A group of 30 extremists failed to dampen spirits as some 3,000 Jewish and non-Jewish pro-Israel supporters came out to show their support and appreciation for the Jewish state at the Closer to Israel 65 event in London’s Trafalgar Square today. Even the sun finally shone!
The 30 extremists were from the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), the tiny Jewish religious sect the Neturei Karta, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Jews For Justice For Palestinians.
A favourite racist chant of those from the IHRC was “Judaism yes, Zionism no, the State of Israel must Go”. How awfully nice of Islamic Human Rights Commission members to allow Judaism to be practiced. Now, all one needs to know is how much tax British Jews must pay to be allowed to continue practicing their Judaism.
Here are some IHRC members allowing Jews to practice Judaism in the UK in 2013. We can only thank them:
The hate of the extremists was drowned out by the words of Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks who declared that if the Jewish people had to choose between world criticism of or sympathy for Israel they would choose world criticism rather than be homeless and defenceless with the sympathy of the world:
Here are the photos of the day with some commentary. First, the good people:
The coolest person at Closer To Israel 65. Dig the glasses.
A Spurs “Yiddo” at CTI65. It’s not racist, it’s an affectionate nickname!
Harif’s lovely Michelle Huberman doing what she does best at CTI65. Bellydance!
The brilliant and handsome Kasim Hafeez at CTI65.
Yours truly and superb political commentator and author Carol Gould at CTI65.
This cool lady was spotted just dancing to the extremists’ racist chanting.
A packed and sunny Trafalgar Square for CTI65 listening to the Chief Rabbi.
Taking a break from CTI65 to face down the extremists.
Israel supporters come face to face with extremism on the streets of London.
An Israel supporter defiant in the face of hate and lies.
The extremists:
Praying for the Jewish people to experience more bloodshed just because Israel wasn’t directly created by the Messiah?
I agree with this placard. But the Palestinian children are being murdered by the Hamas government.
As I was saying this Palestinian father’s grief (see placard) was finally proven by the UN to have been caused by a stray Hamas rocket that killed his young son.
I wonder if this lady is standing up against real evil currently taking place in Syria.
I actually felt sorry for this poor kid. He looks unhappy being pushed to do the vile bidding of his elders.
Thanks for coming. I hope you all managed to fit into the minivan for the trip home.
An anti-Israel agitator pointing out yours truly to a new recruit.
Yes! We’ve also had enough of Jews For Justice For Palestinians!
Antisemitic commenters at the Guardian’s ‘Comment is Free’ have discovered that Glenn Greenwald’s columns provide a useful forum in which to post racist commentary below the line – many of which have not been deleted by CiF moderators.
On most ‘CiF’ threads the following comments would have been deleted by moderators, but thanks toGreenwald’s unique policy regarding comment moderation, they remain in all their smart-alecky racism. Notice that the pretense that “Israelis” or “Zionists” are the people opposed to Palestinians immediately gives way to the underlying animosity towards Jews usually hidden by those terms in the following pejorative exchanges:
Now the Pavlovian dogs had been let loose, and even MonaHol may have realized they had gone too far – or, perhaps, was just being a little coy:
The approval of such comments make you wonder how long a comment that proposed characterizing movies which are made by African–Americans by using a variation of the ‘n-word’ would be allowed to stay up. Would the commenter engaging in such shamefully racist “wordplay” still be permitted to post at the Guardian?
Lest the gentle reader think these are isolated examples, here is another recent set.
The comment by “westeastnorth” was in response to several well-known invented citations purporting to come from the Talmud provided on antisemitic websites that MonaHol repeatshere:
Given that someone like MonaHol likely cannot read Hebrew, Aramaic, or Rashi script, and it takes a lifetime of study in the original languages to learn and understand the Talmud, the question must be asked: “From where does she get her information”?
The answer is that that she gleans the citations from the numerous antisemitic websites that have trolled selectively through an English version and then circulate the very citations MonaHol presents, without the context of rabbinic disputation. Only an obsessive anti-Semite would in turn troll through such sites to find them, and only an ignoramus would present them as representing the full range of Jewish thought on those subjects. Googling “Talmud” and any of the so-called Talmudic references MonaHol quoted will give you dozens if not hundreds of such sites.
It is the equivalent of presenting a list of straw man legal arguments that have been given to students at law school to argue over as representing exact examples of a country’s laws
Refutations can be found at this site, which painstakingly fisks the many fabrications about the Talmud that circulate on the internet, listing them one antisemitic “Claim” at a time, including the ones that MonaHol uses. The antisemitic websites provided as sources have mostly been taken down since this website was set up, but Stormfront (one of the purveyors of such gross distortions of Judaism) is still active.
I have edited the lengthy list of refutations down to the claims that MonaHol made, and further reduced the number of responses to each claim for the sake of (relative) brevity:
CLAIM (23) Jews May Steal from Non-Jews Baba Mezia 24a. If a Jew finds an object lost by a Gentile (“heathen”) it does not have to be returned. (Affirmed also in Baba Kamma 113b).
RESPONSE (1)
Found objects do not have to be returned when they are lost under circumstances that make the owner impossible to identify. This also applies to objects lost by Jews in crowded areas — as you would know had you actually read the passage in question instead of pasting it in from a National Socialist website.
CLAIM (25) Jews May Rob and Kill Non-Jews Sanhedrin 57a. When a Jew murders a Gentile (“Cuthean”), there will be no death penalty. What a Jew steals from a Gentile he may keep.
RESPONSE (2)
Misquote. That’s a theoretical point that is being raised and subsequently rejected. Naturally, [the quote] “forgets” to mention the latter part.
CLAIM (27) Jews May Lie to Non-Jews Baba Kamma 113a. Jews may use lies (“subterfuges”) to circumvent a Gentile.
RESPONSE (1)
This is one of the most obvious pieces of out-of-context blather it has ever been my pleasure to refute. The context is evading a thief. Yes, you are permitted to lie to a robber — in particular a crooked tax collector.
Further down the same page, it not only says that robbing gentiles is prohibited, it even discusses the derivation of the prohibition.
Here, we have gone beyond going out of context and have entered the realm of deliberate falsification.
RESPONSE (2)
Refers to whether a Jew may deceive a Roman tax collector, IIRC (note that Romans were the occupying force at that time, literally playing the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham).
From Usenet message
RESPONSE (3)
The passage discusses robbers (such as tax collectors who acted beyond their legal authority) who have stolen property. The question that arises is whether it is permitted to use subterfuge to circumvent their thievery. In a long legal discussion, the entire thrust of which is that any form of stealing from heathens is forbidden, the following statement is brought forward for consideration: “we use subterfuges to circumvent him [a heathen; this is one opinion] … but Rabbi Akiva said that we should not attempt to circumvent him on account of the sanctification of the Name”. The Talmud continues and notes that Rabbi Akiva forbids subterfuges not only on account of desecration of G-d’s name, but also because theft from a non-Jew is absolutely forbidden by biblical law. The Talmud continues to explain that even the opinion which is rejected does not condone outright theft which is absolutely forbidden according to all opinions.
The Talmudic passage here is a well-known one which makes the point that the “law of the land is the law”, that is, the civil and commercial law of the nations in which Jews reside is binding on them.
Obsessive anti-Semites like “bilejones”, “MonaHol”, “axenicely” and others congregate under Greenwald’s columns – and are left there to create an environment which extremist sitesmight envy.
The Guardian has banned supporters of Israel for far less, and one would think that such name-calling by “bilejones” and “axenicely” would elicit corrective action by their team of professional moderators – which begs serious questions about the Guardian and the extent of their commitment to maintaining high ‘community standards‘.
Silence by ‘CiF’ moderators in the face of such hate speaks volumes.
A CiF Watch reader recently alerted us to an interesting story from August 20, 1941 published by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) – which was just republished online from the JTA archives - involving a particular London paper’s editorial support for Zionism, entitled ‘Manchester Guardian Demands an Independent Jewish State in Palestine‘.
We did a bit of searching and found an example of how the story looked at the time in a newspaper called the Jewish Floridian, which ran the JTA story with a slightly different title.
