and justice for people of color, women, the LGBTQ community, refugees, and immigrants, we believe that there is a place in the world for Jews and a Jewish State. However, as progressives, we dare not include these people with our general message of inclusivity.”

Asked for clarification on what the statement meant, the Ben & Jerry’s spokesman said: “The Black Lives Matter and Women’s March were completely against the Jews and Zionists being included in our peaceful message so we needed to handle them separately.”

Like the small number of Jews and tiny State of Israel, the Milano Zio flavor will only be sold in a new quarter pint size.

Proceeds from the sale of Milano Zio will go to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Hospital’s new center for lactose intolerance.

Related First.One.Through articles:

Where’s the March Against Anti-Semitism?

Don Lemon, Here are Some Uncomfortable Facts about Hate Crimes in America

Fun With Cause-and-Effect: Gaza Border Protests

Israel’s Kite Business Gets a Second Wind

Silwan Circulars, Christmas 2014

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

Join Facebook group: FirstOne Through  Israel Analysis

Don Lemon, Here are Some Uncomfortable Facts about Hate Crimes in America

Posted on by
17

In the immediate aftermath of the antisemitic massacre of Jews in Pittsburgh in October 2018, CNN went through an effort to explain to its audience the nature of hatred. In truth, it just revealed the nature of its own biases.

Don Lemon, a ubiquitous talking head for CNN made the following comment in an exchange with Chris Cuomo, another anchor:

“So, we have to stop demonizing people and realize the biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized to the right, and we have to start doing something about them. There is no travel ban on them. There is no ban on — you know, they had the Muslim ban. There is no white guy ban”

Let’s put aside the racist comment on its face for a moment, something that could have emerged from the mouth of Louis Farrakhan. Let’s simply examine the data as compiled every year by the FBI regarding hate crimes in the USA.

Factual Review

The FBI tracks who commits crimes by race and ethnicity, and white people did commit more crimes than any other racial group in 2016. But there are also many more white people than other racial groups, so the absolute comparison needs context. As there are roughly 5.7 times more white people than black people, one would expect 5.7 times more black offenders as well.

Hate Crimes Against a Person, 2016

 Population  Offender Frequency
White   248,484,663       2,197     113,102
Black     42,975,891       1,117        38,474
Hispanic     57,516,606          214     268,769

According to the FBI, 2,197 white people in America committed a hate crime and 1,117 black people committed a hate crime, almost twice the number of attacks. However, when accounting for the size of each group, the numbers conclude that an average black person was three times more likely to commit a hateful attack against a person than a white person (one hate crime attack for every 38,000 black people and one attack for every 113,000 white people).

Overall, violent crime in the United States has been in a decline for over a decade according to the FBI. The exceptions were spikes in violent crime in 2012, 2015 and 2016. This would seemingly undermine the accusation that Donald Trump is the reason for more violence in America, as violent crime actually declined in 2017.

Change in Number of Violent Crimes

Years  Change 
2016/17 -0.8%
2015/16 5.3%
2014/15 1.7%
2013/14 -4.6%
2012/13 -5.4%
2011/12 1.9%
2010/11 -6.4%
2009/10 -6.2%
2008/09 -4.4%
2007/08 -3.5%

As it relates, to Jews, many of the alt-left progressive wing have charged that Jews are part of the white privileged class. The likes of Linda Sarsour and Melissa Harris-Perry defend Louis Farrakhan’s antisemitism because they don’t believe that Farrakhan has any power or influence so his comments are therefore innocuous against a privileged group of Jews.

But the facts tell a different story.

Hate Crimes Against Different Groups, 2016

 Population  Victims Frequency
White   248,484,663          909     273,360
Black     42,975,891       2,220        19,359
Hispanic     57,516,606          483     119,082
Jewish       5,300,000          862          6,148
Muslim       3,450,000          388          8,892
LGBT     10,000,000       1,386          7,215

An average Jew is the most likely to experience a hate crime than any other group – more than blacks, Muslims or the LGBT community. Even more telling, an average Jew is 45 times more likely to experience a hate crime than an average white person.

