Examining Ilhan Omar’s Point About Muslim Antisemitism

Posted on March 14, 2019 by First.One.Through

Rep. Ilhan Omar made several comments which were widely viewed as antisemitic in her first weeks in office. As part of her defense, she offered the following:

“what I am fearful of is that because [Rep.] Rashida [Tlaib] and I are Muslim, that a lot of Jewish colleagues, a lot of our Jewish constituents, a lot of our allies, go to thinking that everything we say about Israel, to be anti-Semitic, because we are Muslim.”

Omar claimed that people – Jews in particular – think that she is more inclined to be anti-Semitic because she is Muslim. Why would she make that accusation? Are Jews particularly paranoid about Muslims?

The New York Times decided to write a large article about AIPAC because of Omar’s comments attacking the pro-Israel lobby in an article called “Ilhan Omar’s Criticism Raises the Question: Is AIPAC Too Powerful?” on March 4, 2019. Perhaps the Times will soon do a follow up article asking whether Jews really know how to ‘hypnotize‘ the world the way that Omar also claimed.

As The New York Times goes through great lengths to not label Muslims or Palestinian Arabs as anti-Semites (only Israelis are racists), the paper will likely never examine this other charge made by Omar. So it is worth doing such analysis here to see if either of Omar’s assumption are correct: that Muslims are particularly anti-Semitic or that Jews unfairly think that Muslims are anti-Semitic.

Muslim Anti-Zionism

Before investigating Muslim antisemitism, let’s consider whether there is a poisonous Muslim anti-Zionism that is more acute than Christian, Hindu or other religions approach to the Jewish State, since Omar claimed that the essence of her attacks were really against Israel, not Jews.

Attacking Israel in many wars. From the very beginning of the modern state of Israel, EVERY WAR Israel has fought has been against Muslim countries which have attacked it, including Egypt; Jordan; Syria; Lebanon; and Iraq
Not recognizing Israel. Ever. There are 30 Muslim countries that still do not recognize the basic existence of Israel. This has been a consistent theme from before the 1967 war, going all of the way back to 1948.
Labeling “Zionism is Racism.” The Organization of Islamic Corporation (OIC) is a bloc of 57 Muslim-majority countries. These countries routinely press for resolutions at the United Nations against Israel. They were behind the infamous “Zionism is Racism” resolution passed at the UN in 1973.
Promoting BDS, including for athletes and academia. Muslim countries routinely bar Israelis from attending international sporting events and academic symposiums. When Israelis do compete, the Muslim host countries often do not display the Israeli flag or play the Israeli national anthem when Israelis win. Oftentimes, athletes from Muslim countries refuse to compete against Israelis.

Muslim nations have attacked Israel physically and economically since the re-establishment of the Jewish State in 1948. The Muslim-majority countries also attempt to dismantle Israel diplomatically at the United Nations and lobby Israel’s major sponsor, the United States, to abandon the cause of the Jewish State. The Muslim country assaults are in sharp contrast to non-Muslim nations which almost all have diplomatic relations and are active trading partners with Israel.

CHECK. Muslims are much more anti-Zionist than non-Muslims.

Muslim Antisemitism

Beyond the Muslim attacks against the Jewish State, how have Muslims treated Jews over the past century?

