Nick Cannon pretends to be the victim, says Viacom/CBS is racist for firing him

Nick Cannon has released a long statement about CBS firing him. It shows that he has absolutely no clue or regrets about his bigotry and racism and instead wants to position himself as a victim of anti-Black racism.

I am deeply saddened in a moment so close to reconciliation that the powers that be, misused an important moment for us to all grow closer together and learn more about one another. Instead the moment was stolen and highjacked to make an example of an outspoken black man. I will not be bullied, silenced, or continuously oppressed by any organization, group, or corporation. I am disappointed that Viacom does not understand or respect the power of the black community.

You see? His calling Jews and whites “savages” and spouting Rothschild conspiracy theories that have resulted in the deaths of untold numbers of people was really an opportunity for growth! A corporation that doesn’t want to be associated with blind hate is “oppressing” him.

I don’t have to defend myself here, the proof is in the history. I believed that the corporation was becoming more progressive and willing to create helpful spaces and dialogue in these difficult and uncertain times of 2020. Instead they chose to recently ban all advertisement that supported George Floyd and Breonna Taylor who we are all still seeking justice for. I also went as far to reach out to Ms. Shari Redstone, the owner of Viacom, to have a conversation of reconciliation and actually apologize if I said anything that pained or hurt her or her community. Dead Silence! So that’s when I realized they don’t want a conversation or growth, they wanted to put the young negro in his place. They wanted to show me who is boss, hang me out to dry and make an example of anyone who says something they don’t agree with. But like the great Shirley Chisholm, “I am unbossed and unbought and unbothered”. I respectfully stepped away from oppressive corporations in the past. NBC threatened and mistreated me for years, but I was the bigger person and abandoned an 8-figure salary on their number one hit show “Americas Got Talent” and currently stand by my friend and Queen Gabrielle Union in her fight against oppression.

Cannon’s lack of ability to understand the racism and hate he was proudly and laughingly engaged in, and instead to play the victim, is breathtaking. And to say that a corporation that paid him an 8-figure salary (!) and made him into a household name was mistreating him is the definition of tone deaf. (And apparently NBC wasn’t so oppressive because his new E! show is put out by NBCUniversal.)

My hope and original goal was to use this moment to show healing and acceptance and prayed that Viacom would use their powers for good. Instead I am now receiving death threats, hate messages calling me an ungrateful Nigger and beyond. Viacom’s goal to keep me from providing for my family and lineage will be foiled. They can try to kick me while I’m down or force me to kiss the master’s feet in public for shame and ridicule, but instead I stand firm on my square with my fist in the air repeating my mantra, “You can’t fire a Boss!”.

Obviously any abuse he received is unwarranted and wrong. Yet again this is disingenuous – his fans abused the real victims of this episode, the Jews and others who were maligned publicly by Cannon. All over social media, Cannon’s fans asserted that his words were true and that Jews were slave traders, fake Khazars, abusers of blacks, melatonin-deprived savages. Cannon did not say a word to dissuade them – because these are his own deeply held beliefs as well.

In a pleasant turn of events and the best blessing in all of this hurtful attack is the outpouring of love and support from the Jewish community. It has been amazing. I have spoken with many Rabbis, clergy, Professors and coworkers who offer their sincere help. I must apologize to my Jewish Brothers and Sisters for putting them in such a painful position, which was never my intention, but I know this whole situation has hurt many people and together we will make it right. I have dedicated my daily efforts to continuing conversations to bring the Jewish Community and the African American community closer together, embracing our differences and sharing our commonalities. Through the guidance of my multicultural team which embodies several people from the Jewish Community, specifically Michael Goldman my business partner for 3 decades who discovered me at the Hollywood Improv when I was doing Stand Up as a kid. Through thick and thin he has been by my side. Yelling at me when I talk too much and laughing with me as we’ve always overcome adversity together. I love you my brother, thank you for helping me become the man that I am today. And as we embark on this next “Ncredible” journey together we will bring our two persecuted communities together like we always planned. He and so many gracious people from the Jewish Community are showering me with love and helping to guide me to the Promise land, literally l am excited to announce that I have been invited to Israel which is a lifelong dream where I will receive teachings, lessons and truth about the Jewish history. As someone who is in pursuit for my PHD in Theology and Divinity and just received a degree in Criminal Justice from the Great Howard University, this will be an enriching, enlightening and overall exciting trip!

As for Viacom, who is now on the wrong side of history, I will continue to pray for you. I don’t blame any individual, I blame the oppressive and racist infrastructure. Systemic racism is what this world was built on and was the subject in which I was attempting to highlight in the recent clips that have been circulating from my podcast. If I have furthered the hate speech, I wholeheartedly apologize.

But now I am the one making demands. I demand full ownership of my billion dollar “Wild ‘N Out” brand that I created, and they will continue to misuse and destroy without my leadership! I demand that the hate and back door bullying cease and while we are at it, now that the truth is out, I demand the Apology!

Cannon claims that he wants to learn, and this is a wonderful message, but his refusal to even acknowledge the pain he directly caused to Jews with his words indicates the opposite.  And while he finally issues the standard celebrity non-apology “if I offended anyone I apologize” his immediately following that up with his “demands” indicates that there is nothing heartfelt about this at all.

There is of course a danger in “canceling” him, which is that is can increase antisemitism from the Black community. But Cannon leaves his corporate sponsors no choice. Perhaps he honestly thinks that his call for education can replace a real apology, but in the end he really and truly believes that Jewish people are fakers, white people are savages and that a secret Jewish banking cabal runs the world. He has not made the slightest indication that those opinions have been modified the tiniest bit in the past three days.

In the end, Cannon remains is a racist and an antisemite. And his essay proves that he is a bully on top of it.

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EoZTV: Algemeiner’s Dovid Efune

 

We discussed black antisemitism, Bari Weiss, why the New York Times allows its editorial page to be so far Left,  and Peter Beinart.

This was right before Viacom/CBS announced they will fire Nick Cannon. I expressed frustration that the mainstream media had not yet covered the Cannon story that I was pushing so hard since Sunday; Dovid assured me that nowadays bloggers are often the ones who are the real news sources and the MSM will inevitably follow. He was proven right within an hour after the show aired - clearly Viacom/CBS didn't wait for any newspapers or wire services to carry the story before deciding to fire him.  (As of this writing, British newspapers, entertainment media and Time magazine have the story.)

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Viacom/CBS fires Nick Cannon for antisemitism; will @FoxTV, @NBCUniversal and @Power106LA follow?

On Tuesday night, Viacom/CBS announced that they will terminate their relationship with Nick Cannon, whose antisemitic and racist comments were posted here on Sunday morning.

ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism. We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast ‘Cannon’s Class’ on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. While we support ongoing education and dialogue in the fight against bigotry, we are deeply troubled that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are terminating our relationship with him. We are committed to doing better in our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry. ViacomCBS will have further announcements on our efforts to combat hate of all kinds.

