Free Republic

Last week, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research held an extraordinary conference in New York, with 18 scholars presenting formal papers on "Jews and the Left," addressing such issues as "present-day understandings of Jewish attraction to the Left in the 19th and 20th centuries," whether today's left is "in whole or in part anti-Semitic," and the relationship between the left and Israel. The response to these issues -- coming from a group of scholars who were largely leftists or liberals themselves -- was quite remarkable. In his "Introductory Remarks," Prof. Jack Jacobs of CUNY asserted that "the one-time ties between...

The Occupy Tampa movement posted an anti-Semitic cartoon on their Facebook page on Thursday, which coincided with Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day. The cartoon, shown below, depicted a Jewish man with a big nose and large beard driving a car with the symbol of the United Nations as the wheel and U.S. President Barack Obama's head as the stick shift. Within five hours the cartoon received more than 400 comments, mostly from outraged users, including many Israelis. "Putting this on Holocaust day just makes it even more sickening than it already is," one user said. "This is an outrage. All OWS...

BERLIN - The German government released on Monday the findings of a two year inquiry into modern anti-Semitism in the Federal Republic, showing that latent anti-Semitism affects one of every five Germans. The 202 page study, entitled "Anti-Semitism in Germany," covered a wide spectrum of German anti-Semitism, including hatred of the Jewish state as a manifestations of anti-Semitism within the Left movement and Islamic-animated loathing of Israel and Jews, especially from Iran's regime and the Turkish media. Dr. Wahied Wahdat-Hagh, a member of the ten member commission, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, that the "experts came to the conclusion...

Interview Series: Frits Bolkestein, former EU commissioner: "People defer to numbers. There are hundreds of millions of Arabs and less than eight million Israelis...then there is the oil issue". And four more reasons for anti-Israel bias. From 1999-2004, Frits Bolkestein was the European Union’s commissioner responsible for the internal market, taxation, and customs union. Before that, he had been the Dutch Defense Minister and leader of the Liberal Party, VVD. In 2005, he became a professor – of the intellectual background to political developments – at both Leiden University and the Technical University of Delft. Bolkestein observes: “The Israeli ‘file’...

At Power Line, Steve Hayward spots Paul Krugman phoning in his periodic “Keynes Was Right” column, and asks: I wonder if Krugman also credits Keynes’s views on Jews, which British blogger Damian Thompson of The Telegraph brings to our attention. From Keynes’s diary: [Jews] have in them deep-rooted instincts that are antagonistic and therefore repulsive to the European, and their presence among us is a living example of the insurmountable difficulties that exist in merging race characteristics, in making cats love dogs … It is not agreeable to see civilization so under the ugly thumbs of its impure Jews who...

Do you know who the latest Zionist on the block is? It’s the man who called Israel, “an aggressive, national socialist state” and suggested that the original World Trade Center bombing may have really been carried out by Israel. Then there’s the solicitation letter which boasted that this courageous fellow was exposing the, “Bohemian Grove–perverted, pagan playground of the powerful. Skull & Bones: the demonic fraternity that includes George Bush and leftist Senator John Kerry, Congress’s Mr. New Money. The Israeli lobby, which plays Congress like a cheap harmonica.”So how is he a Zionist? Ask Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic. According...

When it comes time to discuss Israel, Adbusters finds a way to describe the Jewish State in the most offensive of terms. While not specifically mentioning Jews, Adbusters substitutes other terms to make false and border-line anti-Semitic comments, or trying to set up the Jews/Israel as the scapegoat for America's problems. From an article called Revolution in America: Not content with stripping us as citizens of our sovereignty, our corporate-backed rulers have instituted a foreign policy that delights in permanent war and international instability. From cynically squandering billions of dollars of taxpayer money each year in gifts to the apartheid...

A growing number of Israelis and foreign Jewish groups are expressing concern over the anti-Semitic flavor of some of the "Occupy Wall St." economic protests in the US. From the 13th century expulsion of Englands Jews to the 19th century Russian pogroms to the Nazi Holocaust, sour economic conditions have historically formed the backdrop of rising anti-Semitism.(snip) Israel's Yediot Ahronot newspaper called the anti-Semitic outbursts ''hard to watch,'' and an Israeli commenter said, ''It's just like pre-World War II Nazi Germany. You think blood libels can't happen in America?''

