03/07 Links Pt2: Noah Rothman: The Anti-Semitism Monster Democrats Can No Longer Control; Andrew Klavan: How The Left Rationalizes Anti-Semitism

From Ian:

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Noah Rothman: The Anti-Semitism Monster Democrats Can No Longer Control

Liberal partisans know exactly what Democrats are doing here. Indeed, they explained why generic condemnations of hatred in the face of discrete episodes of bigotry entirely missed the point amid the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. “All lives matter,” was the response from those who were discomfited by the movement’s focus on excessive uses of force by police against African-Americans. Of course, all lives do matter, those on the left observed, but to insist upon such language in the face of specific episodes of bias targeting distinct demographics is obtuse. The effort isn’t to restore common bonds, but to diminish the validity of the Black Lives Matter movement’s grievance.

Today, as Democratic House leadership calculates precisely how forcefully to condemn anti-Semitic sentiments within its ranks without alienating anti-Semites, a full-scale rebellion is brewing. Rep. Rashida Tlaib called the effort to condemn anti-Semitism “unprecedented” and questioned Pelosi’s judgment. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez insisted that Pelosi’s resolution was “hurtful” and that there should be similar votes condemning all manner of bigotries ranging from xenophobia, to homophobia, to “anti-blackness.” Pelosi is a “typical white feminist upholding the patriarchy doing the dirty work of powerful white men,” wrote Women’s March co-chair Linda Sarsour. These are not nobodies. These are core figures in the Democratic coalition, individuals who are now or were only recently some of the party’s most visible new faces.

It isn’t just the activist wing that has effectively sided with Omar in this fight. The New York Times claimed that Omar’s attack on the Israeli lobbying group AIPAC raised important questions about the influence Zionists and Jews wield. The Washington Post suggested that Pelosi would invite a prolonged internecine debate over America’s policy toward Israel by unequivocally condemning anti-Jewish bigotry. These are not fringe institutions expressing the concerns of a marginal constituency.

It was only one month ago that the Democratic Party was united in disgust after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam admitted to appearing in photographs as a younger man in blackface. Democrats, Nancy Pelosi among them, insisted that no apology would suffice. Northam had to go. Virginia’s governor did not consent to his own exile, but Democrats nonetheless established a standard. “It is essentially this,” I wrote at the time. “Any act of naked bigotry, even the bourgeois sort that stems from ignorance or social desirability biases, is unacceptable and unforgivable.” Confronted today with a kind of prejudice to which not all its members are entirely hostile, Democrats have revealed how hollow those condemnations really were. The battle for the future of the Democratic Party isn’t over yet, but, for now, Ilhan Omar is winning.

John Podhoretz: Democrats’ refusal to call out Ilhan Omar’s anti-semitism is just appalling

It’s really not hard to get to the bottom of this: When you say that Jews have magical hypnotic powers to control other people, you’re an anti-Semite. When you say Jews control other people through money, you’re an anti-Semite. When you say Jews have conspired to force you to apologize for saying anti-Semitic things, you’re an anti-Semite. ­Ilhan Omar is an anti-Semite.

Now what? Well, now nothing.

For a while this week there was a thought that the House of Representatives, where Omar serves as a freshman from Minnesota, might vote on a resolution condemning her ­anti-Semitism.

Then it was thought that maybe said resolution would come up for a vote but wouldn’t mention her name and instead condemn anti-Semitism generally.

Then it was thought that there would be a resolution that would condemn both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Now there’s no timetable for voting on anything.

What’s hard is bringing a resolution to the House floor condemning a representative’s bigotry when you don’t want to and you’re afraid of making people mad, even though what we’re talking about here is Jew-hatred. We’re talking about a member of Congress attacking a small minority group.

Andrew Klavan: How The Left Rationalizes Anti-Semitism

Listen to Chuck Todd here, you can see the argument played out [that both the left and right are to blame for anti-Semitism in America] and what's so wrong with it.

Chuck Todd: Omar opened the door for Republicans to point fingers and say ‘aha! The left has a problem with anti-Semitism!’ And you know what? It does. But unless you want to forget the chants of "Jews will not replace us’"by neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, unless you want to forget President Trump saying there were good people on both sides of that debate, unless you want to forget the synagogue slaughter in Pittsburgh last year, unless you want to forget all of that you have to acknowledge that the right has a problem with anti-Semitism too. Both sides are doing a lot of finger-pointing and there's a lot to point to, that's sad. Anti-Semitism is on the rise on the left, it's on the rise on the right, it's on the rise in Europe and a lot of other places. So, let's not pretend it's on the rise in just the other political party.

Left and right are not political parties, they are political positions. And it is true on the far-left and on the far-right, or as they now call it the Alt-Right, which I think is more fair because it's an alternative to actual American conservatism, it's not American conservatism. But let's just divide the world into left and right. On the far left and on the far right there is anti-Semitism.

Listen to who he compares, this is a congresswoman! This is a woman in the halls of American power, and so are all these other people, Farrakhan lovers hanging out with them. He's comparing them to the guys with tiki-torches marching in the streets, these white supremacist garbage heads. He’s comparing a congresswoman to the guy who shot up a synagogue. Really? That's the right and the left? Our right-wing anti-Semites are the outsiders of the outsiders of the outsiders, the furthest away from the people in power. Is there any relationship between Mitch McConnell and the guy who shot up that synagogue? No, of course, there's not. And their guys are in Congress! Their guys are arguing there. Their guys are at The New York Times writing front-page stories about whether the Jews are too powerful. That's a ridiculous comparison.

He throws in that canard about Trump saying there are good people on both sides — Trump was obviously talking about the statue controversy. It was a stupid, tone-deaf comment, but it was not anti-Semitic and it was not supporting white supremacy, that is just crap. If it were supporting it, somebody would have asked him, “Do you mean that?” But nobody has ever asked him does he mean it, because that's not obviously what he was talking about. It is ridiculous, and they're doing it to run interference for a Democrat Party and a left-wing philosophy that has become by nature infested with anti-Semitism.

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Ilhan Omar Has A History Of Breaking Rules On Donations of "Benjamins"

By Daled Amos

Ilhan Omar was at the center of the news last week, amidst her antisemtic tweets and her attack on Elliott Abrams.

Yet despite what her tweets condemning AIPAC and her false claim that it pays off government officials, Omar's own history of violating and abusing the rules governing receiving money -- and having to return it -- has received scant attention.

In July last year, The Daily Caller reported, Democratic Congressional Hopeful Forced To Return College Speaking Fees

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor congressional candidate Ilhan Omar said Monday that she will return $2,500 in college speaking fees that she accepted in violation of Minnesota House of Representatives rules.

Minnesota state lawmaker Omar was paid $2,000 in February 2017 to speak at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota. She was paid $500 in April 2017 to speak at Inver Hills Community College in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, according to a press release issued by Republican state Rep. Steve Drazkowski.

Omar was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in November 2016. She had agreed to speak at the events before she was sworn into office in January 2017 and did not know the rules for an elected official would apply to her, she said, according the Star Tribune. [emphasis added]

AP confirms that Omar did in fact return the money.

