Earlier this week I gave a talk on Anti-Semitism, which I always refer to as “Jew Hating,” to a local south Florida chapter of a large south women’s Jewish charitable group. When initially contacted by the chair-lady, I was told to avoid politics, which with this topic is an almost impossibility. But to get a chance to speak to this group, composed mainly of progressives, and to get my viewpoint heard, I consented, knowing full well the crowd would go bananas at hearing facts they were never exposed to by the media sources they are addicted to. They reacted as expected.
I simply told the truth about the Jew hatred of the two main, dangerous, Jew-hating groups; American blacks and Muslims. I mentioned names such as Farrakhan, Sharpton, Jackson, Rev. Wright, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Hank Johnson and others with exact specifics of how their rhetoric encouraged violence and hatred toward Jews. I also threw in the KKK for good measure. Looking over the crowd as I spoke, I felt a if I were attempting to feed cheeseburgers to a bunch of vegans. I was not disappointed.
At the Q&A, they jumped. “Why didn’t you mention The Proud Boys?” “What about the White Supremacists?” “Look at the hatred at Charlottesville!” I tried to explain that the Proud Boys were a small group whose main notoriety was the Jan. 6th riot. They have nothing to do with hating Jews, except in the minds of the ADL, other radical organizations, Joe Biden and the MSM.
As far as White Supremacists are concerned, I continued, who are they? I and the audience were white. Where do they meet? Why are they treated differently from those blacks who hawked, “Black is Beautiful!” a few years ago? And didn’t all Democrats from the top down, fawn all over BLM when they were burning down cities, beating whites, looting only white establishments and desecrating synagogues?
But these poorly politically educated supporters of the Radical Left that really has it in for Jews, are content to mouth the mantras spooned out to them by the NYT, MSNBC, CNN and so on. Although they think they are sophisticated on the subject of Jew hating, they actually know very little. But you can’t tell them that.
One attendee shouted out, “Tucker Carlson is an anti-Semite!” I politely asked her to give me a quote of his to substantiate her ridiculous claim. Of course, she merely knew that Tucker, a conservative, was just fired by Fox News, so she just shouted nonsense that must have endeared her to the other attendees in their seats. Anything goes when up against the wall.
The meeting was abruptly terminated by the chair. It was getting out of control. Democrats, when faced with a lack of facts to back up their fairy tale statements, resort to abusive shouting and disruption, hoping to shut down further discussion. They are experts at this when a Conservative speaker violates the sanctity of their organization or community. Not having facts at hand, nor the willingness to listen to points given by the opposition, they merely attack and terminate any other give and take.
Sadly, I must observe that Jewish Democrats view such Jew haters as George Soros, Barack Obama, Ilhan Omar, AOC, Bernie Sanders, Al Sharpton as harmless. And they join and foolishly support groups such as the ACLU, NAACP, J Street, T’ruah, Americans for Peace Now, ADL and Jewish Voice for Peace as if they are supportive of Jews and Israel. I suggest they break away from these individuals and groups and dig deeper into the causes they represent.
In closing, I wonder if Progressive, Liberal Democrats, such as a Professor Robert Watson, a local-Leftist rabbi or Congresswoman Lois Frankel have ever been told to ignore bringing up politics at their talks to locals...
Alan Bergstein, lecturer and columnist, is an editorial writer for The NY Jewish Voice and a retired NYC school principal A father of four, he is a Korean War veteran and Jewish activist who is President of the Judeo/Christian Republican Club of Palm Beach County, Florida.