On November 8, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu spoke to the National Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly in New Orleans. Unfortunately, his speech was disrupted by protesters-apparently, Jewish protesters at that.
Below is a description of the event by Rabbi David Eliezrie, who was present. (Hat tip to Orange County Independent Task Force on Anti-Semitism).
"It was an uplifting long weekend. First I attended the International Conference of Shluchim in New York, with thousands of my fellow rabbis from one end of the globe to another. The highlight was the banquet, full of energy and passion. It gave me a big lift, reminding me of our mission to reach out to every Jew. You can watch the touching speech of Mr. Bogulobov and the famous roll call and celebration. As part of the Rabbis' conference we had hundreds of supporters at the International Lay Leadership Conference, highlighted by Dennis Prager, that I chaired.
Then it was off to New Orleans where I led the Chabad delegation to the General Assembly, the annual conference of Jewish leaders of the Jewish Federations. An hour after landing, I was sitting in the front with local Federation leaders Sholom Elcott and Blossom Siegal. Prime Minister Netanyahu gave the keynote address. Ultra leftists interrupted with protests and vicious anti Israel propaganda. The fourth time a young man right behind me, stood on chair screaming with a sign claiming Israel was practicing Apartheid was too much. The protester was becoming violent, and I grabbed the protester who was pulled out by security. I took the anti Israel banner and stood on a chair with the help of Shalom. With some three thousand people looking on, I ripped up the sign to cheers. Little did I know that Israeli TV filmed it and it ran all day on Israeli news. The conference chair thanked me for my strong action.
Fousesquawk comment: Shalom Elcott? That name rings a bell.
(Continued) "Sadly those protesting were Jews. Young people who have little Jewish education, that fail to understand the threats that stand before Israel and the real security risks. They have become the pawns of Israel's enemies. As I told Israeli radio yesterday in an interview, "they never learned the intrinsic bond of the Jewish people and the Land of Israel which is central to our heritage."
In New York I found warmth and passion for the welfare of every Jew. In New Orleans I discovered first hand how some Jews have lost their way. One prominent Jewish leader asked me “what is the key to Chabad’s passion?" My answer was simple. “The Torah. When we study it, and try follow its teachings, our lives are filled with meaning."
Fousesquawk comment: Here is a video that goes along with Rabbi Eliezrie's article.
Shliach Stops Netanyahu Heckler from COLlive.com on Vimeo.
It appears that this disgraceful episode was brought to us by a far-left group called Jewish Voice for Peace. Contrary to their name, these are a bunch of anarchist types who are pro-Palestinian and wish for the Jewish state to be destroyed. They have put up their own (poor quality) video of the disruptions (They are proud of what they did). It is doubly unfortunate that the American Jewish community has people like this who support the very forces that would destroy them as well as Israelis.
Kudos to Rabbi Eliezrie. And also to Shalom Elcott (for helping him stand on the chair).
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5 comments:
What a disgrace! I just can't fathom, truly, what it is with those people. What drives them? I can't believe that they love the poor Palestinians so much as they really are not very lovable at all. The article assumes the disrupters were Jews so it must be that they are self hating. There must be some pathology involved that perhaps psychiatrists have identified. It is beyond my comprehension.
It is an interesting thing about the Jews. A lot of them are very involved politically and in other fields ... but on both ends of the spectrum. They were, for example, leaders in the Communist revolution as well as successful capitalists. They are in the highest echelons of political life in the country in both the Democratic and Republican Party. So, if you hate one side or the other, there is always some Jew there to identify and hate. Those disrupters earn the enmity of 99.9% of the rest of their brethren. Thank goodness there are very few like these people and the rest of the Jews are quick to denounce them.
What really counts is not so much the outrageous act, as all groups have some nut cases, but the response of the rest of the group. It is like some Americans disrupt the funerals of soldiers killed in action but the vast majority of Americans abhor those acts. It is not like the Palestinians who danced in the streets on 9/11.
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Miggie
And as you well know, it is beyond my comprehension as well. Many Jews flocked to the Communist revolution because it promised an end to the Pale of Settlement and discrimination. In this case, they are joining with the very ones who they know hate them. It makes no sense. Yet again, liberalism makes no sense.
One of the disruptors, a 36 year old UC Berkeley student named Mathew Taylor is also into " foreskin restoration". This is clearly more about abnormal psychology than politics. It's Mathew and his ilk that led me to believe that the only thing I have in common with JVP is that we are all ashamed that they are Jewish
Not only that it doesn't make sense, there seems to be an affinity for chaos. There is an aversion to considering consequences. They want healthcare for tens of millions of people without considering the disastrous consequences for the vast majority of people who are satisfied with their healthcare coverage or the consequences to the healthcare sector or to the economy. While worrying about global warming, they impose all kinds of laws and regulations on environmental issues without considering the rational consequences to the economy. There is a long list of similar examples.
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Well. you can't call the protesters anti-Semitic. They do sound like a bunch of spoiled brats.
"It is an interesting thing about the Jews..."
...that they come in all stripes, colors, ideologies and walks of life, and don't agree on much except their religion, or sometimes, not even that? How human of them!
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