Jews are clearly not experiencing America like most white Americans.

Coming back to the initial charge of Don Lemon about white men being terrorists on the back of the antisemitic massacre in Pittsburgh, it is useful to look at the perpetrators of antisemitic crimes through the years.

Antisemitic Attacks by Race of Attacker

Year Incidents White Black White Black
2016 834 389 118 47% 14%
2015 695 121 31 17% 4%
2014 635 87 20 14% 3%
2013 689 143 35 21% 5%
2012 696 101 20 15% 3%
2011 820 139 16 17% 2%
2010 922 134 25 15% 3%
2009
2008 1055 176 20 17% 2%

The table above is compiled from several FBI reports about hate crimes through the years. A few trends are important to review:

  1. Crimes against Jews are increasing since 2015. After many years of seeing a decline in the number of antisemitic crimes (no data was released in 2009), attacks inched up in 2015 and spiked much higher in 2016. (2017 data is not yet published by the FBI).
  2. An average black person has become much more likely to be the attacker against a Jew. Until 2012, the ratio of antisemitic attacks from whites and blacks were roughly what would be expected. That began to change in 2013 when black assailants began to overtake whites at a statistically significant level. In 2016, the proportion of black attackers spiked again by almost double.
  3. More antisemitic attacks against persons. Through 2015, roughly 30% of attacks against Jews were against their person, while 70% were against property. In 2016, the percentage jumped to 37% of personal attacks. As there were more personal attacks, the identity of the attacker became apparent.

To summarize, the number of antisemitic attacks has indeed been increasing, but more and more of the attacks are coming from blacks, not whites. That is also true generally about all hate attacks, that black people are much more likely to be the assailant. Lastly, violent crimes against Jews have definitely spiked since 2015, (perhaps correlated with Donald Trump’s run for the presidency), but overall, hate crimes have not.

Opinion Review

The progressive media has been hiring greater numbers of minorities who harbor anti-white attitudes. Don Lemon’s comments are not unique.

The New York Times hired a noted racist Sarah Jeong who has proudly posted tweets “White men are bullshit,” “#CancelWhitePeople,” “white people marking up the internet with their opinions like dogs pissing on fire hydrants” and “Oh man it’s kind of sick how much joy I get out of being cruel to old white men.” The New York Times was unperturbed. It claimed she was just mimicking the attacks against her and she apologized.

Marc Lamont Hill, another commentator on CNN often makes disparaging comments about Israel (saying that the country has no right to exist). Hill, Lemon, Sarsour and others are all part of a left-wing movement which believes that racism can only exist when it is coupled with institutional power. Therefore, any minority – especially those that are under-represented in positions of power like blacks and Muslims in the United States – cannot be considered racist. As the minority, they stand in the position of the oppressed. Any violent actions which they commit are simply “punching up,” trying to level the unfair playing field, which is a primary goal of progressives.

The pairing of the argument that no black person can be racist, is that all white people benefit from white privilege and inherently take advantage of a racist American society. For blacks and Muslims which view Jews as whites – and very powerful ones at that, controlling the banks and media – Jews can never be truly seen as victims.

So Jews are murdered. Again. The neo-Nazis are taking aim at Jews. Again.

And now, for the first time, blacks in America are broadly taking aim at Jews as well, with the smug support of alt-left progressives.

Related First.One.Through articles:

Between Right-Wing and Left-Wing Antisemitism

Farrakhan’s Democrats

Covering Racism

What Kind of Hate Kills?

CNN’s Politicization of Antisemitic Murder

NY Times, NY Times, What Do You See? It Sees Rich White Males

Where’s the March Against Anti-Semitism?

