Thursday, August 4, 2011

Abe Foxman Just Doesn't Get It


Abe Foxman


Add Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League to those liberals who are using the tragedy in Norway to lash out at anyone who dares to speak out against radical Islam. Here is an article Foxman has written in the Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/norwegian-attacks-stem-from-a-new-ideological-hate/2011/07/28/gIQAhxy8hI_story.html

First of all, I respect Mr Foxman's concern about Muslims being the target of hate either in Europe or the US. I know too many decent Muslims not to share that concern. I have no desire to see Muslims insulted on the street, assaulted, or otherwise discriminated against. I get that.

What Mr Foxman doesn't get is the reality of what is happening in Europe. The anti-immigrant feeling doesn't exist simply because there are immigrants. The problem is that Europeans are reacting to intolerance itself. It has been documented countless times on this site and others the anti-Semitic harassment against Jews by Muslim immigrants on the streets of major European cities like Malmo, Amsterdam, Paris and many others. However, that is just part of the problem.

Is Mr Foxman acquainted with Anjem Choudary in Britain and his various radical associations like Islam4UK and Muslims Against the Crusades? Is Mr Foxman aware that these groups are attempting to set up sharia zones in British cities? Is he aware that Choudary is predicting a Britain under shariah law, where hands will be cut off, apostates killed, and all British girls circumcised?  Did I mention the Underground bombings? Certainly, that does not represent all British Muslims, but people have every right to be upset about that. Thus, you have the English Defense League.

Is Mr Foxman aware of how entire streets are being blocked off illegally for Friday prayers in Paris? Is he aware of the street crime being conducted by Muslim immigrants and the Paris suburbs where non-Muslims dare not venture? France has the largest Muslim population in Europe and many are long-standing immigrants from the Magreb (Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, which were French colonies.) Certainly, they are not all the problem, but France has a serious problem and to admit it is not racist.

Is Mr Foxman aware that in 2010, 100% of reported rapes in Norway were committed by Muslim immigrants? Is that to suggest that all Muslim immigrants in Norway are rapists? Of course not, but 100% is a startling number.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/145161#.Ti4GL2FOw1M
(Arutz Sheva)

Instead of realizing the problem, Foxman prefers to label those who refuse to tolerate the intolerable and intolerance itself as racists-on both sides of the Atlantic. He refers to bloggers like Pam Geller and Robert Spencer as bigots. He uses the term "white supremists". It has nothing to do with skin color. Is it racist to react angrily toward a vile person like Choudary and his followers? Is it racist to be angry when your government has allowed a massive wave of immigrants into the country who don't work, contribute nothing, have no respect for the local culture or values, and consider local women as whores? Is it racist to speak out against people who illegally close off entire streets even to residents and merchants so they can conduct their Friday prayers-and dare anyone to interfere?

Is it racist to speak out against the continuing outrage in Malmo, where local Jews are leaving in droves to escape the harassment they suffer at the hands of Muslim immigrants, who take to the streets and riot when something displeases them?

Is it racist to speak out against the fact that European cities are no longer the safe cities they had been  because of certain immigrants?

It is true that the Europeans also fear the loss of their own identiies in their own countries. If present demographics continue, Europe will become majority Muslim within a generation ot two.  The problem is not that Europeans are racists. They certainly can accomodate and assimilate immigrants, and I have met and seen many immigrants from many countries who have assimilated into European countries. It is one thing to welcome and assimilate immigrants. It is quite another to be expected to assimilate into the immigrants.

Another large part of the problem is the fact that we are living in an age where militant Islam is on the march. Many of the European Muslim immigrants (not all) are caught up in the jihadist mentality. Many (not all) fully intend to bring about an Islamic society within the European countries they have moved to. Mr Foxman doesn't seem to understand that.

This is in no way a defense of Anders Breivik and the act he committed. What Foxman doesn't get is that nobody who is speaking out about what is happening in Europe is applauding Breivik. It was a horrific act as isolated as the Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh.

It seems that Foxman is also taking a backhand slap at Gentiles who "love Jews because they hate Muslims". That is ridiculous. What is wrong with non-Jews condemning anti-Semitism from any direction? It is wrong when carried out by Christians; it is just as wrong when carried out by Muslims.

And what does Foxman mean when comparing anti-Islamic sentiment with anti-Semitism of the 19-20th centuries? When were Jews setting off bombs in European cities? When were Jews imposing their religious beliefs on non-Jews and trying to turn the European countries they lived in into Jewish countries? How many times did Jews riot in the streets when they perceived that Judaism had been insulted?

Last year, Foxman spoke to a Jewish group in Newport Beach. When he was asked about problems of anti-Semitism at the nearby  University of California at Irvine, he brushed it off by saying that everything at UCI was fine. Given the fact that the Orange County ADL has done next to nothing regarding the on-going controversies at UCI, Foxman's answer should not be surprising. Frankly, I have no idea what it is this organization does.

I suggest that Mr Foxman take a trip to Malmo, Sweden and stroll through the streets wearing a yarmulka. It would be an education for him.

1 comment:

  1. Any policy which fails to clearly distinguish, both categorically and practically, between "Muslims" and "terrorists" is going to fall into exactly what Foxman is warning against. Jews of all people should know better, even Findalis.

    Gary makes an effort to offer a distinction, but considering the company he keeps, his good intentions ring hollow.

    Don't target people engaged in violence and intimidation BECAUSE they are Muslim (or Italian), but focus on specific unlawful acts. It is the only way to avoid stereotyping, no matter what Miggie says about the Amish.

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