Muslim and Arab countries routed their Jewish populations after 1948. After the founding of the modern Jewish State, Muslim countries actively persecuted their Jewish – not Israeli – but Jewish citizens. One million Jews were forced to leave Muslim countries from Morocco to Iran from 1948 to the 1970’s.
Muslim-majority countries most anti-Semitic (2014 ADL poll). The Anti-Defamation League conducted a global poll of antisemitism in 2014 and 2015. People in Muslim majority countries held much more anti-Jewish views than other countries. The worst were Palestinian Arabs at 93% hating Jews, followed by Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Algeria and Tunisia with scores of 92%, 88%, 87%, 87% and 86%, respectively. By way of comparison, Christian majority countries like Ireland (which has many anti-Israel laws) scored 20%, Denmark 9% and Australia 14%.
Muslims more antisemitic where they are minority (2015 ADL poll). The ADL refined their study the following year and broke down the people by their religion inside Christian-majority countries. In every instance, whether for France, Italy or Germany, Muslims were two to five times more likely to harbor anti-Jewish attitudes than non-Muslims.
Imams in Europe calling for death to Jews. Islamic religious leaders in Europe have called for attacks against Jews
Islamic radicals target Jews in Europe. While Muslim terrorists had a terrible reason for killing people working at the Charlie Hebdo magazine in France, they had only one reason – antisemitism – to go out of their way to kill people at a small kosher supermarket. Other targeted actions include a Muslim terrorist shooting up a Jewish museum in Belgium, and the murder of elderly Jews by Muslims in France.
Jews joining alt-right parties in Europe to stem Muslim tide. The persistent Muslim antisemitism has caused Jews to begin joining alt-Right parties – in Germany of all places. The immediate danger for Jews is clearly believed to be from Muslims, not racist Christians.
Pakistan-India terrorists went out of way to attack Chabad (2008). The Muslim antisemitism is not confined to MENA or Europe. When Muslim terrorists launched an enormous attack in Mumbai India in 2008, they went out of their way to a small Jewish Chabad house just to torture and kill the few Jews who lived in the city.
American Muslim antisemitism. The radical Islamic Jew hatred is found in the United States as well. The leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, has repeatedly slandered Jews and Judaism.
“Sons of Apes and Pigs” in the Koran. Unfortunately, many of these Islamic radicals who harbor deep antisemitism look to the Koran to defend their screed. They point to passages in their holy scriptures that call Jews names and demand that they be killed.

Antisemitism is prevalent in both Muslim majority countries and among Muslims who live in Christians countries.

CHECK. Muslims are much more antisemitic than non-Muslims around the world.

Palestinian Antisemitism

Some people who attack Israel do so because they feel that Israel mistreats Palestinians. They have argued that the Israel-Palestinian Conflict is simply one about land and has nothing to do with a clash of religions. Or to be more clear, they believe Palestinian Arabs don’t hate Jews, just the group of foreigners who took over their land.

Below is a review whether Palestinians hate the Jewish State, hate Jews and Judaism, or simply want to have independence and sovereignty, with no hatred at all (perhaps just frustration).

Ottoman, British, Egyptian and Jordanian versus Israeli control. If one chooses to adopt the Palestinian narrative, that the Arabs of Palestine have always been a distinct people and nation which were just “occupied” throughout their history by Ottomans for 500 years (Muslims, not Arabs), then British for a few decades, then by Egypt in Gaza (1949-67) and by Jordan in the “West Bank” (1949-67), why did the Palestinians NEVER revolt and attack any of those Muslim occupiers? Why did they suddenly take up arms against Jews?
Palestinian Law forbids the sale of land to Jews. Palestinian law – still on the books – calls for a death sentence for any Palestinian who sells land to a Jew. Not an Israeli Arab- just Jews, Israeli or otherwise.
The founding Hamas Charter is the most anti-Semitic political document ever written. The Islamic terrorist group Hamas combined the most vile parts of the infamous forgery Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the worst possible reading of the Koran to establish its mantra to kill the Jews of the world who foment global anarchy. With that antisemitic platform, Palestinians elected Hamas to 58% of their parliament. The head of Hamas would win an election for president if held today according to polls.
The president of the Palestinian authority is a Holocaust Denier. The current head of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, wrote his doctoral thesis on a particularly noxious form of Holocaust denial which says that Zionists conspired with the Nazis to make things horrible for the Jews in Europe so they would move to Palestine. (The Jewish Zionists instigated the Holocaust of their fellow Jews – just imagine how inhumane they would treat non-Jews!)
Abbas denies many elements of Jewish history in the holy land. Abbas enjoys making speeches before journalists and the United Nations General Assembly denying the connection of Jews to their holy land:
- He denies that Jews have lived in Israel for thousands of years
- He denies that the two Jewish Temples sat on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem
- He denies that Jews have been the majority of the population of Jerusalem since the 1860’s
- He claims that Jesus was a Palestinian, rather than a Jew
- He claims that Palestinians are descendants of Canaanites in an attempt to pre-date Jewish claims to the land, even though the descendants of the Canaanites are Lebanese (the historic holy land included southern Lebanon and Syria)
Abbas said that Great Britain promoted the Balfour Declaration to get rid of its Jews. Adding yet more insult to injury, Abbas said that not only do the Jews lack any history and rights to Israel, the only reason that the Balfour Declaration was made was that the English hated their Jews and were looking to get rid of them. (it’s not just us, they’re bad people!)
Palestinians deny Jewish rights to worship. Muslims – including Ottomans, Jordanians and Palestinians – have routinely tried to obliterate Jewish history and deny Jewish rights to pray:
- For centuries, the Ottomans (then Jordanians) denied Jews the right to pray at Judaism’s second holiest location, the Cave of the Jewish Patriarchs in Hebron
- Similarly, Jews continue to be forbidden to pray at their holiest location, the Jewish Temple Mount
- Palestinians tried to take over Joseph’s Tomb and turn it into a mosque, just as they did to Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem
Palestinians demand a country free of Jews. What could possibly be more antisemitic than demanding a country completely free of Jews? Even Iran doesn’t go that far.