While the entire story about the Manchester Guardian’s support for a Jewish state is fascinating, please especially take note of the third paragraph.
Remarkably, given the ideological bent of the institution today, there was a time when the Guardian was so staunchly Zionist that they were genuinely concerned over the possibility that ‘only’ a truncated Jewish state would emerge – one which would represent a mere fraction of the original territory legally assigned to it under theMandate for Palestine.
Ahmad Hashemi is a former Iranian foreign ministry employee who worked as an English and Arabic interpreter. He was actively involved in the pro-democracy Green Movementprotests in 2009, and in early 2012 was nominated to run for parliamentary elections. However, he was disqualified from running by the Guardians Council.
In May 2012, he was dismissed from his foreign ministry job.
Beginning in early May 2012, he began to contribute articles to the leading reformist papers but was subjected to constant threats and restrictions from the Iranian regime. He then fled Iran and is currently seeking political asylum in Turkey where he works as a freelance journalist.
Earlier, weposted about Glenn Greenwald’s April 3 ‘Comment is Free’ piece titled ‘ Sam Harris, the New Atheists and anti-Muslim animus, in which he attacked noted atheist Sam Harris for promoting what Greenwald claims is “Islamophobia under the guise of rational atheism”.
Whilst others have fisked Greenwald’s specific charge that Harris is a bigot, we commented on a passage in the essay which suggested a moral equivalence between Israel and its Arab neighbors in the rights afforded to women and gays – a risible claim, but one which served to reinforce the Guardian contributor’s oft-repeated narrative that Israel and the West do not lay claim to the moral high ground in their confrontation with Islamism.
When carefully reading the frenetic polemics of Greenwald – who was trained as a constitutional rights litigator – it’s often clear when he’s speaking from expertise and is in his element and, conversely, when he’s engaging in obfuscation and intellectually careless rhetoric. The latter was on display in the following passage from his April 3 commentary:
I, too, have written before about the hordes of American commentators whose favorite past-time is to lounge around pointing fingers at other nations, other governments, other populations, other religions, while spending relatively little time on their own. The reason this is particularly suspect and shoddy behavior from American commentators is that there are enormous amounts of violence and extremism and suffering which their government has unleashed and continues to unleash on the world. Indeed, much of that US violence is grounded in if not expressly justified by religion, including the aggressive attack on Iraq and steadfast support for Israeli aggression (to say nothing of the role Judaism plays in the decades-long oppression by the Israelis of Palestinians and all sorts of attacks on neighboring Arab and Muslim countries).
This isn’t the first time Greenwald has accused a few million Israeli Jews of perpetrating wanton violence against hundreds of millions of Arab and Muslim victims, but this may be the first instance in which the liberal polemicist argued that Judaism itself played a role in Zionist villainy.
Though some ccould impute antisemitism to such an argument, it seems more likely that his allegation regarding the role the Jewish religion plays in the behavior of the Jewish state did not represent a serious critique, but rather was simply a throw-away line to buttress his ideological aversion to any suggestion that some religious traditions, at least in practice, may not be as benign as others.
It’s extremely unlikely that Greenwald – a secular Jew who rarely if ever alludes to his religious background – has ever devoted any serious thought to the question of what role Judaism has played in the policy decisions of Israel’s secular Prime Ministers from Independence till the present day, and the decision by the nation’s leaders to defend against “all sorts of attacks” by “neighboring Arab and Muslim countries” and homicidal terror groups.
We havedocumented Greenwald’suse of antisemitic tropes quite often and there should be little doubt that the former Salon.com blogger possesses genuine anger towards what he believes is the injurious impact on the US political system of ‘unchecked’ Jewish power, but there is nothing in the passage we are examining which should suggest he also guilty of anti-Judaism, or theological antisemtism.
Nevertheless, in thoughtlessly playing the Judaism card to win an argument, Greenwald is at the very least engaging in dishonesty and sophistry – two of the signature vices of propagandists, cynics and bigots.
Guardian contributor Harry J Enten recently published a personal story at ‘Comment is Free’ about his childhood memories of Passover, and how his affection for the Jewish holiday has grown over the years (Passover is an acquired taste I’ve grown to love, March 25).
Despite the completely apolitical (and non-theological) nature of Enten’s first person essay about perhaps the most widely observed Jewish holidayamong both religious and secular Jews, the first CiF reader tocomment couldn’t help but impute, in the celebration of the Jewish people’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, something much darker.
The comment, charging Jews around the world with celebrating genocide, has thus far received 62 ‘Recommends’ and has not been deleted by moderators despite its flagrant violation of ‘Comment is Free’ community standards.
Last night Tel Aviv University history professor Shlomo Sand referred to Israel as a “shitty nation” (clip 1).
He called Israel “the most racist society in the world” and said that he has been fighting “Jewish racism all my life” (both clip 2).
And he declared that anti-Semitism doesn’t exist in the western world today (clip 3).
He was speaking in London at the SOAS launch of his new book The Invention of The Land of Israel.
The much discredited thesis of his previous book The Invention of The Jewish People is that there was no expulsion of the Jews from the Holy Land; diaspora Jews, therefore, must have all descended from converts and so have no right to return to Israel.
The already much discredited thesis of The Invention of The Land of Israel is, simply, that the land of Israel holds no religious significance for Jews either.
First, he claimed, there is no mention of “Israel” in the bible; it is only mentioned in the Talmud. This is not true (see note 1). Second, he claimed that political Zionism grew out of Christianity, not Judaism, and he solely credits Lord Shaftesbury and the evangelical Christian movement in London for the idea that Jews should return to the Holy Land.
But Sand, conveniently, regards great religious figures like Rabbi Alkalia and Rabbi Kalischer, who in the early nineteenth century wrote voraciously about the pressing need for Jews to return to Zion, as only minority influences.
Sand claimed that the Balfour Declaration came about due to three main reasons:
1. The ideological background of many leaders who wanted Redemption via a Jewish return to the Holy Land. 2. The colonialist interests of Britain in the Middle East. 3. Anti-Semitism – Balfour didn’t want suffering Jews from the East coming to Britain.
Sand said Jews preferred to move to America but after 1924, when America stopped eastern European immigration altogether, no country would accept Jews who then had no choice but to go to the Holy Land against their will.
Sand, again, conveniently ignores the examples of the Jewish pioneers in the Hibbat Zion and BILU movements who volunteered to move to the harsh conditions of the Holy Land during the 1880s to try to make a life there.
Sand views Israelis as a nation even if a “shitty one”. But, for Sand, they aren’t a Jewish nation because he doesn’t recognise such a concept exists. Sand views being Jewish as a purely religious concept and said that Hamas in Gaza are much more likely to be descended from the ancient people who once inhabited the Holy Land than he is.
Sand says he desires a two-state solution with equal rights for Arabs living in Israel and for Jews living in a future Palestine. Presumably, it would be an Israel where diaspora Jews would have limited, if any, rights to move to.
And on anti-Semitism Sand said:
“The century of anti-Semitism between 1850 and 1950 is finished. Pro-Zionists don’t understand history. I don’t think that political public anti-Semitism exists today in the western world. You cannot find members of Parliament in Britain or the United States who are openly anti-Semitic. You cannot find journalists who are anti-Semitic. You cannot find films that are anti-Semitic.”
This is what many in the audience wanted to hear. It was their official certificate that they are not Jew haters even though they focus solely on opposing the Jewish state while ignoring atrocities by both sides in Syria, by Hamas in Gaza and by the Saudi Arabian monarchy and the Iranian government which both brutally oppress their own people. To name but a few.
Once again, Sand conveniently ignores or is unaware of the example of Liberal Democrat David Ward who recently accused“the Jews” of inflicting something akin to a Holocaust on the Palestinians.
Sand is the master of cherry-picking anything that backs up his argument while ignoring anything inconvenient that might detract from it.
His recent books are not based on proper fact, record or history. They are simply driven by a hatred for the Jewish state.