Will Israel survive? That question hasn't really been asked since 1967. Then, a far weaker Israel was surrounded on all sides by Arab dictatorships that were equipped with sophisticated weapons from their nuclear patron, the Soviet Union. But now, things are far worse for the Jewish state. Egyptian mobs just tried to storm the Israeli embassy in Cairo and kill any Israelis they could get their hands on.

John Galliano, the fallen fashion designer, has been found guilty of hurling anti-Semitic abuse at fellow drinkers in a bar in the French capital, but escaped a prison sentence as the judge took into account his apology to victims. The flamboyant 50-year old Briton was not present in court for the verdict, in which he received a suspended 6,000-euro (£5,200) fine, meaning it goes on his criminal record but he will not pay the fine unless he re-offends within five years. The Paris court found him guilty of "public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity" during two...

A man and woman were injured this afternoon after a white van mounted the pavement at a bus stop on Upper Clapton Road. Police were called shortly after 4:00pm this afternoon (Monday, 1 August) to a report of a van in collision with two people. Both were taken to hospital by Hatzolah, an emergency service that serves the Jewish community and are not suffering life changing or threatening injuries. A posting on Twitter claimed the man suffered a fractured leg and shoulder, while a police spokes person told Hackney Hive that the man had a serious leg injury, the woman...

"Some of my friends tried to stop him by talking to him. Many people thought that it was a test ... comparing it to how it is to live in Gaza." Eyewitness statement the day of the shooting. (ABC News) The day of the Norway shooting, I was blindsided by one of the survivor's statements to the press immediately after the shooting (see above). It was so outside the box, I thought it was the kneejerk response of an anti-semite in shock. I didn't blog on it because I thought it anecdotal, badly anecdotal. But the more that is revealed...

And don't forget, American taxpayers subsidize dozens of UN "projects." Richard Falk, the UN Human Rights Council’s expert on Palestine, decided to draw a cartoon to depict how he saw the world. Imagining the nations of the world and their interaction with law and liberty, Falk drew a dog wearing a sacred Yarmulke with a Star of David emblazoned on it. In the dog's mouth were the bloody bones of an infant: Around the dog's waist is a piece of cloth reading "USA."

David Ainsman really began to get worried about President Barack Obama’s standing with his fellow Jewish Democrats when a recent dinner with his wife and two other couples — all Obama voters in 2008 — nearly turned into a screaming match. Ainsman, a prominent Democratic lawyer and Pittsburgh Jewish community leader, was trying to explain that Obama had just been offering Israel a bit of “tough love” in his May 19 speech on the Arab Spring. His friends disagreed — to say the least. One said he had the sense that Obama “took the opportunity to throw Israel under the...

Colorado will end coverage for routine circumcisions under Medicaid next month, adding to what's become a national debate over the once widely-accepted procedure. The change will take effect July 1. Lawmakers agreed to end funding as part of a package of cuts to balance the budget.

There is no lack of antisemites today. But it is very hard to talk about the identity of the vast majority of them. Indeed, Yale University has just revamped its institute on antisemitism, apparently because it spent too much time talking about the overwhelming problem with antisemitism today–Islamic and especially Islamist antisemitism. In other words, the real antisemites are whitewashed, while those fighting antisemitism are called antisemites. The supporters of Israel are called enemies of Israel by those who themselves are generally enemies of Israel. The truth is the exact opposite of what Milbank wrote. Beck is the leading purveyor...