These are not competing claims over land, This is an evil, raging rant of antisemitism that has never been defeated or kept in check. Unlike American racism including the horrible lynchings and attacks on blacks in the American South which were finally countered with marches and changes in law, and the evil of Nazi Germany’s antisemitism which was vanquished in a war defeating their army and wicked worldview, Muslim antisemitism has metastasized. It has been ignored, excused, encouraged and empowered for the past 100 years.

Ilhan Omar asked a question about why Jews think that Muslims are anti-Semitic, and the alt-left has run to her side with fig leaves. While the left-wing media has sought to examine her charges of the powerful Jew, it refuses to report on the rampant Muslim antisemitism in Muslim countries, around the world, in the United States and Israel itself.

Ilhan Omar – and much more importantly, everybody else – here is the answer to your question about whether Jews unfairly criticize Muslims or whether Muslims really are anti-Semitic.

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Inclusion versus Attention, and The Failure of American Leadership

Posted on March 10, 2019 by First.One.Through

The United States of America was founded on the principles of liberty and equality for all. In its early days, it came up short of those ideals, most notably in its treatment of African Americans who were kept as slaves, and of women who were denied the right to vote. Over the course of many years, the discriminatory laws fell and all people were understood to have a right to participate in every part of the public forum.

Some of the restrictions which were impediments to sections of society were marked in law while others were inherently physical. If the communal forum could be described as a public park, the American migration towards inclusion did not only remove the “No Jews Allowed” signs and the separate entrance for African-Americans, but removed the large flight of steps from the entrance, to enable all people to navigate into and throughout the park. The goals and actions of inclusions targeted both the intentional historic biases as well as the manifest material barriers which prevented all people from enjoying our collective world.

There are times when America falls short. As a society, we may not have removed all of the obstructions to enable everyone to join activities or we may have actually facilitated de facto hurdles which prevent certain segments of the community from engaging. Those are critical moments which need our attention, not a repetition of society’s aims.

As a continuation of the park example above, if a physically challenged person fell down stairs at the park, the appropriate action is to address the injury (perhaps with ice) and to fix the problem (build a ramp or smooth walkway). The immediate action should NOT be to pass out ice packs to everyone at the park nor to make pronouncements that the park is a space for all. Inclusion is a mission for our society, but it is not a salve to be uttered when things or people need attention. At those moments, required actions are the appropriate course.

Ilhan Omar Waves the Ice

In the winter of 2019, a new Democratic member of the House of Representatives, Ilhan Omar, seemingly could not stop attacking Americans who supported Israel. She accused Americans of bribing government officials to get them to support Israel, and she said that those pro-Zionists had misplaced and dangerous loyalties to foreign governments. After past comments in which she called Israel an “apartheid” state, “evil,” and a demonic institution that “hypnotized the world,” Omar was widely labeled an anti-Semite.

Many Americans – Republicans and Democrats – called on Omar to be censured from the House floor. They demanded a clear call to denounce antisemitism, the most prevalent type of bigotry in the United States, which has only grown more prevalent in recent years.

But the Democratic leadership under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opted not to do that. She did not strip Omar of her committee assignment (on Foreign Affairs, no less!) nor did she unambiguously rebuke Omar’s antisemitic words. Instead, Pelosi simply offered a general denunciation of all forms of bigotry. It was as if someone was singled out in the public park for injury, and Pelosi handed out ice packs to everyone she could see.

