Rep. Thomas Massie Says Congress Members Should Not Be Dual Citizens, Gets Accused of Anti-Semitism
Chris Menahan – August 20, 2024 Tuesday
https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64605EXTRACTCongressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) is being accused of anti-Semitism for stating that members of the US Congress should not be allowed to hold dual citizenship with other countries.
“Dual citizens elected to United States Congress should renounce citizenship in all other countries,” Massie said Monday on X. “At a minimum, they should disclose their citizenship in other countries and abstain from votes specifically benefitting those countries.”Though Massie didn’t call out any country by name, he was immediately accused of anti-Semitism by Jewish Florida State Rep. Randy Fine (R).
“This guy is just gross,” Rep. Fine said. “Who in Congress is a dual citizen? I think we all know the slur he is tossing around. The real question is why certain Florida politicians choose this bigot to hang around with.”
made anti-Semitic “littering” (aka leafleting) a felony punishable by five years in prison. Stew Peters: Hate speech laws about to be passed in Florida under FAUX conservative governor Ron Desantis. Penalty for having the “wrong” opinion? 3rd degree felony and 5 years in jail! Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a signing ceremony for the bill together with Fine while on foreign soil in Israel after dining with pro-Israel megadonor Miriam Adelson. Randy Fine: Made a secret trip to JERUSALEM (!!!) with @RepMikeCaruso to deliver @GovRonDeSantis HB 269, the strongest antisemitism bill in the United States. To Florida’s Nazi thugs, I have news: attack Jews on their property and you’re going to prison. Never again means never again. Mike Caruso: Hate crimes based on religious and ethnic animus is now punishable up to a third degree felony. Florida is saying no to hate. Massie struck a nerve with Israel Firsters earlier this year after he told Tucker Carlson that every GOP member of Congress has an “AIPAC babysitter” who guides them on how to vote in the interests of Israel.
“It’s the only country that does this,” Massie said. AF Post: Congressman Thomas Massie reveals to Tucker Carlson that his Republican colleagues have an “AIPAC babysitter” to ensure they vote in the interests of Israel at all times. “It’s the only country that does this,” Massie adds.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) on Thursday boasted that she signed the “strongest” hate crime bill in America into law to “stop antisemitism” and “ensure the security of God’s chosen people.”
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1766122440814416267&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationliberation.com%2F%3Fid%3D64329&sessionId=4f4758f6bb6c4d8e12a69755e33258929558b2ac&siteScreenName=infolibnews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px Noem said in a press release after signing the bill that South Dakota is giving Jews additional special privileges under their anti-discrimination laws because they are “God’s chosen people.”
Noem’s full statement: Ensuring the Security of God’s Chosen People
By: Governor Kristi Noem
March 8, 2024
When I was growing up, my dad would always gather our family together and we would pray for Israel. It was instilled in me from a very young age that the Jews were Gods [sic] chosen people, that Israel was the Holy Land, and that we should always pray for them.
I brought those fundamental ideals with me when I was in the State Legislature, when I served in Congress, and now as Governor of South Dakota. Supporting the State of Israel and our Jewish community has always been extremely important to me. It’s important to support Israel for spiritual, historical, and national security reasons. I am continuing to stand with the Jewish people by signing historic legislation to protect them from antisemitism.
I was shocked and devastated to see the horrific terrorist attacks on the State of Israel on October 7th, 2023. And I have continued to be heartbroken to see radical individuals in the United States of America standing with Hamas – standing with terrorists. Ever since October 7th, we have seen a shocking spike in antisemitic acts of hatred around the world. We have even seen isolated incidents right here in South Dakota.https://www.youtube.com/embed/llyzlOAbrqg?si=EcAKfh4Qdx622ssN No one should ever feel concerned for their safety when going to school, when going to work, when they are just trying to live their normal lives. But that is the reality for so many Jewish people across America right now. We see antisemitism on college campuses, among high school students, and even as young as middle and elementary school students. That is unacceptable.
I was very proud to sign HB 1076, a very important bill to combat antisemitism. This bill defines antisemitism and makes it easier to prove when discriminatory conduct is motivated by antisemitism. It is an impactful piece of legislation that will ensure the safety of Jewish people and strengthen South Dakota’s anti-discrimination laws.
We held a beautiful, moving signing ceremony for this bill in the Rotunda of our State Capitol in Pierre. Many prominent Jewish leaders attended, including Elan Carr, the CEO of the Israeli-American Council for Action, nationally renowned Jewish leader and founder of the Jacobson Society Dan Rosen, Rabbi and Director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center Dr. Mark Goldfeder, Rabbi Mendel Alperowitz of the Chabad Jewish Center of South Dakota, Renie Schreiber on behalf of Yinam Cohen, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, and Jordan Cope from Stand With Us. A few of our special guests said some words about the impact this legislation will have for the Jewish people. You can view footage of the full bill signing ceremony here.
There are a few other people to thank for their efforts in getting this bill passed and signed into law, including Representative Mike Stevens, Representative Rebecca Reimer, Dan Lederman, and Stephen Rosenthal.
The prime sponsors of this bill, Representative Deutsch and Senator Mehlhaff, put in a lot of hard work with my office and with members of the Jewish community to make sure this is the best bill possible to stop antisemitism and hate. This bill puts the gold standard International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism into state law.
The IHRA defines anti-Semitism as: – Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.
– Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.
– Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).
– Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
– Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
– Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
– Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
– Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
– Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
– Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.No other ethnic or religious group in America is afforded any such privileges.
“Given the large-scale resurgence of international antisemitism today, it is now essential to universally criminalize antisemitism,” said Alan Baker, the head of the international law program at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. “This must be done despite anticipated negative reactions by Muslim groups and despite the apathetic and misplaced sense of political correctness that is most prevalent in Europe and North America.”
They warned that such laws (as Noem passed in South Dakota) would be “harmful to the Jewish community” as they would give “the appearance that the Jewish community exercises undue influence in government.”
Though the ADL had privately warned against said anti-BDS laws, other Jewish groups forged ahead with them and the ADL not only got on board with the anti-BDS effort but became an enthusiastic supporter.
Following the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, in which the terrorist organization not only unleashed the predictable barrage of largely ineffective rockets on the Jewish state, but penetrated the barrier between Gaza and Israel with a large force that killed about 1500 people and took about 150 hostage, we were treated to the disgusting spectacle of progressives gathering en masse in cities and academic campuses around the West, not to protest these despicable acts, but to cheer them on. This was immediately denounced as a display of anti-Semitism, mostly by neoconservatives many of whom called for such demonstrations to be banned. While I don’t have much better an opinion of these demonstrators than the neocons have this call to criminalize the demonstrations is extremely foolish. There is already too much suppression of the expression of thought and opinion, we do not need to add any more. I don’t agree that this is an expression of anti-Semitism either. This essay will explain why.
A discussion of this sort requires that we define anti-Semitism at some point so we might as well get that out of the way. H. L. Mencken said that “an anti-Semite is someone who dislikes the Jews more than is absolutely necessary”. That is amusing, at least to those who do not have a politically correct pole permanently lodged up their rectums, but not particularly helpful. Joe Sobran said that “an anti-Semite used to be someone who didn’t like the Jews. Now he is someone the Jews don’t like”. This is more helpful as an explanation of the neoconservative use of the term than of what it really means.
Most people, I suspect, use it to mean any dislike of the Jews for any reason. The late rabbinical scholar, Jacob Neusner, objected to this promiscuous use of the term. In an article entitled “Sorting Out Jew-Haters” that appeared in the March 1995 issue of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture he gave this account of anti-Semitism:
According to anti-Semitism, Jews are a separate species within humanity, peculiarly wicked, responsible for the evil of the human condition. A political philosophy formulated in the world of late 19th-century Germany and Austria, anti- Semitism formed the ideological foundation of political parties and served as the basis for public policy. It provided an account of life and how the Jews corrupt it. It offered a history of Western civilization and how the Jews pervert it. It formulated a theory of the world’s future and how the Jews propose to conquer it. People make sense of the world lay appealing to anti-Semitism, and in World War II, millions of Germans willingly gave their lives for the realization of their country’s belief in an anti-Semitic ideal of national life and culture.
The term, he argued, should be reserved for Jew hatred of the type that fully meets this description, and to apply it to lesser prejudices trivializes it.
Now, you might be thinking that what we are seeing meets Neusner’s requirements to be called anti-Semitism. The rallies that we have been talking about, after all, are not just in support of the Palestinian people, but of Hamas, the terrorist organization dedicated to the elimination of Israel, and of its actions on 7 October. Why would anyone support such an organization and such behaviour unless their mind was in the grips of the sort of hatred described in the paragraph from Neusner’s article quoted above?
There are a couple of obvious problems with that way of thinking.
The first is that if these progressives, academic and otherwise, were motivated by anti-Semitic hatred we would expect that their support for violent, murderous, organizations and their behaviour would be limited to Hamas and other similar groups. This is not the case. The progressive activist crowd has a long history of supporting violent, murderous, groups. In the post-World War II era of the last century, for example, they supported every Communist group available from the Stalinists to the Maoists to Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. Communism killed 100 million people in the twentieth century. Pol Pot’s group murdered about 2 million people, a quarter of the population of Cambodia. Yet Noam Chomsky, the MIT linguistics professor who became the guru of the student activist wing of the left and who is regarded by most neoconservatives as a self-loathing Jew for his support of the Palestinians, decades ago was defending Pol Pot and claiming that the accounts of the “killing fields” were American propaganda. My old friend Reaksa Himm, whose account of seeing his family slaughtered by these brutes and being left for dead himself, was published as The Tears of My Soul: He Survived Cambodia’s Killing Fields, His Family Didn’t, Could He Forgive? in 2003, would no doubt have a few things to say about that. Then, of course, there are the countless progressive students who thought it “cool” to wear t-shirts or put posters up in their dorm room bearing the image of vile Communist terrorist and mass murderer Ernesto “Che” Guevara. So, no, this sort of stupidity on the Left, is not all about the Jews.
The second problem is that even when progressive bile is directed towards Israel as it is in these pro-Hamas demonstrations it is not against Jews qua Jews. There is an element of racial hatred in it but that racial hatred is not directed against Jews as distinct from everyone else. It is directed against Jews as white people. Some might object to that statement on the grounds that not all Jews are white, Jewishness being primarily a religious identity. Others, including some Jews who hate whites and Christians and some whites who don’t like Jews, would make the polar opposite objection that in their opinion no Jews are white. These wildly differing objections aside, my statement is nevertheless true. The hatred the immature, idiotic, Left is displaying towards Israel is the same hatred they display towards all Western countries, i.e. countries that lay claim to the heritage of Greco-Roman, Christian, white European, civilization, and to the extent that there is a racial element it is that which is on display almost ubiquitously on university campuses in the form of the claim that “whiteness” is a cultural and civilizational cancer that must be “abolished”. The language used against Israel is the same language used against Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and basically any country and society settled and built by Europeans as an extension of Western civilization. The only difference is that in this case the settlers were Jews rather than Christians.
It is not therefore a case of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism and its counterpart Zionism began around the same time in the nineteenth century. Both were the result of “Enlightenment” philosophy’s war against God, revelation, religion and faith. For centuries Christians and Jews had been at odds over a religious issue. We, rightly, believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. They, wrongly, reject Jesus as the Christ. This was not an insurmountable divide. Any Jew could become a Christian by believing that Jesus is the Christ and being baptized into the Church. The “Enlightenment” brought about a loss of faith on both sides but this did not eliminate the divide. Instead, post-Christian Gentiles and secular Jews began to regard their division as being based on biological racial differences. Division on this basis is insurmountable. You cannot change your race. At least, you couldn’t until the whole “I’m whatever gender, sex, race, species, I want to be” garbage started up in the last few years. The expression of this idea of an insurmountable race divide was anti-Semitism on the part of post-Christian Gentile Europeans and Zionism on the part of secular Jews. In the early days of both movements they supported each other. Each believed that the racial differences between Jew and Gentile prevented them from living in peace together, therefore the solution was for them to live in peace apart. Whatever else might be said about this way of thinking it is clear that the animosity directed towards the Jews of Israel on the part of the pro-Hamas progressive demonstrators is not this anti-Semitism. It is based, indeed, on the very opposite concept – that the Jews are fundamentally one with other Western Europeans rather than being fundamentally divided from them by race or even religion.
Just in case you mistake this as an attempt to white-wash the progressives, let me assure you my intention is quite the reverse. The progressives’ anti-Israel position arises out of a far more pernicious attitude than mere anti-Semitism. It arises out of the hatred that is at the very heart of leftism.
The Left is the openly revolutionary form of liberalism. Sometimes liberalism tries to hide its revolutionary nature behind a mask of reform, of working within the institutions of civilization to accomplish its goals, but when that mask is removed what you get is the Left. The Left, therefore, is the true face of liberalism, and that face is one of revolution and sedition. Liberalism is not a constructive force but a destructive force. In its earliest recognizable form it began as an attack on Christendom or Christian civilization, the heir to classical Greco-Roman civilization. Its first targets were kings who are the earthly political representatives of the King of Kings Who rules over all of Creation, and the Church, the corporate body of Jesus Christ in which His Incarnational presence is sacramentally continued after His Ascension to the right hand of the Father. In attacking God’s earthly representation in this way liberalism revealed that its ultimate hatred is of God Himself. Liberalism is essentially the earthly continuation of Satan’s revolt against God. After attacking king and Church, liberalism launched its siege on every other tradition and institution of Christian civilization. From what we have just seen about liberalism’s essential nature its hatred of civilization is entirely explicable. Liberalism hates kings because they are the earthly representation of God’s Sovereign rule over Creation. Liberalism hates the Church because the Church is the earthly representation of Christ’s priestly intercession in Heaven. Liberalism hates civilization because civilization is the product of man as builder and it is in his capacity as builder that man most displays the image in which man was created, the image of God the Creator.
That is the hatred that is on display whenever the progressive Left blithers on and on about “colonialism” and “imperialism”. Man, in his fallen estate, is incapable of building a perfect civilization. Imperfect civilization, however, is better than no civilization at all. The Left is no more capable of building a perfect civilization than the builders of the past it is always decrying, sometimes for their real sins but more often for new offences they just made up yesterday, and the Left is not interested in trying to build a perfect civilization. It is only interested in tearing down the civilization others have built. It claims to be speaking out for “victims”. Sometimes the “victims” are people who have suffered actual harm in some way from civilization building. Other times, they are merely those who have not shared equally in the benefits of civilization with others. Either way, the Left’s idea that civilization must be razed, its history erased, and its builders “cancelled” and defamed is hardly the answer and in the support they are now showing for the despicable acts of murderous terrorists they show that their motivation is not genuine concern for those who have not fared as well from civilization as others, but a Satanic hatred of civilization builders, for representing, even in an imperfect way, the image of the Creator God.
That is a far more vile form of hatred than the extremely banal one of which the neoconservatives are accusing them. Posted by Gerry T. Neal a
The ADL’s War on Freedom of Speech — Latest Target: Tucker Carlson — A Statement by Andrew Torba, CEO of GAB
The ADL’s War On Free Speech
Over the course of five years Gab has been attacked and smeared by many different Jewish groups including the ADL for simply defending free speech online. Now today the ADL is trying to cancel Tucker Carlson for daring to speak the truth about the reality of demographic replacement that is absolutely and unequivocally going on in The West. These are not “hateful” statements, they objective facts that can no longer be ignored.
You can’t be hostile and attack Gab while at the same time playing the “victim” when we respond. If you’re going to attack the Gab community you can expect a firm response with the Truth from us, which is what I seek to do in this post.
These attacks seek to silence millions of community members on Gab, to shut Gab down as a whole, to stifle free speech, and to throw me in prison for operating a free speech platform. Not only do these attacks undermine the freedom of speech, but they also fuel hatred against Jewish people by feeding into narratives about Jewish power, control, and victimhood.
In Acts Chapter 4 Peter and John were threatened by the Sadducees not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. The ADL, the Jewish American Congress, and others are acting no differently than the Sadducees of 2,000 years ago by seeking to silence those of us who proclaim the name of Jesus Christ online and defend the freedom of speech for others to do so.
How did Peter and John respond?
They prayed for boldness and received it, which is exactly what I am doing. “Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.” Acts 4:29 “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31
Jesus Christ himself was very critical of powerful Jewish people and groups of His time. Many of the things He said would have the ADL, the American Jewish Congress, and others deplatforming Him from the internet and trying to have Him jailed too.
In Luke Chapter 4 Jesus was driven out of the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth to the point of Him almost being thrown off a cliff by His own people. Eventually Jesus Christ was sent to die on the cross, but praise God that He is Risen so that we may have eternal life by grace through faith in Him.
How would Jesus respond to the attacks of the ADL and other Jewish groups? “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say until you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matthew 5:43-44
During the time of Jesus Israel had faced centuries of aggression from enemies and so while “hate your enemy” may not have been commanded directly the audience would have known what Jesus was talking about in regards to the rabbinic teaching of their day.
It’s very easy to hate our enemies, but that’s not what I am going to do. Not hating your enemies does not also mean pacifism and weakness. You can defend yourself against an enemy’s attacks while still loving him, as I seek to do with this post.
The Bible tells us that all who want to live a Godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted in 2 Timothy 3:12, so my life is no different than any other Christian facing persecution around the world for boldly speaking the Truth and fighting for my faith.
After five years of attacks from Jewish groups like the ADL, I’ve become used to the lies, hate, and persecution, but I have never once caved to their pressure and demands of censorship nor have I lashed out in hatred.
What these groups want me to do is project their hatred back at them.I refuse to do this because it’s not the Christian thing to do. There’s nothing hateful about anything I am saying. I’m stating objective and verifiable facts while quoting Bible verses.
I am praying for these people and writing this blog post as a way to show them the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am encouraging you all to do the same. I care about and am praying for the souls of our enemies even as they attack my family, community, and business.
I am not Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey. Gab is not Facebook or Twitter. We are not going to bend over backwards to appease the interests of the ADL, the American Jewish Congress, or any other interest groups.
We are going to bend over backwards to defend free speech online for all people, even those we disagree with. Groups like the ADL and American Jewish Congress have zero power or control over Gab, which is why they continue to attack us and lobby for our destruction.
There are many ethnically Jewish Christians who are on Gab and support our cause. There are also Jewish conservatives like Laura Loomer and others who have supported Gab for many years. There are also Jews on Gab who use Gab to criticize me and Gab itself and I will fight for their right to do so. I harbor no hatred for Jewish people, even those who relentlessly attack my business, my faith, and my family.
On the contrary I seek to show these Jewish groups who attack me the love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior in hopes of saving their souls from eternal damnation.
I shouldn’t have to say these things to justify an objective critical analysis of the attacks Gab is receiving from Jewish groups, but I want you the reader to know where my heart is. There’s nothing “anti-semitic” about stating the truth. The simple fact in the matter is that these coordinated attacks on Gab are perpetuating the very hatred that these Jewish groups are allegedly trying to stop.
Do you think that the millions of people on Gab aren’t connecting the dots together about the same group of people attacking Gab over and over again? People are smart. Pattern recognition is a gift from God.
Jewish groups are attacking Gab because people criticize Jews on Gab and because people say things that Jewish groups do not like on Gab. Tough luck. If “anti-semitism” is nothing more than speech the ADL doesn’t like, they are going to find “anti-semitism” under every rock. Their business model depends on it.
Criticism, mockery, and taboo discussions are legally protected by the First Amendment of the United States and thus are also protected on Gab and always will be.Threats of violence are obviously not free speech and we have always had zero tolerance for it. Criticism, mockery, and uncomfortable discussions are all welcome about any races, religions, ethnicities, and creeds.
I will never bend the knee to any special interests. The only one I bend my knee for is my King Jesus Christ.
Groups like the ADL and the Jewish American Congress are perpetuating Jewish stereotypes and generating more hatred of Jewish people by attacking free speech. They should be ashamed of themselves.
If the ADL and others want to counter speech they disagree with on Gab the best thing they can do is create an account and start posting, as we have invited them to do for years. Gab isn’t going to remove legal first amendment-protected speech just because they don’t like it.
The Canadian government plans to introduce “comprehensive” regulations that target “hate speech” on social media platforms.
The regulations will reportedly be tabled in 2021 and are being introduced “to promote a safer and more inclusive online environment.”
A briefing note on the new regulations from Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s department stated:
“We are working to introduce regulations to reduce the spread of illegal content, including hate speech, in order to promote a safer and more inclusive online environment. We want to protect Canadians online.”
The briefing added that: “Social media platforms can also be used to threaten, intimidate, bully and harass people, or used to promote racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, misogynist and homophobic views that target communities, put people’s safety and risk and undermine Canada’s social cohesion or democracy.”
Before winning reelection in 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party made tackling online hate speech a major priority and proposed giving social media platforms a 24-hour deadline to remove hate speech or face “significant financial penalties.”
Last September, the Canadian government doubled down on its threat to regulate online hate speech with Canada’s Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Catherine McKenna, warning: “We don’t have to regulate everything but if you can’t regulate yourselves, governments will.” One day later, the Canadian government promised to “redouble its effort by taking action on online hate.”
Trudeau has also expressed conflicting views on free speech. In October, he compared drawing Muhammed cartoons to “yelling fire in a crowded movie theatre” and said there are “limits” to free speech after a terrorist attack in France where a teacher was beheaded after showing Charlie Hebdo cartoons that depict the Prophet Mohammed.
After facing heavy criticism, Trudeau then backtracked on these anti-free speech comments and stated: “I think it is more important to continue to defend freedom of expression and freedom of speech. Our artists help us to reflect and challenge our views, and they contribute to our society.”
Critics have warned that online hate speech laws pose a threat to free speech because they risk criminalizing and jailing people for expressing controversial views.
But these warnings have largely fallen on deaf ears with Canada being just one of several countries to propose or introduce hate speech laws and regulations over the last few months.
For example, Scotland’s controversial “hate crime” bill, which would sanction the possession of “inflammatory media” and “problematic” social media posts, is looking increasingly likely to pass. And Norway recently passed a new law under which people can be jailed for hate speech in private conversations.If you’re tired of cancel culture and censorship subscribe to Reclaim The Net.
Belgian Carnival parade goes ahead despite criticism
Israel urged Belgium to ban the traditional Carnival
parade, which featured floats depicting caricaturistic images of
Orthodox Jews. The mayor of Aalst defended the festivities, saying “it
is not an anti-Semitic parade.”
Watch video
03:08
Charges of anti-Semitism darken carnival in Belgium’s Aalst
The Belgian city of Aalst went ahead with its traditional Carnival parade on Sunday, despite calls from Israel to ban the event over its anti-Semitic floats and costumes.
This year’s parade included participants dressed in costumes of caricaturistic Jewish stereotypes,
with some wearing hooked noses, insect costumes, and exaggerated
outfits meant to depict Orthodox Jews. One of the floats also included
three Jewish caricatures placed alongside gold bars. Some revellers were
also dressed in costumes meant to represent Nazi officers.
Lawmakers
in the European Parliament had urged officials in Aalst to make sure
this year’s parade was free from “manifestations of hatred.”
Earlier
this week, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the Belgian
government to ban the “hate-filled” parade altogether.
The city’s Carnival parade lost its UNESCO cultural heritage status last year
over the “recurrence of racist and anti-Semitic
representation.” Revelers then dressed in Nazi costumes, making fun of
the move.
Mayor defends parade
The city’s mayor dismissed criticism and calls for a ban on the festivities, saying “let Aalst be Aalst.”
“This is not an anti-Semitic parade,” Mayor Christoph D’Haese told reporters on Sunday. “Aalst is not an anti-Semitic city.”
D’Haese, of the right-wing nationalist New Flemish Alliance party, added that the goal of the parade is “not to hurt anyone.”
City
authorities have repeatedly defended the parade as an expression of
free speech and saying the costumes and floats are intended to be
“satirical.”
The US Holocaust Museum tweeted “24,000 Jews living
in Belgium were murdered in the Holocaust. Today, deadly anti-Semitism
is on the rise again throughout Europe. Events like the Aalst Carnaval
parade that promote anti-Semitism and stoke hatred and potentially
violence must be denounced by all segments of society.”
One of this year’s floats featured Orthodox Jews next to gold bars
Sunday’s
parade in Aalst also took place despite the threat of strong winds
gusting up to 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph). Several other Belgian
cities postponed or canceled their parades due to the severe weather.
The
Aalst Carnival celebrations, which are more than 600 years old, were
given UNESCO cultural heritage status in 2010. Last year’s parade
prompted a wave of criticism from the EU and from Jewish groups after a
float included Jewish caricatures with bags of money that were
surrounded by rats.
According to the World Jewish Congress,
Belgium is home to a small Jewish community of around 30,000 people out
of the country’s total population of 11 million.
B’nai Brith’s Annual “Audit” of Anti-Semitic Incidents is Out: If This Was a Real “Audit”, You’d Fire the Auditor’s Ass
For more than 30 years the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith has published what it calls its annual “audit” of anti-Semitic incidents in Canada. Always it is the same dreary breathless hysteria — things are getting worse. and worse. You’d think the blackshirts were back in town, a synagogue being burned in every city and a pogrom going on just right around the corner. Is any of that happening? No! Canada has the most Israel First government ever. Our Prime Minister has insisted that: “Israel’s values are our values. .. An attack an Israel is an attack on Canada.” [We don’t even say that about our friend and neighbour the United States.]
The executive summary of the report gives the highlights: ” For over 30 years, the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents has documented harassment, vandalism and violence targeting both individual Jews, and the Jewish community as a whole. This provides a barometer of the levels of racism in this country in general.
KEY FINDINGS
In 2012, 1,345 antisemitic incidents were reported to the League, an increase of 3.7% over the 1,297 cases documented in 2011. Over the past decade, incidents have more than doubled.
* The iincease in Canada in 2012 is still far below the estimated 30% global rise in antisemitic incidents. There was also a decrease in vandalism against Jewish community sites.
· The 1,345 incidents include 1,013 cases of harassment (75.8% of the total), 319 of vandalism (23.2%), and 13 of violence (1.0%).
Vandalism decreased on average across Canada by 11.9%, with 319 cases in 2012 compared to 362 in 2011. Violence decreased for the third year running, with 13 cases reported in 2012, a significant drop from 24 cases in 2010 and 19 in 2011. Harassment increased by 7.4% from 916 in 2011 to 1,013 in 2012, including 84 threats of violence.
There were 521 web-based incidents; about half used social media to harass and threaten others. Web postings and emails included anti-Jewish propaganda from extremist groups advocating violence, hate-filled lyrics and imagery, and Holocaust Denial.”
Notice that almost half — 521 of 1,345 “incidents” were on the Internet: “Web postings and emails included anti-Jewish propaganda from extremist groups advocating violence, hate-filled lyrics and imagery, and Holocaust Denial.” Notice, as well, that questioning or challenging the Hollywood version of WW II — “holocaust denial” — constitutes an “incident.” Notice further that “hate-filled lyrics and imagery” (pictures?) also constitute “incidents.” Interesting, that hostile actions, as opposed to the expression of opinions have decreased.
The “incidents”, one might conclude are crimes, but almost all are not. There were just “13 cases of violence reported in 2012.” There is no information as to whether even these really occurred or whether anyone was charged or found criminally guilty. It is all pretty thin stuff. Indeed, only one charge is mentioned, although not specifically – the Sec. 319 charge against Arthur Topham and radicalpress.com
Here’s the incredibly broad definition from the Audit’s Appendix of “harassment” which constitute 1013 or 75% of the “incidents”:
“Harassment refers to written or verbal actions that do not include the use of physical force. … It includes but is not limited to:
* verbal slurs, statements of hate and bias, or harassment.” [Now, that’s defining a term by repeating it!]
* stereotyping of Jews, like airing on radio talk shows of ‘characteristics of Jews.’ [Yet, a stereotype’ is merely a generalization based on truth and any reasonable person knows most but not ALL members of a group share these characteristics.]
* systemic discrimination in the workplace, schools or campuses. [“Systemic discrimination” refers to any uncongenial events where nothing can be proven against an individual, apparently, like universities holding an Anti-Israeli Apartheid Week.]
* hate propaganda and hate mail, via the Internet, telephone or printed material [Again, “hate propaganda” seems to be merely criticism of Jews or Israel, or views the person reporting them doesn’t like.]
Jewish groups have been among the most vocal lobbying for open door immigration, as Kevin Macdonald noted in his book The Culture of Critique. They have been strong proponents of “diversity.” Thus, it is somewhat ironic that one of the growing sources of “anti-Semitism” — usually limited to words – is Moslems, one of the many “diverse” groups brought in by the changes in Canada’s immigration policies in 1965: ” When reviewing the types of messaging we see replicated in many of the incidents under review in this Audit, it seems that certain ethnic/religious groups in this country, even those that came generations ago, may have brought the anti-Jewish hatreds of their native lands with them to Canada. Moreover, there are concerns that some Canadians might continue to come into contact with these prejudices locally, even once established in this country, not just through ongoing connections with anti-semitic online sites operating from abroad, but by local influences. In this context, two particular incidents should be highlighted. In British Colombia, a community-based Muslim paper printed conspiracy theories blaming Jews for a range of alleged crimes and refused to withdraw the article even after complaints. In Toronto, anti-Jewish propaganda was found in the curriculum material of a private Muslim school, which was removed but only after complaints were lodged.
Incidents such as these might partly explain the finding in this Audit of an unprecedented increase in incidents by perpetrators self-identifying as Muslims supportive of Islamist anti-Jewish sentiments – up from 16 in 2011 to 87 in 2012. … While perpetrators from a number of different ethnic/religious backgrounds were involved in these incidents, the one finding that stood out alarmingly was the number of incidents by those identifying them-selves as Muslims, which jumped from 16 in 2011 to 87 in 2012. This suggests a most disturbing trend in which anti-Jewish themes appear to be increasingly infiltrating Canadian civil society via quasi-religious or cultural discourse as well politically-based rhetoric. No other ethnic or religious group of perpetrators came anywhere near this number in 2012. “
Even many Jews are skeptical of the ever increasing number of “incidents” B’nai Brith report. Bernie Farber, then a leading light with the rival Canadian Jewish Congress, noted that there could be a 100 per cent increase in “hate literature” if a pamphleteer who last year distributed 1,000 pamphlets got a few more reams of paper and ran off 2,000 copies.
Here’s a sample of one month’s worth of representative incidents chosen by the Audit:
APRIL Vancouver, BC – A pastor makes anti-semitic comments during his sermon
Montreal, QC – A prolific blogger tells the media that Chassidic Jews “are religious fanatics trying to create their own laws through intimidation”.
Toronto, ON – In Union Station, the busiest bus terminal in Toronto, walls are spray painted with graffiti saying “Jews are like cancer”. V
al Morin, QC – 15 Jewish-owned cottages are vandalized and defaced with swastikas and slogans such as “F–k Juif.”
What does it add up to? Some petty vandalism. And these “incidents” are chosen as the worst for the month!
The Audit seems to find marches or parades promoting “White Pride Worldwide” to be anti-Semitic incidents: “There were 151 incidents in 2012 related to white supremacist activity, similar to the 145 cases reported in 2011. Marches were reported in Vancouver (BC), as well as Edmonton and Calgary (AB), and London (ON), areas where far-right activity has been recorded in past years. Police were active in countering racist activity on the streets of British Columbia and Alberta, which is likely the reason for decreased attendance at such public events.” The last statement is chilling. What does it mean that police “countered? Did that mean harass the organizers? And why should police “counter” political activity. Isn’t it their role to be politically neutral and keep the peace. Also, not to quibble, but what is slanderously called “White supremacist” often means statements about race — White racial pride — and nothing overtly about Jews? One wonders why these 152 “incidents” are even included in the Audit of anti-Semitic incidents.
So, where is all this hyperventilating leading? As usual, B’nai Brith portrays Jews as a “vulnerable minority.” The 2001 census, instead, found they are Canada’s wealthiest ethnic or religious group. They are heavily represented — out of all proportion to their percentage of Canada’s population [ according to the 2011 census, Jews are 315,120 of a population of 33,476,688 or .94% ] in the mass media and they certainly have the ear of the Harper government.
The Audit wants the government “to make Holocaust denial a specific hate crime under the Criminal Code.” Thus Canadians would have to buy into self-serving tribal history or face prison. Just what is “holocaust denial” — questioning the numbers killed? questioning the preposterous proposition that this was “the greatest crime in human history” — the alleged 6-million apparently being worse than the 8-10-million Ukrainians deliberately starved to death by Stalin in the holodomor, 1932-1933, The second anti-free speech demand is nearly as sweeping and Stalinist: “Ban membership in hate groups” Who gets to say what a “hate group” is? And, by the way, mightn’t a group labouring so mightily to take away freedom of speech be seen as somewhat hateful?
This poster, captioned “Jews First, Canadians Second” presumably from the Internet was one of the anti-Semitic “incidents” included in B’nai Brith’s annual Audit.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) on Thursday boasted that she signed the “strongest” hate crime bill in America into law to “stop antisemitism” and “ensure the security of God’s chosen people.”