Omar claims she did not know the rules, but if so, it wasn't for lack of being told that it was against the rules. The website from the Minnesota State House website reports on State Representative Steve Drazkowski (Republican), who revealed Omar's violation:

Drazkowski said Omar clearly violated rules that are in place to prevent payment to a member from an organization that has business before the Legislature. According to Minnesota House Rule 9.20, Acceptance of an Honorarium by a Member: A member must not accept an honorarium for a service performed for an individual or organization that has a direct interest in the business of the House, including, but not limited to, a registered lobbyist or an organization a lobbyist represents.

Rep. Omar voted to adopt the Permanent Rules of the Minnesota House – which includes Rule 9.20 - on February 16, 2017, 12 days before her first paid MNSCU speaking engagement.

In addition, Drazkowski noted every newly-elected member attends an orientation where non-partisan House research staff explains potential conflicts of interest to incoming lawmakers, including gifts, travel and lodging, and honoraria.

And there were other issues with Omar's less than stellar transparency on her finances:

o On May 17, 2017, Rep. Omar was fined $1,000 due to the late filing of her 24-hour notice reports. 

o On November 30, 2017, Rep. Omar was fined $150 due to the late filing of her campaign finance report. That 2016 report listed a non-campaign disbursement in the amount of $2,250 in legal fees to the Kjellberg Law Office, which specializes in divorce law, and is listed as her representative during her 2017 divorce case. It also noted that she paid her now current husband $3,100 for unspecified campaign services. 

o On June 20, 2018, Rep. Omar was fined the maximum $1,100 due to the late filing of her Statement of Economic Interest.

That last point, that Omar filed her Statement of Economic Interest late is important. It helped Omar avoid the consequences for her financial violations:

Omar was able to avoid a potential House Ethics Committee hearing into her financial misdeeds because the Legislature had adjourned sine die (with no appointed date for resumption). The late filing also prevented bad publicity or any other conflicts that could have arisen during the DFL endorsement to replace outgoing Congressman Keith Ellison.

Fast-forward to now.

How did Ilhan Omar conduct her successful campaign for the US House of Representatives?

Sunday, August 5, 2018: Hussam Ayloush, Executive Director of CAIR-California posts on Facebook that Ilhan Omar, campaigning for Democratic Representative of Minnesota, will attend 3 CAIR sponsored events -- in California. It's just like the lady said: "It's all about the Benjamins, baby."

Thursday, August 9, 2018: Omar gets a donation from CAIR-CA

But something funny happened in between Omar speaking at 3 CAIR events and then receiving a $5,000 donation from CAIR...

Monday, August 6, 2018: Omar attended a special JCRC event 

But while Omar claimed she would "share our vision" as it turned out, Omar's "vision" was a little bit blurry that day. According to Haaretz, the reaction was that Omar was less than straightforward, in light of her later public support for BDS:

This seemed like a bait-and-switch to many Jewish Minnesotans: When she was asked at an August primary debate held in a synagogue to specify “exactly where you stand” on BDS, Omar said that BDS was “not helpful in getting that two-state solution” — never explaining that she in fact supported the policy. [emphasis added]

Does anyone think that Omar was equally evasive in her 3 CAIR-arranged appearances in California to collect donations?

In an article in the Algemeiner, Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, describes the degree to which Ilhan Omar Is Funded by Israel-Hating BDS Promoters and PACs in the 2018 election:

o  CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) is one of Rep. Omar’s top 20 contributors. CAIR was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror financing trial for funneling money to Hamas. FBI testimony reportedly indicated that CAIR has been a Hamas front group.

o  In addition, CAIR-CA’s executive director Hussam Ayloush, who called for Israel’s “termination,” gave Ilhan Omar $1,200.

o  James Zogby, president of the anti-Israel Arab-American Institute (AAI), chairman of the anti-Israel Palestine Human Rights Campaign, and a major anti-Israel propagandist, gave Rep. Omar $2,700. Zogby falsely accused Israel of committing a “Holocaust” against Palestinians, called Israelis “Nazis,” campaigned to prevent the extradition to Israel of a Fatah terrorist who killed two Israeli teenagers and wounded 36 other Israelis, called Cuban-American Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen an “Israel-firster” (an antisemitic trope implying dual loyalty), praised the intifada as a “good story,” and was a leading architect of propaganda themes used to pry progressive Jews away from supporting Israel.

o  The Soros-funded MoveOn.org, which attempted to kill the pro-Israel anti-BDS bill in Congress, gave Omar $5,000. MoveOn.org also co-founded Avaaz, which initiates extremely offensive, falsehood-filled anti-Israel campaigns, including movements to release Palestinian Arab terrorist Ahed Tamimi and in support of Ireland’s dangerous BDS Bill.

o  A $500 donor to Rep. Omar showed his wife wearing Hamas scarves and put on his Facebook profile in Arabic: “Jerusalem is ours, WE ARE COMING!”

o  Debbie (Dhabah) Almontaser, who defended an Arab women’s group for hawking “Intifada NYC” T-shirts that glorify Palestinian-Arab terror, gave Omar $500.

Putting it all together, we see that:

o Despite campaigning out of state at 3 events for CAIR, just one day later, Omar sidestepped a direct question on BDS that she knew was important to the people who invited her to talk -- and took $5,000 from CAIR

o Omar was less than transparent in reporting money she received

o Omar agreed to return money she received in violation of Minnesota House laws that she herself voted on and was informed about at an orientation.

o Omar donations from people and organizations that strongly support the BDS movement and oppose the existence of Israel.

Last year, Drazkowski said:

Representative Omar’s willingness to accept money from institutions that are dependent on her committee and her vote for their funding is the textbook definition of unethical

Omar's antisemitic comments last week come from someone with a record for violating both the rules and the trust of her constituents.

But in terms of real consequences, Ilhan Omar has so far received nothing more than a slap on the wrist -- and an appointment to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where she behaved exactly as her history indicates she would.

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02/14 Links Pt2: Anti-Semitism In Congress. The Canary Is Starting To Tweet; Maajid Nawaz: I'm calling out the loons who make Israel bashing the mother of all virtues; Ray Charles and Israel

From Ian:

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Maajid Nawaz (March 8, 2017): I'm calling out the loons who make Israel bashing the mother of all virtues

Soon after London Fashion Week concluded, Israel Apartheid Week began. Another week, another obsessive focus on Israel.

The Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is mostly spearheaded in the West by people who have little to nothing attaching them to the Middle-East conflict.

Nothing, that is, beyond the fact that belonging to the hard-left and not supporting BDS has become the equivalent of claiming a love for fashion, while hating haute couture. Though unlike haute couture, BDS is an inelegant and simplistic solution to a protracted and incredibly complicated problem. But who cares for detail when you have a fabulous placard to wave?

The lazy analogy that BDS rests on is with South African apartheid. But unlike apartheid-era South Africa, Arabs make up 20 percent of Israel’s full citizenry. Most of these Arab-Israeli citizens are Muslim. There are mosques on Israeli beaches. Alongside Hebrew, Arabic is an official language of Israel. An Arab-Israeli judge has even impeached and convicted former Israeli prime minster, Ehud Olmert.

And though many problems with integration persist – as they do with minority communities across the West – when surveyed 77 percent of these Arabs expressed an overwhelming preference to remain Israeli, rather than become citizens of a future Palestinian state.

The reason is obvious, Israeli-Muslims have more freedom of religion than other minorities – and even other Muslims have in all other Middle-Eastern countries.

How Chelsea Clinton became a defender of the Jews on Twitter

When Ilhan Omar got in trouble earlier this week for claiming that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee pays politicians to support Israel, plenty of Jewish lawmakers took to Twitter to denounce the comment as anti-Semitic. But one of the highest profile people who took offense at the statement was neither Jewish nor a politician.