The insult to Jews would remarkably get worse, as Omar used the opportunity to wave her Pelosi ice pack in front of teary Jewish eyes as they remained on the ground in pain. She said:

“Today is historic on many fronts. It’s the first time we have ever voted on a resolution condemning Anti-Muslim bigotry in our nation’s history. Anti-Muslim crimes have increased 99% from 2014-2016 and are still on the rise.”

It is not as though the statement on its own is problematic. However, a call of inclusion at a moment that requires attention is misplaced and is hurtful. The Democratic leadership acted just like the United Nations, which calls for inclusion for “all” people when Jews are victims, but specifically gives attention to Palestinian Arabs when they are victims. It is a disgraceful tacit blessing of antisemitism by those in power in the face of Jews who just suffered from bigotry.

Donald Trump’s “Many Sides”

The Democratic leadership is not alone in missing the boat on focused attention in moments of stress.

In August 2017 a group of white nationalists took to the street of Charlottesville, VA shouting racist and antisemitic slogans and killed a woman counter-protester. Republican President Donald Trump condemned the bigotry – but broadly – on “on many sides, on many sides.” A person was run over in a racist riot and the citizens of the country needed attention at such a fragile moment, not equivocation.

The stain on Trump has not gone away, and the United Nations remains an antisemitic cesspool. Will Nancy Pelosi suffer the same consequences from her failure to clearly and unambiguously call out antisemitism and instead reward the instigator?

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NY Times’ Sarah Jeong Guides Rep Ilhan Omar Tweets

Posted on March 8, 2019 by First.One.Through

A satire.

Rep. Ilhan Omar is under the microscope for some poorly worded tweets and comments she made about Israel supporters over the past few weeks, so Sarah Jeong, a member of The New York Times editorial board has tried to come to her rescue.

Jeong assumed she would be a natural to help Omar since she got into hot water for tweets she made, but came out unscathed. Some of Jeong’s famous tweets included:

“Are white people genetically predisposed to burn faster in the sun, thus logically being only fit to live underground like groveling goblins”
“white people marking up the internet with their opinions like dogs pissing on fire hydrants”
“Oh man it’s kind of sick how much joy I get out of being cruel to old white men.”

Jeong reached out to Omar to council her on bashing Zionists effectively. “You got to own it, girl,” she reportedly said. “The problem is that you didn’t lean in all the way. Bash those mother-f***ing white Jews and stare them in the face while you do it. With a smile, of course.”

Jeong worked with Omar in scripting some choice tweets to be unveiled at choice times during the rest of the year. Some of their current lines include:

“Jews took my comments about ‘Benjamins’ the wrong way; I love Jewish money. I doodle yamulkes on the bills atop all of the white presidents.”
“That whole ‘hypnotize’ comment was after I watched Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard. Blame him.”
“When I said I was against lobbying for foreign entities, I meant I didn’t want Israeli food carts in front of the building. I’m allergic to Hummus.”

Linda Sarsour thought the tweets were too clever and funny. She worked with Omar on a different set:

“I truly enjoy when rich white Jewish men complain to a black immigrant woman that their feelings are hurt.”
“Did Bibi [Netanyahu] get his nickname from wearing a beanie as a kid or from shooting BB guns at Arabs?”
“if it were up to [Nita] Lowey and [Eliot] Engel, they would swap out the stars in the US flag to six pointed Jew stars.”
“Have you noticed how prickly Jews get when you talk about money – whether taxes, or BDS, or aid to Israel? It gives me a sublime high”
“How many times am I am going to listen to 6 million dead grandparents? I lived through hell in Somalia and I didn’t complain as much”
“I never suggested that American Jews have dual loyalty. I don’t think they have any loyalty to America at all.”
“If I can get both David Duke and Louis Farrakhan supporting what I’m saying, not only am I clearly right, I should win the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing these two together.”

There were several tweets up in the air like “Sieg Heil,” because Jeong wasn’t sure people would get the context, especially since they weren’t sure when they would post it. The new hashtag #AntiSemitesLivesMatter was deemed too copycat of #BlackLivesMatter, and the line “I love reverse racism when it’s in the negative and not directed at me,” was considered too complicated and not re-tweetable.

Marc Lamont Hill gave his seal of approval on both sets of tweets and previewed that Omar’s draft of upcoming tweets were not anti-Semitic on Al Jazeera, AJ+, and several media outlets run by Arab and Muslim countries. “As a man of color, I can clearly tell you what is and what is not racism and hate speech. Everyone watching should feel completely comfortable re-tweeting and using the same words in public with pride.”