Notes:
1. For a superb taking down of Sand’s new book see here via Elder of Ziyon.
2. For a superb analysis of Sand speaking at The Frontline Club the previous night see here via Jonathan Hoffman.
Clips from last night (not good sound quality):
Clip 1 – Sand declares Israel a “shitty nation”:
Clip 2 – Sand declares Israel “the most racist society in the world” and says he has been fighting “Jewish racism all my life”:
Clip 3 – Sand claims there is no anti-Semitism in the west today:
‘Comment is Free’ contributor Jonathan Romain is therabbiat Maidenhead, a Reform Synagogue in Berkshire, England, who has received awards for his work in helping couples in interfaith marriages.
He published an essay at the Belief section of ‘Comment is Free’ on Jan. 19 titled “Muslim-Jewish marriages herald a brave new world“, which celebrates what he characterizes as our day’s “tolerant, pluralist society” where “mixed-faith marriage has become commonplace”.
However, his essay imputes much greater moral significance to such ecumenical success.
Romain writes, thus:
In the past century in Britain, intermarriage tend to mean Jews (the main minority faith group) marrying Christians. However, in recent years a new trend has arisen: Muslims intermarrying.
…
No one is surprised that some Muslims marry Christians – they are the majority population – but to the astonishment of many, Muslims and Jews are beginning to marry each other. This is unexpected, as the Israel-Arab problems in the Middle East have affected relationships between members of the two faiths over here.
…
While there are many working for harmony between them, unwarranted prejudices about each other also abound, with some Jews regarding all Muslims as potential suicide bombers and some Muslims seeing all Jews as Uzi-wielding West Bank extremists.
As with Jonathan Freedland’s recent essay at Open Zion, which CiF Watch and Simply Jews posted about, Romain suggests some sort of moral parity between the two groups’ reaction to the “Israeli-Arab” conflict. As we noted previously, reports by CSTdo indeed demonstrate a dramatic spike in antisemitic incidents when conflicts arise between Israel and terrorists on its borders, with a disproportionate percentage of violent attacks against Jews being perpetrated by Muslims – especially those motivated by Islamist ideology.
However, there appears to be no evidence to suggest similarly violent reactions by Jews against Muslims during such violent conflagrations.
Romain continues with the following passage, displaying, at the very least, an audacious level of credulity by imputing credibility to the most risible politically correct narratives regarding Jewish-Muslim relations.
“On the other hand, the fact that young Jews and Muslims are linking up has a positive angle, and shows that the conflict in Middle East is not without hope.
Once the territorial disputes are taken away, there are very few religious problems between Jews and Muslims. Whereas, for instance, Jews play a villainous central role in the Christian story, there is no such demonisation of the other in Judaism and Islam.” [emphasis added]
While you don’t need to be a scholar on Islam to acknowledge the existence of pejorative and racist references to Jews in theKoran, and inHadiths- perhaps the best known being the following, attributed to Allah’s Apostle, which is not only cited in Hamas’s charter but supported, according to a recent poll,by an overwhelming majority of Palestinians:
“The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. “O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.”
In fairness, though, some reasonably argue that textual evidence supporting the claim that Muslims are religiously influenced to possess hostility to Jews must be balanced with a more sober understanding that Islam, as with all religions, “is subject to interpretation, which is not always the same in different times and places or among various individuals or even — in Islam’s case — countries and ethnic groups.”
In other words, to a large degree, (as with all religions) Islam, morally speaking, is what its practitioners make it.
However, even more troubling than Romain’s platitudes about ecumenical harmony is his implication that whatever problems exist between Muslims and Jews are motivated by the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict – a hypothesis which is simply ahistorical and easily contradicted by even a cursory analysis of the phenomenon of antisemitism in the Arab and Muslim worlds.
It is undeniable that extreme Muslim antisemitism in the Middle East – which manifested itself inpogroms, the ethnic cleansing of Jews from Arab lands and even calls for genocide by Muslim religious leaders – clearly predates Israel’s conquest of territory in the 1967 ‘Six Day War’, and, in many instances, even predates the birth of the Jewish state in 1948. Additionally, the Damascus blood libel occurred in 1840 – predating the publication of Theodor Herzl’s Zionist manifesto, Der Judenstat, by fifty-six years.
However, beyond the troubling historical reality of Muslim enmity towards Jews, those, such as Romain, who suggest Zionist “root causes” to explain away or contextualize antisemitism are necessarily suggesting that in the event a two-state solution is achieved, such anti-Jewish racism will recede. According to such logic, the creation of a Palestinian Arab state will ameliorate the Judeophobic obsession which, for instance, led the “moderate” Egyptian President, Mohamed Morsi, tourge fellow Muslims to “nurse their children and grandchildren on hatred for Jews”.
Romain would evidently have us believe that, upon the birth of the new state of Palestine, Hamas and Hezbollah leaders will renounce their genocidal antisemitism, Iranian leaders will acknowledge the reality of the Holocaust, the state controlled Arab media will stop inculcating the masses in vile Jewish conspiracy theories, and Jihadists in London, Paris, Milan and New York City will abort plans to target innocent Jewsat synagogues, community centers, and markets.
However, beyond the speciousness of Romain’s particular logic, the causation he’s suggesting between Israeli policy and the persistence of malignant and pervasive anti-Jewish bigotry within particular cultures in the world legitimizes a narrative which should have long since been discredited – that antisemitism may indeed a malevolent force, but one which can be ameliorated by simply changing Jewish behavior.
Perhaps one of the saddest commentaries on the Guardian-style Left – with all of its faux liberal pieties – is its inability to comprehend the most basic truth about racial bigotry of all kinds, including antisemitism: that racism is always a commentary on the moral failings of the racists themselves, and never, ever on the object of their hate.
“Insulting religions, faiths, or religious symbols cannot in any way be a part of freedom of belief or freedom of expression.”
Religious lesson in official PA daily:
“The struggle between truth and falsehood is as ancient as life upon this earth… The conflict between us and the Jews is not a conflict about land and borders, but rather a conflict about faith and existence.”
In response to the film depicting Islam’s prophet Muhammad negatively, using terms like “child molester” and “murderous thug,” Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas “condemned the insult to [Islam's] prophet” and added that he rejects “freedom of belief or freedom of expression when it comes to criticizing religion.”
Mahmoud Abbas’ condemnation of the defamation of Islam contrasts the PA policy of defamation of Judaism, demonization of Jews and promotion of Antisemitism, all of which are integral messages expressed by PA leaders and transmitted through the structures under their control.
Recent examples of this policy can be found in all areas of PA expression. The moderator at a Fatah ceremony demonized Jews as “the descendants of the apes and pigs.” A PA TV narrator said that Jews praying at the Western Wall are “sin and filth.” Senior PA official Jibril Rajoub referred to Jews as “Satans” and “Zionist sons of bitches” on PA TV. The PA Mufti and other religious leaders have defined Jews as the “enemy of Allah,” even preaching the following Hadith in PA TV sermons: “The Prophet says: ‘You shall fight the Jews and kill them.’” Indeed, what these and many other examples document is that in the PA, not only is demonization of Jews and Judaism common practice, it is also sometimes promoted as a religious Islamic imperative.
Significantly, the PA’s promotion of hatred of Jews is not limited to religious leaders and PA officials. PA TV featured young girls on children’s programs saying that Jews and Christians are “inferior and smaller, more cowardly and despised” and that “our enemy, Zion, is Satan with a tail.” Following classical European Antisemitism, a history program on PA TV taught that “Jews are hated in every society in which they have lived, because of their behavior relating to their great love of money.” The official PA daily on Israel’s independence day said Israel’s goal was to turn a “Jewish monarchy in Palestine into a basis for their [the Jews'] eternal rule over the world, that others, ‘goyim’ [non-Jews], must submit to their will.” (See details and many more sources below.)
The hypocrisy of the PA is evident. Abbas condemns the recent video about Muhammad and states that “insulting religions, faiths, or religious symbols” is not protected “freedom of expression.” At the same time, his own government’s policy is to indoctrinate Palestinians to hate Jews and to defame Judaism.