Politicians React to Vile and Vulgar Palestinian Hatred

Fact Check Your Assumptions on American Racism

New York Times Finds Racism When it Wants

Abbas Knows Racism

When Only Republicans Trust the Police

Racist Calls of Apes and Pigs? Forget Rosanne. Let’s Talk Islam

In the Shadow of the Holocaust, The New York Times Fails to Flag Muslim Anti-Semitism

Black People are Homophobic

If a Black Muslim Cop Kills a White Woman, Does it Make a Sound?

 

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

 

 

Murdered Jews as Political Fodder at Election Season in America and Always in Israel

Posted on by
4

The senseless death of innocent people is always a tragedy.

The deliberate murder of people in a house of prayer born out of hatred is pure evil.

And when the heinous act is coupled by the murderer’s proud chants of annihilation, decent people of the world cannot help but be sickened.

Unless it is election season in America, or every day in the Middle East.

Neighbors React:
Non-Jews in the Middle East and in America

The slaughter of Jews praying in a synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA in October 2018 is reminiscent of the murder of rabbis in the Har Nof neighborhood in northwestern Jerusalem in 2014. Two Arab terrorists walked into a shul clutching an axe and butcher cleaver shouting “Alahu Akbar,” while worshipers were reciting the silent Amidah prayer. They killed five people.

Here is how the Arab neighbors reacted to the crime, as reported from Australia:

 “A reporter from the Israeli television network, Channel 2, went to the Arab neighbourhood of Jabel Mukaber in the south-eastern pocket of the city [Jerusalem], where the two terrorists had lived, to gauge the reaction of the Palestinian residents to the atrocity. The reporter said he could not find a single person to condemn the attack. Instead, the murders were praised and celebrated.

The Jordanian parliament observed a minute’s silence – in honour of the terrorists. Palestinian media was awash with cartoons and graphics lauding the slayings. Hamas called the attack “heroic.” Several employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), employed as teachers by the U.N., praised the murders as “wonderful revenge” and prayed for the terrorists to be accepted in “paradise” as “martyrs.” On the streets of Gaza and in the West Bank, sweets were handed out in celebration and loudspeakers used for calls to prayer were blaring words of praise for the murderers.”


Victim in Har Nof slaughter, 2014

Fortunately, in the United States, the hatred of Jews is neither so open nor widespread as in the Middle East. Jew and non-Jew acted as one in condemning the anti-Semitic act. The American Muslim community raised money for the victims’ families and survivors.

In America, Jews are considered fellow citizens; people who are friends and neighbors. People, all bound in common humanity.

However in Israel, Jews are not viewed as people, but as Zionists. Many non-Jewish neighbors see them as occupiers who do not belong in the land. The slaughter of Jews praying quietly to their God is a welcome farewell to the aliens who descended on Arab land.

Shockingly, that view is not just held by non-Jews in Israel about Israeli Jews, but also by non-Jews in America about Israeli Jews.

One of the Muslim groups that raised money for the Pittsburgh Jewish community was MPower Change, co-founded by vocal anti-Zionist Linda Sarsour. Sarsour has condemned anyone associated with Israel and rebuked anyone attempting to “humanize” Israelis.

Anti-Zionists in the Middle East and around the world are not against some policies of the government of Israel; they are against the presence of Jews in their holy land.

The United Nations Reacts

The murder of Jewish worshipers should be easy to condemn clearly and unequivocally, even in the swamp of politics that is the United Nations.

And it was… in the case of Jews being killed in the United States. The UN said of the killings in Pittsburgh:

“The Secretary-General is deeply shocked at and strongly condemns the shooting today at the Tree of Life Congregation synagogue in Pittsburgh in the United States.  He expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the victims.

The shooting in Pittsburgh is a painful reminder of continuing anti-Semitism.  Jews across the world continue to be attacked for no other reason than their identity.  Anti-Semitism is a menace to democratic values and peace and should have no place in the twenty-first century.