Meanwhile, Jeong is very busy trying to get Lamont Hill onto the New York Times editorial board.

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25,000 Jews Remaining

Posted on March 8, 2019 by First.One.Through

The number 25,000 is both random and round. And it serves as a powerful marker of the Jewish population in cities and countries around the world; which are growing and which are disappearing.

17 Countries versus 34 (1948)

There are now 17 countries with over 25,000 Jews. That is half of the total that existed when Israel was founded in 1948.

Israel 6.6 million Jews
USA 5.7 million
France 453,000
Canada 391,000
UK 290,000
Argentina 180,000
Russia 172,000
Germany 116,000
Australia 113,000
Brazil 93,000
South Africa 69,000
Ukraine 50,000
Hungary 47,000
Mexico 40,000
Netherlands 30,000
Belgium 29,000
Italy 28,000

Most of the countries that dropped below the 25,000 level over the past 70 years were in Arab and Muslim countries including Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Iran, as those countries effectively expunged the Jewish populations due to anger over the founding of Israel. The total population from all of those Arab and Muslim countries now stands at 27,000, just north of the 25k mark (15k in Turkey, 5,800 in Iran, 2,000 in Morocco and Tunisia 1,000). The Jews who fled those lands in the 1950’s through 1970’s principally moved to Israel, France, the United States and Canada.

The various entities that made up the Former Soviet Union also account for a drop in the number of countries with over 25,000 Jews. Some of those regions experienced mass migration due to the pogroms of the early 20th century, and other Jews left after World War I and when Russia allowed Jews to leave in the 1990’s. In 1900, 70% of world Jewry lived in the FSU, while only 3% live there today.

And of course, the Holocaust decimated the Jewish population in Europe from 1938 to 1945, including in Poland, Austria, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Greece. Before 1948, there were dozens of countries with more than 25,000 Jews.

The next countries which will likely fall below the 25,000 level will be Belgium and then Italy. Belgium has seen a rise in antisemitism including the shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels in 2014, and the mocking of Jews as moneylenders at a Carnival parade in March 2019, as well as from a decline in the diamond industry which employed many Jews in Antwerp. Italy has seen a migration of its Jews due to the influx of Muslims who have brought new levels of antisemitism at two to five times the level of Christians, as demonstrated in ADL polls. New laws banning ritual slaughter and possibly prohibiting circumcision in European countries will also weigh on where Jews decide to live. The aging population is also encouraging young Jews to migrate to find spouses elsewhere.

The net effect is that over the course of the last 100 years, Jews went from mostly speaking Russian, German and Arabic to speaking English and Hebrew.

It is unlikely that there will be any new countries joining the 25k list as most migration is going to the more established countries.

27 Cities in the United States

The 17 countries with over 25,000 Jews can be put in context when one considers that there are 27 metropolitan areas in the United States with over 25,000 Jews.

New York 1.5 million Jews
Los Angeles 519,000
San Francisco 391,000
Chicago 292,000
Boston 248,000
Washington D.C. 215,000
Philadelphia 215,000
Atlanta 120,000
Miami 119,000
San Diego 100,000
Cleveland 86,000
Denver 84,000
Phoenix 83,000
Las Vegas 80,000
Detroit 78,000
Seattle 63,000
Dallas 58,000
St. Louis 54,000
Tampa 51,000
Houston 48,000
Portland, OR 47,000
Pittsburgh 42,000
Minneapolis 40,000
Hartford 34,000
New Haven 30,000
Cincinnati 27,000
Milwaukee 26,000

The total number of US cities with over 25,000 Jews will likely grow, as Jews consider leaving the expensive markets in New York and California and go to cities with quality schools and good job opportunities, including Austin, Nashville and Raleigh.

Anti-Semitism

The Jews of the 20th century mostly left their home countries due to antisemitism, as opposed to job opportunities and quality of life which is why they move within cities inside the United States.

To give a sense of scale of the impact of antisemitism, the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust over roughly six years, equates to 25,000 Jews being killed every 5.5 days. That is equivalent to wiping out all of the Jews of Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Belgium and Italy in a single month. Repeatedly. For six years.

