LA Jewish Federation as Judenrat

Hat tip to Squid and Family Security Matters


Shari Goodman, who is an Act for America chapter leader, has written an important piece in Family Security Matters in response to the shameful cancellation Sunday of Pam Geller's speech on anti-Semitism in Los Angeles. It covers several main points that Americans need to understand. In this article, she compares the LA Jewish Federation to the Judenrat.

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/todays-judenrat

A couple of points here. This is not a call to turn against Muslim Americans.

Second, people must understand that in simple terms, Islam is more than a religion. It is also a political ideology-one that does not recognize a separation between religion and the State. It has a legal code called sharia. Much of sharia is benevolent and defines the rights of people. However, there a part of sharia called hudud, which spells out the punishments for "Crimes against  God". This is where you find so-called crimes, such as adultery, apostasy, homosexuality, and blasphemy. This is where things get dicey. This is one area where sharia definitely conflicts with our laws. Another area is that which defines the status of women and non-Muslims.

As for the Jewish Federation, it should be noted that while it is a national organization, there is considerable autonomy from one chapter to the next. I have often written about the Orange County chapter, which has been an obstacle in trying to publicize and counter anti-Semitism on the UC Irvine campus. Part of the problem is that the organization is much too embedded with the university. Another part of the problem is money. The Federation is an organization that actively solicits, gathers and funnels out money for Jewish activities and causes, most of which are fine. Their funding, through the Rose Project, of the Olive Tree Initiative, on the other hand, is a disgrace to anyone who supports the state of Israel.

From what I have been led to believe, similar problems exist in various parts of the country when it comes to the Jewish Federation as a whole. For example, after an embarrassing episode in San Francisco a couple of years back in which the Jewish Federation sponsored an event and film dedicated to Rachel Corrie, followed later by the slaughter of an Israeli family in the West Bank (Fogel), a letter was prepared and sent to every Jewish Federation chapter in the country, asking them to sign the so-called Fogel Pledge-that they would no longer support any activity designed to be harmful to the state of Israel. To my knowledge, only the chapter in Manatee, Florida has signed this pledge.

The incident Sunday highlights a dilemma that seems to exist within the Jewish community. It is easy to speak out against anti-Semitism when the perpetrator is a white neo-Nazi type scrawling swastikas on a wall. It is speaking out against Islamic anti-Semitism that is a problem because Muslims are a minority group that itself complains about hate directed toward themselves. This is not to suggest that all Muslims have a problem with Jews especially here in America. But it does exist, and it has a basis in Islamic texts.

Pam Geller is not a bigot because she dares to speak out about it. I say it for the thousandth time, we cannot tolerate intolerance in the name of tolerance. That is a lesson the Jewish Federation needs to learn.