The Secretary-General calls for a united front — bringing together authorities at all levels, civil society, religious and community leaders, and the public at large — to roll back the forces of racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hatred, bigotry, discrimination and xenophobia gaining strength in many parts of the world.”

What a difference from the statement from the Secretary General in 2014 after the slaughter in the synagogue in Har Nof:

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns today’s attack on a synagogue in West Jerusalem which claimed four lives and injured several persons. He extends his condolences to the families of the victims and wishes the injured a speedy recovery.

Beyond today’s reprehensible incident, clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces continue on a near daily basis in many parts of East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Secretary-General condemns all acts of violence against civilians. Attacks against religious sites in Jerusalem and the West Bank point to an additional dangerous dimension to the conflict which reverberates far beyond the region.

The Secretary-General calls for political leadership and courage on both sides to take actions to address the very tense situation in Jerusalem. All sides must avoid using provocative rhetoric which only encourages extremist elements. In this regard, the Secretary-General welcomes President Abbas’ condemnation of today’s attack.

The steadily worsening situation on the ground only reinforces the imperative for leaders on both sides to make the difficult decisions that will promote stability and ensure long-term security for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

A single bland comment about the butchering of Jews. And then politics, politics, politics.

The 2014 UN statement was almost a blessing for the violence as it rationalized the cold-blooded murder of innocents. It politicized their deaths. For the UN, there was no anti-Semitism in Arabs walking into a house of Jewish prayer yelling “Allahu Akbar” chopping up Jews. Just a political dispute in which the UNSG called upon “both sides to take actions.”

Seriously? “Both sides?”

The world came down harshly on President Trump for his statement after the Charlottesville neo-Nazi march and protest that equated the two sides after a person was run over in the confrontation. Yet not one media outlet, not one political party, not one organized or spontaneous protest was launched against the vile statement by the UN Secretary General who equivocated about the deliberate anti-Jewish intent of the Arab terrorists.

Politicization of Murdered Jews

Decent people are rightly outraged at the politicization of the killings in Pittsburgh. There is a desire to mourn and show solidarity for the victims, and to show anger against the hatred that fueled the meditation massacre. People did not want to hear the anti-Republican theatrics before election season, which CNN did.

Americans object to victims being used as pawns to score political points. They note that the people in the synagogue were 100% innocent and the murderer was fueled by pure evil. Dragging politics into such a dynamic was ugly. Even for politics, it was horrid.

However, when it comes to Jews living in Israel, there is seemingly no compunction in politicizing their murders. For anti-Zionists, a Jew living in Israel cannot be viewed as an innocent person in their homes. The basic fact that a Jew has the temerity of being in Israel is an affront. An Israeli Jew cannot be innocent of anything, even standing in prayer.

For the anti-Zionists, like former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon who made the vile statement in 2014, Israeli Jews are inherently a problem. Their physical presence in the land is an anti-Arab declaration. Without a word, without a step, Jews in Israel defy Arab sensibilities. These Jews are not like other Jews around the world. They really don’t belong.

Outside of Israel, Jews are just Jews. People who want them dead or gone are clearly identified as anti-Semites to be condemned. But in Israel, anti-Zionists consider every Jew as inherently anti-Arab, so the desire to kill Jews or expel them is something “natural” as the Arabs “resist” the interlopers in their midst. It is not the Arab that is an anti-Semite, it is the Israeli Jew who is anti-Arab.

People in America are rightfully angered at the politicization of slaughtered Jews before election season. Imagine how Israeli Jews feel every day.

Related First.One.Through article:

Nicholas Kristof’s “Arab Land”

New York Times Lies about the Gentleness of Zionism

It is Time to Insert “Jewish” into the Names of the Holy Sites

The Hebron Narratives: Is it the Presence of Jews or the Israeli Military

Germans have “Schadenfreude” Jews have “Alemtzev”

Abbas’s Speech and the Window into Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism

The New York Times Inverts the History of Jerusalem

A Response to Rashid Khalidi’s Distortions on the Balfour Declaration

What Kind of Hate Kills?