Antisemitism has no equivalent to any other hatred – not to “Islamophobia, racism and other forms of bigotry,” – as listed in the March 2019 House resolution drafted because of the anti-Semitic comments made by Ilhan Omar, the new Democratic US Representative in Congress who is also the first black Muslim woman in Congress. Antisemitism has pushed over 80% of world Jewry into just two countries, the United States and Israel. Vile comments made by elected officials (including in the US, UK and Iran) attacking Jews and basic Jewish human rights in those two remaining outposts – and defended by senior politicians – rises to the level of attempted genocide of the Jewish people.

Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Bernie Sanders conduct a news conference in
Washington, D.C. on Jan. 10, 2019. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP)

Will the 40,000 Jews in Minneapolis begin to fear for their safety because of the sentiments of the Somali community in Minnesota? If the migration begins – Jews abandoning a US city because of antisemitism – God help us all.

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The Beautiful and Bad Images in Barcelona

Posted on March 3, 2019 by First.One.Through

The museum housing the works of the 20th century painter Joan Miro (1893-1983) is found in Barcelona, Spain sitting high in the hills of Montjuic, or “the Jewish Mountain,” so named for the historic Jewish presence there in medieval times, before the Spanish Inquisition and expulsion of the Jews in the 15th century. The museum contains many beautiful works by Miro including paintings, sculptures and tapestries.

The Beautiful

Many of the abstract paintings have no titles, but one beautiful painting does, called “The Gold of the Azure,” painted in 1967.

The painting shows the planet Earth as a large blue oval surrounded by a white halo. It is set against a gold sky along with other planets as smaller black blobs, a distant red smear of a sun, and large but faint black stars represented by four intersecting lines. Across the middle of the painting is a soft black line, the sole element that cuts against the dominant blue image of the painting.

Despite the dominance of the blue orb, the painting is balanced like a mobile by one of Miro’s contemporary artists, Alexander Calder (1898-1976). However, unlike Calder’s physical mobiles that needed to operate in gravity, Miro’s painting of the solar system needed no practical constraints. The thin black line is wavy and did not attach to any objects as opposed to Calder’s taut black wires connecting the objects of the art. Miro’s connective element floated against the gold sky just like the 4-lined stars. The work presents harmony of suspended disparate elements in the universe as visualized by a man who despised the fascism that dominated his country from the Spanish Civil War (1936-9) through the Nationalist government led by Francisco Franco (1939-1975).

The Bad

Adjacent to The Joan Miro Museum is a small tranquil park called Jardines de Laribal. The pretty garden is a quiet place for a nice short stroll.

The garden has just a few entrances, each flanked by two columns. On a sunny day in February 2019, one of the columns to enter the park contained a large black swastika.

Entrance to Jardines de Laribal
(photo: FirstOneThrough February 28, 2019)

The crude image on the right column was balanced by a large green map on the left welcoming visitors to the garden. A harmony of hatred for those pleased that the garden was built atop Jewish cemeteries. Spain, happily Jew-free since 1492.

The symbol of Nazism, fascism and racism may bear passing resemblance to the simple stars in the paintings of Joan Miro located a hundred meters away, but the message could not be more different. In the art inside the museum, the faint images of the smaller and different bodies coexist peacefully with the dominant orbs. But outside the museum, in the real world built atop the graves of Jews, European racism and antisemitism still demands a purely Catholic order.

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Christiane Amanpour is More Anti-Semitic Than Ilhan Omar

Posted on January 18, 2019 by First.One.Through

On January 17, 2019, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour interviewed the new Democratic member of the House of Representatives, Ilhan Omar. Amanpour asked Omar to comment on a tweet she made in 2012 when she accused the government of Israel of being evil and “hypnotizing the world” regarding the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza, a statement which many people viewed as anti-Semitic.

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour interviews Ilhan Omar January 17, 2019

The lead-in by Amanpour was arguably more anti-Semitic than Omar’s tweet (which Omar claimed was simply about her anger about military actions of the Israeli government):

“Can I move on to something that is generally sort of a right of passage for politicians in the United States and that is sort of to profess sort of fealty, or at least pay homage, to AIPAC, the pro-Israel PAC that is very, very prominent.”

To be clear, the expression “professing fealty” is defined in the Merriam Webster dictionary as “the fidelity of a vassal or feudal tenant to his lord.”

