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USC in the News-And It Has Nothing to Do With the New Football Coach




Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http: garyfouse.blogspot.com




The big news at the University of Southern California isn't-or at least, it shouldn't be-the hiring of some big-time coach to lead the football team. Of more importance to the reputation of USC as an institution of higher learning is the fact that once again, anti-Semitism has reared its ugly head on the USC campus.

 It is not just some dopey student going off on hateful rants-several, in fact- against a specific group of people (in this case, Jews). The student had a position in student government. In fact, the student who was posting vile, anti-Semitic rants on social media was a "diversity, equity, and inclusion" senator. 

Here you can view the Twitter rants of "Senator" Yasmeen Mashayekh.

As most universities do when anti-Semitism takes place on their campuses, as is frequently the case, USC has responded to the incident by condemning anti-Semitism but adding a few qualifiers.

As I always do when following campus issues, I check in with the campus newspaper, in this case, the Daily Trojan, to see how they are covering the matter-if at all. Thus far, I see no coverage of this matter on the Daily Trojan. (It is possible I have missed some article or op-ed posted on the DT and now no longer appearing on today's page.)

Like so many other American universities, this is hardly the first incidence of anti-Semitism at USC. Last year, we were talking about Rose Ritch, a Jewish student at USC, who was driven from a position in student government because she was Jewish and a supporter of Israel.

Referring back to the Daily Trojan, they are currently running the second of a two-part series on a recent interview with USC president Carol Holt on November 19. The subject was how she is responding to a series of campus scandals. There is no mention of the Rose Ritch incident or any other reference to campus anti-Semitism. Of course, there is no end of articles amply demonstrating the leftist bent of the newspaper-like virtually all campus newspapers.


EURO Language Police




Gary Fouse
fousesquawk

It's not just on this side of the Atlantic that the left is attempting to re-write the English language. The insane European Commission, representing the multi-lingual EU, is now embarking on their own quest to set new rules for its member states and their own languages.

The Italian newspaper, Il Giornale, has obtained a copy of an internal communication from the European Commission setting out new guidelines for the use of language.  

The below article is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/cronache/follie-ue-l-inclusivit-vietato-dire-natale-e-chiamarsi-maria-1992290.html

In Europe, forbidden to say "Christmas" and even to call oneself Maria

28 November 2021-16:53

The internal document of the (European) Commission: No to the use of "Miss" or "Mr", just religious references  and Christian names

Francesco Giubilei

If they had told us and we had not read it in black and white in an official communication from the European Commission, we wouldn't have believed it because the contents of the new guidelines for "inclusive communication" are incredible. In a document for internal circulation, of which Il Giornale has come in exclusive possession, entitled, #Union of Equality, European Commission Guidelines for Inclusive Communication, the criteria to adopt for members of the Commission in external and internal communication are laid out. As written in the forward, the Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, "We must always offer an inclusive communication, ensuring thus, that everyone is appreciated and recognized in all of our material independent of gender, race, or ethnic origin, religion, or creed, disability, age, or sexual orientation."

To accomplish this, the European Commission lays out a series of rules that don't just cancel conventions and words always used, but also contradict common sense. It is forbidden to use common words like "workers or policemen" or use the masculine pronoun as a predefined pronoun, it is forbidden to organize discussions with only one gender represented (only men or only women) and further, it is forbidden to use "Miss or Mrs" except to make it explicit who the recipient of the communication is. But that's not all: You cannot open a conference addressing the public with the usual expression, " Gentlemen and Ladies," but you must use the formal neutral, "Dear Colleagues". 

The document focuses on specific areas like "gender", "LGBTIQ", "racial and ethnic" themes, or "cultures", lifestyles, and beliefs" with a table indicating what can and can't be done based on the intent to regulate everything creating a new language that doesn't allow for spontaneity: "Pay attention not to always mention the same gender first in word order, or to address men and women differently (for example, a man by family name and a woman by first name)" And further, "When choosing images to accompany your communication, make sure that women and children are not represented in a domestic setting or in passive roles while the men are active and adventurous". 

A desire to cancel the male and female genders that reaches paradoxical levels when the Commission writes that it is necessary to avoid expressions like, " Fire is the greatest invention of Man", but it is correct to say, "Fire is the greatest invention of humanity". It is obvious that behind the redefinition of language lies the desire to change European society, our customs, and traditions as seen in the chapter dedicated to "culture, life-style, or beliefs". The European Commission wants to emphasize "avoiding assuming that everyone is Christian" since "not everyone celebrates the Christmas holidays (...) it is necessary to be sensitive to the fact that people have different religious traditions". There is, however, an enormous difference between respect for all religions and being ashamed of or canceling the Christian roots that are at the base of Europe and of our identity.

In the name of inclusivity, the European Commission goes so far as to cancel Christmas suggesting that the phrase, "the Christman period can be stressful:" not be used, rather to say, "The vacation period can be stressful". A desire to eliminate Christianity that goes further with the recommendation to use generic names instead of "Christian names", so instead of "Maria and Joseph are an international couple," you need to say, " Malika and Giulio are an international couple". Reaching the contempt of the ridiculous is that which requires (us) to counter the negative connotation of words like colonialism: It is forbidden to say, "the colonization of Mars" or "human settlement on Mars", better to use, "send humans to Mars". When tragedy gives way to farce.


Netherlands: Where Is the Greatest Threat to Public Safety?

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


Hat tip Dagelijkse Standaard. Translation by Fousesquawk.




Paul Cliteur is a Dutch law professor and writer. In this piece in the Dagelijkse Standaard, he points out how the Dutch media ignores the jihadist threat and prefers to talk about the threat from the extreme right-even though the latter has committed no attacks in the country.

 https://www.dagelijksestandaard.nl/2021/10/column-paul-cliteur-ook-een-rassenoorlog-is-erg-hoor/

Paul Cliteur Column: "A race war is also bad, you know"

By Paul Cliteur, 27 March 2021


Wout Willemsen raises an interesting point in DDS (Dageljkse Standaard): "Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, the National Coordinator of Counter-Terrorism and Security (NCTV) states in the new threat assessment that jihadism still remains the biggest threat against the Netherlands. Nevertheless, the NCTV places the focus on the "right-extremist corner", although there is no concrete evidence for an attack".

Willemsen correctly states that the NCTV, with every new report on the threat assessment, actually comes out structurally with the same story, namely: "Jihadists are still the greatest danger, but at any moment, the right-extremists can also do something."

That also applies to the AIVD, by the way. The same story. Sometimes, it almost seems as if these services must conclude with some regret that the extreme right has not carried out an attack in the Netherlands. Extreme left, again, unfortunately. Volkert van de G., who murdered (Pim) Fortuyn. Jihadism also: Mohammed B., who murdered Theo van Gogh. Also, Unfortunately.

For extreme right attacks, on the other hand, one must look elsewhere to "illustrate the danger". To Norway (Breivik). Or even further away: New Zealand (Brenton Tarrant, see Jesper Jansen in "Diversity, Identity in the Culture Wars").