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

 

Between Right-Wing and Left-Wing Antisemitism

Posted on by
14

The world has always had people with a wide variety of opinions, and indeed, a wide variety of hatreds. Antisemitism, the oldest of human hatreds, is no different, and has taken on new forms in modern times.

Right-Wing Antisemitism

For thousands of years, Jews were persecuted as “the Other.” They were viewed suspiciously as foreigners by lay-people and demonized for not believing in the preferred prophets by religious leaders. Some countries simply took advantage of the small, weak status of Jews, and engaged in “practical antisemitism” for financial reasons – either to seize their property or to get out of debt which was owed to Jews.

The historic antisemitism was shepherded by popes and kings, local townspeople and crusaders. The manifestation of the hatred was murder and expulsion.

The slaughter of Jews was common in Europe and Russia for hundreds of years, and often rationalized by manufactured excuses (such as blood libels) and effected via torture. The expulsion and “ghetto-ization” of Jews was another means to rid communities of these unwanted Jews.


“The Street of Jews” in Old Strasbourg, France
(photo: First.One.Through)

This was – and continues to be – the nature of right-wing antisemitism: the hatred for the foreigner/ the Other. It continues to exist as people and governments do not internalized that their Jewish neighbors are indeed, their neighbors, and entitled to every protection and rights of citizenship like everyone else.

Left-Wing Antisemitism

Left-wing antisemitism is a newer phenomenon. As part of the liberal camp, the alt-left began with a broad humanistic view of the world. People of all races and religions were welcomed and embraced. Humankind bound all of us together. It was a world vision encapsulated in John Lennon’s song “Imagine,” in which divisions and borders – literal and figurative – ceased to exist. The common collective would live in global harmony.

Such a vision would naturally lead one to conclude that antisemitism is antithetical to such construct. A “brotherhood of man” cannot hate anyone. But time has proven the premise untrue.

The far left-wing of the liberal camp believes that everyone must adhere to their philosophy. ALL national borders, ALL religions, ALL differences based on money or class must be eradicated. Society must be re-imagined and flattened. Man-made artificial differences must be stripped away, so we can embrace our God-given differences such as race and gender. The far left has a quest and insistence on an imagined universal natural order and the shunning of any particular human order.

And so begets left-wing antisemitism.

  • While right-wing anti-Semites hate Jews for not believing in Jesus, the left-wing anti-Semites hate Jews for believing in religion.
  • While right-wing anti-Semites will pass laws banning circumcision and ritual slaughter of animals to get rid of Jews, the left-wing will implement the same policies out of secular, humanistic concerns.
  • While right-wing anti-Semites don’t want Jews to live in their country, the left-wing anti-Semites don’t want Jews to have a country (Israel).
  • While right-wing anti-Semites will actively murder Jews, the left-wing anti-Semites refuse to protect Jews (read article about how left-wing gay activists fight against providing police protection for Jewish day schools).

The alt-left dislikes Jews for holding on to their particular identity and hates Zionists for holding on to their particular history and heritage. Only a Jew that embraces the universal and sheds the particular (like non-Orthodox Jewish liberals) have a place in their left-wing fringe world.

The Silent Majority?

Today, Jews are caught between two growing and angry mobs on the extremes. They know the history of what the right-wing will do if it obtains power, and are intelligent enough to see the how the left-wing will strip their identities completely.

When liberals attacked President Trump for saying that there were good people on both sides of the Charlottesville, VA neo-Nazi march and protest in August 2017, they were correct in remonstrating him that there is no good in people who shout “Jews will not replace us.” But the alt-left was wrong in thinking that using violence as appropriate. Jews seek a peaceful place to pursue life, liberty and happiness. They do not want any violence and will not embrace the vision of either the alt-right or alt-left. One side vilifying the other wins no Jewish converts; Jews are wary of both extremist sides.

