One warrior facing many opponents. While in this story I am the warrior, it could be any Jew and all Jews. The arena is sometimes a physical place and other times a computer screen. In both places the crowds can get pretty loud. Sometimes I think stepping into the ring is a crazy thing to do, but that thought came after I already stepped into it.
The David Dukes, Neo Nazis and KKK wannabes aren’t what got me to step it up. Not that I was silent in the face of their old school Jew hate. They need to be forced back under the rock from whence they came. Feeling like they can speak their truth (read bullshit) out loud has lead the minions with no mental boundaries to commit violent acts that frighten us all. Standing up to an enemy, an antisemite that is not in disguise, is less scary than the ones that go bump in the night.
The ones that make me check under my bed before I turn out the lights are the Political Antisemites. The Jeremy Corbyns, Ilhan Omars, Trumps and any one of the Women’s March leaders for example. I know that one of them is not like the others and I will make my case for adding him.
Jeremy Corbyn, if he survives politically the well documented charges of antisemitism, could one day be prime minister. People are all too often willing to overlook what does not hit home for them, so yes, it could happen.. And let’s not forget all those geniuses who thought there was no way Trump could win. A Jeremy Corbyn win would unleash more antisemitism than already exists in the UK and it will come from all sides. Antisemitism is the great uniter.
So now let’s talk Trump. His daughter and grandchildren are Jews. He supports Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He understands that the Golan Heights must remain under Israeli sovereignty. What more could a Jewish mother want? This Jewish mother hasn’t forgotten what then candidate Trump told Jewish Republicans.
“You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money. You want to control your politicians, that’s fine.”
It’s all about the benjamins for the Jews. Makes me wonder if when Omar and Trump look in the mirror, they see the other’s face. And Trump went on in true Omar fashion to tell American Jews that Netanyahu is their Prime Minister! So yes, there is antisemitism in Trump that even when broadcast at a lower frequency is still antisemitism. It’s a frequency that is hard to hear so it often slips by unnoticed.
Ilhan Omar is a slight of word antisemitic magician. Maybe it’s her beautiful smile. She tweeted that Israel has hypnotized the world and later when she was held accountable, claimed it was a poor choice of words. Just a misunderstanding? No, because it was always about the content and not the actual words she chose. She bamboozled voters about her stance on BDS telling them she wasn’t sure it would solve anything. Almost as soon as she was elected she came out of the closet as a supporter of BDS. I mean, she never said she wasn’t so technically she didn’t lie as she pulled the wool over peoples eyes. But her brilliance was in her verbal three card monty. Her tweets about AIPAC and Jewish benjamins buying political support for Israel were a masterclass in setting an agenda. Just like that it went from being about the benjamins to being about criticizing Israel which you can do without being an antisemite. Except none of her remarks were criticism of Israel. None. Her remarks were about American Jews. Her aim was simple. Isolate and shove American Jews in a corner while everyone is looking everywhere else.
Linda Sarsour has a loud voice on the progressive left backed up by the other leaders of the Women’s March. She supports a Nation of Islam leader who is a vocal old school David Duke type antisemite. She equates zionism with white supremacy. She accused American Jews of disloyalty. And she defines and dismisses antisemitism because some American Jews have light skin. ;Linda and friends help mainstream antisemitism and marginalize Jews. Her biggest goal is to demonize Israel which being the Jewish State makes what she does Jew hate. Real criticism has no need for demonization.
The political antisemites frighten me because people don’t see them for what they are, thinking that real antisemites wear Nazi uniforms. These are people with power who are shaping our world.