UK: "...Attacks on Jews hits record high"

[Spinoza]

>snip "Incidents last year include:

An Orthodox Jew punched in the face and almost pushed off a Tube platform by an Arab man who screamed: "Get back to Stamford Hill, I want to kill you all"
•
A Jewish man walking to synagogue with his two young sons suffered a broken leg after being punched and kicked by a white man shouting "f***ing Jew"
•
Seventy incidents of desecration and damage to synagogues, cemeteries, Jewish schools and private homes with attacks including swastikas daubed on walls
•
Savage assault of a 12-year-old Jewish girl Jasmine Kranat, who was beaten unconscious on a north London bus by two teenage girls who asked her first if she was Jewish.

The physical descriptions of perpetrators in 205 of the incidents show 96 were by white people, 28 by black people, 60 by Asians and 16 by Arabs. The report has been passed to ministers."<snip

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=433030&in_page_id=1770&in_page_id=1770&expand=true#StartComments

[Taverner]

1. Fucking anti-semites

[npincus]

2. the security guard atmy daughter's school made and anti-semitic remark to me

not knowing I'm jewish-- of course.

I hate when that shit happens.

[in_cog_ni_to]

3. Not surprising. We're hated all over the world.

Except it's gotten worse the last 5 years, as this report proves.:(

[Nimrod2005]

10. Imagine how a dark skin arab feels these days...nt

[in_cog_ni_to]

22. Nice, but expected.

:eyes: This is a thread about Anti-Semitism toward JEWS. Thanks for your concern and compassion. Geezus Krist.

[SweetGrass]

24. Please return to the topic:

How bad things are for Arabs. We apparently can't discuss bigotry against Jews. At least that's the impression I'm beginning to get.

[in_cog_ni_to]

51. Some here don't care about Jews, but LOVE Ahmedinejad, Hamas, Hezbollah, Castro, Chavez.

Pat Buchanan & David Duke. Does that give you any idea of what you're dealing with here? Visit the Israeli/Palestinian forum here and you will soon understand.:(

You must not have been a member during the Lebanon/Israel war. LUCKY YOU. We had Hezbollah supporters here. We even have people here who supported Ahmedinejad's Holocaust Denial Conference. David Duke was his special guest too. Isn't that special? Yes indeed. You've figured DU out in short order. Bigotry against Jews just isn't important to many DUers. I think you can figure out why all by yourself.

[TheBaldyMan]

69. I love Chavez AND Castro - your tone is bordering on the hysterical

don't try and paint everyone who has any sympathy with Hamas or Hizbollah as jew-haters, it just sounds stupid. The OP is about attacks in the UK, all minorities in the UK have been experiencing increases in harrassment, if you must blame somebody try and do a little research first. Start in the UK forum here at DU. There are more than a few threads on this issue with quite a few links.

Here's a couple to get you started.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=191&topic_id=18658&mesg_id=18658">The backlash begins

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=191x18679">White terrorists?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=191&topic_id=18658&mesg_id=18663">my comments on the reasons for a racist attack in Oct of '06

[in_cog_ni_to]

70. Well good for you...

you love Chavez and Castro. That gives me a pretty good idea where you're coming from. Thanks for the threads, but no thanks....I saw the gist of them. Anyone who sympathizes with HEZBOLLAH, I don't waste my time on.

And my reply was to the lady who said she guessed bigotry against JEWS couldn't be discussed on DU. You just proved her right with the links you posted and your snarky remarks to me. I must have touched a nerve by the tone of your response to my post. She's new (35 posts) and I was trying to explain to her WHY bigotry against Jews isn't that important on DU. Do I need YOUR permission to explain things to new members? sheesh.

all minorities in the UK have been experiencing increases in harrassment You proved her point. The OP is about JEWS being attacked...NOT Muslims. Sorry. Who's hyterical?:eyes:

[TheBaldyMan]

73. these attacks are not isolated nor are they directed solely against jews

if you can't put all these attacks together where they belong, i.e. against minorities then you are missing my point entirely.

btw just because I have more than a few posts does not accord me an automatic pass to posting without being challenged. If I post garbage I expect to be pulled up on it, no matter how high my post count, it's the quality of the content that counts - not the quantity. All I ask is to be criticised on the merits of my post.

You accuse me of snarky comments and support of Hizbollah - that has to be some of the most dim-witted and close-minded tripe I've read on these boards and I haven't bothered checking what your post count is. Excuse me for not falling into lockstep with Likud.

As for your claim hat attacks against jews can't be discussed here - ridiculous. Make a claim by all means but don't expect a free pass on your bullshit because that is exactly what it is.

[SweetGrass]

74. Gotcha.

This isn't the first thread where I've seen it - I know precisely what you're talking about. To me it is ghastly, and profoundly disappointing.

[Behind the Aegis]

75. "To me it is ghastly, and profoundly disappointing."

And to us, it is routine. Sad, huh?

BTW...welcome.

[SweetGrass]

78. Thank you.

I appreciate the welcome.

I admire you all for hanging in, in spite of the "routine". It can't be easy.

[Dorian Gray]

64. I suspect that any "dark skin arab"

who was physically attacked would feel just as bad as the Jewish who were attacked in this report. Bigotry exasperated by violence is absolutely dispicable.

[shance]

4. It seems to me there are many more Arabs being demonized and abused than

Christian or Jews.

How many Jews and/or Christians of Anglo origin are there at Guantanamo right now?

[pampango]

5. You are right. It seems to me that more Arabs

have been killed by suicide bombers, car bombers and death squads than Jews and Christians. Especially in Iraq and Pakistan the demonization and abuse of Arabs has been particularly severe. :sarcasm:

[SweetGrass]

6. Hmmmm...

Setting aside your concern for Arabs for just a moment: What do you think about people beating up innocent Jewish people, just going about their lives in the UK? Don't you find it somewhat alarming?

[smirkymonkey]

15. It's amazing how many people always skirt around the topic

at hand. It happens all the time here - if a woman is attacked, someone goes off about how many men are abused by women, if a white, Christian child is abused, it's all about the poor children in Iraq, etc.....

I really don't understand why people feel that it's always an either/or propostion. Unless of course, they personally approve of the oppression/abuse of the particular group in question. Hmmmm.....

I think it's sick - I live in NYC and I am not Jewish, but I really don't understand where the hatred comes from. The Europeans are always criticizing us for our "racism" yet some of the most heinous racist incidents and attacks are coming out of Europe these days.

[rinsd]

17. Its insane

It as if everytime someone posted an article about racism being directed at one minority and posting about another minority being the victim of racism is some of the most bizarre and cynical cases of oneupmanship I have ever seen.

[SweetGrass]

25. Absolutely agree.

I don't understand it either.

[demosincebirth]

8. So that makes it OK?

As long as more Arabs are victims of racism its OK to demonize Jews. What a fucked up way to think.

[MyNameGoesHere]

9. No

but everyone knows it's bad to be an Anti-Semite but if some Arabs die it's cause they need to be free. I mean it's not like they are considered real people anyway. /sarcasm

[rinsd]

13. Yes its OK to demonize Jews to some

And if the Jews complain about anti-semiticism then their concerns will be downplayed at best, at worst the anti-semitic actions will be justified or rationalized as anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[geek tragedy]

21. Trying to hijack the thread? Or just minimize

the harm done to one certain ethnic group?

[IronScorpio5]

29. True

its sad.

[LanternWaste]

40. One can mourn for both equally.

And it seems to me that this is absolutely not an either/or position. One can mourn for both equally.

[Behind the Aegis]

7. The Rise of anti-Semitism

This is not at all surprising. I am still waiting for the report from the FBI for 2006 stats on anti-Semitism. But for now we have reports from the UK,...

'Wave of hatred' warning as attacks on Jews hits record high

Attacks on Britain's Jews have risen to the highest level since records began.

A study published today shows the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents has almost tripled in 10 years, with more than half the attacks last year taking place in London.

The findings prompted the report's authors to warn of a "wave of hatred" against Jews.

The number of incidents increased to 594 last year, up by 31 per cent on the previous year.

Violent assaults soared to 112, up by more than a third on 2005.

more...

...http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=316x1082">from Australia, and...

Australian Jews feel 'threatened' by upsurge in anti-Semitic acts

Australia has experienced an upsurge in anti-Semitism in recent months and the country's Jewish community is feeling increasingly "vulnerable and threatened" as a result, a leading communal figure said this week.

"Schools, institutions and synagogues have been targeted relentlessly over the past few months," said Manny Waks, executive officer of the B'nai B'rith Anti Defamation Commission, a national organization that aims to combat anti-Semitism and racism.

"People are used to seeing swastikas here and there, but when it becomes systematic and often, people are concerned. Over the last few months, the Jewish community has felt vulnerable and threatened," he added.

According to a recent report on anti-Semitism in Australia, during the 12 months preceding September 30, 2006, more than 440 reports of anti-Semitic acts were received by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. The report also noted a sharp increase in the number of violent attacks against Australian Jews.

more...

...a report from Europe, in general,

Marked rise in attacks on Jews in Europe over the past year

Last year saw a substantial rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Germany, Austria and the Scandinavian countries, according to the Global Forum Against Anti-Semitism.

In an annual press conference, the forum explained that 2006 was characterized by escalation in the number and violent nature of attacks on Jews, proliferation of Holocaust denial and increased comparison of Israel to the Nazi regime.

The Global Forum - a joint effort of the Jewish Agency, the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office - counted 360 anti-Semitic incidents in France in 2006, compared to 300 in 2005. In the United Kingdom, the report listed a yearly decrease from 321 incidents in 2005 to 312 incidents in 2006. Russia recorded 300 incidents in 2006 compared to 250 the preceding year, and Austria saw a jump from 50 incidents to 83 last year. The Scandinavian countries saw 53 incidents in 2006, substantially more than the previous year's 35. The report cited a 60-percent rise in incidents in the Berlin area, although it did not include figures for all of Germany.

Spokesmen for the forum emphasized on Sunday the many difficulties in classifying and reporting anti-Semitic incidents that affect the accuracy of the figures, which are primarily valuable as indicators of trends in the countries examined.

more...

.

All in all, seems this "trend" is being seen and felt all over the world.

[rockymountaindem]

16. Well, we've just got to be prepared

Maybe we should all take group Krav Maga classes.

[smirkymonkey]

18. What the hell is going on in Europe anyway?

Is this primarily a reaction against Israel? Why can't people distinguish between a governments policies and individual jews in the diaspora who may not even agree with them? European racism is rearing it's ugly head once again. It should not be tolerated.

[Clark2008]

20. I believe it is.

I think people are equating the hardliners in Israel with every Jewish person, which is unfortunate.

[SweetGrass]

27. It seems obvious to me...

...that even if a Jewish citizen of the UK supports and agrees with the Israeli government, they still should not be victimized in a violent physical attack.

I'm not saying that's what you were suggesting - I just wanted to make that point.

[smirkymonkey]

33. I agree. I was just trying to understand where it was coming

from - it seems to me that many of these countries have more day to day problems with other minority groups, yet they are focusing on Jews for political reasons. Besides being cruel and wrong, it just seems kind of fucked up and illogical.

[Behind the Aegis]

34. It is not just Europe.

It is also Australia, and when the FBI stats for 2006 come out this month, I am betting we will see the same in this country. The shooting in Seattle is an example of people conflating Jews with Israel. It happens here (at DU) more often than some would like to admit. Anti-Semitism has never really gone out of fashion, it just seems to be more common now, than in prior years.

[ikojo]

37. The mainstream Jewish community can't distinguish

between criticizing the Israeli government and individual Jews. Just recently the American Jewish Congress issued a report condemning progressive Jews for antisemitism. It's an effective way of stifling dissent, as we saw during the lead up to the US attack on Iraq.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/arts/31jews.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=books&pagewanted=print

Essay Linking Liberal Jews and Anti-Semitism Sparks a Furor
By PATRICIA COHEN

The American Jewish Committee, an ardent defender of Israel, is known for speaking out against anti-Semitism, but this conservative advocacy group has recently stirred up a bitter and emotional debate with a new target: liberal Jews.

An essay the committee features on its Web site, ajc.org, titled “ ‘Progressive’ Jewish Thought and the New Anti-Semitism,” says a number of Jews, through their speaking and writing, are feeding a rise in virulent anti-Semitism by questioning whether Israel should even exist.

[rinsd]

46. So swastikas on synagogues and the like are smokescreens to stiffle dissent?

And nice how you conflate a conservative jewish advocacy group with mainstream Jews.

[in_cog_ni_to]

53. Calling my son "Jew Boy" and "Dirty Jew" on a daily basis Or having our synagogue guarded by

police on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana EVERY YEAR because of threats by Jew haters...are just smokescreens.:eyes: Ah yes, Jews are just trying to stifle dissent.:(

[Lurking Dem]

57. My favorites -

My kid also got called "Jew boy" but the school referred to it as a "teaching moment".

We also had the "excused absence" thing at school for Jewish holidays and they were required to make up their work, couldn't qualify for perfect attendance awards, etc. all while making sure the kids got extra travel days, etc. for Christian holidays.

There was the confrontation at a mall where I was using my forearm crutch and told (loudly) that I was ill and suffering because I was a G-dless Jew.

Then the frequent "you need to go to a store where you people shop" to get basic holiday or food items.

Yeah that's me! Stifling dissent wherever I go! :sarcasm:

[in_cog_ni_to]

59. We've been through the 'excused absence" issue. It started in Kindergarten

and took YEARS to 'fix it.' I just can't wait until my son is out of the school he's in now. Next year he goes to high school and things should be better. Though 7th and 8th grade haven't been bad. Kindergarten-6th grade were AWFUL because of Anti-Semitism. I made an enemy of a mother whose son called my son "Jew Boy." I called her and told her what he did. Of course she denied it. She had NO IDEA where he ever would have heard such a thing!:eyes: The kid never called my son that name again and she hasn't spoken to me since.:) I don't CARE. They must be called on their crap or it will never stop.