How can people reverse the trend and bring people back to the silent – and peaceful – middle? What can stop the Democratic Party from being hijacked by liberals who are becoming more and more extremist? How can the Republican Party – already shrinking – stop from sliding to the alt-right?

There are a number of ideas which have bandied about beyond the scope of this article, which include changing the electoral primary system which tends to feed the extremist base, to firmly establishing and protecting laws to protect individual liberties.

In the day-to-day, it is challenging to live as an open and proud Jew and Zionist in much of the world, for fear of being attacked by both the far-right and the far-left. For people who care about antisemitism, fight the extremists on BOTH sides. Never vote for fringe candidates and do not give them forums.

And do not follow the footsteps of either the alt-left or alt-right: Respect every particular and shun the enforced universal.

Related First.One.Through articles:

Ramifications of Ignoring American Antisemitism

Your Father’s Anti-Semitism

Fact Check Your Assumptions on American Racism

When Hate Returns

Unity – not Uniformity – in the Pro-Israel Tent

The Happy and Smug Bigots of Denmark

The Non-Orthodox Jewish Denominations Fight Israel

Related First.One.Through video:

1001 Years of Expulsions (Schindler’s List)

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

CNN’s Politicization of Antisemitic Murder

Posted on by
9

The heinous slaughter of Jews praying quietly in synagogue on their Sabbath is an abomination in every way. It is not just appalling because innocent people were killed, but that the murderer’s rationale was based on the hatred of Jews.

It is right and proper for society to prosecute the killer and explore ways to keep such crimes from happening again. What is not Okay is for politicians and the media to turn the tragedy into political points.

But politics has become a “win-by-any-means” endeavor these days, for the politicians AND the media.

CNN posted an article on October 29, 2018 called “The Pittsburgh killings targeted Jews — and America’s soul.” The important sentiment of the title hides the contents of the article which could have a sub-header “Republicans are the reason for hatred and murder in America.” It was an article specifically drafted to place the blame for the murder, and antisemitism in America generally, at the foot of the Republican party.

Some quotes from the piece:

  • “It is an increasingly urgent question whether President Donald Trump’s deliberately divisive politics may be giving license to extremists.”
  • “[Trump] has consciously stoked national divides, adopting a brand of politics that uses racial, nationalist rhetoric, rails against immigrants and refugees and equivocates about extremism — including after violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which white supremacist marchers chanted anti-Jewish slogans and a woman protesting their presence was killed.”
  • “[Trump] has used tropes and language known to appeal to a tiny minority of extremists who might contemplate violence. Trump has recently taken to proclaiming he is a “nationalist” and berated “globalists” — two designations that have innocent connotations in some contexts but are also recognized as code words by anti-Semites.”
  • “Recent years have seen a rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the country and the use of coded anti-Semitic imagery in material by right-wing politicians, including some prominent members of the Republican Party.”
  • “In 2016, a closing Trump campaign advertisement blasting a global establishment elite portrayed three people as villains alongside Hillary Clinton: billionaire liberal financier George Soros, former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and Lloyd Blankfein, the chairman of Goldman Sachs. All are Jewish.”
  • “Hints of anti-Semitism are also evident in some other GOP messaging.”
  • “Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy this week deleted a tweet accusing Soros,former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Tom Steyer of trying to buy the midterm elections for Democrats, after a bomb was mailed by a Trump supporter to Soros. All three men are Jewish or of Jewish descent.”
  • “Iowa GOP Rep. Steve King recently endorsed Faith Goldy, a nationalist running for mayor in Toronto, who claims Canada is facing a “white genocide” and who has promoted anti-Jewish material.”

CNN posted an impressive list of Republicans giving space for antisemitism. While none of the people actually said anything about Jews or Judaism, CNN suggested that calling out people who were Jewish or activity which could be interpreted as Jewish, was giving space for antisemitism.

