Jeffrey Goldberg admits what Obama and Kerry still don't get
You walk away from reading this piece by Jeffrey Goldberg - in which he asks President Hussein Obama and Secretary of State Kerry about their views on Iranian anti-Semitism - thinking that Obama and Kerry are naive fools.
A few days ago, I spoke with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry about the politics of the Iran deal (you can find the full interview here),
and at one point in our conversation I put to Kerry what I thought
was—to be honest—something of a gimme question: “Do you believe that
Iranian leaders sincerely seek the elimination of the Jewish state?”
Kerry responded provocatively—provocatively, that is, if you
understand Iranian leaders, and in particular the supreme leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the way I understand them: as people
theologically committed to the destruction of Israel. Quotes such as this one
from Khamenei help lead me to this conclusion: “This barbaric,
wolflike, and infanticidal regime of Israel which spares no crime has no
cure but to be annihilated.” The supreme leader does not specialize in
nuance. (Here
is a long list of statements made by Iranian leaders concerning their
desire to bring about an end to Jewish sovereignty in any part of the
ancestral Jewish homeland.)
Kerry’s
stated understanding of the regime’s anti-Semitism is somewhat
different from mine. He told me, “I think they have a fundamental
ideological confrontation with Israel at this particular moment. Whether
or not that translates into active steps, to quote, ‘Wipe it,’ you know
…”
He paused, and so I filled in the blank: “Wipe it off the map.”
Kerry continued, “I don’t know the answer to that. I haven’t seen
anything that says to me—they’ve got 80,000 rockets in Hezbollah pointed
at Israel, and any number of choices could have been made. They didn’t
make the bomb when they had enough material for 10 to 12. They’ve signed
on to an agreement where they say they’ll never try and make one and we
have a mechanism in place where we can prove that. So I don’t want to
get locked into that debate. I think it’s a waste of time here.”
Kerry’s understanding, in shorthand: Iran is dangerous to Israel at
this moment (he repeated the term “at this moment” in his next
statement, in fact); Iran has had plenty of opportunity to hurt Israel
but has chosen not to; and, finally, the answer to the question
concerning the true intentions of Iran’s leaders when it comes to Israel
is unknowable, and also irrelevant to the current discussion.
And Kerry almost looks clairvoyant compared with what Obama told Goldberg.
“Well, we’ve discussed this before,
Jeffrey,” the president said. “I take what the supreme leader says
seriously. I think his ideology is steeped with anti-Semitism, and if he
could, without catastrophic costs, inflict great harm on Israel, I’m
confident that he would. But as I said, I think, the last time we spoke,
it is possible for leaders or regimes to be cruel, bigoted, twisted in
their worldviews and still make rational calculations with respect to
their limits and their self-preservation.”
In the May interview, I asked him to help me understand a seemingly
contradictory set of ideas he has advanced relating to Iran. I noted
that he himself has stated publicly that the regime is infected with an
anti-Semitic worldview, and that those who are infected with such a
worldview generally do not grapple well with cause-and-effect in
international politics and economics, and cannot be counted on to
interpret reality correctly. I then asked how he squares these two
observations with a third observation he has made: that the regime in
Tehran is in many ways capable of behaving according to its rational
self-interest, as American politicians understand the notion of rational
self-interest.
His answer: “Well, the fact that you are anti-Semitic, or racist,
doesn’t preclude you from being interested in survival. It doesn’t
preclude you from being rational about the need to keep your economy
afloat; it doesn’t preclude you from making strategic decisions about
how you stay in power; and so the fact that the supreme leader is
anti-Semitic doesn’t mean that this overrides all of his other
considerations. You know, if you look at the history of anti-Semitism,
Jeff, there were a whole lot of European leaders—and there were deep
strains of anti-Semitism in this country—”
Here I interrupted him: “And they make irrational decisions.”
He continued: “They may make irrational decisions with respect to
discrimination, with respect to trying to use anti-Semitic rhetoric as
an organizing tool. At the margins, where the costs are low, they may
pursue policies based on hatred as opposed to self-interest. But the
costs here are not low, and what we’ve been very clear [about] to the
Iranian regime over the past six years is that we will continue to
ratchet up the costs, not simply for their anti-Semitism, but also for
whatever expansionist ambitions they may have. That’s what the sanctions
represent. That’s what the military option I’ve made clear I preserve
represents. And so I think it is not at all contradictory to say that
there are deep strains of anti-Semitism in the core regime, but that
they also are interested in maintaining power, having some semblance of
legitimacy inside their own country, which requires that they get
themselves out of what is a deep economic rut that we’ve put them in,
and on that basis they are then willing and prepared potentially to
strike an agreement on their nuclear program.”
Except that there is no 'military option' (and no one ever believed Obama would be the one to employ it anyway) and if Obama gets his way there will be no sanctions. And by the way, what was Hitler - a 'community organizer'?
I made a decision on the spot—later partially regretted—not to deploy the H-bomb just then because I am a) very mindful of Godwin’s Law;
b) I don’t believe the Iranian regime is the modern-day equivalent of
the Nazi regime, in part because the Nazi regime is without peer; and c)
the invocation of Hitler’s name in these matters tends to set teeth too
much on edge. In retrospect, though, I should have raised it, because
Hitler is the perfect, but not singular, example of a world leader who
made decisions that seemed, to his adversaries, deeply irrational except
if you understood his desire to wipe out the Jews of Europe as an
actual overriding policy goal, a raison d’etre of his rule.
Anti-Semitism was not simply an “organizing tool” for him. And if you’re
paying attention, you will see that bringing about the end of the
sovereign Jewish state in the Middle East is a paramount political and
theological mission of the Iranian regime.
And so I was glad that Obama acknowledged the supreme leader’s
heartfelt anti-Semitism, and I’m glad that he understands that the
supreme leader seeks to do great harm to Israel. I suppose I part with
the president’s analysis on the question of exactly how much pain the
supreme leader believes Iran should absorb on behalf of this goal. Obama
believes the Iranian leadership will check its behavior in order to
avoid potentially catastrophic fallout. He may be right, but I would
like to see his administration place slightly less faith in the idea of
regime rationality.
Of course, there's a more cynical view of this - which I have alluded to many times, but with which I believe that Goldberg himself would take issue. That view holds that Obama is an anti-Semite (you can tell a man by the company that he keeps) and that Kerry may well be one as well. It's already been stated in polite society that Obama at least has a blind spot for anti-Semitism. In that view, Obama and Kerry are lulling much of the United States into complacency when they know full well Iran's desire to destroy the Jewish state.
Buttes Chaumont Park in Paris (pictured) looks lovely, doesn't it? But on Friday afternoon, it nearly became a death trap for a 16-year old Jewish boy who was attacked by a group of Arabs.
The 16-year-old boy, who was wearing a Kippa (skullcap) at the time,
was attacked while returning to his home to prepare for Shabbat dinner.
According to French news service JSS, he was then approached
by four men, which the report described as looking North African and
between the ages of 17-20. The men robbed him, took his shoes, and
shattered his phone into the ground.
During the assault, two of the attackers held the victim down while a
third repeatedly delivered blows to his body and head, injuring one of
his eyes severely.
According to a witness, another man - also described as North African
- approached the group, but instead of helping the victim proceeded to
verbally assault him by calling him a “coward,” and then advised the
attackers to “break” the teen.
The attackers fled when a witness called the police. A report was filed with the police at the scene.
The Bureau National de Vigilance Contre L’Antisemitisme (BNVCA),
which monitors anti-Semitic attacks in France, has publicly pledged to
help the victim and his family, and has asked the police to make every
effort to identify, question, and detain the attackers.
The Buttes Chaumont district is home to many Jewish families, and has
recently been targeted on numerous occasions, including attacks on
Jewish businesses, and a recent shocking attack on a Jewish mother by three assailants of African origin.
The attack took place in Paris' 19th arondissement, which has a large Jewish population. I wonder if US President Hussein Obama will classify this incident as another 'random attack.'
In any event, for French Jews, the message ought to be clear: It's time to leave France. Jews aren't welcome there anymore (if they ever were).
Video: Anti-Semitic gang attacks Stamford Hill (London) yeshiva
An anti-Semitic gang stormed a Stamford Hill yeshiva on Saturday night, but was beaten off by Jews inside the synagogue. Stamford Hill is a heavily Jewish neighborhood of London.
According to the YouTube posting, the attack by a gang of 20 men took place at Yeshivas Ahavas Torah in Stamford Hill.
There were armed police CO19 units on scene, and a MPS helicopter above (but you won't see them in this video).
A group of approximately 20 youths attacked a local synagogue in the
London suburb of Stamford Hill over the weekend, yelling threats,
beating worshipers and vandalizing property, according to
IsraelHatzolah's official twitter account.
One witness belonging
to the "Ahavat Torah" congregation described the mob as shouting "we
will kill you" as they proceeded to physically assault the worshipers
inside the synagogue and tear apart prayer books.
Another Jewish
local who had passed by the scene rushed inside, grabbing one of the
suspects with the intention of bringing him to the police, but was
quickly overwhelmed by the other attackers and suffered strikes to the
face, losing a tooth.
A spokesmen for local law enforcement said
that the police views the assault on the heavily Jewish populated
Stamford Hill community gravely and that they have already detained
four suspects who say they were involved in the incident.
The
assault on the north London synagogue comes days before the opening of a
hotline dedicated to providing advice and support to victims of
anti-Semitism.
The gunman, named by Danish media as Omar
Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, was well known to police for violence, weapons
violations and his membership in a gang. Reuters could not confirm his
identity and police declined to comment.
Police
records show a man named El-Hussein was convicted of stabbing a man in
the leg on a Copenhagen train in 2013 and Danish media said he was
released from prison in January.
"He
was 'normal' religious, nothing unusual, he didn't go to mosque any
more than the average Muslim," El-Hussein's father told TV2.
He
was an avid kick boxer in his younger years and was often known by the
nickname "Captain Hussein" but members of his club said he has not been
there for years.
"He was a good
student," Peter Zinckernagel, El-Hussein's principal at the VUC Hvidovre
school near Copenhagen told Reuters. El-Hussein attended the school
until the end of 2013, when he was arrested for the train stabbing.
National
news broadcaster TV2 said El-Hussein's parents were Palestinian
refugees who came to Denmark after living in a Jordanian refugee camp
for several years.
TV2 obtained a psychiatric assessment of
El-Hussein conducted in connection with the assault case for which he
was imprisoned in which he told psychologists he had a happy childhood
and good relations with his parents and a younger brother. However, he
did not graduate from school, was unable to get into a university and
later was homeless.
Citing two
unnamed friends, Politiken daily newspaper said the man was passionate
in discussions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and had a short
fuse. They expressed shock that he should launch such attacks, however.
That ought to encourage Western countries to take in 'Palestinian refugees.' /sarc
#RandomFolks victims of 'militant attack' at Copenhagen synagogue
A #RandomFolk was murdered last night and two others were wounded in a terror attack on a Copenhagen synagogue (Hat Tip: Memeorandum) that was eerily similar to the attack on a Paris Kosher supermarket a month ago. After the second attack in Copenhagen, the terrorist (whom the BBC insists on calling a 'gunman') was killed by police. This is from the first link.
In the second attack, a Jewish man was killed and two police officers wounded near the city's main synagogue.
Police say video surveillance suggested the same man carried
out both attacks. They do not believe any other people were involved.
"We assume that it's the same culprit behind both incidents,
and we also assume that the culprit that was shot by the police task
force... is the person behind both of these assassinations," Chief
Police Inspector Torben Molgaard Jensen told a news conference.
He said police would maintain a high presence in the city.
The BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Copenhagen says the city has been on high alert after the shootings.
Early on Sunday, police said they had been keeping an address
under observation in the district of Norrebro, waiting for the occupant
to return.
When he appeared, he noticed the officers, pulled out a gun
and opened fire, police said. They returned fire and shot him dead. The
incident happened near Norrebro train station.
Norrebro is a predominantly immigrant district of Copenhagen, about
three miles (5km) away from the synagogue where the shooting took place
just hours earlier.
A man was shot in the head, and was later confirmed to have died. Two
police officers were wounded. It was later reported that the victim, a
Jewish community member in his 30s, was guarding outside a bat mitzva
celebration at the synagogue, according to Denmark's BT newspaper. It was reported that 80 people were attending the celebration at the time.
Dan
Rosenberg Asmussen, Copenhagen Jewish community leader, said that
following the earlier attack, he had requested police presence at the
synagogue, but police did not follow through.
“We had contacted
the police after the shooting at Café Krudttønden to have them present
at the bat-mitzva, but unfortunately this happened anyway," Asmussen
told Denmark's TV 2 News, as reported in The Guardian. “I dare not think about what would have happened if (the killer) had access to the congregation."
As in the Paris attacks, an anti-Islamist cartoonist was targeted and a Jewish target was hit a short time later. The synagogue was right to request police protection. Jews should take heed.
President Obama may have sent his spokespeople to walk back his (andtheir) earlier comments about the murders of four Jews in a Paris Kosher supermarket being 'random,' but Mark Steyn isn't buying the walkback and neither should you.
For over a decade, I have been writing about the metastasizing
Jew-hate in Europe, and I have noted, aside from the physical attacks,
the casual acceptance of anti-Jewish slurs at the highest levels in
Continental society. But I find, say, the Holocaust gags favored by
Gretta Duiseberg, the wife of the then head of the European Central
Bank, far less disturbing than the absurd pretzel-twist logic deployed
by the Obama Administration to deny reality. It is creepy and profoundly
unsettling. Like Simon Peter denying the condemned King of the Jews,
the most powerful government in the western world thrice denied those
four dead Jews in that Paris supermarket.
German court rules firebombing of synagogue is a "protest". Belgian teacher tells Jewish student: 'we should put you all on freight wagons'. European Jewish population continues to plummet. British Vicar blames JOOOOOOOS for 9/11... Anti-Jewish attacks in UK at highest levels ever recorded... Teacher quits French school citing antisemitism.
Jewish social life in Europe now takes place behind razor-wire and
security guards, and newspapers placidly report polls showing that 58
per cent of British Jews believe Jews have no future in Europe. It is
utterly disgraceful that the government of one of the few western
nations relatively untouched by the new mass Jew-hate should devote so
much energy to insisting that there's nothing to see here.
But lies beget lies. The Obama Administration insists that the
Islamic State is not Islamic, Islamic terrorism is nothing to do with
Islam, there's no Islam to see here, no way, no how. You can't hold the
line at one lie, and tell the truth on everything else. The lie on Islam
infects everything else. If they're just "violent extremists" in
general, they have to be violent and extremist in general - or
"randomly", as the President would say.
I'm a free-speech absolutist and therefore have a high tolerance for "hate". But that's why free speech is important
- so one can address these subjects honestly. Islam is an incubator of
Jew-hate. It's unfortunate, but it is a fact. For example, Jordan is a
"moderate" Muslim country. What does "moderate" actually mean in this
context? Well, it means the Hashemites send their princes to Sandhurst
and marry them off to hotties. But other than that? Ninety-seven per
cent of Jordanians have an "unfavorable" opinion of Jews.
A non-Jewish journalist dressed as a Jew and walked through Malmo, Sweden. This is what happened to him:
Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.
One place you do not want to visit - this week or any week - is Malmo, Sweden.
A non-Jewish journalist dressed as a Jew and walked through Malmo, Sweden. This is what happened to him: pic.twitter.com/f7odDaU9R8
— Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) January 23, 2015
They came for the Jews. Will you speak out even if you are not a Jew?
One of the things that was driven home by the terror attack on the Paris Hyper Cacher supermarket is that they are still coming for us Jews, long after 'they' have stopped coming for most others. In England, they are feeling that lesson from up close. But is anyone non-Jewish feeling it?
A couple of days after the Charlie Hebdo attack, I did a debate with the
Guardian’s Simon Jenkins on the PM programme, about the appropriate UK
security response. In the course of conversation Simon came out with an
illuminating statement. “Britain is a robust country”, he said. “We’re not
vulnerable to these people. Accidents will happen, terrorist incidents will
happen. But we mustn’t dance to their tune”.
I think I know what Simon meant. That for all the harm they do, terrorists do
not represent an existential threat to our society or way of life. Indeed,
this has been a common response amongst the liberal commentariat. Polly
Toynbee wrote a similar piece last week: “In everyday life, Britain
has become remarkably safe – relatively crime-free, children rarely die,
most people live to a ripe old age. Life is so dull we invent fears”. And
Simon and Polly are right. You are not all that vulnerable. Many of your
fears about becoming a victim of terrorism are invented. So long as you are
not Jewish.
Whenever Martin Niemöller’s warning is quoted, it is always used in the past
tense. But as the Paris attacks proved, they are still coming for the Jews.
In reality, they have never stopped coming for the Jews.
Attend a wedding, or other social function hosted by a prominent member of the
Jewish community. You will be met by smart young men with name badges and
ear pieces, who will politely ask you your business, and check your bag.
Walk past a Jewish school. You will see the high gates and CCTV cameras. Walk
past a Jewish school in France, and you will see soldiers with automatic
weapons. They are not there to ward off imaginary monsters, but real
ones.
Not everyone in the public sphere has been silent to this truth. Since the
Paris attacks I have seen several commentators passionately speaking out
about the real and present threat to the Jewish community. Emma
Barnett, Jonathan Freedland, Danny Finkelstein, Nick Cohen, David
Aaronovitch. But that underlines the problem. It is mainly Jews that have
again been left to speak out for the Jews.
The reaction from outside the Jewish community follows the same pattern. Like
Simon Jenkins and Polly Toynbee, we try to hide behind a veil of
self-centered proportionality. Or, we cry “look over there!” Yes the Jewish
community is under threat, but what about the “revenge” attacks being
launched against the Muslim community? Or we deploy the “some of my best
friends are Jewish” argument. Yes some Jews are being targeted. But
look at what’s happening to the Palestinians. Should we really
be surprised? Yes, obviously we must condemn the “terrorists”. But don’t we
have an obligation to try to understand them as well?
And what lies at the heart of this response? If we’re honest, if we’re really
honest, it’s that those of us who are not part of the Jewish community have
subconsciously – and shamefully – come to the view that being a target of
terrorism is merely one of the occupational hazards of being a Jew.
The words on that poster on my office wall used to inspire me. But in the past
week they have come to chill me. Why? Because the full implications of them
have finally dawned on me.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman takes on our neighborhood bully, President Obama's Best Friend Forever, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Europe’s silence in the face of Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s vitriolic attacks against Israel is one of the reasons for the
surge of anti-Semitism in Europe, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman
said Wednesday.
In some of the toughest public comments in memory against Erdogan
and Turkey, Liberman told a gathering of Israel’s ambassadors to
Euro-Asia that Europe’s ignoring the hate and incitement Erdogan
cultivates toward Israel has ramifications.
“The silence of the lambs of cultured Europe, politically correct
Europe, toward a neighborhood and anti-Semitic bully like Erdogan and
his friends brings us back to the reality of the 1930s,” he said.
But I'm not sure his characterization of Europe as 'silence of the lambs' is correct. Much of Europe is nearly as anti-Semitic as Erdogan, although some of them are ashamed to admit it.
The world's oldest hatred continues to thrive across the continent.. and beyond.
I suppose this was inevitable. The Daily Beast is reporting that Muslims interviewed in the Paris suburbs, and in the 19th arondissement where the Kouachi brothers live, are blaming the Jews for last week's terror attacks.This is from the Daily Beast.
But even though the flags of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia were
flying at the rally in Place de la République and Muslims were well
represented among the marchers Sunday, Boular said the attacks in Paris
were part of a plot masterminded by Jewish conspirators.
“The Kalashnikovs, the identity cards the [killers] supposedly left
behind, it was all staged,” said Boular, as his friends nodded in
agreement. “It was a conspiracy designed by the Jews to make Muslims
look bad. We’d rather just stay where we are.”
No use arguing. No
use pointing out that one of the terrorists murdered four Jews.
Conspiracy theories have their own unassailable logic, and this is a
world apart from the displays of unity in Paris after the carnage of
last week. French newspapers reported that some students in these
neighborhoods—as well as other heavily Muslim areas near cities like
Lille—refused to participate
in Thursday’s national moment of silence for the victims of the terror
attacks. One teacher said up to 80 percent of his students didn’t want
to observe the silence, and some said they supported the attackers. “You
reap what you sow,” a student who refused the moment of silence told
his teacher in reference to the terrorists’ victims, according to Le Figaro.
...
Another young man of French-Algerian descent interviewed outside a
gas station in the Saint-Denis suburb reacted angrily to a reporter’s
presence and demanded to know her religion. “The worst thing is to be
atheist,” he said.
The man, who gave his named as “Mohamed,” also
said he was a devout Muslim but then changed his demeanor and added,
grinning, that he was also “a delinquent.” Then he said he was a drug
dealer and without prompting, invited the reporter into the (also very
clean) gas station to show an array of hashish for sale in broad
daylight on a shelf next to the ATM.
He also called the Paris terrorist attacks “un complot,”
or conspiracy, and launched into a lengthy explanation of the “magical
Jews” behind it. They were not ordinary Jews, he said, but a “hybrid
race of shape shifters” who have extraordinary abilities. “They know how
to get in everywhere,” he said. “They are master manipulators.”
What might be the scariest part about this story is the fact that most of those interviewed are second and third generation immigrants. Apparently, living in the West has had absolutely no influence on their thought processes. I know that there's a lot of anti-Semitism in France, but I find it hard to believe that most Frenchmen would even seriously consider the possibility that last week's events were brought about by a 'Jewish conspiracy.'
Police found the bodies of Jak Karako, 77, and his wife, Georgia
Karako, 69, at their apartment in the city’s Ortaköy neighborhood.
It is unclear what the motive behind the killing was, but the
couple’s caretaker has fled and is considered a suspect in the murder,
according to the report. Police have surrounded the crime scene and are
in the process of questioning locals.
Let me guess... the housekeeper is a misguided adherent of the 'religion of peace'?
A source with knowledge of the community, who did not wish to be
named, told The Algemeiner, “There is some level of mistrust against the
government as a result on recent anti-Semitic incidents. Some believe
that the truth about the couple’s murder will never come out, but it
will be some manipulated version of what had happened.”
“There have been several reported murders of Turkish Jewish
businessmen throughout the past several years, but these incidents were
either never solved or were blamed on some small local disputes which
the community always looked at with suspicion,” the source said.
“Karako was one of the founders of Ören Bayan, the most famous yarn
brand in Turkey,” Hurriyet said. ”Famous actresses, like Türkan Şoray,
have played in the brand’s TV ads. Moiz Dana, the other co-founder, died
while travelling to the United States in 2009. The sons of Karako and
Dana had taken over the company from their father in the 1990s. The
families later sold the company due to financial troubles.”
Turkey's Daily Hurriyet reports that there are three suspects, two of whom were caught late Friday night.
An Uzbek couple, who were suspected to have stabbed the Karakos, have
been detained at midnight after allegedly fled the crime scene following
the murder.
Suspects reportedly confessed to murder in their
first statement to the police. "When we demanded our salaries that they
[the Karako couple] have not been paying for the past two months, they
said they would not pay anything, as they deducted the amount from the
damage we caused at their house," the 28-year-old suspect and his
27-year-old wife told the police.
A third suspect is apparently still at large but police have given no further details about him or her.
And in case you're wondering, 96.3% of the population of Uzbekistan is... you guessed it. Jews, it's time to leave. Time to come home.
Islamic Jihad spokesman: IDF soldiers use 'Palestinian' children's blood to bake bread
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Here's an Islamic Jihad spokesman claiming that the IDF uses 'Palestinian' children's blood to bake bread. Straight out of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Let's go to the videotape.
The descent into classic anti-Semitism shows conclusively that this is not a dispute about land. It is long past time to admit that this is a religious war, and no 'peace agreement' is possible.
It starts: American commentator blames Israel for Malaysian plane disappearance
Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.
It was inevitable that someone was going to blame Israel for the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, and now it's happened. An American commentator for Iran's Press TV, Dr. Kevin Barrett, says Israel is to blame.
University of Michigan says death threats to pro-Israel students are 'activism'
Adam Kredo reports that a University of Michigan official has dismissed death threats by BDS supporters against pro-Israel students as 'activism.'
“The University of Michigan has allowed known pro-Hamas activists to
openly organize riots on their campus and create an environment in which
pro-Israel students had their lives threatened,” said one high-level
official with a prominent pro-Israel organization.
“Now, after months of watching outside groups coordinate hateful
stunts, university administrators are allowing students to be bullied
into taking an anti-Israel vote with a gun pointed to their heads,”
added the source. “They’ll have to answer for this, certainly
politically and probably legally.”
The BDS brouhaha first began earlier this month when the school’s
student government overwhelmingly suspended consideration of a
divestment resolution. That prompted the pro-Palestinian group Students
Allied for Freedom and Equality to hold protests on campus and inside
student government chambers.
On Wednesday evening of last week during one of these sit-ins, a
student opposed to the BDS resolution had “threats of violence” shouted
at him by two “Arabic males,” according to a police report filed that
evening.
University officials in recent days have helped broker a deal that led to an apology
from the student government’s president for tabling the divestment
initiative. The university has helped ensure that the initiative comes
to a vote in the coming days.
University of Michigan spokesman Rick Fitzgerald—who
first said that he did not understand a reporter’s questions—declined
multiple requests to comment on the death threats and violent rhetoric
from activists, saying that the school encourages “students to report
them to police.”
Fitzgerald—who adopted an incredulous tone when faced with questions—additionally refused to connect a Free Beacon
reporter with the university’s provost or other high-level officials,
saying that the issue does not rise to the level of their involvement.
“This is activism of students with their student government,” he
said. The BDS activists “do not believe their voices were heard.”
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