Amanpour’s introductory statement was that all US politicians are vassals of (slaves to) the pro-Israel lobby. She made this anti-Israel canard as a casual observance of fact, not a concocted claim of outrageous fiction. She gave the CNN audience the impression that the US-Israel relationship is not based on MUTUAL values and benefits, but one of sinister puppet-masters controlling the US government.

Omar made a disgraceful statement about the Jewish State several years ago, but at least it was born from an anger related to military activity. However, Amanpour used a vile anti-Semitic charge against all Zionists at all times.

It was right and proper for CNN to terminate Marc Lamont Hill for his calls to destroy Israel. It is even more appropriate for the media group to fire Christiane Amanpour for going beyond terrible accusations of dual-loyalty against Americans who support Israel, to actually charging them with abusing the entirety of American politics with selfish Zionist schemes.

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Bitter Burnt Ends: Talking to a Farrakhan Fan

Posted on December 19, 2018 by First.One.Through

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

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Existing While Jewish

Posted on December 11, 2018 by First.One.Through

The racism prevalent in Palestinian Arab society sometimes seems to have no limits.

It is one thing to read a poll which describes almost every single Palestinian man, woman and child as hating Jews, and that Palestinians are the most anti-Semitic people on the planet. It is another to hear the stories of how that Arab hatred manifests itself.

Waiting for a bus while being Jewish. Seven Jews were shot while they stood at a bus stop near the town of Ofra in the Israeli Territory of Area C in December 2018. A Palestinian rode his car and sprayed the civilians – including a pregnant woman – who were just standing there with gunfire.
Going to work while being Jewish. Jewish workers were shot and killed in the Barkan Industrial Zone, designed to be an area of coexistence, in October 2018. The Palestinian Arab had internalized that Jews should really not be working there.
Standing next to a store while being Jewish. Ari Fuld was just standing outside a store when a Palestinian Arab teenager stabbed him in the back and killed him in September 2018. Why should Palestinians have to see Jews shopping?
Riding a bus while being Jewish. Jews were riding a bus in Jerusalem in April 2016. Appalling. A Palestinian Arab teenager blew up the bus.
Looking like a tourist who might be Jewish. A Palestinian ran through Tel Aviv stabbing people, including an American named Taylor Force in March 2016. How outrageous to see people visiting the Jewish State!
Riding a car while being Jewish. A Jewish couple drove with their kids on the road and were shot and killed by a Palestinian terrorist, who thought Jews should really not be driving anywhere near him in October 2015.
Praying in a synagogue while being Jewish. Jews were in synagogue reciting their prayers when Palestinian Arabs entered with an axe and meat cleaver, slaughtering four of them in November 2014. Jews praying in Jerusalem is about as outrageous a thing as any Palestinian Arab can imagine.

Sleeping while being Jewish. Five members of the Fogel family were stabbed to death – including a three month old – while asleep in their beds in the town of Itamar in March 2011. How could Jews be sleeping in their homes so close to Arab villages? Who do they think they are?
Having a Passover Seder while being Jewish. Dozens of seniors were having a quiet Passover seder at a hotel in Netayna in March 2002. Outrageous. A Palestinian Arab walked into the room and blew the place up.
Having pizza while being Jewish. Mothers and children were enjoying pizza on a hot afternoon of August 2001. Clearly too much for a Palestinian Arab man who blew the place up, murdering 15 and wounding over 100.

How should Jews feel when when every simple action makes Palestinian Arabs so enraged that they want to kill them?

How maddening is it for Jews to live with the constant anxiety of having their presence, their innocence, and their existence, questioned?

When antisemitism is so deeply instilled into Palestinian society, how can coexistence ever be possible?

Related First.One.Through articles:

Palestinians are “Desperate” for…

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Extreme and Mainstream. Germany 1933; West Bank & Gaza Today

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

Posted on November 1, 2018 by First.One.Through

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:

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).
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.
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.

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Between Right-Wing and Left-Wing Antisemitism

Farrakhan’s Democrats

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What Kind of Hate Kills?

CNN’s Politicization of Antisemitic Murder

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Politicians React to Vile and Vulgar Palestinian Hatred

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Black People are Homophobic

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

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Between Right-Wing and Left-Wing Antisemitism

Posted on October 30, 2018 by First.One.Through

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

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1001 Years of Expulsions (Schindler’s List)

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