This week, President Obama is on his way to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he will meet with the Saudi King and his entourage. Most political analysts believe that this could end-up being a historic meeting comparable to the one that last took place in 1945 between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and then King Abdul Aziz. Topics of discussion will be Iran, Syria, Egypt and of course the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I believe that it could be historic too, but not necessarily in a positive way.
Prior to his Riyadh visit, Mr. Obama received requests from numerous non-governmental agencies as well as a bi-partisan group from Congress to confront Saudi Arabia about their ongoing human rights violations. What will actually transpire has yet to be seen, but let me predict that not much is to be expected in that area. The boldness required to confront the Saudis about their treatment of women, activists, religious minorities and Jews is something that simply doesn’t exist within the current administration.
If there is any doubt in your mind about such a statement of mine , consider the following. Jerusalem Post Washington Bureau Chief, Michael Wilner originally planned to join Mr. Obama and staff. He had scheduled his trip to cover the US President’s visit to Saudi Arabia for his newspaper. But Michael Wilner was denied a visa to the gulf country. He is the only journalist who was denied entry to Saudi Arabia on this upcoming trip. He must be a great threat to the country for being denied entry! Is he a political agitator? No! Is he a human rights activist? No! Is he a terrorist? No! So what seems to be the problem? Oh Yes, I failed to mention, Mr Wilner is Jewish, not Israeli Jewish, simply a Jew who lives in America and reports for the Jerusalem Post.
So what’s the big fuss? Am I upset that the Saudi government made such a decision? Frankly, I am not even surprised, considering that the same country banned Swissair from flying over Mecca because of the “offensive to Muslims”white cross being part of their logo. It is ultimately their decision, and as ludicrous and unacceptable as I think it is, they make their own laws for their own country. I wonder what reaction we would get if we were to state that such a move was archaic, paranoid and purely xenophobic? Is Saudi Arabia an “Apartheid” country? but I digress!
What greatly concerns me is the US administration’s reaction to the banning of Michael Wilner’s entry into Saudi territory. They are not disgusted, outraged, or even highly offended. They simply are “deeply disappointed” as was stated:
“We are deeply disappointed that this credible journalist was denied a visa,”US National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said on Tuesday. “We will continue to register our serious concerns about this unfortunate decision.”
I feel better already for the American Jewish community. Next time anti-Semitism shows its ugly head, will our government be “disappointed” again? Merriam-Webster defines “disappointed” as: feeling sad, unhappy, or displeased because something was not as good as expected or because something you hoped for or expected did not happen.
The message sent by such a statement will not be mistaken; it shows weakness, lack of care, misunderstanding or possibly a combination of all three. The US administration’s decision to make such a weak statement days ahead of such an important visit will certainly set the mood and send a clear message.
America used to be a leader in the free world but they have become a secondary country. As a government, we are all bark and no bite. Hamas and Hezbollah are not afraid of us, Iran doesn’t take us seriously, Putin certainly doesn’t either.
If America is now simply disappointed at anti-Semitism, I fear for the upcoming day when Jews will have to seek shelter for their lives in the US. If and when a second Holocaust takes place, America might be “disappointed” at the way Jews are treated and massacred but they will be so much more “disappointed” when they face God and have to answer for how they treated Israel and the Jewish people (Psalm 83:1-5; Zechariah 12:9). Your choice America!
The lack of chutzpah displayed by our current administration doesn’t give us individuals an excuse to sit and be silent. While America might be asleep, wake up Americans and speak up!
When speaking on the death of the 6,000,000, Jewish philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel said: “In a free society, few are guilty but all are responsible”. How pertinent for such a time as the Holocaust, and yet how pertinent for such a time as today!
Archives for 2014
In France, Killing Jews is Becoming a Reality Again!
French Comedian Dieudonné Builds Bridges…of Jew Hatred!
A quick perusal of the French press will suffice to determine that the man is not really taken seriously. Most often when a reference is made to him, the word comedian is in quotations. He has succeeded in making enemies in several European countries, where like in England and parts of France his show has been banned.
France’s interior minister, Manuel Valls, is not laughing anymore–if he ever was–. He was recently quoted saying: “We cannot tolerate antisemitism, historical revisionism and racism, and the highest jurisdiction in our country has agreed.”
Dieudonné claims that he is not an anti-Semite, yet every single one of his shows of the last 15 years has been punctuated with hate speech. For instance, ridiculing the French Jewish singer Patrick Bruel, he said: “when I hear Bruel’s songs, I no longer doubt the existence of the gas chambers, it is obvious that Germans didn’t have my patience”. He continues by saying that:” all the crooks of the world are Jewish”, or “Death would be more comfortable than submission to those dogs”, and he also calls Israel ” a satanic entity”. I could go on and on with a myriad of examples each one more chilling than the previous. But you get the idea…Dieudonné M’bala M’bala is an unashamed anti-Semite. Even though he is not taken seriously by the press and the entertainment world, how dangerous is a man like him?
Twenty or thirty years ago, Dieudonné would have been very controversial but rather unable to spread his message of hate like he is doing today. Let’s face it, a few days ago, a single tweet of mine was retweeted to over 10,000 people with click of the mouse and I am far from being as popular as Mr. M’bala M’bala. The Internet revolutionized the world and then the social networks revolutionized the Internet. We live in an age when information is absolutely instantaneous AND global, and that is what will promote the lies of Dieudonné even if he stops an/or ceases to exist. Unfortunately for the rest of us, He has been inducted in the Hall of Fame (read Shame) of Jew hatred.
His quenelle inverted Nazi salute is being replicated by people everywhere including many in front of Jewish sites such as synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, Holocaust memorials and even camps like Auschwitz. While he claims that the gesture is simply anti-establishment, he has done nothing to distance himself from those who use the quenelle in an anti-Semitic fashion.
Using humour, albeit sick, he has succeeded where others failed. In the case of Dieudonné, the old adage couldn’t be truer as the enemies of his enemies have become his friends. He manages to attract both extreme-right fascists, leftists AND disgruntled suburban Muslim youth. It goes without saying that all three groups are usually far from getting along, yet, as it pertains to Holocaust denial, anti-Zionism and Jew hatred, they found a common ground. Bravo Mr. Dieudonné for multiplying hatred exponentially! In the meantime, France continues to breed anti-Semitism on an almost daily basis.
There might be very little that we can do to stop the fire that Dieudonné started. It is fueled both by French authorities’ failed attempt at stopping him and French masses gaining boldness in the expression of their hatred of the Jews. The soil is fertile for the weed to choke the country again.
Yet if we cannot stop the spreading of Dieudonné’s message, we certainly can help within our own circle of influence by exposing the damage he and his followers are doing. We all have access to the Internet and should use it to counter his message the best we can. If nobody stops him for now, we still have an obligation to tell others about the senselessness of his words and deeds. Praying that people will use common sense in assessing him.
It was only a month ago that protesters during an anti-government rally on the streets of Paris yelled: “Jews out of France, you don’t belong here”. As scary as this sounds to me, I must admit that maybe they were right, because in the France of today, maybe Jews don’t belong anymore! Seventy years ago, most Jews didn’t even have the luxury of escaping Europe’s persecution, today they do, they have Israel!
The Dangerously Changing Demographics of the New Anti-Semitism!
Demographics can tell us a lot about the way a society is evolving. Demographics can change our culture. Demographics can re-shape the political profile of a region or a country. They obviously can turn any economy around. What might be less known but nonetheless as important to understand, is that the world is currently going through a demographic shift that is affecting anti-Semitism.
The oldest hatred as some call it, isn’t going away anytime soon. As a matter of fact, I have been arguing for a while now that it keeps growing and is currently at levels rivaling the 1930s and 40s, especially in Europe.
It was only 70 years ago, the Second World War had just come to an end and the whole world was beginning to discover the horrors of the Holocaust. General Eisenhower wanted to be a first hand witness of these horrors to help preserve their memory, as he visited the camps and documented much of what he discovered.
It wasn’t long before anti-Semitism became a taboo subject. To be sure, the beast never died but it was suppressed for a while. World powers and European countries were in one accord along with the surviving Jewish community and a new motto was born: NEVER AGAIN!
It could be argued that the modern State of Israel was reborn in 1948 as a result of collective guilt, fulfilled biblical prophecy and/or fate, depending on one’s reliance on God. As far as I am concerned, I believe that God was very much involved in the rebirth of Israel, and it was no afterthought of His, but part of His plan for mankind all along.
Yet, the suppression of anti-Semitism was short lived and within twenty years, after Israel was reborn, the oldest hatred was also experiencing resurgence. Anti-Semitism was back, and this time it had returned with a vengeance–although we could argue that in essence anti-Semitism has always been a vengeance against the Jews.
Fast forward to 2014 and as the world increasingly grows into a global village, anti-Semitism is now benefiting from cyberspace and its new frontiers or lack of! There is currently nowhere in the world where Jewish people are safe, except possibly Israel in spite of all the terror and violence present there.
The demographics are shifting. Pre-World War Two classic anti-Semitism was almost purely racial. The Nazis were motivated to completely annihilate European Jews simply because of their conviction that they [the Jews] were sub-human and as such, not worthy of existing. This right-wing fascist approach to Jewish existence for the most part became obsolete or at least taboo by 1945.
Then came the liberal left-wing factions–greatly helped by Arafat and his cohorts–who within twenty years started to paint the picture of Israel, the Jews and Zionism as oppressors, occupiers and murderers of Palestinians. This picture is of course not based on any truth but on a desire to further ostracize the everlasting scapegoats of humanity. It is working very well as we can witness on campuses across America. The recent increase in popularity of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement is very symptomatic of the new direction the world is taking against Israel and the Jews. Benjamin Netanyahu just spoke against BDS and other ills of anti-Semitism at AIPAC2014. He very simply calls BDS anti-Semitic and rightfully so! Israel is not South Africa, never was and never will be.
Of course the picture wouldn’t be complete without the involvement of the Christian Church. Here is another global community that has much baggage when it comes to Judeo-Christian relations over the last 2000 years. You would think that a church community that hasn’t done a whole lot to protect the Jews of Europe would tread very lightly when it comes to modern day Jews and Israel. As I spend a tremendous amount of time in speaking in churches across America and some in France as well, I am saddened by the shift from Christian Zionism to Christian Palestinianism. I still continue to meet people who love Israel and the Jews but they are no longer the majority within the Christian church as the recent “Christ at the Checkpoint” testifies.
The changing demographics of anti-Semitism are moving people towards a new unity against Jews and Israel. As a victim of postmodernism, today’s Jew doesn’t have to fit a profile to be demonized; he simply has to be a Jew anywhere in the world. Truth no longer being required and absolutes having become irrelevant in today’s world, when it comes to singling out the Jews, the irrationality of anti-Semitism goes unchecked. There is NO MORE TABOO!
Neo-Nazis, Islamists, liberals, academics, politicians, entertainers, Christians, atheists et al might have very little in common, except when it comes to ostracizing my people. Ideologies, religious convictions and cultures vary, yet there is a communal draw to single out Jewish people that defies logic on so many levels.
I always find solace and a balanced approach to mankind in general and Israel in particular on the pages of God’s Word. God also desires unity between men but I am pretty sure that the unity He speaks of isn’t at the expense of Israel! While the world might be jealous over Zion in a destructive way, God is jealous over Zion in a protective way!
Will BDS lead to the next Kristallnacht?
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