While I am not happy with cancel culture, from Viacom/CBS’ point of view it is too toxic to be associated with a bigot.
There is no way that Fox can continue having Cannon as host of The Masked Singer after Viacom/CBS already fired him. It is not s good look to appear to be more tolerant of antisemitism than another network.
That leaves Los Angeles radio station Power 106, where Cannon has a daily radio show. That show probably provides a decent chunk of the station’s revenue and firing him would be very expensive. It will be interesting to see how they handle this, but you can be sure they are not too happy about this.
Cannon had just been profiled Tuesday by Fast Company in a fawning piece that was written before they became aware of his racism.  That article details Cannon’s other shows and businesses.

Nick Cannon has guided his career with a modest goal in mind: “to become the most powerful man in media.”
Judging by his current résumé, he seems to be on track.
In addition to hosting and executive producing Fox’s The Masked Singer, MTV’s Wild ‘n Out, and E!’s newest show, Celebrity Call Center, Cannon also launched two nationally syndicated radio shows this year on top of his #1 show on Power 106, Nick Cannon Mornings.
Of course, the above doesn’t include his film and music career that spans two decades—not to mention his businesses outside of media, which include a Los Angeles-based vegan soul food restaurant he launched this year, and his line of headphones that have generated more than $80 million in revenue.
It’s an already dizzying track record, but Cannon is about to add what he hopes will become the crown jewel of his empire to tie it all together: his nationally syndicated daytime talk show Nick Cannon premiering in September.

E! is owned by NBC Universal., so Celebrity Call Center seems to be in danger as well.
Cannon’s his headphone business is probably safe, and the poor victim of the Rothschild plot against him will have to survive on the millions that he makes a year from that.

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07/14 Links Pt2: BDS Leader Shredded by Missouri State Representatives; Bari Weiss resigns from NYTs: 'Twitter has become its ultimate editor'; Jonathan Tobin: Don't accept the myth of 'Jewish privilege'

From Ian:

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Missouri enacts anti-BDS law, joining 31 other states

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, signed a bill into law on Monday to prohibit the state contracting with companies that boycott Israel. As such, it has become the 32nd state to enact an anti-BDS measure.

The state’s House of Representatives passed the measure, 95-40, in May. The state Senate passed it, 28-1, on April 30.

The Anti-Discrimination Against Israel Act prohibits Missouri and its political subdivisions from entering into contracts worth more than $100,000 with companies with 10 or more employees that engage in BDS.

Moreover, it exercises the state’s freedom to choose firms for contracts. It does not penalize or infringe on any individual’s right to free expression or penalize companies that choose not to do business with Israel for legitimate economic reasons.

In a statement, Christians United for Israel (CUFI) founder and chairman Pastor John Hagee said the legislation makes “clear that Missouri will not be party to the economic warfare waged by Israel’s detractors. Missourians can now rest assured that their tax dollars will not be used in furtherance of the anti-Semitic movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel.”

Canary Mission: BDS Leader Shredded by Missouri State Representatives

In May 2020, the State of Missouri passed an anti-BDS bill. The vote passed after State Representatives expressed their shock that key witness and BDS promoter, Neveen Ayesh, had lied to them.

'Twitter has become its ultimate editor': Opinion editor Bari Weiss resigns from New York Times

A New York Times opinion writer and editor announced her resignation on Tuesday, castigating the newspaper for its obsequious embrace of social media.

Bari Weiss, who had been at the newspaper since 2017, posted her resignation letter, which was addressed to A.G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher, on her personal website.

"Twitter is not on the masthead of the New York Times," she wrote. "But Twitter has become its ultimate editor. As the ethics and mores of that platform have become those of the paper, the paper itself has increasingly become a kind of performance space. Stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences, rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw their own conclusions."

Weiss noted the vitriol she faced from coworkers who disagreed with her columns and viewpoints. She also specified how her frequent columns about Judaism and anti-Semitism were derided by others in the newsroom.

"My own forays into Wrongthink have made me the subject of constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views. They have called me a Nazi and a racist; I have learned to brush off comments about how I’m 'writing about the Jews again,'" she added. "Several colleagues perceived to be friendly with me were badgered by coworkers. My work and my character are openly demeaned on company-wide Slack channels where masthead editors regularly weigh in."

She said the behavior of her former colleagues amounted to "unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive discharge. I’m no legal expert. But I know that this is wrong."

Bari Weiss's resignation letter confirms everything conservatives suspected about the New York Times

Weiss’s letter continues, alleging that the New York Times’s breakneck descent these past few years into left-wing purism has been fueled largely by activist staffers, social media, and the cowardice of the paper’s senior executives.

“Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times,” she writes. “But Twitter has become its ultimate editor. As the ethics and mores of that platform have become those of the paper, the paper itself has increasingly become a kind of performance space.”

Weiss notes, “Stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences, rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw their own conclusions.”

These trends at the New York Times have been obvious to anyone with working eyeballs.

However, Weiss continues, there is the issue that many may not know about, and that is the issue of the paper’s hostile workplace environment. She claims she was targeted specifically because she did not share her colleagues’ politics.

Weiss writes:
My own forays into Wrongthink have made me the subject of constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views. They have called me a Nazi and a racist; I have learned to brush off comments about how I’m 'writing about the Jews again.' Several colleagues perceived to be friendly with me were badgered by coworkers. My work and my character are openly demeaned on company-wide Slack channels where masthead editors regularly weigh in. There, some coworkers insist I need to be rooted out if this company is to be a truly 'inclusive' one, while others post ax emojis next to my name. Still other New York Times employees publicly smear me as a liar and a bigot on Twitter with no fear that harassing me will be met with appropriate action. They never are.
[...]
All this bodes ill, especially for independent-minded young writers and editors paying close attention to what they’ll have to do to advance in their careers. Rule One: Speak your mind at your own peril. Rule Two: Never risk commissioning a story that goes against the narrative. Rule Three: Never believe an editor or publisher who urges you to go against the grain. Eventually, the publisher will cave to the mob, the editor will get fired or reassigned, and you’ll be hung out to dry.

The full letter: Bari Weiss on why she left the New York Times

Eliot Engel and the vanishing pro-Israel Jewish Liberal

Is it possible to be an American Jew who proudly and emphatically supports the State of Israel while embracing the values of the left? The takeover of the Democratic Party by the ideologues of intersectionality and other far-left philosophies is making this proposition increasingly untenable.

Recent developments have rendered public representatives of the liberal but pro-Israel approach a nearly endangered political species. This trend, which shows every sign of gathering momentum, will have implications not only for American politics but for the American Jewish community itself.

One would have to be in serious denial to think that Bowman will be a friend of Israel in Congress. To the contrary, he will likely align with the “Squad” on Israel.

The recent nationwide unrest and nearly wholesale adoption by Democrats of the radical ideology fueling it have made it apparent to all but the most fervent denialists that postmodern progressivism refuses to accommodate the kind of support for Israel that was once practically taken as a given.

Few politicians have exemplified the combination of liberalism and support for Israel the way congressman Eliot Engel (D) has during his more than 30 years on Capitol Hill, most recently representing New York’s 16th district.

It now appears that his career came to a sudden end with the closing of the polls in his party’s recent primary. As of this writing, although mail-in ballots are still being counted, it seems extremely unlikely that Engel will overcome the lead of his far-left challenger, Jamaal Bowman. By the time this article is posted, the final results will probably be known.

With Bowman's win, he and the far-left forces backing him will have succeeded in taking out one of the most influential pro-Israel Jewish politicians in the Democratic Party, who currently serves as Chairman of the important House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Engel’s defeat is problematic enough on its own for those who believe that the synthesis he represents is still viable, but more is at stake since his party’s base has been all but captured by the likes of the Black Lives Matter movement.

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AFP reports on PA arresting “pro-annexation” Palestinians

(illustrative)

Usually international media ignores Palestinian abuses against their own people, so kudos to AFP for this story (which was in Israeli media weeks ago):

The Palestinian Authority has arrested several people who said they would favour Israeli annexations in parts of the West Bank, corroborating sources say, despite Ramallah's denial.

In an Israeli television report aired in early June, several Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are heard expressing the hope of becoming Israelis if annexation under a US-Israeli plan moves forward.

The comments by those interviewed directly contradict the Palestinian Authority's (PA's) total opposition to any West Bank annexations, a view shared by an overwhelming majority of the Palestinian public, according to surveys.

The Palestinians featured in the programme were captured by hidden camera and their identities concealed in the broadcast through blurred faces and distorted voices.

"I want an Israeli identity card," one Palestinian is heard saying. Another stated that he didn't see "Israelis as enemies -- their government is the enemy". And a third said he "chose Israel" and wasn't afraid to speak out publicly.

The prominent Israeli journalist who made the report, Tzvi Yehezkeli, said at least six people who spoke out in favour of annexation were subsequently arrested by the PA's security services.

"I was surprised to see that even though I've blurred the faces of all the people I filmed and distorted their voices, the Authority has reached and arrested (some) of them, it's just amazing," he told AFP.

…

Yehezkeli, who has been a correspondent in the Palestinian territories for nearly 25 years, told AFP he realised there are also many Palestinians who do not share the outright opposition of their leaders.

Some interviewees had told him that "we don't care about annexation" and that "the Palestinian Authority has failed" and was "corrupt", he said, adding that he regretted not airing all those comments on television.

He insisted he had been told of their subsequent arrests by their families and stressed that he felt "responsible".

One Palestinian contacted by AFP said his relative, who had criticised the PA in the report, had been held for several weeks by Palestinian police and was due to face a court soon.

The individual said he was also in favour of annexation and, despite "fear" of being arrested, added he remained hopeful "that Israel will give us citizenship".

Who knows, maybe Human Rights Watch will even cover this one day.

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The Official EoZ Intersectionality Victimhood Calculator version 2.0

In 2018, I created the first EoZ Intersectionality Victimhood Calculator. As I wrote then,

All that matters in any conflict - from mere arguments on Twitter to large scale wars - is to understand which side is perceived to be the bigger victim. The victim always wins in the court of public opinion run by most of the media, academia and diplomats. Here is my attempt on calculating who is the perceived underdog, and therefore the more righteous, of each side in any conflict. The more you think about it, the more it reflects reality:

Attribute	Victimhood score
Trans	8
Black	8
Native American or other First People	7
Woman	6
Gay	6
Muslim	5
Arab, other Middle Eastern	5
Hispanic	4
Disabled, pregnant	4
Anti-Zionist Jew	4
Wears hijab	2
Palestinian	2
Asian American	1
White	-1
Republican or conservative	-3
Christian (white only)	-3
Jew	-3
Visibly religious Jew	-3
Jewish settler	-6
Identifies proudly as Zionist*	-8
Trump supporter	-8
White nationalist/neo Nazi	-18

Multiple attributes are summed. So for example, a female Muslim Palestinian Arab who wears a hijab has a  victimhood score of 6+5+5+2+2, 20 in total, which is quite high. (If she is disabled and lesbian, the score soars to 30, meaning that she almost automatically wins the victimhood sweepstakes against anyone - unless the other person is similar but transsexual instead of lesbian.) The score depends on how you are perceived. So if you only start identifying as a member of a victim group later in life, as long as no one knows any different, you are in. This also applies to those who are half-or-quarter members of the oppressed group.

This calculator has been remarkably accurate. For example, Ilhan Omar ended up being a victim when Jews complained about her antisemitic statements, and Congress ended up not censuring her but instead released a statement that she could support.

There is one major revision that is needed, though, as I mentioned in my interview with Hen Mazzig this week. The attribute “*identifies proudly as a Zionist” needs a more complex calculation beyond its –8 score.

If someone has any positive victimhood scores, and they are also Zionist, their positive attributes become negative attributes of the same magnitude. Being a Zionist doesn’t blunt the victimhood scores, it inverts them.

This is why Hen Mazzig is so loathed by the Left. He is one of many pro-Israel speakers and advocates – you can list Alan Dershowitz or Bret Stephens, for example. But the Left hates Hen because he is a person of color and gay, and they feel that he is betraying them by showing that Israel is a tolerant state and the “victims” can be Zionists. (Kweansmom put out a thread from last year showing just a small but of how Mazzig was discussed last year – with so much hate that his critics couldn’t even stand to write out his name and used his initials.)

This is why women who are Zionists are sent so many sexist comments. I don’t get any, but female Zionists on Twitter are targeted with vile attacks.

This is why Professor Jason Hill was literally censured by his college for writing an article that supported Israel extending sovereignty over Judea and Samaria last year.  The reaction was much more vitriolic  than it would have been otherwise because Hill is a person of color, an immigrant and gay. 

There is a rich irony here in that the very people who pretend to be on the side of minorities and LGBTQ and women are incensed that these people dare think on their own, in ways that do not have the socialist stamp of approval. Their hysterical reactions prove that they are the bigots.

So while I might be a –18,  Hen would be a –22 and Hill would be a –25. I’m just a Zionist – but they are perceived as traitors.