The Republican campaigns of 2006 and 2008 consisted of long litanies of dropping the ball when it comes to the Democrats' vulnerabilities. I refer specifically to John McCain's and Rick Santorum's inexcusable failure to call their opponents out for indefensible racist, anti-Semitic, and/or anti-Catholic connections. Casey's acceptance of MoveOn.org's support should have disqualified him, especially in a state with a large Catholic population. MoveOn.org Promoted Anti-Semitic and Anti-Catholic Hate Speech In 2006, I joined Jan Poller and Robert Goldberg in exposing MoveOn.org's exercise of editorial control in favor of anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic, and other forms of hate speech at the organization's...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu lectured President Barack Obama in his own office, warning him not to chase "illusions" of Middle East peace and opening a deep rift in US-Israel ties. In a dramatic Oval Office appearance on Friday, after 90 minutes of talks, Prime Minister Netanyahu emphatically vowed Israel would never return to its 1967 borders and laid down a set of non-negotiable conditions for peace talks. The exchange, which left hopes for Obama's peace drive more remote than ever, came a day after the US president called on Israel to accept a return to territorial lines...

I’ve been thinking about race, and prejudice, a lot over the past week. The world has been quick to condemn John Galliano for his anti-Semitic rant. I condemned him a long time ago, firstly for portraying women on his catwalk as adolescent boys and, secondly, for his wanton, unthinking use of fur.

A vile, homosexual-themed anti-Semitic musical play that was performed at Concord-Carlisle High School (CCHS) in December 2009 is the subject of community outrage. The high school has long been a center of aggressive homosexual indoctrination and the accompanying hostility toward religious belief. Intimidation of students and parents with traditional religious values has become an everyday occurrence there. Recently a group of CCHS teachers publicly "came out" as homosexuals and lesbians to a group of students - and encouraged the students to do the same -- in a widely celebrated after-school event. But this was possibly the most outrageous and insulting...

Weisenthal Center demands Theodorakis be stripped of International Music Prize; composer: "US Jews behind Greek economic crisis." Mikis Theodorakis, best known for composing the musical score to the film Zorba the Greek, recently declared on Greek television that he was “anti-Israel and anti-Semitic.” “Everything that happens today in the world has to do with the Zionists,” was one such comment. Another was “American Jews are behind the world economic crisis that has hit Greece also.” Theodorakis also blasted Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou for establishing closer relations with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who was guilty, he said, of “war crimes...

Both sides in the Egyptian “civil war” claim that their opponents are being aided by Israel and/or Jews. Egyptian State television broadcast a story Wednesday claiming that a suspicious "Israeli engineer" was caught near Suez and questioned in relation to the riots. Meanwhile a young woman was interviewed who claimed that American Jews taught her how to "bring down the government". Many people interviewed on state television have claimed that the entire uprising is being coordinated by Israel in order to "conquer all the land between the Nile and the Euphrates".

By | Published: Jesus told his listeners, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matt. 21:43). For many people, this verse provides the heart of “replacement theology”—the idea that the Christian Church has replaced the old physical nation of Israel as God’s chosen people and priestly nation (1 Pet. 2:9–10, et al). Without requiring the use of the label “replacement,” this is essentially what the verse teaches. It does not mean that Jewish people can never again taste of God’s grace, it simply means that the Old Jewish...

A growing number of hate crimes — 24 percent — included white supremacy symbols, including swastikas. Jews were targeted in about half of these crimes, followed by blacks and Latinos. “We see the same groups — African Americans, Jews, gays and lesbians, and Latinos — victimized most frequently year after year,” said Robin Toma, executive director of the Human Relations Commission. The number of crimes, which dropped from 730 in 2008 to 580 last year, reflects one murder and two attempted murders, Toma said. It is the second lowest hate crime count in the past decade. Hate crimes occurred across...

A senior student leader in Britain faced criticism and calls to resign on Sunday after claiming that historic Jewish suffering is a modern fabrication aimed at allowing Jews to persecute Arabs. Clare Solomon, president of the University of London Student Union, who was raised Mormon, wrote on her Facebook page, “The view that Jews have been persecuted all throughout history is one that has been fabricated in the last 100 or so years to justify the persecution of the Palestinians. To paint the picture that all Jews have always had to flee persecution is just plainly inaccurate.” Her comments were...

Most Americans are probably unaware that Jews were the victims of more than eight times as many anti-religion hate crimes last year as were Muslims. And the reason is simple: anti-Muslim crimes receive far more media attention. Case in point: the media has been all but silent on a slew of anti-Semitic acts of vandalism at Indiana University, coinciding with the beginning of the celebration of Hanukkah (h/t Stephen Richer): A series of anti-Semitic acts of vandalism aimed at various Jewish facilities on and near campus has caused Indiana University police to contact local FBI officials and members of the...

BBC documentary reveals: Some 5,000 Muslim children being taught from Saudi textbook which teaches that Jews are transformed from pigs, apes. Islamic schools in Britain are teaching anti-Semitic material to high school children, with some exposed to extremist preachers and extremist Islamist groups, a BBC documentary was set to reveal on Monday evening. According to its flagship documentary program "Panorama," around 5,000 Muslim children are being taught from a Saudi Arabian textbook which teaches that Jews are transformed from pigs and apes and asks them to list the “reprehensible” qualities of Jews. The documentary, titled "British Schools Muslim Rules," will...

Comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany are becoming increasingly common anti-Semitic conspiracies are used more freely in conversation. LONDON – A report published by a Jewish community organization on Thursday highlights how old anti-Semitic themes to depict Israel and Zionism have become more widespread in mainstream British circles during the past year. Comparisons of Israel and its supporters to Nazi Germany have become increasingly common among the public, and anti-Semitic conspiracy themes are being used more freely in conversation, the “Anti-Semitic Discourse in Britain in 2009” indicated. The 57-page report was published by the Community Security Trust, which monitors anti-...

If you want to know how to demonize the State of Israel, read the interview Haaretz's Gideon Levy gave to a British newspaper, The Independent. The Israeli journalist's web of lies makes Pravda– in its worst days– seem like a serious and credible newspaper. Almost every day, I'm alerted to negative pieces about Israel published in the world press. Once in awhile, they include legitimate, justified criticism. After all, Israel is not free of mistakes or anomalies. One can't always cry "Gevalt." Other times, they include heaps of exaggerations, lies, and distortions. This is a known problem, but it's not...

Hugo Chávez outdoes even Iran in fostering the most nauseating kind of anti-Semitism among the ruling elites while pushing comical conspiracy theories about the Jews. Did you know that in the late 1960s, the Bilderberg Club decided to use drugs and big outdoor rock concerts to stop the increasing discontent among the population? In order to prevent people from joining the civil rights movement or paying attention to Vietnam, the CIA and Britain’s MI6 placed the Beatles before the American audience.If you are not familiar with this course of history, you are probably not a regular reader of the Reflexiones...

A new poll by the Spanish government released on the eve of Rosh Hashanah in Madrid shows that one in three Spaniards is anti-Semitic, maintaining negative opinions about Jews. Another 46 percent had favorable views of Jews. One in nine Spaniards, the survey found, supports the statement that "Israel should disappear because it was established on Arab land." Another 77 percent disagree with the statement. The results of the study indicate that the major cause of the rise in anti-Semitic feelings is Israel's policy toward the Palestinians in the territories.

Tom Zawistowski, executive director of the Portage County TEA Party, said there was controversy in the ranks when it was announced that Traficant would address the group, and said many people called to say they were "embarrassed."

On Monday the head of Finland’s branch of Amnesty International, Frank Johansson, termed Israel a “scum state.” Writing in his blog, which appears on the Web site of Iltalehti, one of Finland’s largest newspapers, he based his characterization of Israel on his “own visit[s], which occurred during the 1970s and for the last time in the 1990s.” Johansson further justified his rhetoric toward Israel because he has previously invoked strong language against former Pres. George Bush on Finnish TV. He called Mr. Bush “the biggest executioner in the Western Hemisphere.” Turning Israel and the United States into whipping boys is...

The Union of Jewish Students in France (UEJF) announced on Sunday that Swastikas had been discovered last Thursday on the frontages and windows of a dozen kosher stores in Paris. A police source in Paris said that four Nazi swastikas were traced with a black marker on two shops, as well as on the wall of a Jewish school and on a nearby building of the Boulevard Voltaire (which is located in Paris’ 11th district). UEJF described the incident as “a new demonstration of anti-Semitic hatred.”