“We should expect all elected officials, regardless of party, and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism,” Chelsea Clinton tweeted.

And the former first daughter didn’t stop engaging with the conversation there. After Omar released an apology, Clinton thanked her and said she was looking forward to speaking to the Minnesota Democrat. (Clinton had said in an earlier tweet that she was contacting Omar to set up a meeting.)

Later Clinton was exceedingly polite in responding to a rude troll who had written that she “isn’t even Jewish she’s just ugly” by educating him about anti-Semitic stereotypes.

“The ugly Jew is a vile centuries old anti-Semitic trope so next time, please just go straight to ugly and leave out the rest,” she wrote.

Clinton, who is expecting her third child with her Jewish husband, investor Marc Mezvinsky, also used the incident as a way to call out Republican Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Steve King for what she called “anti-Semitic rhetoric.”

Clinton stands out because she is among the highest-profile non-Jews — J.K. Rowling also comes to mind — to consistently call out anti-Semitism on Twitter. And as seen with her arranging a meeting with Omar, she gets results.

In rare vote, House sends a message on anti-Semitism to Ilhan Omar

The House on Wednesday unanimously passed a broad condemnation of anti-Semitism days after Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., received widespread criticism over her comments on Israel.

The language, which does not mention Omar by name, was approved 424-0 using a legislature procedure that lets the minority party make a last-minute motion to change legislation just before it's passed. The procedure almost never works for the minority party, in part because the minority usually tries to make radical changes to the bill that the majority quickly rejects.

On Wednesday, however, Republicans used the so-called "motion to recommit" vote to call for the addition of language to a resolution that states it is in the "national interests of the United States to combat anti-Semitism at home and abroad."

"With an unfortunate rise in anti-Semitism and attempts to delegitimize Israel, the United States House of Representatives must emphasize the importance of combating anti-Semitism and reject all movements that deny Israel’s right to exist," the amendment states.

The sponsor of the language, Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., indicated the language was aimed at Omar, who has been criticized by both parties for comments they say amount to anti-Semitism.

“This horrific anti-Semitic tone being taken by some Members of Congress must come to an end," Kustoff said. "The language I offered affirms the United States’ interest in combating anti-Semitism at home and abroad, something my colleagues on both sides of the aisle should and must support. I am proud to stand today in solidarity with my Jewish community as this hate has no place in our country."

Proud to report my Motion combating anti-Semitism passed the House unanimously today! #424-0 #ZeroTolerancehttps://t.co/7QcckKa8jK

— Rep. David Kustoff (@RepDavidKustoff) February 13, 2019

H.J.Res.37 - Directing the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress.

---- ANSWERED “PRESENT” 2 ---
Amash R
Massie R

---- NOT VOTING 5 ---
Allred D
Dingell D
Kinzinger R
Quigley D
Ryan D

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03/08 Links Pt2: Bret Stephens: Ilhan Omar Knows Exactly What She Is Doing; Every Democratic Excuse For Ilhan Omar's Anti-Semitism Is More Vile Than The Last; Academics Appropriate the Holocaust to Bash Israel

From Ian:

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Bret Stephens (NYTs): Ilhan Omar Knows Exactly What She Is Doing

As the criticism of Omar mounts, it becomes that much easier for her to seem like the victim of a smear campaign, rather than the instigator of a smear. The secret of anti-Semitism has always rested, in part, on creating the perception that the anti-Semite is, in fact, the victim of the Jews and their allies. Just which powers-that-be are orchestrating that campaign? Why are they afraid of open debate? And what about all the bigotry on their side?

The goal is not to win the argument, at least not anytime soon. Yet merely by refusing to fold, Omar stands to shift the range of acceptable discussion — the so-called Overton window — sharply in her direction. Ideas once thought of as intellectually uncouth and morally repulsive have suddenly become merely controversial. It’s how anti-Zionism has abruptly become an acceptable point of view in reputable circles. It’s why anti-Semitism is just outside the frame, bidding to get in.

House Democrats are now wrangling over the text of a resolution that was initially intended as a condemnation of anti-Semitism, with Omar as its implicit target. At this writing it is mired in predictable controversy, as members of the party’s progressive wing and black caucus rally to Omar’s side in the first open challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership. In the Senate, the presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Warren have weighed in with statements that painted Omar as a victim of Islamophobia — which she is — without mentioning that she’s also a purveyor of anti-Semitic bigotry — which she surely is as well.

It says something about the progressive movement today that it has no trouble denouncing Republican racism, real and alleged, every day of the week but has so much trouble calling out a naked anti-Semite in its own ranks. This is how progressivism becomes Corbynism. It’s how the left finds its own path toward legitimizing hate. It’s how self-declared anti-fascists develop their own forms of fascism.

If Pelosi can’t muster a powerful and unequivocal resolution condemning anti-Semitism, then Omar will have secured her political future and won a critical battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. At that point, the days when American Jews can live comfortably within the Democratic fold will be numbered.

Ben Shapiro: Worst Defense Of Ilhan Omar's Anti-Semitism Yet


The Democratic Party Has Normalized Anti-Semitism

This week, the Democratic Party was unable to pass a watered-down, platitudinous resolution condemning anti-Semitism, due to “fierce backlash” from presidential candidates, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the now-powerful progressive base. Rather than censuring Rep. Ilhan Omar, the intellectually frivolous, Hamas-supporting freshman representative from Minnesota, she was rewarded and inoculated from party criticism.

More consequently, the Democrats deemed Protocols of Zion-style attacks a legitimate form of debate. That’s because Omar, despite what you hear, has repeatedly attacked Jews, not only Israel supporters, and certainly not only specific Israeli policies.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who would finally bring an “All Lives Matter” resolution to the floor, told reporters she didn’t believe the congresswoman’s comments were “intentionally anti-Semitic.” No educated human believes Omar inadvertently accused “Benjamin”-grubbing Rootless Cosmopolitans of hypnotizing the world for their evil. These are long-standing, conspiratorial attacks on the Jewish people, used by anti-Semites on right and left, and popular throughout the Islamic world.

Even the Democratic Party activist groups that typically cover for the Israel-haters, like the Anti- Defamation League, have condemned Omar. Yet it was the lie that coursed through the Democratic Party’s defense of Omar.

Anti-Semitism part of wave of `depraved hatred', pope says

Pope Francis on Friday branded anti-Semitism part of a wave of "depraved hatred" sweeping some countries and urged everyone to be vigilant against it.

In comments to members of the American Jewish Committee during a visit to the Vatican, he also reiterated that it was sinful for Christians to hold anti-Semitic sentiments because they shared a heritage with Jews.

"A source of great concern to me is the spread, in many places, of a climate of wickedness and fury, in which an excessive and depraved hatred is taking root," Francis said. "I think especially of the outbreak of anti-Semitic attacks in various countries."

Francis did not name any of those countries, but government statistics released last month showed more than 500 anti-Semitic attacks occurred last year in France, which has Europe's biggest Jewish community. That was a 74 percent increase from 2017.

"I stress that for a Christian any form of anti-Semitism is a rejection of one's own origins, a complete contradiction," Francis said.

I was deeply moved by the messages from this room of Holocaust survivors’ for @SenSchumer and @SpeakerPelosi that ALL Americans need to hear:

Hold onto @IlhanMN and her antisemitism, lose us! pic.twitter.com/Bn49wbfaK2

— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) March 8, 2019

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02/13 Links Pt2: Antisemitism and anti-Zionism. Performing the duck test; Who are the real racists in the Middle East?; The self-muzzling of the free world

From Ian:

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David Collier: Antisemitism and anti-Zionism. Performing the duck test

Is it antisemitism or anti-Zionism? Everyday, semantics are used to deflect what is obvious. When people argue over this it protects antisemitism. It does not matter whether in theory anti-Zionism and antisemitism are the same thing or not. It is a straw man argument. When you perform the duck test on anti-Zionist activity across the board, it soon becomes clear that antisemitism overflows in every corner of the anti-Israel movement. The duck test highlights just how seamlessly, blatant antisemitism has renamed itself.

I am in the middle of writing a large report that will hopefully meet my self-imposed end-of-February deadline. This particular post is not part of that and was never planned. It came about because in preparation for a talk I gave last night to students at KCL I needed to spend some time gathering examples of the similarity between anti-Zionism and classic antisemitism. This is what I found:
The duck test

What are examples of antisemitism? What are the tropes? I needed to work from a check-list, so turned to Wiki to find one. They have a page titled ‘antisemitic canards‘. It provides a list of different types of canards used to foster and legitimise hate against Jewish people throughout the ages. There are 20 classic types listed. They added the 9/11 conspiracy, which I ignored because I believe it captured in the essence of all the others.

Below are the results from the twenty I worked with. In those cases where the accusation predates Zionism (such as the killing of Christ), I have only used posts by people who ‘coincidentally’ are also anti-Israel activists:

PreOccupiedTerritory: Near-Total Overlap Of Antisemitism And Anti-Zionism Just A Coincidence (satire)

Researchers have determined that the uncanny correlation between hatred for Jews and opposition to Israel constitutes a statistical fluke, a recent study reports, cautioning that observers ought not to draw unwarranted conclusions from the close association that means nothing.

A comparative study of the rhetoric and behavior of people who claim only to oppose the Jewish State and of the rhetoric and behavior of outspoken antisemites revealed a 98% overlap in the composition and content of the two groups, which study authors warned does not indicate any inherent relationship between them, since, as every student of elementary statistics knows, correlation does not imply causation. Instead, the researchers advise the public to note the overlap as a curiosity and then return to the everyday work of explaining how opposing the existence of the world’s only Jewish country, established as a refuge from thousands of years of persecution, does not qualify as antisemitism.

“We can understand why a facile interpretation of these numbers would lead a person to the conclusion that the two phenomena are in some way related,” the authors wrote. “But that fails to take into account all the protestations by self-proclaimed anti-Zionists that they do not in fact harbor ill will toward Jews; they just want them to remain at the mercy of the world’s often-hostile majority, with a soupçon of human rights verbiage thrown in. We therefore urge people not to misinterpret the near-perfect correlation as anything but an interesting quirk.”

Jonathan S. Tobin: Who are the real racists in the Middle East?

But the difference here is that while genuine racism exists in Israel—as it does in any other society of imperfect human beings—to claim that the government promotes hate is a bold-faced lie. To the contrary, classic anti-Semitic tropes and blood libels are a staple of the Palestinian Authority’s official press, broadcast media and education system. The same is true of the Hamas government of Gaza. Moreover, the P.A. continues, despite threats of aid cutoffs from the United States, to pay salaries and pensions to imprisoned terrorists and their families.

This reflects a consensus within Palestinian society that those who commit acts of violence against Jews and Israelis are role models and heroes to be celebrated, rather than to be shunned.

Will it be any different for the murderer of Ori Ansbacher, a teenager from the settlement of Tekoa who was doing national service for her country? The Israeli media has reported that the murderer is affiliated with Hamas and said he wanted to be a “martyr.” Unfortunately, nothing that has happened up until now gives us much hope that most Palestinians will treat the death of a Jewish teenager as anything other than a victory for their cause, no matter how egregious the crime.

Neither Israel nor its citizens are perfect. But friends of Israel can be proud of the efforts of the Israel Defense Forces to spare innocent lives even when it means that sometimes terrorists might escape. Moreover, its political system, however flawed it might be, rests on democratic principles that ensure that Israeli Arabs are equal before the law and have rights to representation unknown elsewhere in the region.

Those who wish to talk about racism should point their barbs at Palestinian leaders who bear personal responsibility for creating an environment in which “nationalist” murders like that of Ansbacher are made possible, not at Israel.

American Support for Israel Is Based on Strategic Interests, Not Just Morality

Unlike other U.S. allies, Israel has never asked for a single American soldier to deploy to Israel and give their life for the Jewish state. Israel has always been committed to defending itself. That is an invaluable strategic asset.

More specifically, the United States benefits from its alliance with Israel in very practical ways. In 2012, Michael Eisenstadt and David Pollock, both fellows at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, produced a great report that details these benefits—from intelligence sharing and counterterrorism cooperation to cyber and water security. Israel's remarkable technological innovation is critical for American businesses, and its expertise in homeland security and military tactics are critical for keeping Americans—both in and out of uniform—safe.

The number of benefits is too long to list here, but it is extensive. Even Richard Nixon, who peddled his share of anti-Semitic canards, recognized Israel's strategic importance and ordered an essential arms airlift during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The former president also recognized the remarkable character of the Israeli people, and became the first commander in chief to visit the Jewish state on the job. Critics may say the alliance is just a relic of the Cold War, but this is a dangerously myopic view. In such an interconnected world, where security is ever more difficult to guarantee and technology is the economy of the future, Israel is a necessary ally.

In sum, Americans support Israel for both moral and strategic reasons. The two cannot be separated. And together, they create a foundation for an alliance that can resist Omar's corrosive, anti-Semitic charges, which are part of an effort to break apart an essential, mutually beneficial relationship. In defending Israel against the likes of Omar, Americans should remember that they not only have the moral high ground, but also the strategic high ground.

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Ilhan Omar's principles: She used to demand the US boycott China. Now she fights to cooperate with China. (Daled Amos)

Ilhan Omar's reputation for anti-Israel attacks and antisemitism dates back to 2019, when she made her famous accusations that defenders of Israel were guilty of dual loyalty. In her latest controversial comments, just last month Omar compared the US and Israel with the Taliban and Hamas, with accusations of "unthinkable atrocities."

Those latest comments created an unexpected pushback that led to Omar's supposed "clarification" of her remarks.

There are, though, some instances when Omar's criticism of foreign countries are not controversial at all.

In November 2019, Ilhan Omar condemned the Chinese government for the "ethnic cleansing of Uighurs:"

And Omar did not stop there.

Earlier this year, she doubled down on her criticism of China's treatment of the Uyghurs, with a vehemence she normally reserves for Israel:

And just last year, Omar went beyond mere words and took action that amounts to the equivalent of BDS -- against China. In her April 2020 press release, Rep. Omar Leads Letter to CEOs, including Apple, Amazon, and Google, Condemning the Use of Forced Uyghur Labor in China:

According to the text of that letter:

The treatment of Uyghur and other Muslim people by the Chinese government – which the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has determined may amount to crimes against humanity – has drawn fierce and sustained bipartisan condemnation. That American companies would be using forced Uyghur labor, intentionally or unintentionally, is profoundly disturbing.

...Among the acts that comprise crimes against humanity, Uyghurs have been allegedly subjected to enslavement, arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearance, and persecution against a collective group of people. Put simply, it is our strong belief that nobody should be profiting from these conditions. [emphasis added]

As you are well aware, American companies represent this country in your business abroad. It is essential that your values are in line with the basic principles of human rights.

She asks that those companies ensure that Uyghur slave labor is not used in the manufacture of their products.

Good for her!

Too bad she did an about-face

While in November 2019, Omar tweeted:

We must hold officials responsible for this fully accountable

And in February 2021 she tweeted:

Yes, politics and relationships shouldn't stop us from the pursuit of justice...Now is the time for full accountablility and justice. [emphasis added]

Suddenly, just 2 months ago, in May 2021, Politico reported that Ilhan Omar changed her tune, from a call for "justice' to a call for "justified criticism":

“We need to distinguish between justified criticisms of the Chinese government’s human rights record and a Cold War mentality that uses China as a scapegoat for our own domestic problems and demonizes Chinese Americans,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of a group of lawmakers pressing Biden and congressional leaders to take a more cooperative approach to relations with Beijing. [emphasis added]

What accounts for Omar's about-face?

In the article, Politico notes the concern that progressives have that in its eagerness for justice, the US attitude towards China's ethnic cleansing of Uyghurs may endanger the battle against...climate change.

According to Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.):

We won't be able to solve the challenges of the 21st century like the climate crisis and global health unless we have relationships that harness partnerships across the globe, including China.

Bowman is not alone. In May, Bowman and Omar were among "more 60 activist groups and at least four prominent lawmakers [who] are stepping up their criticisms as the Senate pushes through this week a package of anti-China bills that enjoy backing from members of both parties and the White House."

And the pressure on the Biden administration by progressive groups continued this month. In another article, Politico reports Biden’s new Cold War with China will result in climate collapse, progressives warn:

Over 40 progressive groups sent a letter to President Joe Biden and lawmakers on Wednesday urging them to prioritize cooperation with China on climate change and curb its confrontational approach over issues like Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong and forced detention of Uyghur Muslims. [emphasis added]

According to the letter:

...While we are encouraged by stated commitments from the United States and China to work together and with other countries to enact urgent climate policies, we are deeply troubled by the growing Cold War mentality driving the United States' approach to China — an antagonistic posture that risks undermining much-needed climate cooperation. 

We, the undersigned organizations, call on the Biden administration and all members of Congress to eschew the dominant antagonistic approach to U.S.-China relations and instead prioritize multilateralism, diplomacy, and cooperation with China to address the existential threat that is the climate crisis. [emphasis added]

Where is that going to leave Omar, who has publicly accused the Chinese government of the ethnic cleansing, enslavement, torture, rape, forced sterilization and mass detention of Uyghurs?

It was recently reported that Biden wants to follow in Omar's footsteps in addressing Chinese products being allowed to enter the US:

In particular, the Biden administration has prioritized boxing products with ties to forced labor out of U.S. markets. On Friday, the U.S. added 14 Chinese entities to its economic blacklist that are believed to be complicit in human rights abuses and forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. The blacklist means American firms will have to obtain clearance from the U.S. government before doing business with those companies.

Will Ilhan Omar come out publicly in support of Biden's BDS-style measures against Chinese persecution of Uyghurs?

Omar claimed that one of her concerns was a mentality that "demonizes Chinese Americans."

Can we expect her to show a new concern not to add to a mentality that demonizes Jewish Americans?

Or is all of this just another round in the game of politics -- where both Chinese Uyghurs and American Jews get thrown under the bus?

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03/20 Links Pt2: The Strange Alliance between Progressives and Islamists; Corbyn after ME trip: Britain ‘conceded to Zionist forces’; 9 in 10 French Jewish students suffer campus antisemitism

From Ian:

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The Strange Alliance between Progressives and Islamists

While Islamists’ positions on homosexuality, the role of women, and religion would seem to place them on the American right, in fact politically involved American Muslims sympathetic to Islamism have tended to align themselves with the hard left. Sam Westrop explains:

Prominent radical Muslim voices now argue for “intersectional feminism.” Groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)—just ten years ago named by federal prosecutors as part of an enormous terror-finance network—rally for Black Lives Matter and campaign for “social justice,” prison reform, and a minimum-wage hike. Leading Salafist clerics protest President Trump’s immigration policies at the border. And the prominent activist Linda Sarsour dreams of “a world free of anti-black racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, sexism, and misogyny.” . . .

[A] rising group of activists from Islamist circles genuinely seem to believe in a progressive-Islamist alliance. Branches of CAIR are increasingly staffed with young, hijab-wearing graduates of Muslim Student Associations, who appear to have reconciled working for an extremist-linked organization with publishing transgender-rights petitions on their social-media accounts. . . .

Other Islamists who have embraced and adopted progressive rhetoric are clearly being duplicitous, however. The Texas-based cleric Omar Suleiman, for instance, has been vocal in protesting the Trump administration’s immigration policies. . . . And yet, speaking before an Islamist audience, Suleiman has warned Muslim girls that if they are “promiscuous,” they may face death at the hands of a family member. [Still] other Muslim thinkers have begun to regret their forays into progressive politics. . . .

British Invasion

The milieu Corbyn emerges from is embodied in the Stop the War Coalition, which he headed from 2011 until he became Labour leader. While the SWC actually is a merger of what the shah of Iran used to call “the Black and the Red,” Islamists and Communists, the support the SWC and its fellow travelers extend to Islamism has less to do with Islamism per se, and much more to do with the doctrines of new Left anti-Americanism.

The opposition to labeling Hezbollah a terrorist group is, in the SWC mind, equivalent to opposing such a label for the African National Congress in its struggle against apartheid South Africa. The “anti-Zionism” promoted by the Soviet Union, which portrayed Israel as racist by nature and exercising tentacular control over American foreign policy, was imbibed at the source by most of the leaders of the SWC, and handed down to the newer cadres as an explanation for the Iraq War that galvanized many of them into politics.

Corbyn’s voters are not uniformly, or even primarily, extremists and terrorist sympathizers. But the longer this vanguard remains in place at the top of the party, the wider its ideas will filter down. For the majority, who grew up under the post-Cold War liberal consensus, there is simply no memory or experience of socialism’s failure. Thus the common radical ideological thread that connects Labour and Democratic leadership to their followers and to each other.

The rise of Omar, Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez, and others with radical associations and support for socialism was facilitated by well-organized, young, ground-level activists, who circumvent the traditional party structures. In the American case, social media has played the key role, allowing these junior figures to have an influence far beyond their positions and enabling, too, very much in the manner of Corbyn, something like a personality cult to develop, raising the cost for anyone who ventures a criticism.

Beyond this, there are signs that the pillars of Corbynism, such as unworkable economics, anti-Americanism as the guiding principle of foreign policy, and anti-Semitism, are taking root. Let’s take each in turn.

JCPA: A (Euro)vision for the Future

• Israel’s cultural image is in dire need of improvement. The Best Countries Index shows that Israel scored a 1.4 out of 10 in terms of cultural influence in 2019.1
• The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), which is scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv in May 2019, allows Israel to enhance its cultural image through civil society initiatives centered around the arts.
• The ESC is set to attract approximately 20,000 international tourists to the city. Most of these tourists will belong to the “millennial” generation. This generation does not view Israel as positively as other generations do. As such, Israel has a unique opportunity to directly engage with the millennials who will be attending the contest, and who are seen by many as trendsetters and influencers.
• A successful image-building campaign can drastically increase the international public’s perception of Israel, as occurred with Azerbaijan when it hosted the ESC in 2012.
• Some will accuse Israel of “pinkwashing” and promoting propaganda. They will claim Israel is exploiting the ESC to divert attention away from its alleged human rights violations. These accusations are totally false. Rarely has a country been accused of promoting propaganda simply because it exhibits its widely acknowledged expertise in a certain field. Israel should be held to the same standard as every other country.
• Israel must emphasize that the ESC is an event meant to celebrate the diverse cultures of Europe. The ESC should avoid attempts by others to politicize it for their selfish gain.

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04/10 Links Pt2: There is no left left in Israel; Saudi Journalist: 'Allah Commanded Us To Love And Respect' The Jews; 'Antisemitism In The Arab World Is The Product Of Loathsome Racist Education'

From Ian:

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There is no left left in Israel

That leaves Netanyahu very well placed to form a government quite similar to the solidly right-wing one that has been ruling the country since 2015, albeit with one significant change: Likud's share of the vote looks to have increased from 23.4 percent to a little under 30 percent (with seats in the Knesset expanding from 30 to something around 35 out of 120). And he did it while running for re-election under threat of indictment — by warning ominously that if Likud lost, the left would take over Israel.

The left will be doing no such thing in Israel anytime soon. But the fear that it could, and the conviction that this would be disastrous for the country, is a very powerful force in Israeli politics these days, just as the American right hopes it will become in the United States.

Which is another way of saying that what American political scientists call negative partisanship has been extraordinarily effective for the Israeli right. It has done nothing for the Israeli left because, in an electoral sense, there is no Israeli left. It exists now primarily in the minds of the right — as an existential threat, a sort of suicidal impulse toward surrender to Israel's many blood-thirsty enemies that must be resisted at all costs.

Gantz may have campaigned as the anti-Netanyahu, but his disagreements mostly focused on the corruption investigation and domestic issues. On the Palestinian question and Israel's relations with its neighbors, the former commander of the formidable Israeli military came down quite close to Bibi's positions, and he maintains close ties to sharply hawkish members of the Knesset. This would not change if his alliance ends up forming a government, because any governing coalition would need to include at least some of the same right-wing parties that have been Likud's partners for the past four years. And that's assuming Blue and White doesn't join together with Likud itself to form a national unity government.

No matter what happens in the coming days and weeks, the right in Israel holds most of the cards, the center is its only opposition and viable alternative, and the left is well and truly dead. (h/t jzaik)

MEMRI: Saudi Journalist: 'Allah Commanded Us To Love And Respect' The Jews; 'Antisemitism In The Arab World Is The Product Of Loathsome Racist Education'

In his March 3, 2019 column in the leading London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Saudi journalist and businessman Hussein Shobakshi condemned the deeply rooted hatred of Jews in Islamic culture, in which the term "Jew" is strongly derogatory. Shobakshi mused on why the Muslims do not differentiate between the Israeli Zionists and the Jews in general, even though Allah had instructed the Muslims to love and respect Jews and Christians, and even though the Prophet Muhammad himself had married a Jewess, made pacts with Jews, and maintained relations with them. He called on the Muslims to first achieve peace amongst themselves and with those around them, and to recognize that they have profound antisemitic hatred and racism, and that they are capable nevertheless of carrying out Allah's commandment and respect the Jews.

The following are translated excerpts of Shobakshi's column:
"When the extremists in the political Islam organizations want to carry out character assassination against a leader in the Arab world, they are accustomed to reiterating over and over that 'his mother was a Jewess' or that 'he has Jewish roots.' Often, the supporters of this or that leader respond to this by saying of the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood that 'his mother was a Jewess.'[1] This has made me wonder about the scope of the hatred for Jews in our culture, and about our inability to distinguish between the Jews as People of the Book – whom Allah commanded us to love and respect and permitted us to trade with them, eat their foods, and marry them – and the Israeli Zionist political project that has instilled [in us] schizophrenia [in our attitude towards the Jews] from which we have not yet awakened.

"The intensity of the Jew-hatred disseminated by the media and by art, literature, and political cartoons [in the Arab world] has reached a degree that cannot be ignored. No one, of course, is arguing that the Jewish and Israeli arena itself is free of a culture of hatred within it. In the extremist religious Jewish schools, there is [also] the same takfir [i.e. accusing others of heresy, as there is among Muslims] and differentiation between the [Jewish] people and the 'gentiles,' who are worthless and may be robbed and killed. From these schools emerged the well-known extremist terrorists Meir Kahana and Baruch Goldstein.

"However, antisemitism in the Arab world is the product of loathsome, racist education that is rooted in the Arab mentality that is used to labeling people according to tribal, family, and racial affiliation, and according to the religious school to which they belong. It is this education that prompted thousands of Jews who were citizens of Arab countries to emigrate after the establishment of the State of Israel… (this is the same mentality faced by Christians of the Arab Orient and by all other religious [non-Muslim] streams in the region).

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Ilhan Omar's career in the Minnesota Senate proves she supports terrorists

Anti-Israel activists have been attacking AIPAC for a series of ads like this one targeting Representative Ilhan Omar.

AIPAC was highlighting this Omar tweet:

Their argument has been that by mentioning that Omar seems to water down terrorism by comparing Israel and America to Hamas and the Taliban, AIPAC is unfairly linking Omar with terrorism itself.

Obviously, AIPAC's ad didn't go that far. If they felt that she was a terrorist, the tagline "Condemn terrorists, not America" wouldn't make much sense. 

There is a good reason why Omar's anti-Israel supporters want to change the argument from what Omar actually has said to identity politics, where a Muslim woman of color is untouchable and any criticism is twisted into Islamophobia, misogyny, racism and incitement. 

However, the record shows that during the short time Omar was in the Minnesota Senate she consistently chose to defend and support terrorists.

As soon as Omar was elected in November 2016, before she actually took office as a state senator, Omar wrote a letter to Judge Michael Brown asking for leniency for 9 nine Somali men facing sentencing for trying to join ISIS.

In her letter, Omar wrote that the men do not deserve long sentences in prison, as this would destroy their lives. She suggested instead a rehabilitation program, saying “the desire to commit violence is not inherent to people — it is the consequence for alienation.”

However, Judge Brown had already tried a deradicalization program for at least one of the men, placing him in a halfway house. He violated the terms of parole and was sent back to prison.

Either Omar was not aware of this - which is unlikely, since the Somali community in Minnesota is tight-knit - or she tried to use her influence to release nine men who intended to join ISIS.

In April, 2017, Omar showed with her own vote that she supported terrorists.

In  2015, terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook verified his life insurance policy was up to date before going on a shooting rampage that killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California. He was shot dead by police at the scene. Farook's mother attempted to get the insurance payout 

The Minnesota Senate introduced legislation to close any loopholes that would allow insurance companies to pay for people killed while performing terrorist acts.

There were only two votes against that bill. One was by John Lesch, who described his concern about a theoretical situation where insurance companies could decide that a borderline case was terrorism to avoid a payout. He felt there should be a conviction in court making that determination. However, Lesch said, “Terrorists should not be able to send life insurance benefits to beneficiaries based on bad faith recent policy purchases. I think we can all agree on that.”

The other person who voted against this bill was Ilhan Omar. 

Unlike Lesch, she refused to give a reason for her vote. Unlike Lesch, she never said that she was against life insurance benefits for terrorists.

These two examples in Omar's record show a pattern of support for Muslim terrorists. 

For some reason, the media doesn't talk about Omar's record as a state senator supporting terror, but anything she says nowadays as a member of Congress that minimizes international terrorism must be seen through the lens of her existing record. That record is damning.

If anything, AIPAC's ads do not go far enough. 

She may not be a terrorist herself, but Ilhan Omar has a consistent record of using her political position to stand on the side of terrorists. People who support her support that agenda.

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04/16 Links Pt2: Jewish critics of Israel have a problem with Israelis, not with Netanyahu; Nikki Haley interviewed by Hillel Neuer; The UK Labour Party is institutionally anti-Semitic

From Ian:

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Jonathan S. Tobin: Jewish critics of Israel have a problem with Israelis, not with Netanyahu

The issue on which they are prepared to discard the ties between Israel and American Jews is one that is hardly worth such a split. Netanyahu made it clear that he’s not talking about annexation of the West Bank, but applying Israeli law to settlements where, it must be pointed out, Israeli law already is applied as a general practice. Doing so wouldn’t prevent a two-state solution were the Palestinians ever inclined to accept one, which Jacobs and his friends know very well they have repeatedly rejected.

What is really at stake here is nothing more than the anger of American Jews who are still shocked that Israelis don’t value their advice. The clear majority of Israelis, including many who voted for Blue and White because of disgust with Netanyahu’s legal problems and because Gantz offered no substantive disagreements with the prime minister on security issues, have rejected the blind belief of Jacobs and his friends in withdrawal from the West Bank as an end in and of itself.

We know Jacobs and ADL head Jonathan Greenblatt oppose Netanyahu and Trump. But it’s time to acknowledge that their real beef is with the Israeli people, who have repeatedly rejected their opinions by margins of landslide proportions. Most Israelis believe that endangering their security by creating a hostile sovereign power in Judea and Samaria—the way Ariel Sharon did in Gaza with his 2005 withdrawal—would be madness.

Writers like former Forward editor Jane Eisner and Peter Beinart, who are open about rejecting the political will of Israeli’s people and in abandoning the notion of Israel’s centrality (Eisner) or working to subjugate Israel to the will of foreign powers who wish to impose a solution on it (Beinart), are more honest than Jacobs and Greenblatt about their goals.

Regardless of their own opinions about Netanyahu or the conflict, it’s likely that many Reform and Conservative Jews, as well as donors to ADL, aren’t comfortable with having these organizations express such contempt for the people of Israel or for them to attempt to sabotage the U.S.-Israel relationship. Nor should they be. These unelected leaders of American Jewry who have the nerve to lecture the people of Israel about Jewish values and morals deserve to be ignored.

Nikki Haley interviewed by Hillel Neuer, King David Gala, Montreal, April 10, 2019.

Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental: the boy from Belsen brings urgent lessons to Belfast…

Tomi’s story informs that every German family has a skeleton in their cupboard from that period. This is not to suggest that most Germans have not exorcised old ghosts and recognise uncomfortable truths. They have, as the film shows. Rather, for some it is taboo. Nazis are still admired, and anti-Semitism has not gone away.

In one clip, Tomi is in the room the Wannsee conference took place. This is where Hitler and his henchmen conceived the final solution. In typical German efficiency, everything was catalogued.

Now a museum, on the wall a list itemising the number of Jews across Europe to be exterminated, one of them being Tomi. The plan included 4,000 Jews in Ireland.

Factor in, others deemed unfit to be citizens by nationalist extremists and categorised with different coloured stars other than yellow, and the number was certain to rise.

I raised the Irish aspect with Tomi and Gerry. In Northern Ireland, unionist understanding of the Republic’s neutral role in World War II is routinely coloured. Constantly cited is De Valera offering condolences to Germany on Hitler’s death.

It may not have been Dev’s greatest moment but nor is it representative of a nation that interned IRA suspects throughout the war and executed those who collaborated with the Nazis.

My point here is this. Had Hitler had his way, the people to administer the Zyklon B in Ireland were the IRA, a sinister organisation based on whispers. Kids like Tomi Reichental would have been rounded up by men like Sean Russell, the IRA chief of staff who died on a Nazi submarine.

For the Sinn Fein family, Russell is an Irish patriot or victim, but never a perpetrator. No, never that. Each year they pay homage to his statue in Dublin. If Russell was still alive, Tomi would ask him, are you sorry for what you did?

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02/11 Links Pt2: Ilhan Omar Promotes Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories, Retweets 'Hook-Nosed' Tweet; Tlaib Wrote Op-Ed for Farrakhan in 2006; Warren fails to dispute ‘apartheid state’ accusation of Israel

From Ian:

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Congresswoman Ilhan Omar suggests Jewish money behind US support of Israel

Newly elected Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar suggested on Sunday that Jewish money was behind American elected officials’ support for Israel, sparking widespread condemnation and fresh allegations of anti-Semitism.

Omar, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, was responding on Twitter to Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCathy’s vow to “take action” against her and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, both of whom support the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

“It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” Omar tweeted, reacting to another tweet from the prominent journalist Glenn Greenwald, who said it was “stunning how much time US political leaders spend defending a foreign nation even if it means attacking free speech rights of Americans,” referring to McCarthy’s pledge.

Benjamins are a slang term for $100 bills, which feature US founding father Benjamin Franklin.

When one journalist followed up by saying she wondered who Omar thought was paying American politicians to be pro-Israel, Omar responded: “AIPAC!,” referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

While the pro-Israel lobby wields considerable influence in Washington, it does not contribute to campaigns, nor does it make endorsements.

Omar, a Somali-born refugee from Ethiopia, was recently appointed to the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee. In recent weeks, Omar and others have been vociferous critics of two anti-BDS bills that are being pushed in Congress.

Ilhan Omar Promotes Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories, Retweets 'Hook-Nosed' Tweet

Anti-Semitic Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on Sunday and retweeted a tweet that said "[Omar] might as well call [Jews] hook-nosed."

Omar's vile remarks came in response to a Haaretz report that stated that Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was going to take action against anti-Semitic Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Omar.

"If [Democrats] do not take action I think you’ll see action from myself," McCarthy said. "This cannot sustain itself. It’s unacceptable in this country."

Omar, who has promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that were used by Nazi Germany, said that the GOP's support for Israel was "all about the Benjamins baby."

An hour later, Omar promoted another anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, falsely stating that The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is paying American politicians "to be pro-Israel."

Omar then retweeted the following tweet that stated she "might as well call [American Jews] hook-nosed."

"I’m one of those American Jews who opposes the occupation, laments Israel’s anti-democratic drift, and doesn’t regard the country as especially central to my Jewish identity," Politico magazine editor Joshua Zeitz tweeted. "And I know exactly what the congresswoman meant. She might as well call us hook-nosed."

Congresswoman @IlhanMN just retweeted a criticism of her anti-Semitic tweet which said that “she might as well call us hook-nosed.” pic.twitter.com/VLjEglThZf

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) February 11, 2019

Ilhan Omar To Speak Alongside Man Who Praised Killing Jews, Report Says

Embattled anti-Semitic Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is scheduled to speak alongside a senior charity official who has praised the killing of Jews on social media.

"Islamic Relief USA is hosting a fundraising dinner for aid to Yemen on February 23," the Middle East Forum reports. "Rep. Ilhan Omar is due to speak alongside senior Islamic Relief USA official Yousef Abdallah, who was widely criticized in 2017 after the Middle East Forum found he had expressed violently anti-Semitic ideas on his social media accounts."

The Middle East Forum's report provides screenshots and descriptions of numerous anti-Semitic social media posts from Abdallah:

• Abdallah, who serves as Islamic Relief USA's "operations manager," shared a "very beautiful" story about "martyrs" who provide guns to "kill more than 20 jews" and "fire rockets at Tel Aviv."
• Other posts referred to Jews as "stinking," and claim "the Jews put the outside wall of Al Aqsa [the mosque in Jerusalem] on fire." Abdallah also 'liked' a comment on his Facebook post that calls on God to wreak "revenge on the damned rapists Zionists. O God they are no challenge for you . Shake the Earth beneath their feet and destroy them as you destroyed the peoples of ʿĀd, Thamud and Lot."
• And in 2014, after Republican politician Chris Christie apologized for referring to the West Bank and Gaza as "occupied," Abdallah wrote: "Christie kneels down on his knees before the jewish lords and says 'I am sorry'. Only money makes stuff like this happen. Mr. Christie.. Muslims should remember this very well."

‘Hateful and Offensive:’ Omar Slammed by Fellow Democrats for Saying Israel Support Is Bought by AIPAC

Another day, another anti-Semitic controversy for freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.).

This time, she found herself being called out by one of her own Democratic colleagues, Jewish organizations and even Chelsea Clinton for tweets claiming Republican support for Israel is bought and paid for by AIPAC.

Omar linked to a tweet by left-wing journalist Glenn Greenwald, who was criticizing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) for threatening punishment against Omar and fellow anti-Israel Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.). She wrote, "It's all about the Benjamins baby" with musical notes, a reference to $100 bills with Benjamin Franklin's face on them.

Forward opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon criticized Omar for tweeting an "anti-Semitic trope" and said she'd love to know who is "paying American politicians to be pro-Israel." Omar responded, "AIPAC!", the name of the pro-Israel lobbying organization.

Omar's tweets were met with sharp criticism even from members of her own party, including Rep. Max Rose (D., N.Y.). Rose, who is Jewish, tweeted out a statement calling her words "hateful and offensive."

Clinton tweeted in agreement with Ungar-Sargon that the congresswoman had again crossed a line.

"We should expect all elected officials, regardless of party, and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism," Clinton wrote.

Bipartisan Condemnation Erupts Over Ilhan Omar's Anti-Semitism

On Sunday, after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) displayed her blatant anti-Semitism by tweeting that GOP support for Israel was "all about the Benjamins," and followed by accusing AIPAC of paying American politicians to support Israel, bipartisan condemnation of her remarks erupted, although no leading Democrats said a word about their colleague’s vile rhetoric.

Omar’s initial anti-Semitic tweet was triggered by famed anti-Semite leftist Glenn Greenwald, who tweeted, "GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy threatens punishment for @IlhanMN and @RashidaTlaib over their criticisms of Israel. It's stunning how much time US political leaders spend defending a foreign nation even if it means attacking free speech rights of Americans."

Omar delightedly responded, "It’s all about the Benjamins, baby."

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, an incredibly staunch supporter of Israel who saw Israel get attacked incessantly at the U.N., fired back, "To see this at the UN was a fight every day. This CANNOT be tolerated in our own Congress by anyone of either party. In a time of increased anti semitism, we all must be held to account. No excuses."

McCarthy himself blasted, “Anti-Semitic tropes have no place in the halls of Congress. It is dangerous for Democrat leadership to stay silent on this reckless language.”

Former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who has been virtually the only Democrat willing to call out members of his own party for their anti-Semitism, snapped, "Defending Israel from antisemites is 'all about the Benjamins'? Really? It’s about money? Another antisemitic trope for @Ilhan Omar? She’s like an antisemitic pinball machine that spits out old canards as the ball bounces around her brain. She’s the gift that keeps on giving!"

The time has come to demand Dem leaders speak out against @ilhanmn for her vile antisemitism. This isn’t going away. Where is @nancypelosi @SenSchumer @RepJerryNadler @RepEliotEngel @RepAdamSchiff @DWStweets and DNC leadership? Have they lost their ears, eyes, or damned minds? pic.twitter.com/mRhtDMJSJC

— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) February 11, 2019

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Ilhan Omar is the Leftist Trump

The remarks that Ilhan Omar made over the past few days - and watching how her fans in social media are responding to them - shows that she is the Donald Trump of the Left.

She'll say something that is an obvious antisemitic dog whistle (starting with how Jews are "hypnotizing the world" and then going on to falsely claim how AIPAC, regarded as the "Jewish Lobby," spreads money around to keep Congress in its pocket, being "all about the Benjamins."

As with Trump, her followers and fans understand her statements exactly as the people being targeted do. They compliment her on her bravery in taking on these powerful interests. They disparage those who call her out on the dog whistles, claiming that she is only noting her displeasure at Netanyahu and Likud an the "occupation", even though neither of those were even implied in her statements.

And then she takes the ball and runs with it, claiming the same thing.

Being opposed to Netanyahu and the occupation is not the same as being anti-Semitic. I am grateful to the many Jewish allies who have spoken out and said the same.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 3, 2019

Her attacks were on American Jews and American supporters of Israel, not Netanyahu. 

See this exchange:

Our democracy is built on debate, Congresswoman! I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee. The people of the 5th elected me to serve their interest. I am sure we agree on that! https://t.co/gglAS4FVJW

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 3, 2019

Who is demanding that she give allegiance to Israel? No one. But her charge that her opponents do exactly that is yet another antisemitic dog whistle. Bret Stephens called her on it, and she responded with a Trumpian tweet, claiming that she didn't do what she so obviously did, complete with misspellings:

People do every single day, and no I haven’t attached pro-Isreal Americans. I have questioned our politics! You want to paint every word I say as such, and that’s more of your problem. https://t.co/KxhRlfYRfq

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 3, 2019

And this obvious lie:

I have not said anything about the loyalty of others, but spoke about the loyalty expected of me. There is the difference.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 3, 2019

What exactly does "I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay to push for allegiance to a foreign country" mean if not an attack on supporters of Israel that she is accusing of dual loyalty?

In one important way, Omar out-Trumps Trump. Omar uses her color and religion as both a shield and a club - claiming that she knows what discrimination is and therefore cannot be bigoted, and that those people who attack her obvious antisemitic statements are Islamophobic and racist.

It is the Trumpian skill of changing the subject taken to a new level.

As with Trump, the fires that she sets continue to burn in her wake. As with Trump, her fans run with the bigotry that were introduced into the discourse by a prominent politician, and topics that were rightly taboo because they are  racist or antisemitic suddenly become subject to debate. As with Trump, she claims innocence that her statements could ever be interpreted in a bigoted way. As with Trump, the people who call her out on her bigotry are enemies to be targeted by her fans.

As with Trump, Omar is not stupid - she cannot claim to be ignorant of what her words mean.

As with Trump, Omar using her platform to mainstream hate is wrong and irresponsible, if not downright malicious.

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