Fleur Verbeek and Max de Haan conclude the same in Elsevier and show how the various news services tackle the subject: "NOS, RTL Nieuws, and Trouw all chose in their headlines and most important (content/idea) angles (to write about) young, right-extremists, who are in a race war."

In short, the fog that has been erected by the NCTV and AIVD is working: The media completely ignores the most important cause of the violent threat, namely jihadists.

The question is then what inspires the NCTV and the AIVD. Do they realize they are walking on eggshells by naming the real causes of the insecurity? Do they know that the wokies all love to hear that the county is full of racists who want to unleash a new race war? And do they just say, "Yes, it could be"?

Let us conclude with a passage that Verbeek and De Haan quote from the NCTV report: For example, on 23 September, 9 jihadists in Eindhoven were arrested. The highly educated men between 18-31 years of age are suspected of the preparation and training for a terrorist attack. During a movie evening, one of them spoke of the death or kidnapping of Mark Rutte, Geert Wilders, and Thierry Baudet. The General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) had the group under observation."

Sorry, NOS, RTL, and Trouw, we cannot, unfortunately, conclude anything else. But a race war is also bad, you know? And could happen, right? You never know, after all. 





Attacks on our Border Patrol




Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


This article first appeared in New English Review.


 As if the scenes this past couple of weeks in Del Rio of 15,000 Haitians storming our border with Mexico were not bad enough, the unconscionable attacks upon our Border Patrol officers by the left and the media are enough to turn your stomach. From Joy Reid at MSNBC to Ilhan Omar, DHS head Alejandro Mayorkas, Kamala Harris, and others took one look at the BP officers on horseback, reins flapping, to quickly conclude that they were whipping the poor Haitian migrants and "bringing back memories of the days of slavery". Talk about a rush to judgment!

And on Friday, President Biden, speaking at a press conference and "answering" a question about the situation at Del Rio, went on to crucify his own Border Patrol, saying that "those people will pay," and "There will be consequences". It was shocking, especially given the fact that the slow-thinking president had a couple of days to digest the situation and realize that nobody was being whipped. Yet, he went right along with his leftist handlers and joined the chorus. Meanwhile, Mayorkas has ordered that the officers be placed on administrative leave and removed horses from any efforts to control the flow of migrants across the river and onto our shores.

As a former federal agent (DEA),  I cannot imagine how our Customs and Border Control agents continue to work under these conditions, where they are given no support from their superiors and the administration in Washington, and now see their very jobs-and freedom- under threat just because they were doing their jobs. All because the media and the ruling Left cannot or do not want to see the difference between whips and horse reins.

So what comes next for the officers on horseback? Will they be disciplined, fired, even be prosecuted and sent to prison? In the same breath that Biden announces an investigation is underway, he states that "those people will pay" and "there will be consequences". Is he the judge, jury, and executioner? At the same time, that hapless hack, Mayorkas, assures reporters that "they know how to conduct an investigation". With the president already promising punishment. That's how the Biden DHS will conduct the investigation.

Just as the Obama administration and the Eric Holder DOJ threw ATF under the bus for the  Operation Fast and Furious fiasco, which was no doubt concocted in Washington, the Biden administration is throwing the Border Patrol under the bus when the videos are clearly exculpatory. It is a disgrace. Neither Biden nor Harris have bothered to spend any time on the border, yet they sit in Washington and condemn the actions of the BP officers who have been put in an impossible situation by the ineptitude and negligence of the Biden administration, which have led to the mess in Del Rio.

Meanwhile, out of 15,000 arrivals, only about 2,000 have been sent back to Haiti, according to DHS, (Mayorkas initially was unable or unwilling to give the numbers when questioned before Congress.) while the remainder are being "processed for removal", a euphemism meaning that they are being transported to points unknown around the US, released, and told to appear later before an immigration judge. The fact is that very few will show up. And all this while several BP officers now have to worry about their careers and their very freedom as Biden promises, "they will pay".

It is all beyond disgusting.


Joe Biden's "Extraordinary Success"




Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


This article first appeared in New English Review. 



Every time Joe Biden steps in front of a camera, it just gets more pathetic. This week's episode, where he announced the final withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, was classic Joe Biden. In the face of this unmitigated disaster, Biden actually bragged about the withdrawal, calling it an "extraordinary success"! He rattled off the numbers of people evacuated. He defended his actions and pointed the finger of blame at Trump. This was classic Biden. It's what he has done for 50 years in Washington. This man has never admitted he was wrong about anything. No, Joe Biden is always the smartest guy in the room. In reality, he has spent five decades being wrong about everything. In truth, he is an empty-suit blowhard.

If you want to characterize the performance of our troops at Kabul airport along with the State Department people on the ground in getting 120,000 people onto planes and out of Afghanistan as extraordinary, that part I will agree with. They did a phenomenal job, especially given the circumstances they were given to work with by their leaders in Washington- at the White House and the Pentagon.

What was not an extraordinary success was how our leaders brought this evacuation about. The scenes of tens of thousands of desperate people outside the gates of the airport trying to pass through Taliban roadblocks was not an extraordinary success. Having 13 US troops and almost 200 Afghan civilians killed by a suicide bomber is not an extraordinary success. People falling to their deaths from the wheel wells of departing planes was not an extraordinary success. Leaving our allies in the lurch and unprepared to evacuate their own personnel and Afghan allies was not an extraordinary success. Leaving American citizens behind in order to adhere to the August 31 deadline was not an extraordinary success. Leaving behind some 80 billion dollars in military vehicles, weapons and other equipment is not an extraordinary success.

I do not blame the troops on the ground and the diplomats who stayed to the last for the above. All this would have been avoided had our leaders properly planned and organized this withdrawal. They put those on the ground at Kabul in an impossible situation, and the latter performed heroically under the circumstances.

But there was Biden defending his actions while avoiding the main point. Very few Americans are outraged because he decided (as did Trump) that it was time to end our fighting in Afghanistan and let the Afghans defend their own country. Yes, once we took care of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and once Usama bin Laden was dead, we should have gotten out. Establishing a Jeffersonian democracy in Afghanistan should never have been a consideration. Yes, it would be great if Afghan women and girls had equal rights and go to school, etc (let alone not be executed in soccer stadiums), but it is not for American soldiers to die to bring that about. Sorry, it just isn't.

No, Mr Biden; it's not that you ended our military involvement in Afghanistan. It is the bungling, incompetent manner that you and your top advisors and military leaders (Secretary of Defense Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Milley)  organized the withdrawal.

In the coming days and weeks, we will hear about one Taliban atrocity after another, likely some committed against American citizens left behind. That will not help Biden's standing. In addition-and I want to say this carefully- we don't know as yet just who these 100,000+ Afghans who were evacuated are. We are told they are interpreters, embassy workers, those who worked with our forces, and Afghans with dual citizenship. If so, I have no issue with that. We have a moral duty to save all of those people.

But how many will turn out to be people who don't fall into those categories? There are already reports coming out that the US and European countries are discovering people who got out who are Taliban members (France) or those on terror watch lists. Countries like Sweden, Germany, and Austria are dealing with a massive crime problem with young Afghan men who have arrived unaccompanied in the past few years. Aside from the Afghans in the categories I mentioned, we need to be very cautious before we open the floodgates to massive Afghan immigration. There is no valid reason why neighboring countries or other Muslim countries should not accept these people. Let them all live happily under Sharia law.

As for Biden, in just 8 months, he has surpassed any and all previous presidents who history has regarded as failed presidents. That is an extraordinary achievement. But it is not an extraordinary success.


One Fine Day in London



Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Hat tip Jihad Watch 


Yes, it was just another day in London. A Jewish man in Jewish garb walking down the street minding his own business on August 20 when he is suddenly punched by the man in the photo below. The victim had to be taken to the hospital with head and foot injuries. You can watch the video of the incident at the below Twitter link (courtesy of Jihad Watch).

 https://twitter.com/i/status/1428763052632068097


The perp.

Of course, in Europe the media and authorities have all kinds of code words to describe the perpetrator(s). In Germany, they refer to "southerners", you know, pot-bellied Bavarians in funny green hats and lederhosen. In Sweden, they would call them "youths" or "people from non-skiing countries"! In Italy, "people from outside the EU". And so it goes.

In this case, as in virtually every case in Europe, the perp(s) are people like the man pictured above who slugged the Jew on a  London street. It is Muslims who are attacking Jews. Why? Because they hate Jews. Why do they hate Jews? Because they are taught to hate Jews from the time they are children, by reading the Koran and by listening to their imams in the mosques.

This is why anti-Semitism has exploded in Europe. This is largely why anti-Semitism is on the march in the US with all the Palestinian-inspired anti-Israel agitation on our university campuses-which has metastasized into society at large.

And guess what. With the prospect of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Afghans about to arrive as refugees, the problem is about to get worse. The US and Europe, of course, have a moral obligation to rescue those Afghans who assisted us, but we need to be extra careful in screening them. If we just allow every Tom, Dick, and Harry to come in (There won't be many Marys), we will see more scenes like the above-and worse.


Cuomo Exits




Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


So Andrew  Cuomo has finally resigned as governor in New York. Typically, he went out with a classless statement saying he was doing it for New York. Nonsense. He was doing it for himself and to avoid an impeachment process, which he would certainly have lost and in which all the sordid details would have been played out in the New York State Legislature.

Even more classless was the below: 

"I have slipped and called people ‘honey, ’sweetheart' and ‘darling.’ I mean it to be endearing but women found it dated and offensive," he continued. "I take full responsibility for my actions. I have been too familiar with people. My sense of humor can be insensitive and off-putting."

"In my mind, I've never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn't realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn," he added. "There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn't fully appreciate. And I should have, no excuses."

This day didn't come about because Cuomo is accused of calling some female "honey" or "sweetheart" or because he gave some lady a hug she deemed inappropriate. He is accused of groping the private areas of several women. I don't know if he is actually guilty of this or not. He denies those allegations. But it is those allegations that have brought Cuomo to this resignation. Those were standards when he was growing up. Men may have loosely used the terms "sweetheart" or "honey" with women they were not in a relationship with, but the kind of groping of private parts that are alleged would have earned a man a good slap in the face and/or an ass-kicking by the woman's boyfriend, brother, or husband back in the old days. That kind of behavior has always been inappropriate-if not illegal- and he knows it.

Andrew Cuomo is a man who obviously let his power get the best of him. The media and Hollywood made him into a hero for his "handling" of the Covid crisis. Then it was revealed that under his direction, thousands of infected people were moved into nursing homes, with predictable catastrophic results.

And all the while, there was Andrew Cuomo hamming it up with his brother, Chris on CNN (giant swab and all)  like we were going through the roaring 20s or something rather than a tragic pandemic. And for months, Chris has been ignoring his brother's scandal on-air while condemning Trump every day or trashing Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida-who as far as I know has not been harassing any females.

And speaking of Fredo, that loudmouth jerk brother of his, one can only hope that the woke bosses at CNN will wake up (no pun intended) and question the propriety of a news anchor promoting his embattled politician brother on-air and even composing talking points for him to be given out to the public in his defense.

I have never seen the standards for politicians so low as they are today. The same goes for our news media. The Cuomo brothers exemplify both in a nutshell. Mario Cuomo (their late father) must be turning in his grave.

Two Incidents in Boston- Was There a Connection?

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


On June 24, at a rally (off-campus) organized by the University of Massachusetts at Boston chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Dexter Van Zile, who was known to SJP as a pro-Israeli writer, was verbally and physically abused by pro-Palestinian supporters. Much of the abuse was captured on video.

In addition to posting the above video on YouTube, Van Zile has written an op-ed for the Times of Israel Blogs, in which he describes his ordeal in detail.

Yesterday, Shlomo Noginsky, a Boston area rabbi was attacked and stabbed numerous times by a 24-year-old man who was subsequently arrested. His name is Khaled Awad.

My question is whether any connection exists between the Van Zile incident and the stabbing of the Rabbi, both of which occurred in the Boston area. I have no information that Awad was part of the Van Zile incident or if he was anywhere in the vicinity when it occurred. I have no information linking Awad to SJP. Of course, I must also point out that Awad was not arrested during the commission of the knife attack or in the near vicinity. He is presumed innocent until convicted.

Regardless of who the stabber was, was this potentially deadly attack inspired in any way by the June 24 attack against Van Zile? Maybe it wasn't, but until all the facts come out, it is reasonable to ask the question.

Ever since I began being active in the issue of anti-Semitism around 2007, I have been stating (based on my experience as a part-time teacher at UC Irvine, 1998-2016) that the focal point for the resurgence in anti-Semitism in the US was on our college campuses. Just in the last few years, we have seen that hate really metastasize into the community at large. The Israel-Palestinian conflict has much to do with it, but contrary to the protestations of the sophisticated and well-organized pro-Palestinian movement that they are not anti-Jewish per se, just anti-Zionist, they still often drag out the old tropes about Jews controlling the world, dual loyalty, and the age-old Jewish blood canard when stating their case.

Mr Van Zile happens to be Christian, as am I, but he was identified by his attackers as pro-Israel. Is it any stretch to conclude that Rabbi Noginsky was attacked because he was readily identifiable as a Jew in front of a local Chabad House?

As stated, it may be that there is no connection between the two incidents, but what the SJP chapter of UMass-Boston did is hardly an isolated incident. Many other SJP chapters have committed similar acts. On campuses, their favorite tactic is disruption and intimidation. That is why I repeatedly refer to them as "Brown Shirts". They may object to the comparison to Nazis, but the tactics are similar and in my opinion, Jew-hatred is part of the equation as well, never mind that SJP does admit some misguided Jews who have hitched their wagon to the pro-Palestinian cause. Sooner or later, they must face the fact that their tactics and actions are contributing to hate and other violent acts against Jews.

I have checked the campus paper of UMass-Boston (UMassmedia) for any mention of the Van Zile incident. Thus far, I see none though, in fairness, there are no articles since May, (they take the summer off). I hope when they next appear, whenever it is, that they will address this incident.

The UMass administration, however, doesn't have to wait for the fall. Even though it happened off-campus, it did involve the campus SJP chapter. Whether or not any of their actual members actually took part in the assaults against Van Zile, they did organize the event. UMass should ask themselves whether or not they feel it is in the best interests of the university to have an SJP chapter on their campus. It is a question every university should ask.


Sweden: Another Welcome Home Story



Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


Here comes another heartwarming story out of Sweden, a country that welcomes their departed ISIS fighters home without any meaningful charges. On the contrary, the usual procedure is job re-training, a new identity, and relocation. It's kind of like our Witness Protection Program except they call it the ISIS Protection Program. All that's missing is the ticker-tape parade.

There are occasional bureaucratic glitches, however, to deal with those returning heroes who suffer from PTSD or some other ailment due to dealing with too many severed heads. Like this woman who was an ISIS recruiter and herself went to Syria with her husband and children. Upon her return, the nice folks at child protective services took her children into protective custody, which made the woman very angry. So angry that she threatened to kill the entire family of one health care worker. So now the draconian court has sentenced the female terrorist to undergo psychiatric care at a hospital.

The Swedish blog, Samtiden, has the story. Translation by Fousesquawk.

 https://samtiden.nu/2021/06/is-terrorist-doms-for-dodshot-mot-vardanstalld/

ISIS-Terrorist Sentenced for  Death Threat Against  Health Care Worker

Editorial Staff- 17 June, 2021

CAPTION: ONE OF THE FEMALE ISIS-TERRORISTS WHO RECRUITED WOMEN TO THE TERROR SECT IS SENTENCED TO PSYCHIATRIC CARE AFTER DEATH THREAT AGAINST HEALTH CARE PERSONNEL. PHOTO ARCHIVE.


When the returning ISIS-terrorist had her children forcibly taken into child protective custody, she threatened a health care worker with death. Now the woman is sentenced to court-mandated psychiatric care.

The woman, who returned from ISIS in Syria and threatened a healthcare worker with death in April, is sentenced to the psychiatric section of the Södra Älvsborg Hospital. The health care worker allegedly would have seen her family killed.

The ISIS terrorist said that she would "find them" and slit the throat of the health care worker's father.

"It was very uncomfortable. I became afraid. I took it most seriously. It felt real," the health care worker told the hearing, which GT (news) reported.

District court sentences to psychiatric care

The ISIS-terrorist was charged with a threat against a healthcare worker. The District Court of Borås found the woman guilty and sentenced her to court-mandated psychiatric care.

"From the court-mandated psychiatric investigation that the (ISIS-terrorist) afterward went through, it has now emerged that (she) committed the charged act under the influence of a serious psychiatric disorder....," the court writes in its ruling.

The woman traveled from Sweden to Syria in 2014 to join the ISIS terror organization. She traveled together with her husband and their children.

According to information from the police National Operative Section (NOA), the woman was engaged in recruiting other women into Islamist terror activity.

Forced custody upon return

The woman returned to Sweden in March and had her children taken into (protective) custody according to LVU and she herself has been taken into mandated care. According to a police report reproduced by the administrative court, dated 18 March this year, it emerges that the woman, "suffers from severe psychiatric illness caused by her involvement in terror activity and that since her return to Sweden, has been in such a bad condition that she has been taken into  (protective) care, according to LPT" (Compulsory Mental Care Law)

In a personal investigation from Probation Services, the woman herself reported having problems with psychosis since her return from Syria.


Rutgers: Fecklessness (and Deceit?) in Motion




Gary Fouse
fousesquawk

 Rutgers University has been plagued with a series of anti-Semitic incidents in recent years, some of which have been reported on this site. It is clear that the university administration is unable or unwilling to protect Jewish students on campus from the pro-Palestinian activists like the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.

So in the recent spate of anti-Semitic violence sweeping the nation during the last round of fighting between Israel and the Hamas terrorists in Gaza, the chancellor and provost of the New Brunswick campus, Christopher Molloy and Francine Conway respectively, issued one of those vague statements condemning anti-Semitism without actually naming the principal perpetrators. That appeared on May 26. 

But even that was unacceptable to the SJP, who protested the statement.  And guess what.  Molloy and Conway apologized to the poor offended SJP Brown Shirts on May 27.

That prompted a response from Jewish on Campus, a  Jewish advocacy group at Rutgers.

I have checked a number of sources for this story. This article from Volokh Conspiracy ( May 28) includes the full texts of the relevant statements. That is important.

In an interesting twist, on May 29, the president of Rutgers, Jonathan Holloway, issued a statement that Rutgers had not apologized, nor ever would, apologize for standing against anti-Semitism.

May 29, 2021

"Rutgers deplores hatred and bigotry in all forms.  We have not, nor would we ever, apologize for standing against anti-Semitism.

Neither hatred nor bigotry has a place at Rutgers, nor should they have a place anywhere in the world. At Rutgers we believe that anti-Semitism, anti-Hinduism, Islamophobia and all forms of racism, intolerance and xenophobia are unacceptable wherever and whenever they occur."

Jonathan Holloway
President and University Professor

Here is today's (May 29) Daily Targum (Rutgers campus newspaper) reporting that statement.

Yesterday (May 28), Daily Targum published this story on the matter. 

Note there are links to the original statement condemning anti-Semitism as well as the university apology to SJP and Palestinians. Both of those links, however, go back to today's disclaimer by Rutgers. Not only are the links inaccurate as to advertised content, but they are dated one day after the article first appeared. 

Now I am cross-posting articles on this story from other sources.

Algemeiner  (May 28) Note that in this article too, the original condemnation and the apology links are replaced by the May 29 disclaimer.

Jewish Journal (May 28) Same thing with both links. They both open up with the March 29 disclaimer.

Daily Caller (May 27). Same issue with both links.

New York Daily Post  (May 28) Same issue with both links.

And Fox News.

There may be an innocent explanation for all this, perhaps someone just made an error with the links. That error could not have been on the part of all the above sources reporting the story. God knows how many others have that same issue. The error must have happened within the Rutgers administration and multiple other outlets just cut and pasted it. 

It just seems odd that all links reporting the initial May 26 condemnation of anti-Semitism and the subsequent apology on May 27, are routed to the May 29 disclaimer by Rutgers President Holloway.

*Update (May 30): Here is an update from Legal Insurrection after we notified them of the above information. 

And The College Fix here.

Oklahoma Says No to Critical Race Theory




Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


Hat tip Legal Insurrection

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) has signed a bill that will ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in the state's public schools and universities. Oklahoma thus becomes the second state (after Idaho) to prohibit this new kind of racist teaching.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/05/oklahoma-gov-stitt-signs-bill-banning-critical-race-theory-from-public-schools/

This does not mean that students will not learn about the history of slavery and Jim Crow. It does not mean they won't learn that all people are created equal. What it means is that they won't have to suffer through lessons in how one race is inferior to another. Because if you are teaching that all white people are inherently racist, that is what is being peddled-that there is something deficient about white people.

Make no mistake: CRT has been concocted by people who want to divide the American people and create a never-ending cycle of resentment on the part of minorities and whites vis-a-vis each other. It is one thing to teach true history, and that includes slavery and segregation. It is quite another to condemn an entire group of people and America in general. America today is not the America of 1955.

Let us hope that 48 other states will follow the lead of Idaho and Oklahoma. Who says that New York and California have to lead the nation?

Swedish Politicians Cry Crocodile Tears for Female Victims




Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


In Sweden, 5 women have been murdered in the past three weeks.  That has led Prime Minister  Stefan Löfven to issue a statement on Facebook lamenting the fact that there is a real problem of violence against women by men in his country. Meanwhile, Member of Parliament, Annie Lööf asks, where is the outrage? The below article from SVT is translated by Fousesquawk.

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/lofven-det-har-fyller-mig-med-vrede

Löfven: "This fills me with anger"

Updated today 12:23. Posted today 12;14

Caption beneath photo: "For man's violence toward women to end, it is men who must change, " writes Stefan Löfven on Facebook.

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven is also reacting to the murders by close relations in recent weeks. He now promises that the government will invite organizations and authorities to see what measures are needed to prevent this in the future. 

"This fills me with anger, and one cannot feel anything but the deepest contempt for men who humiliate, beat and murder women," he writes.

Five women have been killed by men in the past 3 weeks. This has awakened debate over how society is actually handling this.

"Where is the outcry from society? From my political colleagues? Where are the commissions, the tough ones?" wrote Annie Lööf (C) on Facebook Sunday.

"A Societal Problem"

On Sunday evening, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven reacted in a post on Facebook. The Minister for  Equality, Märta Stenevi (MP), earlier in the day, called for a party conference on the violence. Now Stefan  Löfven is also promising that the government will invite several organizations and authorities to see what measures can be taken to counteract it.

"Men who expose women to these heinous crimes should be punished, but men's violence on women should not be reduced to individual cases. It is a societal problem which must be fought with all of society's collective power," writes Löfven 

"Men must change"

According to Stefan Löfven, male violence against women and gang crime are the government's two main priorities in criminal policy.  He highlights the new sex crime legislation and increased possibilities of ankle monitors and (restraining orders) as examples of what the government has already done. But he says at the same time that more must be done.

"For men's violence against women to end, it is men who must change," he writes.

He continues: We need to talk with men about what real manhood is, that it is not beating or harassing."

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But there is much more to this story. First of all, we must ask just who is responsible for a disproportionate share -if not most- of this violence against women. Here is an article from Sweden that we reported on just a few weeks ago.

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2021/02/sweden-majority-of-convicted-rapists.html

It should be noted that nowhere in Löfven's Facebook post did he say one word about the involvement of immigrants, particularly Muslim immigrants, in this problem. According to the prime minister, it is just men. The fact is that as prime minister, he has presided over an insane immigration-refugee policy that has turned Swedish towns into gang warfare zones and made the country the rape capital of Europe.

And as for Annie Lööf, she is a fine one to be complaining. She is a liberal who advocates for even more immigration and acceptance of refugees into Sweden.

So Sweden will now appoint a blue-ribbon commission to "study the problem" and see how they can convince men to act like civilized human beings. If they really want to solve the problem and make their country safe for women again, they need to change their immigration policies. That is not to say stop all immigration, but they need to look elsewhere in the world to find immigrants who will assimilate and contribute to their society. They also need to toughen up their sentencing. Convicted rapists in Sweden are getting off with ridiculously light sentences, and in most cases, even avoiding deportation.

The sad fact is that these Swedish government leaders have blood on their hands.


How Quickly Will the Boulder Attack Disappear From the News?

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



 

The dust is not yet settled on yesterday's terrorist attack in Boulder, but it seems the news media and the Biden administration have settled on the narrative. For them, this is a gun control issue and a mental health issue, and that's that. There is ample information out there that indicates an Islamist motive behind the attack, but we don't hear about it from the mainstream media. Right now I would say that the go-to sources for information related to that angle are Jihad Watch and Understanding the Threat. Disturbing, Islamic-related information was discovered on the shooter's Facebook page before it was shut down. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa's name reportedly came to the attention of the FBI in association with another person of interest who was on the FBI radar. (That was reported by the NY Times.) It is also reported that President Biden was briefed on the shooter's reported ISIS sympathies.

Does mental illness play a role in this incident? Possibly, but that excuse had been used repeatedly by media and authorities in Europe. Charles Manson had a mental issue. We could go on and on. It is true that we have a mental illness crisis in our country. As for the gun control issue, there are valid arguments as to why a guy like this-with a violent history, albeit in high school- could be able to purchase an assault weapon.

It should be reiterated that not all of the above reports may turn out to be factual. But it certainly appears that our media wants to bury any Islamic terror motivation on the part of the shooter. No decent person wants to incite retaliation against innocent Muslims, but if this was an Islamic terror attack-lone wolf or otherwise- the public needs to know the risks out there. Is it going to up to the blogosphere to uncover the truth?

Niger: 58 Dead in Apparent Jihadist Attack




Gary Fouse
fousesquawk

Hat tip Actu Niger and Jihad Watch





On Monday, terrorists in Niger attacked villages killing 58 people. The attackers are believed to be jihadists allied with Islamic State of the Greater Sahara, who have been active in the area where the attack took place.

Niger is a former French possession and the official language is French. The below article is from the Niger news outlet, Actu Niger. The translation is by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.actuniger.com/societe/17051-insecurite-un-deuil-national-de-3-jours-apres-le-massacre-de-58-civils-vers-banibangou-officiel.html

Insecurity: Three days of national mourning after the massacre of 58 civilians in Banibangou (Official)

In s statement read on public television on Tuesday evening, the government announced that fifty-eight (58) people were killed and several others wounded in an attack Monday, March 15, that targeted villagers returning from the weekly market of Banibangou (Tillaberi Region). The armed assailants also burned two (2) vehicles, took two (2) others, and set fire to several grain sheds.

After this new tragedy, the government decreed three (3) days of national mourning beginning Wednesday, March 17 according to the statement read on public television by the ministry spokesperson. Flags will also be lowered to half-staff during this period throughout the country.

Government Statement

On Monday, March 15, 2021, in the afternoon, groups of unidentified, armed individuals attacked four (4) vehicles transporting passengers returning from the weekly market of Banibangou (Tillaberi Region) and leaving respectively to the villages of Chinagoder and Darey Dey. These individuals proceeded cowardly and cruelly to carry out targeted executions of the passengers.

At the village of Darey Dey, they killed people and burned grain sheds.

The balance sheet (toll) for these barbaric acts is as follows:

- Fifty-eight (58) people killed

- One person injured

-Several grain sheds and two (2) vehicles burned

- Two vehicles taken

Security provisions have been strengthened in the zone, and an investigation has been opened to find the perpetrators of these criminal acts and bring them before the courts.

In this painful circumstance, His Excellency, President of the Republic, Chief of Staff, Supreme Chief of the Armed Forces, and the government send their saddest condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured.

A national period of mourning of three days has been decreed beginning Wednesday, March 17, 2021. The flags will be at half-staff throughout the national territory.

The government calls on the population for increased vigilance and reaffirms its determination to relentlessly continue the fight against criminality in all its forms.

May God bless Niger and its people!

Thank you.


Niamey (Capital) 16 March 2021

Minister Spokesperson of the Government Zakaria Abdouraham


Sweden: Common Sense From an ex-Muslim in the Wake of Terror Attack in Vetlanda




Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


Hat tip Det Goda Samhället. Translation by Fousesquawk.


Mohamed Omar is a Swedish poet and part of the staff of the conservative Swedish outlet, Det Goda Samhället. He was born in Sweden and is an apostate from Islam. He also goes by the name of Eddie. 

In this op-ed, Omar sharply criticizes Prime Minister Stefan  Löfven for his lax immigration policies and his recent statement that the terror attack in Vetlanda this week by an Afghan refugee had nothing to do with immigration. His op-ed is translated by Fousesquawk.

https://detgodasamhallet.com/2021/03/07/mohamed-omar-sjalvklart-har-terrorn-i-vetlanda-med-invandring-att-gora/#more-40848


March 7, 2021

Mohamed Omar: Of course, the terror in Vetlanda has something to do with immigration

When a fanatical Muslim screams, "Allahu Akhbar" and blows himself up in Stockholm, that has nothing to do with Islam. And when an immigrant stabs people with a knife in Vetlanda, that has nothing to do with immigration.

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has previously explained that he has the greatest respect for Islam, that he has never criticized the religion, and he will never do so.

Not because there is nothing to criticize in Islam, rather Löfven doesn't criticize Islam.

The "unaccompanied child refugee" from Afghanistan who stabbed people on the street in Vetlanda was perhaps no fanatical Muslim. Perhaps, he was not motivated by his Islamic belief.

The prime minister says that the terror in Vetlanda has nothing to do with immigration.

But the terror in Vetlanda obviously has something to do with immigration. Islamic terror has something to do with Islam, and immigrant-terror has something to do with immigration. In Sweden, one needs to point out these self-evident (facts).

For there are people with power and influence who seem to think that 1) Criticism of Islam is a bigger problem than Islamic terror, and 2) criticism of immigration is a bigger problem than immigrant terror.

For us common people, who are not schooled in the sophisticated thinking of politically-correct-isms, this is difficult to understand.

When we let in masses of criminal immigrants, criminality increases in Sweden. If we had not let (them) in, criminality would have been less.

Those who have run the immigration policy seem to think that it is more important to let in foreigners to our country than that we who live here should be safe.

For us common people, that is a strange priority.

We common people do not understand why foreigners who commit crimes are allowed to stay. The "unaccompanied child refugee" who went on attack in Vetlanda had, for example, committed crimes previously. Why was he not sent home?

Stefan Löfven, and those who think like him, think it is more worrisome that Swedes become more critical of immigration than immigrant crime.

We common people cannot understand how a critical view of immigration can be a problem, and it is also more difficult to understand that this should be a bigger problem than immigrant crime.

Criticism of immigration means that one weighs the advantages against the disadvantages. One looks at how immigration has gone so far and asks himself: Has it gone well?

That is what sensible people do. You cannot continue to do what does not go well.

"I condemn this terrible act," says Löfven about the terror in Vetlanda. Those are empty words as long as he cannot criticize his immigration policy.

It is because of Löfven's, and his like-minded (colleagues') irresponsible immigration policy that 7 people were stabbed in Vetlanda.


The Cancer at UC Irvine




Gary Fouse
fousesquawk

This article first appeared in Times of Israel Blogs.


Recently, we reported on the latest BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) resolution that was passed by the student senate at UC Irvine, where I taught part-time 1998-2016. The resolution against Israel passed, and the university quickly issued a statement that they would not abide by it. The damage is that these resolutions, which go on all over the nation in our universities, only direct more negative attention to Jewish students and increase anti-Semitism. Jews are perceived as universally supporting the Jewish state of Israel, which in reality, is not true. Most American Jews support Israel, but some do not. Some even join forces with those who want to destroy the Jewish state. That is the true aim of BDS.

Richard Cravatts, former president of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, has also taken note of the latest out of UCI and has written about it in Frontpage Magazine. I am cross-posting it below.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/02/malignant-tradition-uc-irvines-hate-israel-richard-l-cravatts/

Sadly, UCI has acquired a reputation as a hotbed of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic agitation, largely due to the annual anti-Israel week of events every May. Over the last two decades, I have attended many of those events in order to document them, videotape them, and directly question the speakers. I can tell you, I have seen and heard a lot of vicious people speak at these events. 

As I have always said, 99% of the students at UCI are not involved in this ugliness, but those who are have all but destroyed the reputation of what should otherwise be considered a great university. I blame the administrators at UCI (and the entire UC system) for their weakness in allowing this problem to fester and grow.

In 2015-16, I was active with the Amcha Initiative and others in lobbying the UC Regents to draw up a suitable statement of principles against intolerance that specifically addressed anti-Semitism, as opposed to simply condemning all forms of hate. After all, it was anti-Semitism on campus that was the reason a revised statement of principles was under consideration. In 2016, the UC Regents finalized a statement that included such language. 

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2017/06/jewish-organizations-to-uci-chancellor.html

Unfortunately, it has proved to be nothing more than a scrap of paper that UCI can stick in the files of their Office of Inclusive Excellence and show the public that everything is just fine. But since that paper was finalized, UCI has continued to see anti-Zionist weeks every May (at least until the Covid crisis hit), and speakers like Hussam Ayloush (CEO of CAIR in S. California), Rabab Abdulhadi, (professor at San Francisco State University) and Zahra Billoo (CEO of CAIR in No. California) come to campus to spread their poison. Some progress.

Now we have another dangerous ingredient being added to the poisonous cocktail. Thanks to the latest academic creation-intersectionality- all ills of the world can be linked to Israel including the grievances of BLM. If George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis cops, it was partially Israel's fault because they trained that department and taught them the tactic of kneeling on a black suspect's neck-or something like that. And don't think the connection hasn't been made by those who ingest this propaganda. Last May, BLM rioters rampaged through the Fairfax district of Los Angeles, attacking synagogues and yelling curses at Jews from their car windows. It was a pogrom though nobody would admit it. One would think that after such an event, activists might realize that stoking hatred against Jews was a dangerous idea. Not the pro-Palestinian crowd, however. It's full steam ahead, and if they can convince American blacks that the Jewish state of Israel is their enemy too, so what if a few American Jews get beat up?

Shame on the pro-Palestinian movement for stirring up this kind of hate toward American Jews with their lies. And shame on our universities for allowing this treatment of its Jewish students. When I first got involved in this issue at UCI back around 2007, I learned that our university campuses were the focal point for the resurgence in anti-Semitism in the US. Rather than seeing it nipped in the bud, it has metastasized to society as a whole. The only positive aspect is that the issue of anti-Semitism can no longer be denied or swept under the rug. It is there for all to see. And UCI has played a role.

Anti-Semitism: Review of Book Review



Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


I am cross-posting an article by Robert Shrimsley in the Financial Times of London. It is a discussion of modern-day anti-Semitism in reviewing two books on the topic. The two books Shrismley reviews are, "Jews Don't Count" by David Baddiel and "Anti-Semitism Re-visited-How the Rabbis Made Sense of Hatred" by Delphine Horvilleur. 

I have cut and pasted the entire text, which I received from The Israel Group. If you go to the original source, the Financial Times of London, the link to the article requires a subscription to view the entire article. 

I have chosen this article because it makes a very salient point that we must recognize if we are to fight today's strain of anti-Semitism. In the United States, at least, Jews are handicapped by the perception that they are uniformly white-and privileged, in fact, more privileged than most.  In truth, Jews come in many shades of color. In addition, the reviewer correctly points out that it is the left that has chosen to turn a blind eye to the problem.

On the other hand, you will see from the below review that there is scant attention paid to the actual purveyors of today's form of anti-Semitism.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Robert Shrimsley | Financial Times of London

Why do people never refer to the “Y-word” in place of the offensive “yid”? Why, when the BBC recently broadcast a reading of TS Eliot’s poetry did it read out the famously and staggeringly racist lines from “Burbank with a Baedeker” when it is inconceivable that it would regurgitate similar abuse of any other minority, even in the name of art?

Why are Jews excluded from diversity or ethnic minority monitoring? Yes, Judaism is categorized as a religion but there is no anti-Semite in history who viewed atheism as grounds for exemption from persecution. How, with the Holocaust still a living memory, do so many on the left feel content to dismiss the fears of one of the most persecuted peoples in history, to regard anti-Semitism as something that matters less than other prejudice, a sort of second-degree offense?

Underlying all these questions is a simpler point and a deeper hurt. Anti-Semitism is on the rise and yet political progressives, the people who ought to be allies and who normally stress the need to listen to the experience of other minorities, seem to suspend those rules when those voices are Jewish. Why is it, as writer and comedian David Baddiel asks in his short polemic, that Jews Don’t Count?

This book is not aimed at witting anti-Semites or at those who are indifferent. It is aimed squarely at people who think of themselves as progressive but seem to have a blind spot when it comes to casual or not-so-casual anti-Semitism. It is a deceptively easy read, the underlying seriousness lightened by personal stories and regular flashes of Baddiel's wit.

Baddiel’s is one of two short new books on modern anti-Semitism. French rabbi Delphine Horvilleur has also tackled the issue and from the perspective of a country where its manifestations have been more vicious and deadly. Her ruminations, while interesting, are too rabbinical, too much like a sermon. But there is one core nugget. The prejudice, she argues in Anti-Semitism Revisited, lies in the view that “Jews are a bit too much the same and a bit too different”. Both too keen to fit in and insufficiently assimilated.

British Jews, stung especially by the rows over anti-Semitism in the Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn, will read Baddiel’s book with a combination of recognition and despair. Since Labour’s issues, people have been paying more attention. But, given the upsurge of abuse and violence, the shock has been how loud Jews had to shout for the issue to be addressed and how many people were content to shrug their shoulders at the problem.

The author’s question is less about why anti-Semitism exists than why good people care less about it. And here he is in similar territory to Horvilleur’s. The key is that Jews are not seen as underprivileged or marginalised. They are caricatured as rich capitalists. They are also “too white” for campaigners. This means they are beyond the interest of social justice activists who see racism as a class construct, one in which you need to be economically or socially disadvantaged. For progressives, he writes, “no victory is claimed by championing their experience, and this leads to a subtle — and unconscious — exclusion.” The mission of fighting racism has been repurposed to suit the other political causes of campaigners rather than the needs of its victims.

To this point, Baddiel brings up the concept of “Schrodinger’s Whites”. Jews are both white and not white. Since most pass for Caucasian and are “rich”, they enjoy white privilege. If only someone had remembered to share this insight with white supremacists.

While most victims of racism are looked down upon as lesser people, Jews are both looked down upon but also portrayed as part of a sinister, wealthy, powerful force, an enemy within. This was the rhetoric that paved the way to Auschwitz. But the bias also informs the progressive blind spot. Jews are powerful; they don’t need defending. And some on the far-left even buy into the conspiracy theories.

And this is the most tone-deaf part of the issue, because the peculiar nature of anti-Semitism means that status counts for little. With the Holocaust, the key reference point for the modern fear of anti-Semitism, Jews see that the success, integration and respected place in society of many German Jews did not save them and was even used against them.

Wrapped into this, of course, is anger at Israel, a poster cause for the left. But on this Baddiel, no supporter of Israel, has a simple riposte. The issue of Palestine offers no justification for anti-Semitism in Britain and a good cause does not legitimise racism.

Not all his arguments land. He asks why many who would complain if a film does not cast a trans actor in a trans role (or a white actor in a black or Asian role) think nothing of non-Jew in a Jewish role, even if it is played as a cartoonish stereotype (something he describes as “jewface”). He admits that he does not believe Jews must always be portrayed by Jews. But you have to pick your fights and other groups do struggle harder for on-screen representation. It is the double-standard that troubles him. Likewise in the debate on Eliot’s poetry, there is an argument to be had about censoring literature but it is reasonable to wish for a level playing field.

A criticism will be that this is special pleading by a community whose concerns are far from ignored. One can also argue that recognising a hierarchy of urgency is not the same as having a hierarchy of racisms. Some issues are more pressing. In over five decades in London I have only once been stopped by the police without any reason; this is not the average black experience. But Baddiel acknowledges this, both supporting the focus on Black Lives Matter and noting that at different moments in history some struggles should and will move to the forefront. His appeal is only for equal awareness.

I am not a neutral but this pithy, wry book ought to leave one raging that the accepted nostrums of anti-racism are simply discarded for one of the most persecuted peoples in history.

The one worry is that this will be read mainly by Jews and not by those who need to read it. It should be essential reading for progressives, self-proclaimed anti-racists, and those offering diversity and awareness courses. If it is, then Baddiel will have done a sterling service. If it isn’t, he will have the grim satisfaction of having been proved right.

Jews Don’t Count, by David Baddiel, William Collins, RRP£9.99, 144 pages

Anti-Semitism Revisited: How the Rabbis Made Sense of Hatred, by Delphine Horvilleur, translated by David Bellos, MacLehose Press, RRP£12.99, 140 pages

Robert Shrimsley is the FT’s UK chief political commentator

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In the interest of full disclosure, I have read neither book, so I cannot say that the two respective authors have failed to identify the perpetrators. (As Shrimsley points out, Baddiel is no friend of Israel.) But if I have one critique of the review, it would be for what it doesn't say. Like so many discussions of anti-Semitism today, it fails to go into detail as to who the biggest perpetrators are. In my view, this new form of anti-Semitism has taken root on college campuses, thanks to the pro-Palestinian movement against Israel, which is quite well organized. From there, it has metastasized into mainstream society. While there is a reference to the anti-Israel movement, it fails to point out that most anti-Semitism today comes from Islamic quarters. That is, at least, my opinion.

