Anti-Semitism goes mainstream - by Sean Durns -
Anti-Semitism, the late historian Robert Wistrich observed, "is a highly mutable mental virus that infects cultures, movements, ideologies and religions." Increasingly normalized, anti-Semitism is spreading into the bloodstream of mainstream America. And most damningly, key American institutions are not only failing to inoculate against it - they're actually helping to transmit the virus.
Regrettably, one only needs to look at Congress for proof.
On May 9, 2019, Omar Suleiman gave the Ramadan invocation at the opening of the House of Representatives session. Suleiman is the founder and president of the Texas-based Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. He's also an apologist for Hamas, the Gaza Strip-based terrorist group that calls for Israel's destruction.
In numerous tweets, documented by the Washington Examiner's John Gage, among others, Suleiman has compared the world's sole Jewish state to the Ku Klux Klan. He's also compared Israelis to Nazis and denied that Hamas uses human shields or missiles when carrying out attacks. In 2014, Suleiman called for another "intifada," or violent uprising, against Israel.
Suleiman has also called Israel the "51st state" - an allusion, the Jerusalem Post's Ilanit Chernik pointed out, "to the anti-Semitic idea that Israel controls American foreign policy."
Suleiman has been praised by freshmen Rep. Ilhan Omar, who, among her other anti-Semitic statements, has accused Israel of "hypnotizing the world," insinuated that her fellow lawmakers are purchased by Jewish money, and claimed that the Jewish Americans among them have dual loyalties.
The same day Suleiman spoke in the hallowed halls of Congress, Valerie Plame, a former CIA officer, announced that she was running for Congress in New Mexico. Plame first gained fame in 2003 when her employment with the CIA was accidentally leaked by then-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
Plame's congressional run marks quite the comeback, both for her and for what some might interpret as her views.
In September 2017, Plame received some media attention for recommending an article titled, "America's Jews are Driving America's Wars," from an avowedly anti-Semitic website called the Unz Review. Plame initially defended her tweet, writing that the story by noted conspiracy theorist Phillip Giraldi was "very provocative, but thoughtful." Moreover, she demanded of her critics: "Put aside your biases" as "many neocon hawks ARE Jewish."
As criticism of Plame intensified, she finally changed her story, apologizing and claiming that she hadn't read the article and, as a result, missed the "gross undercurrents" of a piece whose very title makes its anti-Semitism clear.
However, other retweets by Plame, including one that accused Israelis of dancing after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, were later uncovered. Plame subsequently resigned from the board of the Ploughshares Fund, an organization that supported the Obama administration's deal with Iran.
But that was 2017. A mere two years later, Plame feels that her anti-Semitic tweets won't prevent her from being elected to Congress. Indeed, she has good reason for thinking so. After all, it isn't only politicians who are enabling and purveying anti-Semitism. Many of the vaunted watchdogs of the fourth estate are failing in their role, as well.
Suleiman's troubling history went largely unmentioned by leading mainstream news organizations. And in their reports on Plame's congressional announcements, many major U.S. media outlets omitted the 2017 controversy - although the Santa Fe New Mexican, a smaller newspaper with a fraction of their budget and staff, commendably included it.
Unfortunately, anti-Semitism itself continues to be underreported. Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, for example, have experienced a frightening increase in physical assaults over the past year. Indeed, it's not hyperbolic to say that an epidemic of anti-Jewish violence is occurring. According to the NYPD, hate crimes in the city have increased by 67% in this year, with 80% being directed against Jews. The Anti-Defamation League noted an astonishing 55% increase in violent assaults on Jews in New York state in 2018, compared to the previous year.
Some in the media have reported on the crisis in New York. But many more have not. Their silence is not just unacceptable - it's dangerous.
History tells us that strong and judicious institutions are essential to a functioning democracy. And history is equally clear that growing anti-Semitism is the "canary in the coal mine," a sign of the decay and impending collapse of liberal values.
The United States remains one of the safest places in the world for Jews. But if that is to continue, its institutions must do a better job at safeguarding against anti-Semitism. At the very least, they can refrain from promoting it.
No peace where there is no peace - Bill Wilson -
Attaining the goal of peace between Israel and Palestinian terrorists has been a centerpiece of every president's foreign policy since Jimmy Carter began involving terrorist leader Yassir Arafat in the flimsy Camp David Accords. Now, the current president is taking a stab at creating peace where there is no peace. In a joint statement with the Kingdom of Bahrain, the White House announced May 19 the two countries will host an economic workshop to "facilitate discussions on an ambitious, achievable vision and framework for a prosperous future for the Palestinian people and the region, including enhancements to economic governance, development of human capital, and facilitation of rapid private-sector growth."
The statement announcing the "Peace to Prosperity" economic workshop said, "This workshop is a pivotal opportunity to convene government, civil society, and business leaders to share ideas, discuss strategies, and galvanize support for potential economic investments and initiatives that could be made possible by a peace agreement... If implemented, this vision has the potential to radically transform lives and put the region on a path toward a brighter future." The summit is the opening round of what President Trump says will be a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and its enemies. Already, the key party in any peace agreement, the Palestinian Authority, has stated it will boycott the summit.
This Administration has been one of the most pro-Israel on record. No doubt that Israel's economic and national security have been supported enthusiastically by the Trump White House. President Trump, unlike his predecessor, has embraced Israel for the strong ally and security partner it is in the Middle East. Notwithstanding, there are two reasons why this peace effort will not bring peace. First, nation-building in the Middle East does not work. The so-called "Palestinians," represented by the Palestinian Authority, an offshoot of the terrorist Palestinian Liberation Organization, have received billions of dollars in US and European aid over the past 40 years and their economic condition is no better and terrorism has not stopped. The old adage of "What you get for nothing is worth nothing" has been repeatedly confirmed.
The other reason is prophetic. Daniel 9 foretells with extraordinary accuracy of the coming Messiah, his death, and his return. The Beast (antichrist) in verse 27, "shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (7 years): and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease..." This is the peace treaty that begins the seven years of Jacob's troubles, oft referred to as the tribulation. As Isaiah 28:18 says, "And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand." Even the peace agreement with the end-time Beast will not stand. Neither Donald Trump nor any other US President, will bring lasting peace to Israel. True peace only will come when the Messiah returns, destroys the Beast and his allies, and restores Israel.
In 1970s Lebanon, the Palestinian movement established its dominion within refugee camps.
The Trump administration is poised to announce a "Deal of the Century" to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hints and leaks suggest that the proposal would stop short of endorsing the goal of a sovereign Palestinian state. That prospect has pushed some into mourning.
The Trump plan, writes distinguished American diplomat William Burns, will likely be "a eulogy for the two-state solution." The administration is about to "bury the only viable plan" for Israeli-Palestinian peace.
The goal of a Palestinian state is commonly seen as an obvious good - and the fact that it has yet to be realized, a mark of shame for Israel and the United States. But, whatever the actual terms and merits of President Donald Trump's proposal, we need to question the diplomatic article of faith that Palestinian statehood is necessary for peace.
If you care about justice and the rights of individuals - of Palestinians and Israelis - here is a crucial question seldom asked. What would such a Palestinian state actually look like?
No need to speculate; there have been four Palestinian quasi-states that provide ample data. In Jordan (1968-1970); in Lebanon (1970-1982); the Palestinian Authority in parts of the West Bank and Gaza (1993-onward); and most recently, the Hamas regime in Gaza (2007-onward).
To the extent the Palestinian movement has gained any semblance of self-rule and territorial control, it has built quasi-states that are militant and dictatorial - much to the detriment of the Palestinian people themselves and the goal of peace.
In Jordan in the late 1960s, the Palestinian movement created a mini-state with autonomous shadow-government institutions in all spheres - military, political and social. Palestinian factions ran their own police forces and courts of law, arresting people and punishing them at will. This authoritarian regime was a base of operations for launching attacks on Israel. A plot to overthrow the Jordanian regime led Jordan to liquidate this militant Palestinian quasi-state.
In 1970s Lebanon, the Palestinian movement established its dominion within refugee camps. It imposed taxes, operated courts, conscripted men of fighting age and reshaped the school curriculum - to ensure thought control. The Palestinian movement also seized several coastal towns in Lebanon and parts of the Lebanese administration, and "enforced its will with an iron hand." From southern Lebanon, Palestinian fighters launched rockets on Israeli towns. This Palestinian quasi-state fell apart after Israel retaliated by sending forces into Lebanon.
THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (since 1994) was the fruit of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. An interim step toward full sovereignty, the PA enjoys formal recognition and far more autonomy than the previous quasi-states - and it has been correspondingly more oppressive and militant.
The Palestinian Authority quickly became yet another Middle East dictatorship, notorious for controlling the press and silencing opponents. The PA operated multiple, competing security forces. Its courts lacked any semblance of judicial independence. Arbitrary arrests were common, and leaders of the regime expropriated their own people's money and property.
Even with only limited self-rule, the Palestinian Authority provided space and abundant resources to foment and carry out attacks on Israel. In the early 2000s, the regime orchestrated a brutal terrorist war against Israel.
By 2007, the Palestinian Authority split in two: one quasi-state headed by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in parts of the West Bank; and the second run by the jihadists of Hamas in Gaza, a militant regime shaped by Sharia law.
Hamas methodically indoctrinates its subjects on TV, in print, on radio and at the mosque, hammering the themes of holy war and martyrdom for the cause. True to their ideas, the jihadists of Gaza have launched thousands of rockets targeting Israeli cities. These led to several wars and many skirmishes - the most recent in early May.
A common denominator among these four Palestinian quasi-states?
Whenever the Palestinian movement has attained a modicum of self-rule over a stretch of territory, it has subjugated its own people and waged war against Israel.
No honest error or inexperience with governance can explain this pattern. It reflects the ideas animating the leading factions of the Palestinian movement. For many years, the movement's spearhead was the PLO. Its numerous factions espoused a mixture of Marxism-Leninism, watered-down socialism and variations on Arab nationalism. Since the 1980s, Islamists have moved to the vanguard of the Palestinian movement. All these factions are self-consciously hostile to freedom and individual rights.
Some argue we must disregard the evidence of these quasi-states, because they fall short of full sovereignty. We should suspend judgment until a sovereign, independent Palestinian state is realized. That's absurd. Why expect that handing authoritarians and theocrats more political power will convert them into champions of individual freedom?
The idea of national self-determination cannot be a license to subjugate. No individual, no group of individuals, no self-identified national community has the moral right to create a tyrannical regime.
Is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict solvable? Actually, yes, as I argue in my book What Justice Demands, and a crucial starting point is to fundamentally rethink our past approach to the conflict. Anyone concerned with the fate of individual Palestinians and Israelis who desire freedom and justice must question the lethal premise of the "two-state solution." Handing the Palestinian movement even greater political power is a recipe not for peace, but for continued strife.
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