03/29/16

Forum: Why Antisemitism?

The Watcher’s Council

Antisemitism

Every week on Monday, the Council and our invited guests weigh in at the Watcher’s Forum with short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture or daily living. This week’s question: Why Antisemitism?

Bookworm Room: The obvious answer, of course, is that in the West, the Jew is the perpetual outsider and in the Muslim world, the holy book instructs Muslims to be genocidal antisemites. Another obvious answer is that the medieval laws forcing Jews into being financiers (because they were barred from so many other professions but, unlike Christians, they were allowed to charge interest on money) meant that they became inextricably intertwined with the idea of capitalism.,  Leftists therefore hate them reflexively — never mind the actual facts on the ground, which is that for the majority of Jews throughout history have had little or nothing to do with capital and capitalism.

Honestly, though, I think the real answer is a more abstract one and it relates to the second and third core issues in the Bible. The first core issue in the Bible, of course, is God and each Jew’s relationship with God. While I suspect many are jealous of the Jews’ special relationship with God, I doubt that it drives too much antisemitism.

On the rare occasion I’ve had people speak sneeringly to me about the Jews’ status as “God’s chosen people,” I’ve reminded them that this covenant hasn’t always been a blessing to the Jews, reminding the snarkers that, while it’s true that Jews have outlasted all other societies on earth, this longevity has too often been paired with genocidal antisemitism.  As Teyve said in Fiddler on the Roof, “We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can’t You choose someone else?”

As I said, the real issue for antisemites lies in the second and third issues the Bible raises.  The second core issue is the moral demands Judaism places on people. These are hard demands that require us to be our best selves in relationship to God, our spouses, our family, and our society. And finally, the third core issue is the Biblical obsession with justice — not fairness, not equality, not feeling good, but justice.

Morality and justice are concepts that are antithetical to totalitarianism of any stripe, whether it’s economic, theocratic, aristocratic, oligarchic, fascist, nationalist, or something I haven’t named or that hasn’t even come into being. These concepts are inimical to immorality and cruelty.  By their very existence, they mean that evil people and evil societies know, deep down inside, that they are evil, and that they put the actors outside of God’s love, protection, and his covenant.  Even atheists, deep down, know that, if there’s an afterlife, they will not fare well there if they deviate from Biblical rules for good conduct.

In other words, Judaism is a mirror in which people are forced to acknowledge whether they are good or bad, moral or immoral, just or unjust. And for the bad, the immoral, and the unjust, every living Jew they see is an painful reminder of their existential failures.

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03/29/16

WATCH: #Bikers4Trump vs Communists at Trump Rally in Janesville, Wisconsin

By: Renee Nal | New Zeal

via Twitter

via Twitter

In preparation for a Trump rally scheduled in Janesville, Wisconsin, extreme left-wing agitators have “occupied” a Holiday Inn Express. The response from some prominent Trump supporters has been to enlist bikers to “protect” Trump during his rallies.

Two of the provocateurs have been featured previously at TrevorLoudon.com for blatantly lying and graphic personal attacks against the author:

Formerly @LandmanMarius, @Campaign_Trump (above) was featured previously at TrevorLoudon.com for making up a completely fake story about a fictitious Cruz staffer. The vile lies have been deleted, but can still be seen here. To this day, the lie is being repeated on social media.

@WDFx2EU, formerly @YugeMilo, was also featured previously at TrevorLoudon.com for referring to himself as a “liberal” and for tweeting particularly vile attacks on yours truly.

Read more here…

03/29/16

On defiled Virgin Mary statue, Boston Globe neglects to mention Islam

By: Renee Nal | New Zeal

via Boston Globe (insert charbase.com)

via Boston Globe (insert charbase.com)

On Good Friday, a statue of the Blessed Mother at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Norwood, Massachusetts was covered in black spray paint, with the Arabic “Allah” scrawled on it’s base. Reenat Sinay and Alexandra Koktsidis of the Boston Globe declined to mention that the act was a “hate crime,” while similar vandalism has been described that way at mosques by the same publication on numerous occasions (see here and here).

As far as the “Allah” scrawl, the Boston Globe failed to mention what it was, referring to it only as “graffiti”:

The body of the statue, which depicts the Blessed Mother with praying hands, was covered in paint. Graffiti was scrawled beneath a plaque that reads ‘To Jesus Through Mary,’ on the base of the statue, which stands in a garden outside the parish school.

Read more here…

03/29/16

Republican Race Swings in Cruz’s Favor… Wisconsin’s Gov. Scott Walker Endorses

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

Walker

The race for the Republican nomination seems to be turning in Ted Cruz’s favor. Governor Scott Walker just endorsed Cruz during an interview with Wisconsin radio talk show host Charlie Sykes. That’s the same show that nailed Donald Trump yesterday for attacking Cruz over the National Enquirer mud slinging and the attack on Heidi Cruz. “I’ve chosen to endorse Ted Cruz,” Walker said. The endorsement comes ahead of Wisconsin’s presidential primary on April 5th where according to the polls, Ted Cruz now leads Donald Trump by at least 5 points. Cruz is also now virtually tied with Trump in California.

Trump was in for a huge surprise as he called into the Sykes’ show. He was unaware that the show host is part of the #NeverTrump movement — and the conversation was brutal. “Welcome to Wisconsin, and I know you realize that here in Wisconsin, we value things like civility, decency and actual conservative principles, so let’s possibly make some news,” Sykes charged. “You know, wouldn’t it be a good way to start off your Wisconsin campaign by saying that wives should be off limits, and apologize for mocking [Heidi Cruz’s] looks?” Sykes asked Trump. Trump stood his ground, refused and again accused Cruz of lying. “So is this your standard — if the supporter of a candidate and not the candidate himself does something despicable, then it’s OK for you personally, the candidate for president of the United States, to behave in that same way?” Sykes pushed back. “I mean, I expect that from a 12-year-old bully on the playground, not somebody wanting the office held by Abraham Lincoln.” It did not go well for Trump to say the least. Sykes said Trump should apologize… Trump countered saying Cruz started it. Point made.

Trump’s precipitous drop in the polls is surely due to his mudslinging and manipulation of the National Enquirer smear that claimed Cruz had five mistresses. It’s a brazen lie that the Trump camp has pushed relentlessly, while at the same time they have been disparaging Heidi Cruz. Women have noticed and don’t like Trump’s treatment of them in general. Neither do conservatives and the polls are showing it. Notice how Donald Trump smeared and attacked Cruz after his win in Iowa? Then after Cruz won Utah, he blamed Cruz for a pic of his wife that was public domain and that Cruz had nothing to do with the release of. It was a pro-Cruz PAC that floated it. Now that Cruz has taken delegates in Louisiana to tie Trump there, Trump is also threatening to sue Louisiana. I see a pattern here. The same pattern of the National Enquirer smearing Rubio and Carson before attacking Cruz. The whole sordid affair strikes me as telling.

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