Why do I say that? After all, we have the historical example of the Third Reich, and we do have a tiny percentage of people in Europe and the US who consider themselves neo-Nazis. They are certainly to be confronted and condemned, but in my view, they are not the main problem today. I still believe that today's anti-Semitism is largely, if not mostly driven by the pro-Palestinian movement, which is largely Islamic, both in the Middle East and the West.

If you look on our college campuses, the anti-Israel movement (which is huge) is mostly driven by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the various campus chapters of the Muslim Student Association (MSA). The main difference between these two organizations, which work hand-in-glove, is that SJP has some members who are non-Muslims, and that the MSA is involved in other issues, such as promoting Islam and other religious activities. However, the SJP was co-founded by Hatem Bazian, a Palestinian Muslim, who also co-founded American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), which is a funding arm of SJP.

They all deny they are anti-Semitic, but they have also been guilty of using classical anti-Jewish tropes in making their case against Israel and those who support the Jewish state.

While European universities are also hotbeds of anti-Israel activity, European Jews face another immediate problem. The wave of Muslim immigration-migration into Europe has literally made the streets unsafe for Jews-and to a slightly lesser extent, everybody else. These migrants, mostly uneducated, bring with them a hatred of Jews based on their Islamic teachings. This is not to condemn all Muslims as Jew-haters, but anti-Jewish feeling (as well as anti-Christian feeling) is deeply embedded in Islamic teaching.

Shrimsley also refers briefly to Black Lives Matter (BLM), which as an organization, supports the Palestinian cause. Just as with Muslims, the left and academia want no part of any discussion as to BLM or the fact that the African-American community- just like the white community- has its share of  anti-Semitism. Are all black Americans anti-Jewish? Hardly, but to the extent some are, it should be discussed openly just as we do with white anti-Semites.

In one sense, I am gratified that the topic of anti-Semitism is rising to the fore of public consciousness. On the other hand, what good does it do to condemn anti-Semitism if you don't name the perpetrators-or you assign the blame solely to one sub-group of the anti-Semites?

Teddy Roosevelt to Today’s Progressives: Forces for Good Outweigh Forces for Evil

Teddy Roosevelt
This is the way the world of 2021 begins, not with a whimper but a bang.
by Ralph Benko: On January 5th, Georgia wraps up its two runoff Senate elections, both too close to call. Once again, the tossed political coin lands on its edge, wobbles, then topples.

If both Democratic nominees win it will hand President Biden the mixed blessing of Democratic Party control of the legislative as well as the executive branch. Mixed? It will simplify the confirmation of his appointments yet give his party’s lunatic fringe a bit more leverage on a pragmatic President Biden, portending Democrats’ losses in 2022 … and 2024.

Then, on January 6th, Congress will go into full political theatrics on the certification of the electoral college results. This will create a Capitol Hill spectacle, to the delight of sly and ambitious rabble-rousers, and put Vice President (and presidential aspirant) Pence into a painful double bind. To his many rivals’ delight.

Meanwhile, in the streets of the capital the “Antifa” Lumpenproletariat will demonstrate, clashing with the “StopTheSteal” Trumpenproletariat. The latter’s propensity for wilding is being stoked by their political magister ludi. Mob rule hooligans meet conspiracy theorist hobgoblins to enact lurid political theater.

America is torn between its ideals, per Joan Didion our dreampolitik, and a healthy recognition that we have fallen short of our ideals, realpolitik. Yet out of this thesis and antithesis we just might achieve a synthesis of better liberty and justice for all.

Lumpenproletariat” is a word yearning to return to the discourse. The Britannica helpfully tells us: “(German: “rabble proletariat”), according to Karl Marx in The Communist Manifesto, the lowest stratum of the industrial working class, including also such undesirables as tramps and criminals. The members of the Lumpenproletariat — this ‘social scum,’ said Marx — are not only disinclined to participate in revolutionary activities with their “rightful brethren,” the proletariat, but also tend to act as the ‘bribed tools of reactionary intrigue.'”

History repeats, “the second time as farce.” Proud Boys and Antifa? Leave no graffiti on my front door! Respect the doors of Speaker Pelosi and Leader McConnell. By violating our portals you indict only yourselves.

Let’s recall Progressive Republican Teddy Roosevelt’s indictment of the lunatic fringe. “Then, among the wise and high-minded people who in self-respecting and genuine fashion strive earnestly for peace, there are foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it — the men who form the lunatic fringe in all reform movements.”

Foolish fanaticism discredits that which it purports to support. And there is TR’s speech before the American Historical Association in 1912. Teddy Roosevelt, schismatic Republican, founder of the short-lived Populist “Bull Moose” Party, there offered a vital message to today’s “progressives” who have culturally appropriated his brand but not his vision.

There’s the loud but tiny progressive elite who promotes a cancel culture. Their message is Hell-bent on cancelling America. The labor and ethnic left celebrates America’s commitment to justice despite its imperfections. Progressives purport to but do not authentically represent labor or people of color. The left is not monolithic.

The progressive faction loudly virtue signals yet was definitively repudiated by the Democratic rank-and-file. Joe Biden, crusading on making America better, appealed to those who wish to join, not wage class warfare upon, the middle class. Biden won.

Teddy Roosevelt’s message after departing the White House and before his ascent of Mount Rushmore:“The hard materialism of our age will appear, and also the strange capacity for lofty idealism which must be reckoned with by all who would understand the American character. A people whose heroes are Washington and Lincoln, a peaceful people who fought to a finish one of the bloodiest of wars, waged solely for the sake of a great principle and a noble idea, surely possess an emergency standard far above mere money-getting.

“Those who tell the Americans of the future what the Americans of to-day and of yesterday have done, will perforce tell much that is unpleasant. This is but saying that they will describe the arch-typical civilization of this age. Nevertheless when the tale is finally told, I believe that it will show that the forces working for good in our national life outweigh the forces working for evil, and that, with many blunders and shortcomings, with much halting and turning aside from the path, we shall yet in the end prove our faith by our works, and show in our lives our belief that righteousness exalteth a nation.”
President-elect Biden? There are not one but two transformational President Roosevelts to emulate. Franklin Delano, for his capitalist social democracy programs such as Social Security. And Theodore’s excommunication of the kind of hooligans who infest our streets and the hobgoblins – the lunatic fringe – of both parties now haunting American politics.

Righteousness exalteth a nation.
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Ralph Benko, co-author of “The Capitalist Manifesto” and chairman and co-founder of “The Capitalist League”.
Tags: Ralph Benko, Teddy Roosevelt, Today’s Progressives, Forces for Good Outweigh, Forces for Evil To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the Patriot's Corner. Thanks!