Of Tweets and Termites: Intersectionality and the Mainstreaming of Anti-Semitism

Albert Einstein once observed, “If my theory of relativity is proven correct, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.”

Why are Einstein’s words uttered some ninety years ago so relevant today? Because anti-Semitism, like some ancient Bacillus frozen in Arctic permafrost and defrosted, has again reared its ugly head; not just in Europe but around the world. This “new form” of anti-Semitism claims to be different from the traditional racial and religious images. Its adherents say that they are anti-Zionist, NOT anti-Semites. But listen very carefully to what they are saying and you will hear accusations that could easily come right out of the pages of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”

Just recently, in the Belgium city of Aalst, a parade took place which featured a float whose ludicrous depictions of Jews were virtually the same as those seen in the pages of “Der Sturmer.” The float featured grotesque distortions of several Jews in religious garb complete with sidelocks sitting atop bags of money with a rat perched atop ones shoulder. It was anti-Semitism of the most virulent obscene kind that Julius Streicher himself would have been proud of. What makes this sickening display even more alarming is the official sanction given to it by the Mayor of Aalst; Christoph D’Haese who stated that “It’s not up to the mayor to forbid such displays,” and that the carnival participants had “no sinister intentions” . . . NO SINISTER INTENTIONS? I suppose one could say that Adolf Eichmann had no sinister intentions either. After all, he himself had no part in the actual killing process; he merely organized the transports to the death camps. He was just a man doing his job; no different from Mayor D’Haese of Aalst.

Here in the U.S. we have our own anti-Semitic scandal. Newly-elected Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Muslim immigrant from Somalia, has been tweeting a series of anti-Semitic tropes, which she has refused to apologize for or retract, and which has caused a great deal of controversy. What is extremely alarming is the inability of the Democratic party and its leadership to in any way try to condemn, censure or remove her from her position on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Indeed, just the opposite has occurred with Democrats from around the country, and even a number of Jews themselves, rushing to her defense. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi herself stated that “Her words were not based on any anti-Semitic attitude.” Really! Not too long ago, Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan declared, “People call me an anti-Semite. Please. I’m not an anti-Semite; I’m anti-TERMITE.” One cannot help but wonder if Speaker Pelosi would say that Minister Farrakhan’s statement “was not based on any anti-Semitic attitude.” In refusing to repudiate Omar, Pelosi and the leadership of the Democratic party has unofficially endorsed her anti-Semitic tweets. Their silence is deafening. Defenders of the party will point out that Congress did pass a resolution condemning anti-Semitism . . . as well as condemning Islamophobia . . . and ALL forms of hate against Hindus, Seikhs, LBGTQ’s and all people of color. But there have been no reported statements by any member of Congress against any of the aforementioned groups, except ONE . . . Ilhan Omar’s tweets concerning Jews. What would normally in the past have been a “no-brainer” for any Democrat, is suddenly taboo in this new age of political correctness, identity politics, and radical ideology. This is an indication of how far to the left the Democratic party has moved and attests to the nexus that exists between the radical left and Islamists.

As the Democratic party continues its lurch to the left, and all indications are that it will, invariably becoming even more anti-Zionist and by extension anti-Semitic; inevitably embracing the policies of organizations such as the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) Movement. To add insult to injury, there is a motion in the UN that was introduced in Jan 2019 by the Palestinian Authority to reinstate UN Resolution 3379; first adopted in 1975 and later revoked in 1991. That resolution declared that “Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.” There are no other people anywhere in the world, at any time in history that has this dubious distinction. When South Sudan gained its independence in 2011, after years of bloodshed, did ANYONE at the UN propose calling the national aspiration of the South Sudanese to their own homeland racist? The Kurds, an ethnic group indigenous to the Middle East whose population is scattered between Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey also aspire to their own national homeland, and NO ONE has called them racist. Only Israel and the Jews have that distinction. Make no mistake: Anti-Zionism IS anti-Semitism. The two terms have become conflated together. If you agree that Israel is as evil and repugnant as they say, then the ONLY possible remedy for such a racist apartheid fascist state is its TOTAL destruction; its Jewish population either exterminated or exiled.

