The Champaign, IL city council
had a meeting on Tuesday where it discussed the normal stuff one would expect in such a meeting. But, of course, people also brought up Israel, because, you know, Israel and genocide and Palestinians and stuff.
City Council member Davion Williams went on a ten minute response to a comment about Gaza, starting around 2:30:00.
I've listened to it a couple of times and I cannot figure out what he is really trying to say. This elected official cannot put together a coherent English sentence. But what is abundantly clear is that he is a stupid, ignorant antisemite.
He starts by saying that Israel has "occupied" Palestine since 1948 (and Zionism only started a brief time before that.) So much for the "territories." Those are history nowadays - Israel haters now openly call for the destruction of the entire state.
Then he talks about Judaism. He seems to be saying that since Jews don't believe the messiah has come, then they are hypocrites for not stopping the war in Gaza. Again, the logic isn't just fuzzy - it is the ravings of a nutcase. But tying a "genocide" to Judaism itself shows how bigoted and antisemitic he is.
Then comes the conspiracy theory.
There is a small element of individuals who have a lot of control over our music, over our food, over media, over a hole lot of things..."We [turn] a blind eye to it, and I'm sorry, but it's the truth, and we don't know it. I just found out...I love Pringles. They're kosher. I just found that out. I stopped eating them.
His nonsense meanders in other directions, too. For example, says that a lot of Black people are not really African Americans but really Native Americans, and this history has been hushed up.
The guy is a lunatic. And he is an antisemite. Yet somehow he got himself elected to the city council - and no one said a word in response to his crazed monologue. A smattering of people even applauded at the end.
This is way too much of America today.
(h/t D)