We are definitely in agreement with regard to the fact that it is true Jews have stood with and supported African-Americans and their causes, but one must take into consideration that it is not common knowledge for many people. One also has to take into consideration the fact that simply because some Jews sought to assist blacks and empower them in their struggle it doesn't negate the fact that some Jews sought out profit by exploiting blacks and further perpetuating their struggle. Allow me to direct your attention to another opinion piece, this one from famed author James Baldwin... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "When we were growing up in Harlem our demoralizing series of landlords were Jewish, and we hated them. We hated them because they were terrible landlords, and did not take care of the building. A coat of paint, a broken window, a stopped sink, a stopped toilet, a sagging floor, a broken ceiling, a dangerous stairwell, the question of garbage disposal, the question of heat and cold, of roaches and rats--all questions of life and death for the poor, and especially for those with children--we had to cope with all of these as best we could. Our parents were lashed to futureless jobs, in order to pay the outrageous rent. We knew that the landlord treated us this way only because we were colored, and he knew that we could not move out." "The grocer was a Jew, and being in debt to him was very much like being in debt to the company store. The butcher was a Jew and, yes, we certainly paid more for bad cuts of meat than other New York citizens, and we very often carried insults home, along with the meat. We bought our clothes from a Jew and, sometimes, our secondhand shoes, and the pawnbroker was a Jew--perhaps we hated him most of all." "Not all of these white people were cruel--on the contrary, I remember some who were certainly as thoughtful as the bleak circumstances allowed--but all of them were exploiting us, and that was why we hated them." "The Jew's suffering is recognized as part of the moral history of the world and the Jew is recognized as a contributor to the world's history: this is not true for the blacks. Jewish history, whether or not one can say it is honored, is certainly known: the black history has been blasted, maligned and despised. The Jew is a white man, and when white men rise up against oppression, they are heroes: when black men rise, they have reverted to their native savagery. The uprising in the Warsaw ghetto was not described as a riot, nor were the participants maligned as hoodlums: the boys and girls in Watts and Harlem are thoroughly aware of this, and it certainly contributes to their attitude toward the Jews." "It is true that many Jews use, shamelessly, the slaughter of the 6,000,000 by the Third Reich as proof that they cannot be bigots--or in the hope of not being held responsible for their bigotry. It is galling to be told by a Jew whom you know to be exploiting you that he cannot possibly be doing what you know he is doing because he is a Jew. It is bitter to watch the Jewish storekeeper locking up his store for the night, and going home. Going, with your money in his pocket, to a clean neighborhood, miles from you, which you will not be allowed to enter. Nor can it help the relationship between most Negroes and most Jews when part of this money is donated to civil rights. In the light of what is now known as the white backlash, this money can be looked on as conscience money merely, as money given to keep the Negro happy in his place, and out of white neighborhoods." "One does not wish, in short, to be told by an American Jew that his suffering is as great as the American Negro's suffering. It isn't, and one knows that it isn't from the very tone in which he assures you that it is." — James Baldwin - April 9, 1967, New York Times https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/29/specials/baldwin-antisem.html?mcubz=3 |
Thank you! I am the Jewish (conservative) poster whom Jeff is coming down hard on, precisely because the thread exposes the degree if antisemttism among liberals. (And when it is pointed out, we are accused of lying or exaggerating.) The real anger is that some of us (and again, thank you) are trying to ferret out the antisemtism on the liberal side, since this forum does it so well on the conservative side. |
Given your response to the previous post, I assume you agree with the accusation that I am an anti-Semite? Is this another example of your willingness to see accusations of anti-Semitism tosses around willy-nilly? Do you consider it just fine to call me an anti-Semite because I am a liberal or do you agree with that poster that I am an anti-Semite? |
Treated with anti semtitism by who? In what instance ? |
Jesus H Christ !!! with or without Jews standing with African Americans ( whatever the hell thats supposed to mean ) it has nothing to do with Ms Goldberg poignant and unequivocally truthful assessment that there shouldn't be any comparison between what AAs have and continue to go through and what jews who have largely benefited from white supremacy have gone through . You could've simply stated that Ms Goldberg is right and yet you insist on pushing this narrative whereby we're to believe that Jews were doing some kind of favor to AAs and you don't think that's abhorrent and disappointing to say nothing of untruthful ? |
You are denying history and that is sad for you and sad for anyone who thinks like you with respect to this issue. |
In a typical and predictable manner , you failed to provide any verifiable argument to counter my claim . Sad for you indeed |
Not a Jeff fan, but he's right on this point. It's clear that White is less anti-semitic and more ignorant. White states that Farrakhan is one of the only leader that really helps in Ward 8. Well, being that's the case, perhaps Jews should understand that the way to change hearts and minds is by rolling up their sleeves and pitching in. And I say this as a Jew. Remember too that 90% of the people in any 'bad neighborhood' are good people, and it's the 10% that ruin it for the rest. |
I'm the same Jew who agreed with Jeff down thread. I want to point out that THIS is EXACTLY the broader point. Jews are starting to leave other countries in Europe due to the rising anti-semitism, and liberal Democrats seem either ignorant of it or OK with it |
You are preaching to the choir. I am one of the Jewish upthread posters. I have personally spent hundreds of hours in Ward 8 volunteering, doing everything from helping to clean up at places like Oxen Run to volunteering at the RISE center and down the hill in Anacostia. I am usually with many other people, mostly Jews, but people of all denominations from around the City. There is no shortage of people like me who have spent time in the Ward, who have friends in the Ward and who want to help make a difference. So please stop with the preaching on this, it is already happening and it is happening at the instigation of people from temples across town and people from all over the city. |
Good. I hope you do fight these things. |
1. I have to take issue with the holding of Jewish retailers guilty. They did not create the conditions inn AA ghettos, they just tried to make a living selling products. Retail sales are not theft. And in general, a Jew who could avoid having a business in a poor area, did so. 2. The notion that black suffering was less know than Jewish suffering, MAY have been true in 1967 (I am not sure that is the case) but it certainly is not now. 3. It is true that many Jews use, shamelessly, the slaughter of the 6,000,000 by the Third Reich as proof that they cannot be bigots--or in the hope of not being held responsible for their bigotry. Few Jews do that. Most acknowledge a Jew can be a bigot - just as, an AA can be. But the PTSD in from the shoah in survivor's families is real (and of course antisemitism continues to exist). 4. The notion that Jews go back to neighborhoods that AAs cannot enter, strikes me as a bit odd, even for 1967. It was quite common in those days, and the next couple of decades, that the white neighborhoods where AA's were quickest to enter were often Jewish neighborhoods. None of this of course has to do with liberalism or conservatism, but is about opposing racism AND antisemitism, and countering narratives that excuse either. |
I am a Jewish liberal Democrat and I am concerned with the situation in France (the only country with substantial emigration due to Antisemitism) . I find some French pols (Valls, Macron) quite concerned. I am not surprised few Americans are concerned. I also knowof French Jews who insist on staying, and some who make aliyah because conditions in Israel are actually much better than most Americans realize. |
I don't think Jews can really form a religious organization that converts young AA men and so puts them on the straight and narrow - and that is what NOI does, more than run social services or whatever. Its understandable that some AA's tolerate NOI on that basis, but it is still very problematic - I mean if alt right orgs did the same for down and out rural whites (in place of say, evangelical churches) did the same, would we excuse politicians with ties to such groups? I don't think I would, and I don't think most AA's would. |
I am sorry, but from what I have read all the prominent Jewish leaders in the District acccepted his initial apology. Then the holocaust museum tour went very badly (I mean really?) Now this (and is a donation to NOI needed for W8 to get food?) |