Picture alongside CNN’s article on anti-Semitic mass murder showing a smirking
President Trump with a caption “Related Article: How Trump’s nationalism
has already changed the world“
Not a single Democrat was included in CNN’s list.

If it cared to be balanced and actually address the issue of antisemitism in political discourse, CNN could have listed any of the following:

Democratic Antisemitism

  • D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) said that the Jews control the weather so they can get rich: “D.C. keep talking about, ‘We a resilient city.’ And that’s a model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters they can pay for to own the cities, man. Be careful.”
  • New York City Democrat Thomas Lopez Pierre went on a tirade against “Jewish landlords engaged in ethnic cleansing” in a promotional video.
  • There is a long list of Democratic members of Congress who have embraced notorious anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan, including Keith Ellison (MN) and Maxine Waters (CA).

Democratic Anti-Zionism

Many current and recent Democratic officials and those Democrats running for office have platforms that are against or vilify the only Jewish country:

  • Democratic former Secretary of State John Kerry said that Israel risks becoming an “apartheid state” if it doesn’t get to a peace deal with Palestinian Arabs. He said nothing of the Palestinian Authority’s open demand of a country free of any Jews.
  • New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand praised anti-Zionist Linda Sarsour without qualification.
  • New York Democratic candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said that Israel occupies Palestinian land, “massacres” Palestinian protesters, and is aligned with a movement that calls for boycotting Israel
  • Detroit candidate Rashida Tlaib is a proud supporter of the boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel campaign.
  • Minnesota candidate Ilhan Omar has called Israel an “apartheid regime.“
  • In Virginia, Leslie Cockburn is running for Congress. She wrote a book that claims Israel controls America’s foreign policy – a particular strain of antisemitism that foments hatred in wide sections of America
  • In Pennsylvania, Democrat Scott Wallace’s charity gave $300,000 to pro-Israel boycott organizations
  • There were 58 members of Congress who walked out on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress in 2015. Every one was a Democrat.
  • Left wing group MoveOn.org and several Democratic members of Congress condemned President Trump recognition of the fact that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, essentially calling it an act of war.
  • 2016 Democratic nominee for president and current Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders aligned himself with Cornel West, a loud critic of Israel
  • The Democratic party gutted its 2012 platform about Israel, getting rid of prior platform statements which: called Hamas a terrorist group; said that Palestinian refugees would be settled in Palestine, not Israel; specifically said that borders would NOT be on the 1967 lines; and that Jerusalem would remain the capital of Israel.

CNN opted to remain silent on every one of these Democrat’s comments.

CNN was clearly not looking to have a discussion about politicians fomenting antisemitism; it’s aim was to place the blame for antisemitism solely on the Republican party.

Perhaps CNN should look at itself, and its own reporters like Marc Lamont Hill, whom it describes as “one of the leading intellectual voices in the country.” Here is Hill’s video about his visit to Nazareth in Israel – not the West Bank or Gaza, but unquestionably Israel according to everyone except for rabid anti-Zionists. He refused to recognize the existence of Israel an called it “Palestine,” “a land stolen by greed and destroyed by hate… we stand by the people who courageously struggle and resist the occupation.”

CNN has become a mouthpiece for radical left-wing anti-Zionists, and it now lambasts Republicans as anti-Semites in a moment of Jewish grief. It is beyond pathetic. It is reprehensible.

Related First.One.Through articles:

What Kind of Hate Kills?

CNN Makes Clear the Attackers and Victims in Gaza-Israel Fight

CNN Will Not Report Islamic Terrorism

CNN’s Embrace of Hamas

Names and Narrative: CNN’s Temple Mount/ Al Aqsa Complex Inversion

Leading Gay Activists Hate Religious Children

This July 4, I am Leaving the Democratic Party that Left Me Long Ago

First.One.Through video:

CNN Calls out a Massacre in Jenin, even though it is Israelis who are killed (music by Gorecki) What is really proportionate?

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough