Antisemitism Continues Its Rise

Recently, the Chicago PD warned that some neo-Nazi groups were planning a "Day of Hate" for Saturday, February 25, Saturday being the Jewish Sabbath.  CPD explained that the threat was a nationwide threat, with the goal of targeting Jewish institutions.  This was no idle threat.  The local channel 4 news in L.A. reported a few months ago that religious hate crimes were up 29%, with 74% of the attacks targeting Jews.  

And, very recently on two consecutive days, February 15 and 16, two Jewish men were shot after leaving two different synagogues in the Pico-Robertson area of West L.A.  That area has a large Jewish population.  The L.A. Times reported that the alleged shooter had been a dental student, who, in 2022, sent threatening, antisemitic messages to a fellow student.  One message said:  "I want you dead, Jew."  The Times said that the alleged shooter had been on the FBI's "radar" prior to the shootings, for all the good that did.  Thankfully, the two victims survived their attacks.  

On Friday, a friend who also reads the blog, sent me a link to an article by Resume Builder.  The article reported that 26% of hiring managers "say they are less likely to move forward with Jewish applicants."  The main reason given was that Jews have too much power and control, tied with the idea that Jews claim to be the chosen people.  (This idea of being the chosen people has nothing to do with thinking that Jews, as a people, are somehow better than other people.  The idea is that Jews were chosen to be G-d's ambassadors to the world.  Jews often joke, "G-d, couldn't you have picked some other group for this honor?"  After all, being the chosen people has not exactly protected Jews from countless efforts to annihilate them.)  Anyway, the article acknowledges it is not a scientific poll that is necessarily representative of the general population.

However, an actual scientific poll done by NORC at the University of Chicago along with the One8 Foundation, was conducted on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).  Some of the beliefs held by much of the general population are rather disturbing.  39% said Jews were more loyal to Israel than to America.  26% said Jews have too much power in the business world.  And 20% said Jews have too much power in the US.  85% believe at least one anti-Jewish trope (I would say stereotype), with that number being "only" 61% in 2019.  

It is clear from at least two of the findings, how unwarranted criticisms of Israel end up affecting attitudes here.  The study found that young adults have significantly greater anti-Israel attitudes than older adults.  This is not surprising, given the widespread anti-Israel messaging we see on college campuses and in the mainstream media.  And 40% agree at least somewhat that Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews.  40%!  I must have missed the concentration camps.  

Sadly, some of these anti-Israel attitudes are held by left-wing American Jews.  One Jewish attorney that I often hear from, would not agree that Trump did one single thing for Israel or the Jewish people.  Trump moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel's capital city, acknowledging that every country has the right to declare their own capital.  Trump acknowledged Israeli sovereignty over the strategic Golan Heights.  Trump refused to continue funding of the Palestinian Authority (PA) until such time as they they stopped using those funds to support terrorism and the killing of Jews.  On the other hand, Biden has reinstated funding to the PA, having given them nearly $1 billion in his two years in office.  Not only would this Jewish attorney not denounce Biden for funding Jew killers, he acknowledged that he will vote for Biden again in 2024.

This same individual said he would vote for Obama a third time if he could.  I said that Obama hated Israel.  He said that was a bunch of crap.  I then replied that I would not tell him all the ways, by his words and deeds, that Obama demonstrated his dislike of Israel.  I suggested he do a little research on his own.  But I did remind him of Obama refusing to veto the completely anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution of December, 2016.  (See the 12/24/16 post, "The United States Abandons Israel at the United Nations.")  Now, Biden, following Obama's lead, had his UN Ambassador vote for another one-sided anti-Israel resolution.  "The Security Council reiterates that continuing Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-state solution based on the 1967 lines..."  Of course, it's never the Palestinians repeated refusal to accept a state of their own, as long as Israel still exists, that is the problem.  Nor the repeated rocket/missile attacks and terror attacks on Israeli civilians, that is the problem.  

And here is a case in point of how young adults are exposed to anti-Israel ideas.  Princeton University is one of the elite universities in the country.  Recently, the English Department at Princeton hosted someone described as a "pro-Palestinian activist and journalist."  Here are some of the things this individual has allegedly said.  He has allegedly said "Zionists harvest organs of the martyred (Palestinians) and feed their warriors our own." He has allegedly compared Israelis to Nazis, and has allegedly supported "killing every m.....f...... Zionist."  (As reported by Fox.)  This is what passes for an intellectual exchange of ideas when it comes to Israel.    

I'm Back After a Two Month Hiatus

It's time to catch up on some news.  So much has happened in the last two months, it would be impossible to address everything.  So here are some highlights.  Let's start with President Biden's state of the union address.  No surprises, as he touted how great his administration is.  That is to be expected.  But, demonstrating how the Left believes there can never be too much government, he discussed making sure airlines had no hidden charges, reducing what banks may charge for overdraft fees, reducing credit card late fees, eliminating surprise "resort fees" at hotels, and putting a cap on service fees for tickets to concerts and sporting events.  Sure, the public will like that.  But where does government interference in business end?

Apparently, government involvement should never end for some on the Left.  Here is Rep. Cori Bush, Squad member (Dem. - Mo.):  "These social media companies have shown themselves unfit to maintain the digital public square with almost universal usage and vast power."  "...we need to make sure that they operate for the public good and not the private interests."  Conservatives would agree that the censoring of conservatives on social media has been a problem.  But who would decide what constitutes the "public good?"  Cori Bush?  No, thank you.  

What is Rep. Bush's solution?  "We need to invest in better alternatives to big tech.  And we need to establish public ownership and control to ensure these platforms serve everyone fairly."  There it is - public/government ownership.  

Nikole Hannah-Jones, of the "1619 Project" fame, was having an exchange of ideas with a Xi Van Fleet, a woman who survived Mao's China.  Xi was trying to convince Hannah-Jones of American exceptionalism, which is imbued with the idea of natural rights.  Xi argued that that idea allowed the US to abolish slavery, end Jim Crow, and establish a society where people like Xi and Hannah-Jones were able to succeed.  Being no great fan of America, Hannah-Jones said:  "I'm afraid your vision of America does not match the reality."  Not surprising from a Leftist; yet ironic from a woman whose "1619 Project" has been widely debunked.

The State Bar of California has brought charges against attorney, and former Trump adviser, John Eastman.  The Bar is seeking Eastman's disbarment.  The Bar asserts that Eastman assisted Trump in "executing a strategy, unsupported by facts or law, to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by obstructing the count of electoral votes of certain states."  I don't like it.  But let me be clear.  I accepted that Biden won on election night.  And I'm confident that I would disagree with much of the advice given by Eastman to Trump.  But this is a dangerous incursion by the Bar into politics.  And to many, such as myself, it would appear to be the Left targeting yet another conservative.    

Here is yet more Leftist thinking, this time out of northern California.  This is from the Acalanes Union High School District, which is just to the east of Berkeley and Oakland.  There was an event being held for employees who are people of color.  The Director of Student Support Equity and Inclusion had this to say:  "Be reminded that we have avoided inviting people that are not of color as there remains feelings of uneasiness and mistrust and we need this to be a safe space for our people of color."  I'm old enough to remember the Civil Rights movement.  The idea was to oppose segregation and seek integration.  Clearly, those days are over.  

On the good news front, the City of Chicago held a mayoral election on February 28, and voted out the incompetent incumbent, Lori Lightfoot.  As none of the other candidates received enough votes to win outright, the top two vote getters will be in a runoff election on April 4.  Finishing with 33.5% of the votes was Paul Vallas, a white man who had been the head of the Chicago public schools.  In second place was Brandon Johnson, a black man and Cook County commissioner.  Vallas pledged to get tough on crime.  Johnson, apparently, is not a fan of traditional policing.  Both of these men are Democrats, hardly surprising for the City of Chicago.  Lightfoot received only 17% of the vote.  The real test will be how those 17% vote in the runoff.  I am always amazed when people will vote for more crime, often for the simple reason that they will automatically vote for the person with a "D" after their name.  (Although, as noted, both candidates in this race have that "D.")