This is how it begins. Slowly, surely, irrevocably, methodically, step by step, removing the constraints away from what was previously thought of as unacceptable. Get the population used to seeing and hearing various forms of anti-Semitism from parade floats to rhetoric on an almost daily basis. This normalization of Jew-hatred coupled with the refusal of politicians both here and abroad to seriously address the issue and choosing to defend the perpetrators, along with a left-wing media’s reluctance to adequately report on these events, makes the acceptance of anti-Semitism by the general public inevitable. Anti-Semitism has now gone mainstream. Look at what is happening in Europe today. In France, home to the 3rd largest Jewish population in the world, Jews are leaving in ever increasing numbers in response to a new wave of anti-Semitic incidents. In Britain, the openly anti-Semitic Jeremy Corbyn, head of the left-wing Labour party, is eagerly anticipating his own accession to power while Prime Minister Teresa May laments on how sad it is that British Jews feel they no longer have a future in Great Britain. American Jews, for their part, seem almost blissfully unaware of the tsunami of anti-Semitism that is engulfing Europe and will sooner or later make its way here with the same intensity we see in Europe. “We are safe here,” is a commonly heard refrain. “We are a civilized and cultured country with laws that protect us,” they claim. So are Britain and France. So was Germany during the two world wars. Germany, during the 1920’s and early 1930’s was generally regarded by many as the most advanced country on the planet; scientifically, culturally, and artistically. This was the country of Beethoven, Bach, Goethe, and Heine. German Jews considered themselves to be patriotic Germans. More than 100,000 of them had served in the German army during the first world war; some 30,000 of whom were decorated for bravery; yet, when their time came they walked into the gas chamber along with all the others. Many American Jews are almost totally ignorant of this fact. They continue to cling to their ancestral ideology; a combination of Progressivism, ultra-Liberalism, neo-Marxism, and the Jewish concept of “tikkun olam.” They ardently believe that the main threat to Jews today comes from the neo-Nazis and the KKK. While it is true that these groups do exist, they comprise only a small percentage of the population. Of course, there are both leftist Jewish and non-Jewish groups who would disagree with these statistics. They choose to lump all Republican Conservatives and anyone who disagrees with them into the category of neo-Nazis and right-wing hate-mongers. They ignore the real threat today that comes NOT from a maligned and numerically inferior neo-Nazi and KKK Movement, but from an unholy alliance of convenience between the radical left and Islamists; a fact most American Jews cannot and will not accept.

The radical left of today is playing for very high stakes. Ultimately, it is all about power and control. They will continue to spread their message of identity politics, victimhood, social justice, racism, anti-Zionism, and anti-Semitism in order to achieve these goals. They will continue to practice what has become known as the doctrine of intersectionality; which allows them to make common cause with any other group they perceive as “oppressed.” This is why you see anti-Israel and anti-Semitic signs displayed by just about every radical left group at demonstrations throughout the country. It is why a few years ago, activists in Ferguson, Missouri carried placards saying, “From Ferguson to Gaza; the struggle continues.” The vast majority of American Jews have gone along with these policies in keeping with the belief system of their forebearers. They are unable or unwilling to comprehend that their Progressive, Liberal, Neo-Marxist ideology has shifted its allegiance to those who seek the destruction of the Jewish state and by extension – the Jewish people.

American Jewry today is at a crossroads. In all probability the vast majority of American Jews will continue to cling to their ancestral belief system. It is what they are familiar with. It is what their parents and grandparents believed in. It is all they know. To change now would be to deny everything their family members and they, themselves, have lived for. But before they bury their heads in the sand once again, they should at least hear these simple truths. When our enemies came for us during the Holocaust, they did not ask if we were Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or secular Jews. Neither were they interested in any past service we may have rendered to the state. WE WERE JEWS! That was all that mattered; and if history repeats itself . . . when our enemies come for us once again in the future; they will not ask if we are Israelis or Zionists. They will not care that we marched in the Civil Rights Movement; protested against apartheid in South Africa; supported equal rights for women; advocated for the LBGTQ community, and campaigned for Hillary or Bernie. You will be a Jew – and that is all that will matter!

The anti-Semitism that has been unleashed today by the radical left and their Islamist allies is of a kind that is so visceral; so virulent; so vile; so vicious, and so vitriolic that it can no longer be justified under the guise of anti-Zionism. In form, content, and message, it is EXACTLY the same as that which was seen and heard during the heyday of the Third Reich. It is what made the Holocaust possible. What begins with a parade float in Aalst, Belgium, inevitably ends in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and Treblinka. This is the fate our enemies have in store for us. This is why Grand Ayatollah Khameini in Tehran rejoices that more Jews are moving to Israel; it will make it easier to find and kill us all when the time comes.

As for the Jews themselves, most of them will continue doing as they have always done, confident in the assurances of their religious and political leadership that “we are safe here.” They will continue to vote for, support and finance the party and the ideology that will ultimately lead them down the pathway to their own destruction and that of the state of Israel. Vladimir Jabotinsky was quite correct when he wrote about them decades ago: “The Jew learns not by way of reason, but from catastrophe. He won’t buy an umbrella merely because he sees clouds in the sky. He waits until he is drenched and catches pneumonia.” History may yet prove that when it comes to the Jews, Jabotinsky, was an optimist.

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