PA Chairman Abbas condemned defaming Islam and religion:
“President [Mahmoud Abbas] again condemned the insult to [Islam's] prophet Muhammad. He said… that from a religious, human, and moral point of view we cannot accept this insult, since it is a blatant attack on the entire belief system and the sensitivities of more than a billion Muslims in the world. President Abbas added that insulting religions, faiths, or religious symbols cannot in any way be a part of freedom of belief or freedom of expression…”
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 17, 2012]
PA defames Judaism and Jews:
PMW has collected 25 representative examples of this hate speech from PA and Fatah leaders, spokespeople, children’s programs and official media. Most are from 2012 and 2011.
These examples appear first as short quotes and are followed by their full contexts and sources.
Additional documentation can be found on PMW’s website, including hate speech during the PA terror campaign (the Intifada 2000-2005), when PA religious leaders repeatedly called for thekilling of Jews as an Islamic demand.
Young girl on PA TV children’s program
“Jews and Christians are “inferior and smaller, more cowardly and despised.”
Moderator at Fatah ceremony
“Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs (i.e., Jews) is a war of religion and faith.”
History program on PA TV
“The Jews are hated in every society in which they have lived, because of their behavior relating to their great love of money… This is how they harmed the societies that embraced them.”
PA TV narrator, on Jerusalem
“The light rain [in Jerusalem] cleanses the steps of the foreigners [Jews] so that the feet [of Muslims] in prayer will not step on impurity.”
Official PA daily’s religious lesson by Sheikh Ishaq Feleifel
The Jews’ “evilnature is drawn from Adam’s first son [who murdered his brother].”
PA TV Friday sermon
“These new Mongols…the Jews, the enemies of Allah and of His Messenger, the enemies of Allah and of His Messenger! Enemies of humanity in general, and of Palestinians in particular… Our enmity with the Jews is a matter of faith, more than an enmity because of occupation and the land… Even if donkeys would cease to bray, dogs cease to bark, wolves cease to howl and snakes to bite, the Jews would not cease to harbor hatred towards Muslims. … The Prophet says: ‘You shall fight the Jews and kill them.’”
PA TV narrator, documentary on Jerusalem
“From the balcony of our home, look out over [Islamic] holiness (visual: Western Wall) and on sin and filth (visual: Jews praying at the Western Wall).”
PA Mufti Muhammad Hussein
“The enemies of Allah [the Jews], who have violated all faith and religious laws, and even deviated from their humanity.“
Official PA daily columnist on religion Sheikh Taleb Al-Silwadi
“Allah’s enemies, the children of Zion.”
Young girl on PA TV children’s program
“Our enemy, Zion, is Satan with a tail.”
Senior PA official Jibril Rajoub
“We are prepared to bring the Executive Committee in helicopters… so they will see no Jews, no Satans, no Zionist sons of bitches.”
PA Mufti Muhammad Hussein
“The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call: ‘Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’”
Official PA daily:
“There is no limit to the greed of the Jews.”
Fatah official on PA TV
“The Jews were murderers of prophets.”
Official PA daily’s religious lesson by Sheikh Ishaq Feleifel
“The conflict between us and the Jews is not a conflict about land and borders, but rather a conflict about faith and existence.”
Official PA daily on Israel’s Independence Day
“Zionism is an extreme religious ideology whose aim is political hegemony and the transformation of a Jewish monarchy in Palestine into a basis for their eternal rule over the world, that others, “goyim” [non-Jews], must submit to their will.”
PA daily quotes children’s march-chant:
“Jews, Jews! Your holiday is the Holiday of the Apes.”
Palestinian actor in PA TV interview
“The Jew doesn’t have a bent nose, and isn’t cowardly, and is not interested only in accumulating money. Of course, he is interested in accumulating money – the Jews throughout history, and in the religions, and the Quran tells us about the Jews and their worry over money.”
Official PA daily
“The rabbis of death and the promoters of pagan Zionist thought have continued to spew their poison among the Jews, in order to stir up and rouse feelings of animosity and hatred against the Palestinians.”
Chief Justice of PA Religious Court
“Concerning the Jews, the Holy Quran says that they lack understanding, are void of wisdom, know nothing, violate agreements, etc. However, the Jews were known – it was known about them throughout history – that they make false claims, lies, forgery, slander, and fabrications.”
Additional examples of PA’s Antisemitic hate speech and sources of all items cited in brief above:
Jews /Israelis are “Allah’s enemies”
Sheikh Taleb Al-Silwadi, columnist on religious affairs in the official PA daily:
“One of the established facts is that the voice of falsehood does not rebel [against the truth] except where those who hold the truth [Muslims] forego their truth. Then there becomes room for falsehood, such that it can kill, behave violently, spill blood, and desecrate sacred things. That is what Allah’s enemies, the children of Zion, are doing before the eyes and ears of the entire world.”
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 1, 2012]
PA children taught to hate Jews and Christians: Jews and Christians are “inferior and smaller, more cowardly and despised”
Girl: Christians and Jews “are inferior and smaller, more cowardly and despised. They are remnants of the [Christian] crusaders and Khaibar (i.e., Jewish village destroyed by Muslims in 629)…”
[PA TV (Fatah), May 11 and June 2, 2012]
PA children taught to hate Jews
Young girl Lina: ”Our enemy, Zion, is Satan with a tail…”
[PA TV (Fatah), May 8, 2012]
PA children taught to hate Jews
Young girl Laila: ”Our enemy, Zion, is Satan with a tail…”
[PA TV (Fatah), April 7, 2012]
Senior PA official Jibril Rajoub says Jews are “Satans” and “Zionist sons of bitches”
“We are prepared to bring the Executive Committee in helicopters… so they will see no Jews, no Satans, no Zionist sons of bitches.”
[PA TV (Fatah), May 17, 2012]
Moderator at Fatah ceremony: Jews are “descendants of the apes and pigs”
“Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs (i.e., Jews) is a war of religion and faith. Long Live Fatah!”
[PA TV (Fatah), Jan. 9, 2012]
PA Mufti Muhammad Hussein:
“The reliable Hadith (tradition attributed to Muhammad), [found] in the two reliable collections, Bukhari and Muslim, says: “The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call: ‘Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’”
[PA TV (Fatah), Jan. 9, 2012]
Official PA daily: “There is no limit to the greed of the Jews”
“Anyone with eyes in his head sees that there is no limit to the greed of the Jews… The nibbling away at the body [land] by the Jews continues at all levels.”
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 30, 2011]
PA TV documentary on Jerusalem: Rain cleanses Jerusalem of Jews’ impurity so Muslims can pray
“The golden dome [of the mosque] shines with colors of the sky, with the white of clouds, while the joyous holiday [Eid Al-Adha] is good to the residents. The light rain cleanses the steps of the foreigners [Jews] so that the feet [of Muslims] in prayer will not step on impurity.”
[PA TV (Fatah), Nov. 6, 2011]
Kids’ hate speech against Jews at PA Arafat memorial broadcast 3 years in a row
Girl: ”He [Arafat] was our former president… The Jews poisoned him and I hate them very much. Allah will repay them what they deserve.” Boy: ”He [Arafat] died from poisoning by the Jews. Well, I don’t know what he died from, but I know it was by the Jews.”
Fatah official: Jews are “murderers of prophets,” so Jews are prone to murder
Secretary of Fatah branch in Jerusalem, Omar Shalabi, about the killing of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin: Shalabi: ”If the Jews were murderers of prophets, why shouldn’t they murder a Prime Minister who signed a peace agreement?!”
[PA TV (Fatah), Nov. 11, 2011]
Op-ed in official PA daily: “The hatred towards Israeli Jews is not related to racist discrimination” – it’s because they deserve it
“The hatred towards Israeli Jews is not related to racist discrimination, and there is no nation, people, or country which started any hatred against them. It is the Jews who have always started every struggle and hostility; they view themselves as better than all the nations and more honored than all the peoples (since they are God’s Chosen People). They call everyone else ‘goyim’ [lit. 'nations'], who are below them in every respect. Moreover, they view themselves as deserving of all the goodness, glory and power on earth, and believe that they should attain ownership of the property of every non-Jew, in every way. Therefore, in every country where they live, we see that they seek to distinguish themselves from its inhabitants. They are concentrated in their own neighborhoods, and want everyone who lives with them to become their supporters. One of the things which stir up the nations against the Jews and plants [feelings] in their hearts against them is their tricks, which people understand…”
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 2, 2011]
Official PA daily’s religious lesson: Judaism is a “distorted, corrupted, falsified religion”
Sheikh Ishaq Feleifel teaches religion:
“The struggle between truth and falsehood is as ancient as life upon this earth… yet the mighty Islam, from the breaking of its dawn and the spreading of its light up until our time, has been targeted by its enemies… the enemies have announced in a clear and provocative manner their despicable and terrible plot. Sixty-three years ago, the Israeli Prime Minister, Ben Gurion, stood at the UN after the entire world granted recognition to the malignant cancerous growth known as the State of Israel… The Prime Minister of this destructive cancerous growth stood up to declare the religion of the Jews in Palestine to the entire world. I hope that the [Islamic] nation will study this faith in order to know with certainty that the Jews talk, in conferences and in negotiations, only through their distorted, corrupted, falsified religion… The conflict between us and the Jews is not a conflict about land and borders, but rather a conflict aboutfaith and existence.”
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 3, 2011]
Official PA daily’s religious lesson: “[The Jews'] evil nature is drawn from Adam’s first son” who murdered his brother
Sheikh Ishaq Feleifel teaches religion:
“In this lesson I wanted to talk about Cain and Abel – that’s the first story on earth, whose victim was Abel, at the hands of his brother Cain – because this story shows a similarity to the Jews and their crimes… The Jews, by throwing off their yoke, followed in the footsteps of the first person on earth who threw off the yoke of Allah. Their [the Jews'] evil nature is drawn from Adam’s first son [who murdered his brother].”
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 13, 2011]
Official PA daily on Israel’s Independence Day: Zionism is a religious Jewish plan to rule over the non- Jewish world, and “Goyim [non-Jews] must submit to their will”
“The source of the name ‘Zionism’ is ‘Mount Zion’, one of the four mountains upon which the city of Jerusalem was founded. The Jews believe that their God lives there. Zionism is an extreme religious ideology whose aim is political hegemony and the transformation of a Jewish monarchy in Palestine into a basis for their eternal rule over the world, that others, “goyim” [non-Jews], must submit to their will, which is drawn from thewill of God.”
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 15, 2011]
Official PA daily quotes children: “Jews, Jews! Your holiday [Passover] is the Holiday of Apes”
“The spring carnival has retained its [Palestinian] flavor in towns such as Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Ramallah… with the demonstrations of the Scouts, songs, dances, and popular Palestinian hymns about Christian-Islamic unity and internal Christian unity. These hymns carry meaningful messages, in response to the Israeli prohibition [to enter Jerusalem], as seen in the calls of the youth who lead the procession of light, waving swords and not caring if anyone accuses them of Antisemitism: … ‘Our Lord, Jesus Christ, Christ redeemed us, with his blood he bought us, and today we are joyous while the Jews are sad,’ and, ‘Jews, Jews! Your holiday is the Holiday of the Apes, while our holiday is the Holiday of the Christ.’”
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 19, 2011]
Palestinian actor in PA TV interview: Quran says Jews worry over money
Abd Al-Rahman Abu Al-Qasem, Palestinian actor living in Syria:
“Thirty or forty years ago, we presented the Jew in the theater as someone with a bent nose who lends [money] with interest and who understands nothing except money matters, and is cowardly, ugly, interested only in collecting money and controlling the people around him. However, this is not accurate or correct: The Jew doesn’t have a bent nose, and isn’t cowardly, and is not interested only in accumulating money. Of course, he is interested in accumulating money – the Jews throughout history, and in the religions, and the Quran tells us about the Jews and their worryover money.”
[PA TV (Fatah), Feb. 27, 2011]
Official PA daily’s headline: “Zionism reproduces the Holocaust”
“Day by day, Zionist racism is becoming more firmly and clearly entrenched in Israeli society… The rabbis of death and the promoters of pagan Zionist thought have continued to spew their poison among the Jews, in order to stir up and rouse feelings of animosity and hatred against the Palestinians, since the European and American forces of evil facilitated for them the [fulfillment of the] idea of the ‘national home’, in order to be rid of them and to remove from the European [social] fabric the results and implications of the Holocaust which they carried out against the Jews of Europe in Nazi Germany.”
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 19, 2011]
History program on PA TV: Jews’ money lending “Shylock” behavior caused Antisemitism
Jordanian academic Arafat Hijazi:
“150 years ago, when there were no Jews in Palestine, the Jews were in Europe, in Eastern Europe, but the Jews suffered from persecution by the European nations. The reason was that they [the Jews] would harm the people of the lands in which they lived. They had a problem: Wherever they went, they were expelled, and were imprisoned.”
Jordanian academic Muhammad Dohal:
“The Jews are hated in every society in which they have lived, because of their behavior relating to their great love of money. Their behavior led to [Shakespeare's] famous story, the story of Shylock about money lending, which clings to the Jews. This is how they harmed the societies that embraced them, including the Palestinian society, the Arab-Palestinian society.”
[PA TV (Fatah), Oct. 17, 2010]
PA TV: Jews praying at the Western Wall is “sin and filth” – broadcast 2 years in a row
PA TV narrator: ”They [Israelis] know for certain that our [Palestinian] roots are deeper than their false history. We, from the balcony of our home, look out over [Islamic] holiness and on sin and filth [Jews praying at the Western Wall].”
[PA TV (Fatah), Sept. 10, 2010 and Aug. 10, 2011]
PA Mufti: Jews are “enemies of Allah” who “deviated from their humanity”
Muhammad Hussein, Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine:
“The Al-Aqsa Mosque is threatened by the plans of the enemies of Allah [the Jews], who have violated all faith and religious laws, and even deviated from their humanity.“
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 26, 2010]
PA TV: Don’t threaten kids with monsters, demons and Jews
PA cleric: ”Bringing up children with fear, anxiety and panic, scaring them when they cry – once by mentioning a monster, another time a scarecrow or a thief, and some other time a Jew, a demon, or the sound of the wind and other things, in order to silence them. Then the child grows up as a coward.”
[PA TV (Fatah), April 23, 2010]
Jews are “enemies of Allah,” “enemies of humanity,” and “the Prophet says… ‘fight the Jews and kill them’”
The following are excerpts of a PA TV Friday sermon from a mosque that was broadcast on PA TV: “The loathsome occupation in Palestine – its land and its holy places – by these new Mongols and what they are perpetrating upon this holy, blessed and pure land…The Jews, the enemies of Allah and of His Messenger, the enemies of Allah and of His Messenger! Enemies of humanity in general, and of Palestinians in particular… Our enmity with the Jews is a matter of faith, more than an enmity because of occupation and the land… Oh Muslims! The Jews are the Jews. The Jews are the Jews. Even if donkeys would cease to bray, dogs cease to bark, wolves cease to howl and snakes to bite, the Jews would not cease to harbor hatred towards Muslims. The Prophet said that if two Jews would be alone with a Muslim, they would think only of killing him… The Prophet says: ‘You shall fight the Jews and kill them, until the tree and the stone will speak and say: ‘Oh Muslim, Oh servant of Allah’ – the tree and the stone will not say, ‘Oh Arab,’ they will say, ‘Oh Muslim’. And they will not say, ‘Where are the millions?’ and will not say, ‘Where is the Arab nation?’ Rather, they will say, ‘Oh Muslim, Oh servant of Allah – there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’…”
[PA TV (Fatah), Jan. 29, 2010]
PA Chief Justice of Religious Court: Quran says Jews are evil
Dr. Tayseer Al-Tamimi, PA Chief Justice of Religious Court, and Chairman of Supreme Council of Islamic Law: “Concerning the Jews, the Holy Quran says that they lack understanding, are void of wisdom, know nothing, violate agreements, etc. However, the Jews were known – it was known about them throughout history – that they make false claims, lies, forgery, slander, and fabrications, in order to justify their aggression, land theft, defilement of holy sites, appropriation of land, destruction of homes, murder of children, women, and the elderly.”
