"Someone Needs To Knock Some Sense Into Him"

That's an expression that I recall from my childhood.  I probably heard some of the neighborhood fathers say it - perhaps about all of us boys.  It's certainly not a politically correct phrase; nor is it a phrase that would be acceptable to younger generations.  But we understood what it meant - get your act together, think smarter, don't do stupid stuff.  

Brad Lander (also mentioned in my July 5 post) defeated fellow Democrat, and fellow Jew, Dan Goldman for the right to run as the Democratic candidate for the House from NY's 10th district.  He is a sure winner in November in the heavily Democratic district.  Goldman was the incumbent.  But Lander accused Israel of genocide, and said he would never take money from AIPAC.  While Goldman was critical of Netanyahu, he did not accuse Israel of genocide.  Nor did he refuse campaign contributions from AIPAC.  And unlike Lander, Goldman diid not support Mamdani.  Lander's more extreme anti-Israel positions enabled him to defeat the incumbent - by 30 percentage points.

Just recently, Lander was outside Madison Square Garden, where there was a rally protesting a Hindu nationalist event.  People recognized him.  And his leftwing progressivism did not protect him.  Here are some of the comments directed at him.  "You look like a wicked ballsack.  You look like a scrotum, you filthy ballsack."  And another yelled:  "Fuck you ballsack Zionist."  Another got in his face and yelled:  "Get the fuck out!  Get the fuck out!  Get the fuck out!"  

Another yelled:  "There's no such thing as a good Zionist...The only good Zionist is a dead Zionist."  It is understood that Jew haters use "Zionist" interchangeably with "Jew."  Recall from my July 5 post that Scott Weiner, a gay member of the California State Senate, attended a trans led pride Shabbat in San Francisco.  Notwithstanding his criticisms of the Israeli government, he was also yelled at.  With "we fucking hate you."  And "you do not belong here."  And, "you stopped being queer the moment you started supposrting Israel, you piece of shit."

In my August 23 post, "From Fed-up to Disillusioned and Disenchanted, Part I," I discuss an article by Bret Stephens.  He talked about the "October 8 Jews."  Jews who woke up after the October 7 massacre of Israelis by Hamas, and came to the realization that no matter how much support they gave to leftwing groups and causes, that support was not given to us in our time of great need.  We were still just Jews or Zionists or pieces of shit.  But I asked this question:  "how many American Jews never became 'October 8' Jews?  And I asked:  "For how many American Jews did October 7 never even register?"

I suspect Brad Lander is one of those Jews.  The question is - what did he take away from his experience outside Madison Square Garden?  Did he learn anything?  Did he get the message that he needs to stand with Israel and his fellow Jews?  Because he will always be seen as just an evil Zionist Jew by his fellow Leftists.  And he will be hated for it.  If he learned nothing, then, if I may borrow that old expression, someone needs to knock some sense into him.  No, not literally.  I oppose all political violence.  But maybe he needs to be screamed at again and again until he wakes up.  Distancing yourself from Israel and from your fellow Jews did not serve you well, Mr. Lander.

As the New York Post wrote about Lander and Weiner, "They thought they were choosing between irrelevance and dishonor, chose dishonor, rendered themselves irrelevant in the process and truly earned the contempt of everyone - from the Jews they betrayed to the radicals they appeased - in the process."  Amen to that.