New York City police arrested two youth who vandalized two Lower East Side synagogues on Thursday with eggs, smoke bombs, and swastikas. The teenagers, a 15-year old Asian and a 16-year old black, drew a large swastika on the United Hebrew Center on East Broadway. The two then set off a smoke bomb before heading to the Bialystoker synagogue on Willet Street, where they drew a second swastika and threw eggs at the building.

Noam Nir, an Israeli businessman who lives and owns a property in Morocco, was shocked when he found out that the building he owns in the city of Mogador became the focus of an anti-Semitic demonstration. Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Nir expressed a serious concern that such demonstrations, that were not commonplace in Morocco until recently and have suddenly begun to appear on its streets, would lead to imminent harm anhd endanger the lives of the Jewish community in Morocco.

Israel's president has accused the English of being anti-semitic and claimed that MPs pander to Muslim voters. Shimon Peres said England was "deeply pro-Arab ... and anti-Israeli", adding: "They always worked against us." He added: "There is in England a saying that an anti-Semite is someone who hates the Jews more than is necessary." His remarks, made in an interview on a Jewish website, provoked anger from senior MPs and Jewish leaders who said the 87-year-old president had "got it wrong". But other groups backed the former Israeli prime minister and said the number of anti-semitic incidents had risen dramatically...

July 30, 2010 "Islamic Jihadi aka Ibn Ali al-Turki Makes Dua For All Zionists To Be Executed (Updated)" SNIPPET: "Generic dua death threat? What a twit he/she is First, Islamic Jihadi aka Ibn Ali al-Turki tweeted to make dua for execution of Pam Geller of Atlas Shrugs. Next he/she makes dua for execution of StarCMC. Lastly, he tweeted a reminder to make dua for execution of Atlas Shrugs"

The Anti-Defamation League says its annual survey shows California had the largest number of anti-Semitic assaults, harassment and vandalism incidents in the United States last year. The ADL said Tuesday it identified 275 events in the nation's most populous state in 2009, up 22% from the year before.

Republicans, and some Democrats, are in an uproar over U.S. President Barack Obama’s naming a Medicare chief who backs socialized medicine—and an anti-Israel physicians’ group. The appointment of Donald Berwick, who is heavily involved in the anti-Israel Physicians for Human Rights organization, was made without going through the usual process of securing confirmation by the Senate. Opposition to his appointment was strengthened after it was discovered that Dr. Berwick said in a speech two years ago that the British system of socialized medicine is superior to the American health system.

Note: Photo included. SNIPPET: "Chicago, IL - A Jordanian national from the city’s Far North Side was convicted today in federal court of mailing a bomb threat to a Jewish school in Chicago, officials said. Mohammad Alkaramla, 26, of Chicago, was convicted..." SNIPPET: "Alkaramla was arrested in March 2009 for mailing a threatening letter where he threatened to kill, injure and intimidate individuals and destroy the building, (as was reported by VIN News). The letter was addressed to numerous rabbis and leaders in the Jewish community and mailed to the Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Chicago, officials said."

President Obama compares slavery to Holocaust and says Israelis are skeptical of his Mideast policies "because my middle name is Hussein." -snip- Playing the race card – unfairly raising the issue of race to delegitimize an opponent – is one of the most distasteful aspects of American politics. President Obama's "my middle name is Hussein" remark is an attempt to export this unattractive practice and use it against the Israeli public, which, according to all polls, overwhelmingly regard him as pro-Palestinian rather than pro-Israel. -snip- President Obama compared the history of slavery to that of the Holocaust, according to the...

SNIPPET - quote: Obama's Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism speaks out against "Islamophobia" If Hannah Rosenthal really wants to end "Islamophobia," here is an easy way. She can call upon Muslims to: 1. Focus their indignation on Muslims committing violent acts in the name of Islam, not on non-Muslims reporting on those acts. 2. Renounce definitively not just "terrorism," but any intention to replace the U.S. Constitution (or the constitutions of any non-Muslim state) with Sharia even by peaceful means. In line with this, clarify what is meant by their condemnations of the killing of innocent people by...

For The Record - The IPT Blog "Arab Journalists Come Out in Support of Israeli Flotilla Actions" by IPT News • Jun 29, 2010 at 6:01 pm SNIPPET: "Journalists in the Arab world have come out in support of Israel in the aftermath of last month's flotilla incident, which left 9 dead after Hamas-tied "humanitarian activists" attacked Israeli commandos with clubs, knives, and other weapons. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) released excerpts from an interview with Magdi Khalil, an Egyptian-American writer, aired on June 15 on Al-Jazeera TV. Khalil explains: "The Turkish ship, however, was organized by a...

NOTE The following text is a quote: Mobile, Alabama Man Indicted on Federal Civil Rights and Weapons Charges Related to Desecration of Synagogue WASHINGTON—The Justice Department today announced that a federal grand jury in Mobile, Ala., has returned a three-count indictment charging Thomas Hayward Lewis, 24, of Mobile, with violating and conspiring to violate the civil rights of congregants of the Congregation Tree of Life Messianic Synagogue in Mobile, as well as possession of an unregistered firearm. The indictment alleges that on or about the night of Jan. 3, 2009, Lewis spray painted the Tree of Life Synagogue with anti-Semitic...

Lodewijk Asscher, Amsterdam's mayor, has ordered the new decoy strategy to cut the number of verbal and physical attacks on Jews, amid fears that anti-Semitic "hate crime" is on the rise. "Jews in at least six Amsterdam neighbourhoods often cannot cross the street wearing a skullcap without being insulted, spat at or even attacked," according to local reports. ...The footage showed young men, often of immigrant origin, shouting and making Nazi salutes at a rabbi when he visited different areas of the Dutch capital.

From WKYT News in Louisville, Kentucky:"The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) eliminated 49 more jobs at its Louisville headquarters." "The Courier-Journal reported that the church, struggling financially, announced the cuts on Friday that included a combination of layoffs, voluntary severance and attrition." "The cuts come after the council's governing board earlier thisweek approved an $82 million budget for 2011 and $80 million for2012 - down from this year's budget of $93.8 million." "The newspaper reported that the denomination has been copingwith losses in membership, congregations, contributions andinvestment returns."No wonder,----- read the most the most recent previous post.For those who would like to protest...

Helen Thomas, the dean of the White House press correspondents, embarrassed herself, her employer, and the journalism profession itself with her repugnant remarks that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine." Thomas was present on the sidelines of the White House Jewish Heritage Day event on May 27, when she was asked her opinion of Israel by Rabbi David Nesenof. When pressed on the matter, she added that Palestine is a country of occupation, whose occupiers should leave the region, returning to "Poland, Germany and America and everywhere else". Thomas issued an apology on her website, writing “I deeply...

Longtime White House scribe Helen Thomas caused more than a few eyebrows to perk up when video surfaced on Friday of her declaring that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and go back to Germany and Poland. Captured by Rabbi David Nesenoff of RabbiLive.com, the footage made the rounds on mostly conservative and neoconservative sites, with some private complaints that her comments weren't getting wider play. Thomas would apologize in a written statement, saying she deeply regretted the comments -- which were offered in response to the killing of pro-Palestinian activists by Israel forces and came, ironically, during...

Drudge Report has a bad habit of linking to and promoting articles written and contrived by anti-Israel AP and Reuters "stringers".Unless Drudge changes it today sometime after this is posted, currently as of this writting there is not a single Israeli account of the interdiction of the so-called "peace-activist" Gaza flotila on the Drudge Report.No links to Jpost, Israel National News, or other Israeli media articles on the incident.The current [ 9:47am EST 05/31/10] page of Drudge Report lists the following headlines on this matter:Israeli commandos storm aid flotilla; 10 killed... Israelis say self-defense; were attacked with knives, sticks, gunfire...France: Profoundly shocked, Europe calls for...