[PA TV (Fatah), June 9, 2009]
Official PA daily: Jews are sadists and liars
“[In his lecture, Dr. Yunes Amr, President of Al-Quds Open University] addressed the subject of ‘Jerusalem, capital of Arab culture,’ the characteristics of the Jews – their lies and their sadism.”
We all know the story well but few of us, I suspect, know the name.
It is 1847 and we are in the obstetrics section of a Viennese hospital, and it’s one of the most dangerous places in the world. Only the destitute, the homeless, the husband-less are sent there; any woman who can afford to is delivered at home. The mortality rate in the hospital for mothers and babies from puerperal (“child-bed”) fever, a form of blood-poisoning, hovers around 30%.
Enter a young Hungarian doctor, freshly graduated and horrified at what he sees. Unlike so many of his illustrious seniors he does not despise the patients and is determined to discover the cause of this daily hecatomb. He begins to observe and keep records. His name is Ignaz Semmelweis.
He soon remarked that, among women in the first ward of the clinic, the death rate from childbed fever was two or three times as high as among those in the second ward, even though the two wards were identical with the exception that medical students were taught in the first and midwives in the second. He put forward the thesis that perhaps the students carried something to the patients they examined during labour. The death of a friend from a wound infection incurred during the examination of a woman who died of puerperal infection gave support to his reasoning. He concluded that students who came directly from the dissecting room to the maternity ward carried the infection from mothers who had died of the disease to healthy mothers. He ordered the students to wash their hands in a solution of chlorinated lime before examining patients.
Under these procedures, the mortality rates in the first ward dropped from 18.27 to 1.27 percent, and in March and August of 1848 no woman died in childbirth in his division.
The students accepted Semmelweis’s thesis with great enthusiasm, but his superiors resisted because they could not and would not understand. This was, after all, before the germ theory of disease had been formulated and infection was felt to be carried by “bad air” (“miasma”) or, in the case of so many fallen women, it was a judgement from God. And the idea that infection could possibly be carried by doctors, the closest thing to gods themselves, was simply unthinkable. Semmelweis came under suspicion as a trouble-maker and those suspicions were confirmed when he threw in his lot with the radicals during the Vienna Spring of 1848. A Jew to boot, he was no longer welcome in Vienna.
But it was Semmelweis who won. He transferred to Pest and there too he decimated the incidence of puerperal fever, whilst in Vienna they continued to poison their women and babies. His ideas gradually spread and when John Snow in England demolished the miasma theory of infection and the germ theory began to take hold, Semmelweis was vindicated. His influence on the development of knowledge and control of infection was hailed by Joseph Lister, the father of modern antisepsis: “I think with the greatest admiration [and joy] of him and his achievement.”
He could have had an easier and decidedly wealthier life but, thanks to his humanity, his dedication, his insight, his sheer pig-headed unselfish persistence, Dr Ignaz Semmelweis was truly a Jew who made a difference.
Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia, Carter, K and Carter, B. 2005. Childbed Fever: A Scientific Biography of Ignaz Semmelweis (2nd edn.)
*****
It isn’t individual bravery that wins wars, though it’s certainly a necessary quality. It’s brains that win modern wars and not the brains of generals, though these can certainly lose them. No, it’s the brains of the men and women in the white lab-coats, the scientists and technologists.
It’s 1916 and the British government is deeply worried. The country’s munitions industry is running short of acetone, a vital component of cordite, the explosive in the War’s most decisive weapon, the artillery shell. Unless an inexpensive source of acetone is found and found quickly, the War will inevitably be lost and the economy ruined.
Chaim Weizmann is a Russian émigré and Jewish biochemist, working at the University of Manchester. He’s a brain in a white lab coat who finds a way of producing acetone from simple starch, potatoes to you and me. The rest – as it always is – was history. The British Army survived and then thrived, pounding German dreams of European domination to defeat with Weizmann’s acetone. Weizmann himself used his influence to persuade a grateful government to adopt the Balfour agreement and, even though Israel was in the event short-changed, it was enough to earn Weizmann the first Presidency of the fledgling Jewish State.
Chaim Weizman
There are two lessons to be learned.
Number one, hang on to your Jews. Those states which have expelled their Jewish populations live to pay a heavy price. Sixteenth Century Spain and Portugal found themselves deprived of the benefit of Jewish commercial experience and, despite massive initial advantages, were overtaken and overshadowed by tiny Holland and then England, who had taken in many of their Jews. Hitler’s folly in exterminating his Jewish brains and driving others into the welcoming arms of the Allies needs no comment. Is the Arab world better off, scientifically, culturally, educationally for the brutal expulsion of so many of its Jewish communities after 1948?
The second lesson is for Israel’s enemies. Israel lacks the countless legions of Egypt, the big battalions of Iran. It has no steady flood of petrodollars. But what it does have is an endless supply of brains in white lab coats. And tremble before the Jews in the white lab-coats. Because it is they who make the difference.
Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia
*****
Everyone has heard of the great Jewish philanthropists, the Guggenheim family and the Rothschilds, but donating for good works seems to be something of an obsession for Jews who’ve “made their pile”; there are too many to name. One of my personal favourites amongst the lesser known is James Loeb who, apart from setting up an eminent music school and donating his art collections for public display at Harvard and Munich, found time to endow the Loeb Library of classical literature, opening the ancient world to a mass audience at affordable prices. No-one who ever read one can forget the elegance of a Loeb volume.
I never told you the one about how a Christian/Hindu cult helped me love Israel and Judaism, did I? As a non-Jew who proudly supports Zionism and is fascinated by Judaism, particularly the mystical and Hasidic traditions, I am often asked how I came to feel this way. To me, the real question is why someone would not support Israel and admire Judaism, but of course I understand the curiosity.
The short answer – which I’ve blogged about and mentioned during speeches – is that I became fascinated by the Middle East after the September 11 attacks. To my surprise, having previously had a lazy, hazy perception that Israel were the villains of the conflict, I became more and more pro-Israel the more I learned about the issue. So I started visiting Israel and quickly fell in love with the place.
However, I’ve never written or spoken publicly about a challenging childhood experience that had a part to play in this. When I was nine, I joined a new school in London. I was so excited to be leaving primary school and joining a new, ‘grown-up’ establishment. What I didn’t realise until I got there was that 99 percent of the pupils and their families were members of bizarre religious cult, as were all the staff.
The cult, which dominated the school, combined Victorian sternness with less savoury elements of Christianity and Hinduism to create a cruel concoction. I was a member of the one percent of pupils with no connection to the cult. This meant that twice a day, as my classmates meditated and chanted Sanskrit, I had to go to a dark room in the basement and sit kicking my heels with the other odd ones out of the school.
It also meant I was pressured to join the cult. The more I resisted this pressure, the more I was targeted by the staff. It was astounding how quickly the teachers could turn a maths, English or science class into a free-for-all discussion of how I came from an “impure” family.
The staff strongly discouraged pupils from befriending me and at times some of the teachers were violent with me. At one point I was even-handed a year-long detention, which meant I couldn’t leave the school until 6.30pm on weekdays and not before mid-afternoon on Saturdays.
For six years I resisted the pressure to join the cult and then at 16 I was finally able to leave the godforsaken place. Years later, in 2007, an inquiry found that “mistreatment” and “criminal assaults” had taken place when I was there. It is possible that one can never completely move on from such an experience – the question is how to create a positive legacy.
Which brings me to my love of Israel. I think that as result of what I faced at school I have developed a stronger empathy for anyone who is unfairly singled out. For instance, when Kofi Annan – then the Secretary General of the UN – was asked why the UN so disproportionately targets Israel, and replied: “Can the whole world be wrong?” he made my blood boil. As I knew from my schooling, sometimes yes, the whole world can be wrong.
Recently, while dining with a Jewish family I’m friendly with, I sensed a wider connection. I was telling them about my strange school, when the wise father of the household turned to me and said:
“You were like the Jew at school – that’s why you understand us.”
I had never thought of it that way, as I consider the story of the Jewish experience to be as much about the inspiration of your enormous achievements and inspiring example as it is the hatred you have faced.
But I can see his point – and within it is the positive legacy I sought. Perhaps if I had not been so tested as a child I would not have subsequently stood at the Kotel, nor watched the sunset in Tel Aviv, nor heard of the wondrous Baal Shem Tov and Rabbi Nachman, whose teachings now enrich my life.
Whatever took me here I am glad it did. After all, supporting Israel and admiring Judaism is the only sensible way to roll.
(The following is a guest post by Adam Frank, Rabbi at Congregation Moreshet Israel, a Conservative Synagogue in Jerusalem. Though CiF Watch is not a ‘Jewish Blog’ as such, we are, to be sure, proudly philosemitic, and thus Frank’s brief meditation should be seen as an opportunity to thoughtfully and soberly discuss what Jewish ‘chosenness’ and ‘particularism’ truly means in the context of Jewish history. – AL)
Though born and raised in a proudly Jewish and Zionist home, I was not exposed to the term Pintele Yid until reaching adulthood.
Literally, the words mean ‘the little point of a Jew,’ though colloquially it refers to the idea of the Jewish spark inside each member of our community. Pintele Yid is a term that has been used to refer to some element of the essence in each Jew that refuses to be extinguished.
Some give labels to pintele yid such as chutzpah or determination or stubbornness or soul. Unarguably, for those who accept and embrace the concept of pintele yid, it does serve to distinguish a Jew from others.
Recently, I engaged in a thoughtful conversation with a Jewish friend for whom the idea of ‘Chosen People’ is an anathema. Simply put, she does not believe that Jews are different from the other peoples of the world. While I certainly understand the discomfort that one may feel over the Torah’s reference to our nation as ‘chosen,’ I believe wholeheartedly in the Jewish people’s unique and unambiguous relationship with Gd and, accordingly, with the rest of the humanity. Still, does the People Israel being ‘chosen’ pertain to each individual or is it a collective label?
For guidance, I look to our tradition’s teachings and belief that stems from the Torah’s verses, You all stand here today before Adonai your Gd….that you enter into a covenant that Gd makes with you this day that you are His people… not only with you standing here today but also with those who are with us but [physically] not here this day.(Deuteronomy 29:9-14)
Begrudgingly or willfully, our people is defined as involved in an ongoing, unbreakable covenant with the universe’s one and only Gd. Each one of us stood before Gd that day and committed to a relationship of great privilege and even greater responsibility.
The existence of each individual Jew in the world is neither random nor happenstance; and each Jew’s existence is the result of calculated and uncompromising decisions of the chain of generations that came before us. Through all of the persecution, all of the oppression, all of the pograms, crusades, libels and massacres – the existence of each and every Jew alive today is deliberate and purposeful; and, our survival has no doubt been assisted by our belief that we are unique, different, and essential.
Pintele Yid is the fiber in each Jew that resists the darkness of the complacent and the ordinary. Like the menorah in the time of the Maccabees, the spark of each Jewish soul refuses to be extinguished.
(The following was written by playwrightJanet S. Tiger, and is being published at CiF Watch with the author’s explicit permission.)
The Jews settled the moon in 2053, just about five years after the end of the Islamic Wars of the 40s, where the Middle East, and Israel, of course, had been obliterated by nuclear weapons.
The two million Jews remaining throughout the rest of the world – less than 100,000 total in all the Islamic countries- banded together and purchased the dark side of the moon, which no other companies or people wished to colonize. Great transports were arranged via the 62,000 mile space elevator and the Space Shuttle and every Jew on Earth – including anyone who claimed any Jewish heritage whatsoever – left to go to a place where no one could blame them for anything.
The Earth rejoiced – happily rid of all Jews. All friends of the Jews had ‘disappeared’ and there were huge parties throughout all of Sweden and the rest of Europe, Africa, Asia South America, and North America.
After the last Jew entered the elevator, (a David Goldstein, 62, formerly of New York), the Earth was officially declared Judeinfreit by Hans Ibn Hitler, a great, great-grandson of Hitler who had been raised in Brazil and hidden by Nazis until the precious moment.
It was not an easy move for the Jews, but, in some ways, it was no different than all moves of previous eras. Some former Israelis, (still alive because they were out of Israel when the bombs dropped), claimed that the moon was easier to deal with because there were no Islamist extremists.
Of course, this precipitated a huge argument with some Jews, who felt not having such devout adversaries nearby was not enough challenge. Other Jews argued that taming a wilderness with no atmosphere, plant or animal life and freezing temperatures was enough challenge.
And yet other Jews argued that arguing was counterproductive. It came as no surprise to anyone that the two million Jews, there were eventually one million synagogues. (With the other million Jew not joining.)
It was also no surprise that within just three years, the Jews had created a controlled environment that allowed for fantastic plant and animal growth and production. The transports, which had been called the Arks, had also carried two of each animal and plant (remember, Noah), and through the ingenuity of the Jews and cloning, there were now many new species which sped up production of food (cows with six udders, chickens with four legs.)
The population had rapidly increased, and due to the amazing collection of scientific and medical minds, most diseases and even aging had been reduced to nil.
There was even a ministry of communication with Earth consisting of the remains of Hollywood producers and moviemakers, who sent back to Earth portraits of life on the moon.
Of course, it had been decided when the Jews first got to the moon – based on six-thousand-year history of people being jealous of Jewish accomplishment – that all news coverage of the moon’s population would be “movie-ized” to show only horrible things. The film industry, led by Jordan Spielberg, went to great lengths to fabricate news clips to show Jews barely surviving in the harsh lunar habitat. Artists and engineers labored to cover over the vast environmental successes with illusionary domes showing massive areas of wasteland – just in case anyone from Earth ever sent a spaceship with cameras to see what was going on.
But no one ever did, and the years passed rapidly. One decade, then another. Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, brises, all celebrated under the artificial world that the Jews had created – not only had it not been that bad, but by the end of the century, some Jewish authors were calling the moon colony – Eden 2. Of course other Jews disagreed. In fact, much time was spent on disagreeing.
There were even contest for arguing, but, in general, there was peace. Anyone who threatened the peace was forced to officiate at a contest with people arguing about why that person was wrong. The contests would go on for days, (sometimes weeks) until the troublemaker begged for forgiveness. (Many penalties on the moon were similar to this, and were extremely effective.)
Back on Earth, life disintegrated without the Jews. There was a return to Middle Ages thought – only the current religion du jour was valid – all others were kept legislated into poverty until a war erupted and the positions changed for a few years.
Another amazing anomaly appeared when there were no longer any Jews on Earth – anti-Semitism actually increased to monumental proportions. Famous orators explained this simply by saying; “I don’t have to have a gun to be afraid of having my brains blown out.”
Additionally, without the presence of the Jew, the world developed incredible evil that had no release. (Previous evil had always focused on the Jews.) One Rabbi actually said G-d spoke to him and said that he, G-d was about to destroy the Earth because everyone on the Earth was evil. The Rabbi begged him to reconsider, and that if there were 1,000 good people left on Earth, G-d should spare the planet. G-d then told the Rabbi, “Hey, I was through this before with Abraham and Noah and I already know the answer because I’m G-d”
People laughed at the Rabbi, but then, one day, while all the lunar citizens were going about their business, an enormous series of explosions was seen on the Earth. Everyone on the moon stared at the distant fireballs that seemed to engulf the blue planet that was once their home.
Although there had been great anger at being forced to leave the Earth, the true spirit of Judaism was always present on the moon, and no one had wished ill onto their former home. As in the tradition of the Seder, (when the wine is spilled because the Egyptians perished and we do not rejoice fully when even an enemy has died), when the Jews saw what was happening, they began to pray, and watch what was to be the final news broadcast from Earth.
The horror of the apocalypse was videotaped by cameras until all electricity was ionized by the new electron bombs. Entire countries were wiped away in the blink of an ion exploding. And there it was, the final transmission from the nation that had started the entire mess – it was a desperate headline screamed by a hundred dying newscasters. Their rant continued until it was just blackness. What were they saying? As the Jews watched, some gasped, others cried, and a few even laughed. For the last words of the disappearing civilization were a condemnation. “The Jews have caused all our problems – they left us here to face the mess they made” “If the Jews hadn’t taken all the best scientists and engineers, we could have defeated our enemies” “Our enemies are the Jews!” “Kill all the Jews” It took a little while, but the electronics experts pieced together what had happened on Earth in the last days. Anti-Semitism, which had grown stronger and stronger since the Jews had left, had reached its pinnacle, and all the countries of the world had decided to launch a massive attack on the moon.
The attack had been coordinated by the United Nations and, although all the missiles had been launched properly, there was some sort of glitch in the targeting system, resulting in all the weapons colliding in the upper atmosphere and showering the Earth with a deadly rain of nuclear fire, electronic destruction and a generally bad day. The mistake triggered the military response of all the nations – (who all had nuclear weapons by then – plus a few other horrid toys) and the result was truly an Armageddon.
The Jews on the moon went into a period of deep mourning. The Orthodox rent their clothing and there were mass counseling sessions.
And, then about one week after the BIG DAY, as it was now called, a presence was detected heading towards the moon. Had one of the missiles escaped? Were the Jews doomed after all? The leaders checked with the defense experts – no, this was not a missile, it was an old-style spacecraft, like the ones used in the early 1970s. As it approached, the laser defense was trained on the craft. Debates raged as to whether the craft should be destroyed or allowed to get close enough to communicate with.
The message from the ship came just in time. It said, “We are the last representatives from Earth – two from each country and we come in peace.” Some Jews rejoiced that there were survivors, others demanded isolation or death of the approaching group.
The Rabbi who had had the vision told the leaders that G-d wanted them to have a chance so they were allowed to circle the moon. When told they could have a section of land to themselves to farm and repopulate, the Earthlings were upset. They told the Jews that they should be allowed to live with the Jews and have all the same privileges – because, after all, in Judaism, the stranger is given the same rights and privileges as the citizen.
Upon hearing this, the leaders went to the Rabbi with the visions, and he offered to guide the survivors to their new home. The leaders allowed him to give the instructions for landing. Not trusting the Rabbi, the commander of the ship didn’t listen and crashed into a lunar crater.
And so we have the final days of the history of the planet Earth, which have been generously shared with us by the Jewish colony of the 453rd Solar System of the XM Galaxy. Although the Earth is currently uninhabitable, the head engineer of the Jewish colony on Mars tells us that Venus will be fully colonized by the year 2120, and with continuous replanting, Earth will once again be ready for Jews returning from other planets in the year 2136.
An interesting side note – inside the wreckage of the rocket with the survivors from Earth was a specially marked package that had survived which included the following words:
“Once there was a great planet named the Earth. And there were many peoples on this planet, and they all existed peacefully with each other, except for the Jews. Wherever there were Jews, there was trouble. Jews brought dirt and death and hatred and strife. They were finally banished from our planet, only to take with them many great inventors and scientist and doctors, leaving Earth with nothing. We have decided to destroy the remnants of the Jews, and since the first attempt failed, we are the last chance for Earth. Whoever shall find this will know the truth – It was all the Jews’ fault.”
This panel has been saved and is on display at the Earth Memorial Museum at Rivka Crater, NW, for all travelers who wish to see the remains of a civilization that did not understand the words – “He who blesses the Jews, is himself blessed, he who curses the Jews, is himself cursed.”
I recently commented (here) on an Oct. 25th CiF essay by Kapil Komireddi (Israel and India: A relationship deepened by prejudice) which again demonstrated that, for the anti-Zionist left, even the most benign Israeli act, policy, or alliance can be contorted to impute maximum malice to the Jewish state.
Specifically, Komirredi argued that Israel’s increasingly close diplomatic and military ties with democratic India was based on the shared value of “Islamophobia”.
But, also of note is that CiF editors decided to place Komireddi’s assault on Israel on the CiF Judaism page.
Whatever Komireddi’s take on Israel, he didn’t once mention Judaism or the state’s Jewish character.
Do CiF editors think that Israel’s alleged racism can be reasonably construed as commentary on the nature of Judaism itself, asDeborah Orr argued?
Nor, however, does Orr represent the only example of the Guardian licensing such a view. As Anthony Julius wrote in a letter published by the Guardian about the play Seven Jewish Children, which, he noted,is still available at the Guardian’s website, the play includes the following:
“Tell her we killed the babies by mistake / Don’t tell her anything about the army.” “Tell her I look at one of their children covered in blood and what do I feel? Tell her all I feel is happy it’s not her.” “Tell her I wouldn’t care if we wiped them out.” “Tell her I don’t care if the world hates us, tell her we’re better haters, tell her we’re chosen people.” [emphasis mine]
As Julius concludes in his letter:
“In this play, Jews confess to lying to their own children and killing Palestinian children. They also confess to something close to a project of genocide. And they freely acknowledge the source of their misanthropy to be Judaism itself…None of [which] seems to bother the Guardian.” [emphasis mine]
While one could certainly not be blamed for failing to see a pattern, while contextualizing the Guardian each and every day I simply don’t think the placement of Komireddi’s essay on the Jewish state’s racism, the availability of the play Seven Jewish Children on their website, and Orr’s attack on “the chosen” can be seen outside of the Guardian’s shameful record of publishing essays and letters from unrepentant antisemites.
Finally, an unbridled and chilling assault on Israel’s moral legitimacy written by the Guardian’s David Hearst, in August, “Could Arab staying power ultimately defeat Zionism?“, concluded with the query of whether Israel will be “a democracy or a supremacist state?” [emphasis mine]
Whether these examples represent a pattern in the Guardian’s understanding of Judaism itself is, at the very least, an important question, as the narrative of Jews (and/or Judaism) as inherently racist or supremacist has a dark and odious intellectual history – one which those dedicated to fighting antisemitism can not afford to breezily ignore.
I recently commented to a colleague that, though I’ve worked professionally fighting anti-Semitism and advocating on behalf of Israel for many years – and there weren’t many distortions, lies, or agitprop that I haven’t seen – I still haven’t lost the ability to, at times, still become outraged by the relentless venom that’s constantly directed at the Jewish state. Mya Guarnieri’s CiF piece, “Israeli rabbis’ racist decree strikes at the soul of Judaism,” represents such a case.
Let’s begin with the title, “Israeli rabbi’s racist decree strikes at the soul of Judaism,” and examine what it is meant to evoke. As we learn by reading the essay, her commentary pertains to 50 or so rabbis (including Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu) who signed a religious decree forbidding Jews from selling homes or land to non-Jews. So, from a totally non-binding decree, which (though clearly discriminatory) has no weight whatsoever in the context of Israeli civil law, we are provided a hyperbolic headline which would suggest that what’s at stake is nothing short of the “soul of Judaism.” As if Judaism itself is on trial.
Guarnieri’s opening notes that the rabbis who signed the decree “urged Jews to first warn and then “ostracize” fellow Jews who disobey the edict.” In this passage one can’t help but note a contrast in penalties between Israeli and Palestinian societies handed out to those whose behavior contradicts social mores. Jews, who violate this decree, will be issued a stern warning and face the possibility of limited social opprobrium. In contrast, for instance, Palestinians who are “caught” selling land to Jews risk the death penalty. Indeed, According to the 1973 legislation, the sale of property to Jews or Israelis constitutes a crime against state security and well-being, punishable by death and the confiscation of the culprit’s possessions.
Guarnieri continues by framing the issue as representing “…just the latest wave in a rising tide of religious fascism.”
So, by the second paragraph we’re told that what’s at stake isn’t merely the social ramifications of an edict signed by few dozen bigoted rabbis, but, rather, Israel’s descent into a violent, religiously based, authoritarianism – a breathtaking rhetorical leap that, one would assume, Ms. Guarnieri has ample evidence to support.
Yet her subsequent supporting passages merely noted the following: Fifteen or so rabbis recently urged Jewish landlords to refrain from renting to Arab college students; a letter was signed by a few Tel Aviv rabbis asking Jews not to rent to illegal immigrants; a campaign was launched in an orthodox neighborhood in Tel Aviv to clamp down on illegal immigrants.
