The hate that shames us

[drdon326]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,1099727,00.html


this is in f/u to previous thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=124&topic_id=35086


As I said last week, I have come to believe - looking at how anti-semitism is the only form of racial prejudice that unites both left and right, from the KKK to the PLO - that loathing the Jews is more about the personal than the political, despite the phoney, anticolonial cant of the anti-Zionists. For instance, I've noticed that some people use the Jews as a sort of warped magic mirror, accusing them of things that they themselves are obviously guilty of. When the Old Etonian Tam Dalyell claimed that there was in this country a Jewish "cabal" of politicians wielding disproportionate influence, did he not consider the fact that, since time immemorial, the country has been run by overprivileged public schoolboys such as himself, allowing barely a look-in for equally (or, perish the thought, more!) electable and capable citizens of working-class origin?

snip


So emboldened by the filthy free-for-all, the danse macabre of resurgent Judeophobia - attacks on Jews in this country have risen by 75% this year; and since 2000, there has been a 400% increase in attacks on synagogues - are the ignorant armies of darkness that even Germans are opening their yaps on a subject that you'd have thought they'd have the sense, if not the decency, to keep away from. Just a few weeks ago, a German MP was forced to resign after claiming that the Jews were responsible for Soviet army "atrocities" against the defeated Nazi state (makes you want to go back and bomb Dresden all over again, only properly this time). And in a sort of Hate version of the Eurovision Song Contest, Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis weighed in with his carefully considered view that the Jews are at the root of all evil. So, presumably, he won't be wanting the royalties from one of his most notable works, which documents the tragic love story of two young Jewish inmates of a concentration camp. Or maybe he can rejig it, to show how evil this pair were, and how they deserved what they got.

To contemplate the thought processes of such individuals makes any decent person want to wash their hands until the slime of hypocritical hatred is swept away. But when whole sections of society peddle such lies, it's scarier still. And when carriers of the disease are shielded by those who govern us, you start to believe the lunatics have taken over the asylum: the EU's racism watchdog recently suppressed a report on the rise of anti-semitism because it concluded that Muslims were behind many incidents. What sort of world do we live in, when racism is "allowed" to be reported only if it comes from the white and the right? What about a stubborn, shimmering little thing called truth?

....................................................................

compelling

[bemildred]

1. CAMERA ALERT: Letter by Martin Luther King a hoax

http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=8&x_nameinnews=127&x_article=369

You can find much less forgiving statements of that elsewhere, and
many many references to the non-existent letter.

"anti-semitism is the only form of racial prejudice that unites
both left and right, from the KKK to the PLO"

I'm trying to figure out if it's the PLO that is the "left",
or the KKK?

She's wrong about Orwell too, although I don't quite see why
she went to the trouble to drag him into it in the first place.

[ex_jew]

5. Some interesting research...

In any case, I never thought it was fair to make King endorse every horror of the occupation for all time into the future.

[pistoff democrat]

9. From all of my reading of Doctor King, I

sincerely doubt he would share your assessment of what Israel is about today...

The letter to which people here have referred is in fact genuine and is entitled “Letter to an Anti-Zionist Friend,” published in The Saturday Review XLVII (Aug. 1967), p. 76; which was itself reprinted in M.L. King Jr., “This I Believe: Selections from the Writings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” (NY: 1971), pp. 234-235.


Four paragraphs shall follow; if you would like more of his beautiful elaboration, please purchase the book or order it from your library:

***

Antisemitism, the hatred of the Jewish people, has been and remains a blot on the soul of mankind. In this we are in full agreement. So know also this: anti-Zionist is inherently antisemitic, and ever will be so.

And what is anti-Zionist? It is the denial to the Jewish people of a fundamental right that we justly claim for the people of Africa and freely accord all other nations of the Globe. It is discrimination against Jews, my friend, because they are Jews. In short, it is antisemitism.

"My friend, I do not accuse you of deliberate antisemitism. I know you feel, as I do, a deep love of truth and justice and a revulsion for racism, prejudice, and discrimination. But I know you have been misled--as others have been--into thinking you can be 'anti-Zionist' and yet remain true to these heartfelt principles that you and I share.