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07/14 Links Pt1: David Friedman: Israel will always be a Jewish state; Dershowitz: Beinart's Final Solution: End Israel as Nation-State of the Jewish People

From Ian:

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David Friedman: Israel will always be a Jewish state

The insanity of Beinart’s position is that he believes a bi-national state, which will destroy Israel, is the appropriate outcome that should result from the failure of the two-state solution. But why has that solution failed? Because the Palestinian leadership has refused offer after offer, because it pays terrorists to kill Israelis, because it incites hatred against Jews, and because it is deeply unpopular, corrupt and cruel to its own people. Beinart’s solution: let’s reward the Palestinian leadership for its malfeasance and give them control of not just Judea and Samaria but potentially all of Israel itself!

The two-state solution is not dead, it has just morphed from an unattainable illusion to a pragmatic and realistic plan to end a century-old conflict. President Trump’s Vision for Peace proposes an achievable means for the Palestinians to self-govern within the bulk of Judea and Samaria without jeopardizing Israel’s security.

The Palestinian people have the opportunity today for real independence and to put an end, once and for all, to the hatred and violence that has impeded their advancement. The world stands by with an offer of massive financial assistance in the form of investment, not handouts, so that legitimate Palestinian aspirations may be realized. Sadly, the Palestinian leadership appears poised to miss this opportunity just as it has missed every other opportunity since 1947.

The answer to the Palestinian leadership’s antisemitic prejudice and bad faith rejection is not Israel’s disappearance. Israel’s existence as a Jewish state is every bit as just and compelling today as it was at the time of its founding in 1948. The State of Israel is the culmination of 2000 years of Jewish prayer and sacrifice; it is the restoration of an ancient people, a valley of dry bones come back to life in the words of the prophet Ezekiel. It will always be a Jewish state.

Alan Dershowitz: Beinart's Final Solution: End Israel as Nation-State of the Jewish People

Beinart arrogantly rejects democracy and the polls that show most Israelis and Palestinians are opposed to his proposed one-state solution. He has it exactly backwards when he argues that only "Palestinian and Jewish hardliners" resist his one-state solution. In reality, it is only hardliners who want one state: many Muslim hardliners want one Palestinian state "from the river to the see," and some Jewish hardliners want a Jewish state in all of biblical Israel.

Beinart rejects these democratic preferences.

Beinart's attempt to destroy the nation-state of the Jewish people would undo decades of sacrifice and hard work by Zionists since the middle of the 19th century. Despite its imperfections, Israel is a wonder to the world. It has given more to humankind—scientifically, medically, technologically, literarily and in so many other areas—in the 72 years of its existence than have the overwhelming majority of far-older countries throughout their entire histories. No nation faced with the threats comparable to those faced by Israel—including terrorism, rocket and terror tunnels attacks as well as Iranian aggression—has ever had a better record of human rights, compliance with the rule of law and concern for enemy civilians than has Israel.

In a world with so many Islamic, Christian and other religious and national states, why does Beinart believe there is no room for one nation-state of the Jewish people capable of protecting its citizens from aggression, capable of welcoming oppressed Jews from around the world and dedicated to equal rights for all of its citizens?

Beinart's nasty and ignorant article belongs in the waste basket of history. He has lost all claim to speak for any segment of the pro-Israel and Jewish communities by siding with those who would end the existence of the only nation-state of the Jewish people.

Fortunately, Beinart's anti-Israel arguments are likely to be accepted only by left-wing Jews who are embarrassed by Israel's strength and determination to protect the Jewish people against a repeat of history's tragedies. It was this history that led to the widespread acceptance of Zionism and the formation of the democratic Jewish nation-state.

The citizens of Israel—both Jewish and Muslim—will be the ones to decide on the appropriate solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. They overwhelmingly support a two-state solution, and they overwhelmingly reject Beinart's Final Solution. If the Palestinians want to have input in these decisions, they will have to come to the table and negotiate. Their fate and the fate of their Israeli neighbors will not be decided on the op-ed pages of The New York Times. It will be decided on the ground by direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

Dear @PeterBeinart @YachadUK

Recently you wrote / shared a vile anti-Zionist piece about how we should basically dismantle the Jewish homeland.

As I write it seems Yemen's last remaining Jews are being ethnically cleansed.

Any idea where they should go?

Asking for a friend.

— David Collier (@mishtal) July 14, 2020

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My response to Nick Cannon’s statement on Facebook

Here is what I wrote in response to Nick Cannon’s Facebook statement (see my last post.) it is really aimed more at the Black people who are his fans, and I doubt it will make a difference (especially being buried under hundreds of other comments) but I wanted to at least try to inject some truth in what was a pretty bad thread.

__________________

 

I hope that Nick Cannon is serious about wanting to learn. Because this thread includes so much further antisemitism, I hope I can explain a few things:

1. Jews did not dominate the slave trade. There were some Jewish slave owners and traders but they were a small percentage. Blaming Jews for the bulk of a reprehensible practice is an excuse for bigotry against Jews.

2. Some Jewish landlords are unethical, just like some Black landlords and some white Gentile landlords and everyone else.

3. I saw a guest on another of Nick's shows say that the US gives $80 billion a year to Israel. The number is less than $4 billion, and most of it goes towards US companies and jobs. You can argue about whether Israel should get anything but at least base it on truth.

4. There is no grand conspiracy of the Rothschilds controlling the world. Of course bankers have influence but the Rothschilds are not even in the top tier of the Forbes richest billionaires. Most of the billionaires are not Jewish.

5. The idea that a lack of melanin causes one to become a savage is EXACTLY as racist and offensive as the idea that the presence of melanin causes one to become a savage. It is pure hate and Cannon should apologize for that extraordinarily racist statement immediately. Otherwise he is literally no different than the KKK.

6. If there is any evidence that most Blacks are descended from the Hebrews, for example from the Ten Lost tribes, I would be happy to welcome you as a Jew. But to claim that today's Jews are not really Jews is false and offensive. There is an unbroken chain of tradition and written records, as well documented as anything can be, that show how Jews migrated from Judah throughout the world, often oppressed and expelled from one country to another, but always keeping their traditions and laws and peoplehood and religion. I myself am descended from the tribe of Levi and this is an unbroken tradition in my family. Telling me I am a Khazar or whatever is hugely offensive.

7. Nick Cannon says that he values truth, so I must say the truth: Farrakhan is a bigot. Nation of Islam can deny it all they want, but just like Black people don't want white people to tell them when to be offended, Jews don't want to be insulted as satanic and then told that it really isn't offensive. It is. Jews don't want to be told by Farrakhan that they are not really Jews and that he can decide who is and who isn't a real Jew. In the July 4th speech, he claimed that he prayed for Florida to get the coronavirus because, he claims, Jews from Cuba moved to Florida to turn America against Castro. What kind of a person wishes that so many people die because of a bizarre belief about Jews? Not to mention his anti-gay positions. The minister may say some good things but his bigotry should not be condoned by a community that knows the dangers of bigotry.

8. American Blacks who want to raise themselves up can learn a great deal from the American Jewish experience. While of course we were never treated as badly as Blacks have been in America, we came as outsiders - and the Holocaust survivors, like my own parents, were literally slaves themselves. Not figuratively - literally. Nevertheless, Jews in America built our own businesses and schools and hotels when the Christian majority placed restrictions on where we can work and learn and vacation. Some tried to assimilate, some held on to our traditions and didn't compromise. This sense of being outsiders is what animated so many Jews to support the civil rights movement in the 1960s. There are Jewish racists just like any other group, but Jews have been more anti-racist than any other group in America. We are not the enemy, and it is disheartening to see so many Black people subconsciously accept the hate spewed out by Louis Farrakhan and others.

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Nick Cannon’s attempts to explain his hate speech: extreme ignorance or whitewashing?

 

Yesterday, I tweeted “I wouldn't want @NickCannon to be fired. I would want him to have an articulate Jewish guest on his podcast that can explain to him AND HIS AUDIENCE why his beliefs are offensive and wrong, where he is free to ask questions.”

The reason I say this is twofold: One is that cancel culture is evil, and that applies to both sides, although there must be consequences for bigoted speech.

Secondly and more importantly, if Cannon is fired it would only increase the Black antisemitism we have been witness to on shows like his and elsewhere. It would just prove to the Black community that Jews control everything and that their people are not free to speak. If someone knowledgeable can appear on his platforms, at least his audience can be exposed to the truth. As Jemele Hill wrote in The Atlantic yesterday, many Black people grow up with bigotry the same way that many whites do and it is more ignorance than malice:

[T]he unfortunate truth is that some Black Americans have shown a certain cultural blindspot about Jews. Stereotypical and hurtful tropes about Jews are widely accepted in the African American community. As a kid, I heard elders in my family say in passing that Jewish people were consumed with making money, and that they “owned everything.” My relatives never dwelled on the subject, and nothing about their tone indicated that they thought anything they were saying was anti-Semitic—not that a lack of awareness would be any excuse.

I don’t know if it was because of my tweet, but not long afterwards Cannon wrote a statement echoing the same suggestion I wrote. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I have no hate in my heart nor malice intentions. I do not condone hate speech nor the spread of hateful rhetoric. We are living in a time when it is more important than ever to promote unity and understanding.

The Black and Jewish communities have both faced enormous hatred, oppression persecution and prejudice for thousands of years and in many ways have and will continue to work together to overcome these obstacles.

When you look at The Media, and other sectors in our nation’s history, African Americans and The people of the Jewish community have partnered to create some of the best, most revolutionary work we know today.

I am an advocate for people’s voices to be heard openly, fairly and candidly. In today’s conversation about anti-racism and social justice, I think we all - including myself - must continue educating one another and embrace uncomfortable conversations - it’s the only way we ALL get better. I encourage more healthy dialogue and welcome any experts, clergy, or spokespersons to any of my platforms to hold me accountable and correct me in any statement that I’ve made that has been projected as negative. Until then, I hold myself accountable for this moment and take full responsibility because My intentions are only to show that as a beautiful human species we have way more commonalities than differences, So let’s embrace those as well as each other. We All Family!

Notice that this is not an apology. Cannon explains why in an interview:

“To me apologies are empty. Are you forcing me to say the words, ‘I’m sorry’? Are you making me bow down, ’cause then again, that would be perpetuating that same rhetoric that we’re trying to get away from,” Cannon says. “What we need is healing. What we need is discussion. Correct me. I don’t tell my children to say, ‘I’m sorry.’ I want them to understand where they need to be corrected. And then that’s how we grow.”

“You can say sorry in as many different languages as you want to, and it means nothing,” Cannon continues. “But until someone truly understands where they may have been wrong or where they may have offended someone, then that’s where growth occurs.”

I agree with this. Too many times we have seen celebrities issue pro forma apologies that were drafted by teams of public relations experts and lawyers and the media accepts it and they go on with their lives.

The question is whether Cannon is serious about wanting to learn.

I have grave reservations about whether Nick Cannon can be educated. He believes in conspiracy theories – in the Rothschilds controlling the world, in the Illuminati, in “six corporations” and “13 families.” The idea that Blacks are the true descendants of Hebrews and Jews are imposters is also a conspiracy theory based on absolutely crazy premises that ignores 2000 years of recorded history. Conspiracy theorists cannot be swayed with facts because they regard the facts as just more evidence of an even larger conspiracy.

I also fear that perhaps my idea gave him a “get out of jail free” card where he can claim to care about dialogue and truth while keeping his media empire intact.

But it would still be far better for Cannon to host people, Jewish or Black or both, who can explain to his audience both why his words are hurtful and why they are false, rather than let him spew his bile unopposed. Cannon might be irredeemable – but a quarter of a million people watched his antisemitic and racist podcast on YouTube and plenty more on other platforms. if Jemele Hill is correct, many or most of them are simply never exposed to any other opinions besides antisemitism. Hosting an articulate counterpoint can have far better results than simply forcing Cannon to issue another insincere celebrity apology.

it may be too late. Reading comments on his statement in Facebook one sees Black people happily repeating lies about Jews controlling the slave trade or blaming all Jews for bad landlords. Like it or not, when Farrakhan spouts is hate, he has a large audience primed to believe it uncritically.  But the more that the truth can be exposed on the same platforms that are usually filled with lies, the better.

We’ll see if Cannon follows through, who he chooses as his guest if he does, and how many times he will welcome critics to his show and not just like-minded bigots like Professor Griff.

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The three Arab heroes who murdered Jews in 1929

Ninety years ago, July 14, 1930, the Palestine Bulletin reported that the Arab leaders wanted to honor three Arabs who led the pogroms against Jews in Hebron in 1929. They were executed by the British and they were to be celebrated on the 40th day after their deaths.

In the end, the British banned the public memorial.

 

Astonishingly, however, Arabs from Israel’s Balad party celebrated these cold blooded killers on the 90th anniversary of their execution. Not only that, but there is a memorial to the men in the Israeli Arab city of Acre!  From the Jewish Press:

The Ad Kan organization on Sunday sent a letter to Interior Minister Aryeh Deri requesting the immediate removal of a monument in Acre, glorifying three pogromists who murdered Jews in the 1929 massacre in Hebron. Ad Kan warned the minister that such a memorial encourages Arab youths to follow in the path of the murderers.

 

The existence of the monument was exposed by journalist Yishai Friedman, who reported last June in Makor Rishon that the Balad party, member of the Joint Arab list, posted on its official Facebook page praises to three leaders of the massacre of the Jews of Hebron and Tsfat in 1929, on the 90th anniversary of their execution by the British .They are described by Balad politicians as “martyrs of the al-Burak revolution” – the Arab nationalist name for the 1929 riots.

 

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In total, 67 Jews were killed on August 24, 1929 in Hebron. 59 Jews died during the rioting and 8 more later succumbed to their wounds. They included a dozen women and three children under the age of five. Twenty-four of the victims were students from the Hebron yeshiva, seven of whom were American or Canadian. 58 are believed to have been injured, including many women and children.

The mostly Arab Hadash communist party in Israel also celebrates the murderers.

It is unbelievable that Arabs in Israel can celebrate murderers of Jews – and have a monument in their memory.

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07/13 Links Pt2: Zionism 2020 is Alive and Kicking: A wave of many Jews and Israelis are asking to return home; In first, Saudi researcher contributes article to Israeli academic journal

From Ian:

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JPost Real Estate Feature: Zionism 2020 is Alive and Kicking: A wave of many Jews and Israelis are asking to return home

As a result of the global Corona crisis many Israelis living abroad have decided to return home and Jews from communities across the globe are asking to make aliyah. Will Corona Zionism bring with it another wave of Israeli settlers, similar to the waves of immigrants in the 60s and 70s? Which are the most attractive cities for new neighborhoods? What are the prominent characteristics immigrants take into account before purchasing an apartment?

Since the founding of the state to the current day, history has proved that global crises leave their mark on Jewish communities across the world, increasing the number of those making aliyah to Israel. Israel’s coping abilities and high functioning throughout the crisis have coined a new phrase, Corona Zionism.

The global Corona crisis has resulted in many Israelis, who emigrated abroad for various reasons, asking to return home and many Jews living in various communities across the globe taking an interest in making aliyah. Have you too found yourself examining places to live? Attractive areas for employment? Quality education? Life in an enveloping and embracing community? And who are the real estate entrepreneurs who make it possible to realize your dream of a home and move forward economically without giving up financial security and peace of mind?

“Avney Derech” Group, who have been active for over a decade, have so far populated 1,000 housing units and are in the planning and construction stages of an additional 2,500 housing units, leading a unique and original business world view that combines business thinking, creative social Zionist measured thinking, allowing hundreds of families whose dream of buying an apartment seemed far from possible, to purchase an apartment, and even move forward financially. The company specializes in finding housing solutions for young couples and families with children thanks to the perfect professional envelope they provide their customers. And as part of that, they are the only entrepreneurs with a subsidiary that currently manages about 500 units owned by home buyers from Israel and abroad.

In addition, the group owns a mortgage consultation firm that accompanies buyers throughout the financial process of taking out a mortgage or other loans.

Caroline Glick: How can Israel help Diaspora Jewry?

One of the reasons for the precipitous drop in synagogue membership and ritual observance is costs. Today, there are already extraordinary programs in Israel that train young rabbis to serve as community rabbis in Diaspora Jewish communities. The young rabbis and their families move to far-flung communities for five years where they build, organize and serve the communities. The rabbis provide religious leadership and training and religious services like supervising the preparation and sale of kosher food enabling local community members to open kosher restaurants and supermarkets.

The government should support and expand these programs. By sending young Israeli rabbis abroad, Israel will lower synagogue membership costs—and through them the cost of living Jewish lives. These rabbis and their families will develop strong, lasting grassroots relationships between Israeli Jews and Diaspora Jewry.

The rise in violent attacks on synagogues and Jewish schools, grocery stores and other Jewish institutions worldwide over the past several years has made many Jews fearful of participating in communal life. Israel can and should help Jewish communities protect themselves by providing them with the means to protect their institutions.

Again, at marginal cost in terms of manpower and financial outlays, Israel can and should provide training for local Jewish security officers and when necessary, provide security officers to protect Jewish institutions from attack.

By every measure, the position of Jewish Diaspora communities is deteriorating. The steep rise in anti-Semitism; the high rates of assimilation and the rising cost of membership in synagogues and tuition costs for Jewish schools amid economic turndowns all contribute to the rapid emptying out of Jewish communities worldwide; the weakening of their ties with Israel and the rise of radical forces within the weakened communities.

The government made a critical decision on Sunday. Israel has to develop and begin implementing a strategic plan to reconnect Diaspora Jewry to Israel and to Judaism. Israel has the professional and human resources to accomplish this vital goal. Given the gravity of the situation, the government must define clear methods and goals now to ensure the success of its efforts.

Dutch Holocaust theft of Jewish assets has finally been revealed

A talk with Raymund Schütz, whose doctorate exposed the role of the notaries who made money from transactions and mortgages of stolen Jewish real estate during the German occupation of the Netherlands..

"Holocaust and restitution issues keep coming up regularly in new Dutch public debates even though it is seventy-five years after the Second World War. The post-war restitution of stolen Jewish real estate during the war is one of several such topics currently in the media. The journalist platform Follow the Money and the TV program Pointer have brought it to the public's attention. Thereafter it has been picked up by local papers.

“The official reason why this issue has not been discussed publicly earlier was that no historic data was available about what happened to Jewish-owned real estate robbed during the German occupation. This was a false argument because the relevant transactions had to be registered in the land register, which is accessible to the public. It was not easy to find the data, but my past research has proven that this was possible years ago."

Dr. Raymund Schütz, born in 1964, is an independent researcher, formerly of the Netherlands Red Cross, where he worked in its war-time archive in The Hague. The title of his doctorate on the role of the notaries during the German occupation is Cold Fog: The Dutch Notaries and the Heritage of the War.

“It took until 2008 when another Dutch historian, Eric Slot, found one of the war time books of these sales of robbed assets (Verkaufsbücher) at the National Archives. The books listed the first transactions of expropriated Jewish real estate. There were 18 volumes with transactions, one of which is missing In 2016, I published my doctorate about the role of the notaries who made money from such transactions and the resulting mortgages.

“My estimate is that there were 10,565 assets involved. In 2013, scholars claimed --on the basis of sampling --that in almost all cases, restitution had taken place. In many cases the original owner was dead. Yet I have since found by studying only one town, Hoorn, that 40 assets have not been restituted there. Generally, it is interesting to note that in the Netherlands a substantial number of robbed Jewish assets were purchased by municipalities.

“Besides buildings, now also robbed shops, building plots, heathlands, and forests owned by Jews are in the public eye. Jews also owned some agricultural lands. Yet one finds little about these in the sources because when expropriated no notarial act was required for their sale. One could transfer ownership via an agent through a private act. The historian Rob Bakker claims that 17 million guilders was received for these, which were not passed to the original Jewish owners.. They represented 0.9 percent of the Dutch territory. In order to find out more information about this, one would have to do research in individual localities.

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Jordanian newspaper reveals the facts about wealthy Jews controlling the WORLD!

With all the news about Black antisemitism recently, don’t forget that the Arabs can spin up a wild antisemitic conspiracy theory with the best of them.

In a series that started on Saturday in Addustor of Jordan, Abdul Hamid al-Hamshari informs his well-primed Jew-hating audience that

Jewish families contributed to building the Jewish personality and the Jewish state's domination of the financial world, the media, arms trade and manufacturing and hospitality. For centuries, it dominated Europe and America:Rothschild, Rockefeller, Morgan, Baruch, Murdoch and Pritzker, by monopolizing the majority of the money of their countries’ banks, especially the central ones, the oil and weapons industry, and the world of hotels and the media, all went at a steady pace, proving their existence in their respective areas of competence, especially those working in the financial world. …

The Rockefellers and the Morgans weren’t Jewish, but, why worry about pesky details like that?

The Rothschild Jewish family - the owner of the empire of the worlds first and world banks - was one of the wealthiest families during the reign of Napoleon I and many see it as the one who encourages and nurtures most wars….It became the first empire in the world of finance and international banks, to the point that its total wealth reached about 500 trillion dollars.

Only $500 trillion? They must have fallen on hard times. An Egyptian TV host two years ago said they were worth $700 trillion.

The article goes on to say the Rothschilds inserted Israel in the Middle East to destroy the Arabs economically, and mentions in passing that they were behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. The Rothschilds were also behind the Balfour declaration and Chaim Weizmann was the major “dean” of money in Europe at the time. (He was not a banker.)

In part 2, we learn that these trillionaires are putting together a scheme to kill most of the world’s population, desiring only a billion people on Earth.

The theory of the golden billion states that the white race is from Europe, America and Japan, and the third layer of society such as Arabs and blacks should be wiped out, and today we live in the age of the golden billion already, but they are looking for possible means to rid the world of the surplus of people on earth with wars or lethal diseases. The Corona epidemic very well might be the product of this family or its followers.

For some reason, the article then goes back to the 19th century and that other famous “Jewish” family the Rockefellers which controlled America in the early 20th century.

One can only imagine what new things we will learn in Parts 3 and beyond.

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My Jewish Privilege

Yesterday, antisemites on Twitter started a hashtag called #JewishPrivilege about how Jews have it made. Jews (including myself) responded with stories of awful things that have happened to them or their families as a result of being Jewish.

My parents survived the Holocaust. I’m religious. I grew up not expecting to be treated like everyone else. So while I encountered a fair share of antisemitism, I didn’t let it bother me.

Kids threw my yarmulke in the mud. Teens threw pennies at me.  People pretended to sneeze near me saying “a-Jew!”  I built a sukkah for my Hillel in college and it was destroyed. I’ve been called a Christ killer while walking my son to shul. Others scream stuff from their cars I can’t quite catch.

I have to worry when I take public transportation – should I wear my kippah or cover it with the ubiquitous cap that all but screams “KIPPAH UNDER HERE.” Will today be the day a crazy person comes at me?

Personally, I think it is important to wear a kippah in public, to help normalize the idea and help make it easier for other Jews in years to come. But my wife is more frightened than I am and I have to worry about not only my safety but that of my family. I usually wear the cap.

Job interviews – do I wear the yarmulka then? Is it better to be up front and risk losing the job, or to get the job  and then let them know I cannot work late Fridays, Saturdays and Jewish holidays? Will they think I tried to fool them and will they resent it?

There is a constant low level of discomfort, or being on edge, of always being reminded that I am different.

People say that I can pass as white, so I have white privilege. It is true that when I wear a cap  I am not as recognizably Jewish as a Black person is as a person of color. A cop is not likely to treat me badly. I would never in a million years claim that the antisemitism I have experienced is as bad as the racism a typical Black person has experienced.  On the other hand, the worry that I need to hide who I am, to look around to make sure it’s safe, to worry about the person who will choose the Jew as the easy target is its own kind of tension.

The only time I feel completely comfortable is when visiting Israel.  I am far less worried about being a terror attack victim there than a victim of an antisemitic hate crime in the US.

Some of the things I have experienced may seem awful or unfair to you. I’m used to it.  To me, it is part of the deal. I am not complaining about these things – it is what I expect and it’s OK. America is a great country. I have a good job, a great family, a nice life.

When there is an event at work and they go out of their way to get me kosher food, or even to hold the event in a kosher restaurant, I am always astonished and most appreciative. I would have happily brown-bagged something. I don’t want nor expect any special accommodation outside what it required by law. 

What good is it to play a game of “who’s the bigger victim?” What does it gain you? If you want to play, then Jews will win. 2000 years of homelessness, of pogroms and Crusades, of blood libels and an Inquisition and a Holocaust and a Farhud.

Even in the US it wasn’t that long ago that we were banned from certain clubs, restricted  from certain colleges, blocked from many professions. What did we do? We made our own colleges, built our own businesses, created our own imprint on America. We did all right.

The Victimhood Olympics is easy to win and thoroughly pointless – it doesn’t gain us a damn thing.  Better to  live our lives than to dwell on the past. We remember our past, of course, and we try to ensure the bad parts are not repeated, but we want to move forward, to live today, to make a better life for our kids and grandkids. 

Perhaps “Jewish privilege” in the Diaspora is the ability to appreciate what you have, know that things could be much worse, and try to make things better for you and for future generations.

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07/13 Links Pt1: Britain Shamefully Betrays the Jewish People Again; Biden’s Foreign Policy Team Looks to Repeat a Legacy of Failure; Peter Beinart is neither a Zionist nor a Liberal

From Ian:

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Amb. Alan Baker: Sovereignty in the West Bank Areas of Judea and Samaria: Historical and Legal Milestones that Make the Case

The subject of the rights of the Jewish People and the State of Israel under international law, in the West Bank areas of Judea and Samaria, involves a complex and extensive web of historical, legal, military, and political issues.
The Jewish People Have Historical Claims in Judea and Samaria

Israel’s claims to sovereignty regarding the West Bank areas of Judea and Samaria did not originate with Israel’s attaining control of the area following the 1967 Six-Day War.

Israel’s rights are based on the indigenous and historical claims of the Jewish people in the area as a whole, virtually from time immemorial.

Israel’s international legal rights were acknowledged in 1917 by the Balfour Declaration’s promise to the Jews to reestablish their historical national home in Palestine. These rights are based on clear historical, archeological, and Biblical evidence.

The Balfour Declaration was subsequently recognized internationally and encapsulated into international law through a series of international instruments commencing with the 1920 San Remo Declaration by the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied Powers, followed by the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine.

The continued validity of these foundational legal rights was also assured under Article 80 of the United Nations Charter.

Persistent Palestinian Refusal to Negotiate Leaves Israel No Option but to Act Unilaterally to Protect Its Rights
While Israel’s prior, well-established, and documented international, legal, political, and indigenous rights to sovereignty over the areas are clear, Israel nevertheless acknowledged in the Oslo Accords Palestinian rights in the areas, and agreed to negotiate with them the permanent status of the areas.

Persistent Palestinian refusal to return to negotiations and their rejection of peace plans to settle the dispute, cannot and should not serve to veto a settlement of the dispute.

