Aftermath

In the aftermath of the horrific murders at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Jews bury their dead. At the same time, the media has re-discovered anti-Semitism, but refuses to acknowledge that this monstrous ideology is not the sole province of right-wing scum. It is true that the killer in Pittsburgh was in fact a right-wing, anti-Semitic lunatic, who hated Donald Trump because his policies were pro-Israel. But that didn't matter for far too many progressives who concluded that Donald Trump, his party, and those who voted for him are somehow culpable for the murders and for anti-Semitism in general. That position is ridiculous, but hardly surprising.

The common media narrative is that all anti-Semitism emanates from Right-Wing extremists. It's the perfect way to paint everyone on the Right as bigots. It also demonstrates dishonest reporting and bias, but that is also hardly surprising.

Anti-Semitism is not solely a right-wing phenomenon. In recent decades, the growth area for anti-Semitic speech and actions has been among the more extreme elements of the Left. Sure, they cloak their anti-Semitism in anti-Israel rhetoric and argue that being "anti-Zionist" is not anti-Semitic. Bull shit!

They telegraph their anti-Semitic positions by unwavering support of the Palestinians—a group that teaches anti-Semitism to their children in kindergarten! They are horrified by Donald Trump's appropriately hard stance on Iran and seem to gravitate toward the leadership of that country—the most virulent anti-Semites on the planet. They provide us with hints of their anti-Semitism when they support the BDS movement in the hopes of crippling Israel's robust economy and thereby hurting the Jewish citizens of the only Middle Eastern democracy. At universities, it's leftists, NOT the right wing, who shout down pro-Israel speakers, intimidate pro-Israel students, and embrace Moslem "activists" who often espouse rabid anti-Semitic sentiment.

In the political arena, the Left and far too many Democrats, refuse to unequivocally condemn Louis Farrakkan—a blatant anti-Semite. It should trouble the Democrats that Keith Ellison, the co-Chair of the DNC, is a close acquaintance of Farrakkan, but apparently that's not an issue. It should trouble the Dems that Maxine Waters, a prominent Democrat politician, refuses to condemn Farrakkan's anti-Semitic slurs, but we get silence from other Dems. It should trouble the Democrats that the Congressional Black Caucus avoids any comment on Farrakkan, but that's just politics. Hypocrisy, anyone?

The editors of the conservative New York Post provide a summary of the crazy talk and hypocrisy that has occurred over days since the Pittsburgh murders:

David Harsanyi at The Federalist finds it “ironic” to see so many of the same liberals who recently fought to prop up Iran, “the world’s most powerful Jew-hating terror state, lecturing us on the importance of combating anti-Semitism.” Some even “decided to dip into a little victim blaming,” suggesting American Jews are “too pro-Israel for their own good.” One even demanded that Jews “start expelling their [pro-Trump] co-religionists for their political opinions.” But “undermining the Democratic Party isn’t an act of anti-Semitism.” Not when its “liberal activist resistance wing is being led by a couple of Louis Farrakhan fangirls.” If you’re not upset about the “vile accusations” incessantly thrown at Benjamin Netanyahu but think calling out George Soros is de facto anti-Semitism, “your main concern is liberalism, not the Jewish people.”

I'll believe that progressives and their party are outraged about anti-Semitism when they express as much concern and condemnation of it when it emanates from the Left, calling out the perpetrators by name. And I'll have far more respect for liberal Jews when they begin to recognize that extremist elements of their progressive movement express a brand of anti-Semitism that is equally virulent and possibly more dangerous over the long term.