Let my words echo in the depths of your soul: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews--make no mistake about it."


***

[bluesoul]

10. So when people

critisize Islamism, they mean Muslims, following the same logic? Or does that go only for Jews exclusively?

[pistoff democrat]

11. I do not feel I can speak for Dr. King.

My logic on the issue is that he understood the similarities between racism against African-Americans as well as against Jews. After the thousands of years of Jews being forced from every land along with the strong presence of Jews fighting and dying in the civil rights movement in the USA, Dr. King probably saw the smokescreen of cloaking hatred of Jews by decrying their country. God bless him for it.!

[Muddleoftheroad]

12. Great Quote

Many thanks.

[bemildred]

13. Bullshit.

We were initially doubtful of the authenticity of the "Letter to an anti-Zionist
Friend" because the language in the first paragraph seemed almost a parody of
language used in Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech. Additionally, we could find
no reference to the "letter" prior to 1999, which was odd because the text is such a
dramatic denunciation of anti-Zionism - one that would have been cited widely.

However, we then found the "letter" in a reputable 1999 book ("Shared Dreams,"
by Rabbi Marc Shneier) whose preface was written by Martin Luther King III.
Since the King family is known to be extremely careful with Dr. King's legacy,
we assumed they must have verified the accuracy of the book before endorsing it.

Additionally, we found that quotations from the "letter" were used on July 31,
2001, by the Anti-Defamation League's Michael Salberg in testimony before the
U.S. House of Representative's International Relations Committee's
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights. The same "source"
(Saturday Review, August 1967) for the "letter" that was mentioned in the
Schneier book was also cited in the testimony. Since many in the
Anti-Defamation League had actually worked with Martin Luther King, Jr in the
civil rights struggle, we assumed again they would be very knowledgeable about
King's work and would have thoroughly checked anything they chose to read
before Congress.

However, because we do not ordinarily rely on anyone else's research, we decided
to double-check, by searching back issues of Saturday Review (Rabbi Shneier's
book had referenced the "letter" as being published in the August 1967 Saturday
Review). Lo and behold, there is no such letter in any of the August issues, nor do
the page and volume numbers cited conform to those actually used by that
publication. CAMERA also checked with Boston University, where Dr. King's
work is archived. The archivists too were unable to locate any such letter. We can
only conclude that no such letter was written by Dr. King. (Please note we are not
implying that the apparently bogus "letter" originated with Rabbi Schneier.)

[bluesoul]

14. Ups

So much for the authenticity of the letter...

[drdon326]

16. Link please

.

[bemildred]

17. Edit: Camera link in Post #1

[pistoff democrat]

18. Surely, you can take the time to go to your library and find

“This I Believe: Selections from the Writings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” (NY: 1971), pp. 234-235.

It seems to mean so much to so many here...

[bemildred]

19. Why should I?

The reference is to a letter in the Saturday Review.
If it is documented in your book, you need to take it up
with CAMERA, which apparently could not find it, or thought
it was not relevant to the issue as to whether the letter
to the SR is a fraud.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bemildred]

21. That book seems to be a fraud too.

I can't find it anywhere, Amazon, Alibris, Library of Congress.
The Lipset Book referenced by CAMERA stinks a bit too, published by
the ADL, it's not there in the Library of Congress, you would think
Mr. Lipset was not proud of it or something, he has a lot of other
work, but I found one old used copy at Alibris for $17. But Mr.
Lipset's evidence is still hearsay from one guy, and the letter is
still a hoax.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[drdon326]

3. hmmmm......

"To contemplate the thought processes of such individuals makes any decent person want to wash their hands until the slime of hypocritical hatred is swept away."

Dont worry....I'll use alot of soap.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Jim Sagle]

4. Not very many of us, evidently.

[Kellanved]

7. while an interesting read, he did poor research

The German MP hasn't resigned. He was thrown out of his party(after two weeks of public outrage), but is still in Parliament.

[pistoff democrat]

8. We MUST

have U.S. Rep. John Lewis as Vice-President in 2004!

Thanks for the excellent article!

[Forkboy]

15. I need glasses

I thought it said the Hat that shames us :shrug: