Once I would have thought yes, here in America there is too much of a difference from the Old World, the world of pogroms, of Holocausts, of Inquisitions, too much of a difference to allow people to shout for Jews to be gassed once more, to be killed, for the only country in the world that is a Jewish state to be called to be destroyed. And yet, this past week is very troubling.
Anti Semitism and the USA are not unknown to each other, but there has always been an acceptance that allowed us to flourish, to give to our country, to hope and pray for a future for our young and we thank the USA for that and have a prayer for that recited every Shabbat in synagogue. Roger Williams, Lord Baltimore, Anne Hutchinson, George Washington and others of our Founders all advocated for acceptance - for Protestants of all stripes, for Catholics, for Quakers and for Jews.
Yes, there were Jewish quotas at the Ivy League colleges and medical schools, prejudice in the advertising game and yet we made our way, enough so that Mark Twain wrote his beautiful piece about the outsize contributions of the Jews to the world.
So why am I so worried now? We are not immune here from the ugliness in Europe, the hate that comes in black, nasty waves from the Islamic countries and especially from the new so called "Caliphate" and the terrorist organizations of that same world. But never did I think that it would be allowed to flourish so openly here and at such high levels. I only wish I had known some of these particulars yesterday for I would have raised them at the Democratic Club.
I have already posted about the mainstream Macy's succumbing to BDS pressure and cancelling the Israeli company Sodastream from their stores and now it and its sister store, Bloomingdales, are making a huge deal about opening huge stores in Abu Dhabi. One does not have to be a genius to recognize the connecting thread here. We need to apply a BDS of our own to these stores and so I asked people to disconnect themselves and their wallets from Macy's. Many people around the country have done so already.
Now we have another issue. In the world of politics there are harsh moments, yet always there is the element of diplomacy. Here in the USA we have welcomed acknowledged and formally unacknowledged enemies of our states with a certain decorum, certainly from the government and its spokespeople. We have chatted politely with terrorists who are now in governments. We have fought for people, shedding blood, for people who still stone women, who still back "honor" killings, who kill homosexuals, for governments who funded terrorism and who are now reaping the backlash of that when those same terrorist organizations attack their very foundation. And yet, we speak politely with them, do not chastise them publically, for we practice diplomacy, and yes, some cowardice.
And yet - AND YET - "Jeffrey Goldberg, diplomatic correspondent for The Atlantic, reported Tuesday that he recently spoke to a senior Obama administration official about, "the foreign leader who seems to frustrate the White House and the State Department the most." The unnamed official reportedly told Goldberg: “The thing about Bibi is, he’s a chickenshit.”
This, from a major ally about the leader of our own only true ally in the Middle East, the only one that has stood by us, transferred intelligence it gathered in various wars or thru humint, this for a country that is fighting for its very survival and has done so since inception? THIS? This stems from the top. Obama has been questionable from the beginning, coming from the church of a vehemently and vicious anti - semitic preacher, who has never truly stood up for Israel and in fact, has made very dangerous and intrusive statements about it, setting off tidal waves which are still delivering harmful effects to the country and the peace process and now it allows this language, this attitude, to join the other nasty stuff it has already made in public statements. And why? Is it because it is okay to criticize a Jewish leader in such undiplomatic manner but not others?
And now for the Ketchup Issue, Ketchupgate, if you will.
"A foundation chaired by John Kerry’s wife funds a restaurant promoting anti-Israel incitement and offering products only from countries in conflict with America.
A foundation chaired by Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, funds a restaurant that promotes an anti-Israel agenda, the Free Beacon reports.The eatery, called Conflict Kitchen, received a $50,000 grant from the Heinz Endowment in April to help pay for its moving costs. It is now situated near the Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh campuses.
The restaurant, which serves popular Middle Eastern food such as hummus and baba ghannoush, states that it only uses products from countries at war with the U.S., such as Afghanistan, North Korea, Cuba, Iran and Venezuela. “Our current focus is on Palestinian food, culture and politics,” the Conflict Kitchen website states
In fact, the website, decorated with a logo in Arabic letters, is filled with sophisticated anti-Israel propaganda."A spokesman for Heinz Endowment confirmed to the Free Beacon that the foundation has been funding Conflict Kitchen, adding:, “The opinions of Conflict Kitchen do not represent those of the Heinz Endowment.” He declined to say whether they would continue to support the group in the future...
John Kerry has always been tentative in our minds as a true impartial negotiator for the peace process and has made several awful statements over the years and now we see this. He has made statements that Israel is responsible for the rise of ISIS and other statements along that outrageous line. He needs to resign and his wife needs to disavow funding publically self stated enemy of our country and friend of our enemies
Anti Semitism in the USA? Unfortunately, yes and we must all be alert.
Read and think, very carefully.
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