Such ongoing refusal and rejection undermines the peace process, invalidates the Oslo Accords, and leaves Israel no option but to act unilaterally in order to protect its vital security and other interests and historical rights.

David Singer: Britain Shamefully Betrays the Jewish People Again

Britain – the architectof the San Remo Resolution and Treaty of Sevres in 1920 that led to the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine in 1922 – has yet again shamefully betrayed the Jewish People by warning Israel not to extend its sovereignty into Judea and Samaria.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that any such action would be in violation of international law – which Netanyahu disputes – despite the Mandate vesting in the Jewish People the right to “close settlement” in Judea and Samaria for the purposes of reconstituting the biblical Jewish National Home in what had been the heartland of the Jewish People 3000 years ago.

Britain had betrayed the Jewish People in 1950 after all the Jews living in Judea and Samaria had been ethnically cleansed by the invading Arab army of Transjordan in 1948. Britain – supported only by Pakistan and Iraq – recognised Transjordan’s illegal annexation of Judea and Samaria, the renaming of the newly merged entityas “Jordan”whilst “Judea and Samaria”was renamed“West Bank”.

Johnson told Netanyahu:
"I am immensely proud of the UK’s contribution to the birth of Israel with the 1917 Balfour Declaration. But it will remain unfinished business until there is a solution which provides justice and lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.
The only way it can be achieved is for both sides to return to the negotiating table. That must be our goal. Annexation would only take us further away from it."

Peace for both “Israelis” and “Palestinians”?

Neither existed until 1948 and 1964.

There were only “Arabs” and “Jews” in 1917. The Arab residents of Palestine then comprised part of “the existing non-Jewish communities”.

Johnson seems apparently unaware that the “Palestinians”:
• were defined for the first time in recorded history by article 6 of the 1964 PLO Charter
• did not claim “regional sovereignty in the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan”or“on the Gaza Strip” under article 24
• were Jordanian citizens between 1954 and1988.

Biden’s Foreign Policy Team Looks to Repeat a Legacy of Failure

It was under Obama’s watch that Bashar Assad burnt Syria to the ground and Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea. The Obama administration’s policies in Syria and Ukraine were a disaster that handed victory after victory to Putin, none more so than the total abdication of responsibility following the crossing of Obama’s own chemical-weapons “red line.”

Even the much-vaunted Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Obama’s defining foreign policy legacy, while seeking to use diplomacy to prevent a future war with Iran over its imagined potential ability to build a nuclear weapon, was signed by largely ignoring its very real ability to cause untold human suffering through conventional slaughter, further fueling the fires burning in Syria and Iraq.

Speaking last week on whether Biden’s team had learned anything from the Iran deal and its impact on the region, former U.S. special envoy to Syria, Ambassador Frederic Hof said, “the Obama administration and in particular with the president, there was faith in the proposition that by signing the nuclear agreement, Iran would begin to modify its other regional policies. Many of us believed from the beginning that this was false, that it was not going to happen. And I think it’s a lesson learned.”

One of the principal architects of the Iran deal, Colin Kahl, has taken on the Iran file for Biden’s foreign policy team. Kahl’s appointment likely signals a reversal of Trump’s maximum pressure policy and, at least in policy terms, an attempt to return to the JCPOA, but is there any real evidence that lessons have been learned? While it’s important not to read too much into social media reactions, Kahl’s smug social media post following the assassination of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, stating, “In death, Soleimani accomplished one of his ultimate objectives: getting the US kicked out of Iraq,” displays a worrying naivete, not just of internal Iraqi politics, but also of his own brief. Just what did he think his own administration’s policy was towards Iraq?

A thread posted by Kahl in January laid bare the moral bankruptcy of the previous administration’s failed Middle Eastern pivot, as Kahl concedes “there is no question that Iran’s military spending went up by a few billion after the JCPOA,” before concluding that the best strategy should be “playing the long game to counter their influence in places like Iraq and Lebanon through engagement and institution building.”

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2020: The year of celebrity antisemitism

 

2020 is already infamous for being a historically bad year. Beyond COVID-19 and George Floyd and government incompetence, though, is that this year is shaping up to be a year of publicly expressed antisemitism – by celebrities who have massive followings.

And most of that has been in only the past couple of months.

Roger Waters tells a Hamas-linked TV station that a rich Jew is the “puppetmaster” controlling the US government, and that religious Jews think non-Jews are subhuman.

Rosanna Arquette tweeted that Israel had a vaccine for COVID-19 for a year already and implied that Jews were behind the virus so they could profit from the vaccine.

Louis Farrakhan, who has millions of fans, says that Jews are “satanic” and said that when he dies, the Jews who opposed his hate would be at fault and  will be destroyed.

Chelsea Handler, before apologizing for posting an old Farrakhan video, defended his antisemitism, tweeting, “perhaps Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic views took form during his own oppression.” The implication is that Jews are responsible for Farrakhan’s hate. Oh, and she said that anyone who didn’t like her post – meaning, Jews - can “go f--- themselves.”

Rick Wiles, the antisemitic head of TruNews, said, “There is a plague moving upon the Earth right now, and the people that are going into the synagogues are coming out with the virus. You are under judgment because you oppose his son, Jesus Christ. That is why you have a plague in your synagogues.”

Ice Cube has been sharing a series of blatantly antisemitic tweets, blaming Jews for the world’s ills.

DeSean Jackson posted as fact a fake antisemitic quote from Hitler, and was supported by other sports stars Malik Jackson and Stephen Jackson.

Peter Beinart said Orthodox Jews are racists and started a huge publicity campaign for the idea that the entire idea of a Jewish state is immoral and it should be dismantled.

And now Nick Cannon, along with Professor Griff, are happily riffing on the idea that Jews aren’t really Jews although they do control the world and are inherently savage and evil.

All of these people have hundreds of thousands, some of them millions, of fans.

All of these people still have careers.

None of them have been “canceled.” Sometimes there is some press coverage, sometimes they are forced to apologize to keep their jobs, but in the end antisemitism is not something that is considered to be as bad as other forms of hate.

This is especially jarring when there is an entire “cancel culture” for other kinds of bigotry that skips over this kind.

The only conclusion is that Jew-hate is not considered to be “real” hate. Outrage is cosmetic. There are always extenuating circumstances to consider, as Chelsea Handler asserted. The antisemites are seen as victims too, of rich Jews or Israel or the Jewish media.

And because the outrage is false, the antisemites are emboldened. It is becoming mainstream to attack Jews and to defend the haters. Conspiracy theories are not countered. Jews are expected to turn the other cheek because there is “real” hate we have to tackle first.

When celebrities – the most reputation-conscious people on Earth - can spout Jew-hate in public without fear, American Jews are in big trouble. And the rest of America isn’t that far behind.

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