Yeah, we're so bad. Poor little Anti-Semites can't spread their hatred without being called on it. Stifling dissent, my ass.:(

[rinsd]

58. I grew up in New Jersey

Many of my friends were Jewish and there was a large Jewsih community in my town.

I moved to San Diego where there is not so large a Jewish community and I am blown away by the casual anti semiticism which rivals even anti-Mexican sentiment.

And it isn't Israel driving it but the classic demagougic imagery of money grubbing insularity.

[ikojo]

77. The American Jewish Congress is hardly or was at one

time, a conservative Jewish group. I accept that AIPAC is right wing and that even the ADL is right wing, but the AJC was at one time a liberal group. They have become conservative but were not always that way.

[IronScorpio5]

28. from the comments section of the article.....

As a Jew living on London, while no-one would know I am Jewish unless I told them, I do hesitate sharing my religious beliefs with anyone but close friends.

I was raised in the States, and while there is hate everywhere - I never felt the fear of revealing my religion before as I do now in London.

- London Jew, London, UK


wow

[in_cog_ni_to]

55. That's just SAD!

:(

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

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

[Lurking Dem]

31. Dave Rich

http://www.engageonline.org.uk/blog/article.php?id=857


The nature of the antisemitic incidents in 2006 reveals much about contemporary antisemitism. The large rise in incidents is mainly a consequence of the reaction to the war in Lebanon. During the 34 days of fighting in July and August last year, there were 134 antisemitic incidents in the UK; during the same period in 2005, there were just 39. The model of antisemitic incidents rising in response to trigger events such as the war in Lebanon is a familiar one; racist attacks of all kinds follow trigger events in this way. It would be facile, though, to interpret this as meaning that Israel “causes” antisemitism: trigger events do not create antisemitic incidents out of a vacuum. They act as a spark for pre-existing prejudice, or to provide an outline for expressions of bigotry, rather than being the original cause of the hatred. So the person who is moved to send hate-mail to their local synagogue because of a war in Lebanon, may be different from the person who abuses a Jewish neighbour because they are angry about the jailing of David Irving; but the dynamic for each is the same, and the prejudice already existed in both.

[RegimeChange2008]

12. Why can't people just get over their "isms" already??

It's the 21st fucking century, damn it! Why do we still have to worry about racism, or sexism, or homophobism, or anti-semitism, or any of these other meaningless "isms"??

Are people really still locked into that mentality that makes them believe people do certain things or act certain ways because of their skin pigmentation levels. Or their gender. Or their sexual orientation. Or their religious affiliation.

Confront these ignorant motherfuckers (whatever form of ignorance it is) and drag them into reality kicking and screaming if you have to.

Enough is enough. Enough James Byrds, Matthew Shepards, swastikas spray-painted on temples, or whatever. No excuses for that horseshit.

[PhilipShore]

14. Most modern day terrorists primarily organize in the UK...

I have traveled all around the world; and the only time I ever experienced raw hate toward me -- simply because I was an American -- was from the British.

[rman]

36. You equate terrorism with hate for Americans?

The way you put it makes it sound as though many Brits are terrorists.

[Cameron27]

19. Horrible and so sad.

It's important that it's all being tracked so that everyone of good conscience will stay alert to these hateful acts.

[IronScorpio5]

23. Uggh

"Savage assault of a 12-year-old Jewish girl Jasmine Kranat, who was beaten unconscious on a north London bus by two teenage girls who asked her first if she was Jewish."


i think i'm going to be sick.

[H2O Man]

32. That is extremely disturbing.

The entire report is alarming. But this case in particular.

[Adelante]

26. This has been building across Europe for years

Not just Britain. It's very disturbing.

[rman]

35. I think there are many more attacks on Muslims

Or does Iraq not count?

[Behind the Aegis]

43. How is that the same as this report?

[rinsd]

47. Let me ask you something

What would you think if when you posted a thread on the trials of the Palestinian people and someone kept bringing up the Holocaust?

Wouldn't you think that person was trying to delegitamize what you were trying to convey?

I sure this has happened to you in one form or another. Strange that you seem to embrace it as a tactic.

[pampango]

63. Of course, most of the attacks on Muslims in Iraq are done by

Muslim suicide bombers, car bombers and death squads. Do we have exclude attacks on Muslims by other Muslims (and attacks on Jews by other Jews) or are we only counting attacks on Muslims and Jews by people of a different faith?

[joe_b]

38. Why the increase?

Lurking Dem has shown how much of the increase was related to the Lebanon war.

My guess is so long as we have politicians like George Bush who try to create and exploit animosity and strife and try to dominate the world militarily instead of promoting peace and understanding, we're going to have an increase in these kinds of attacks. Let's face it, George Bush and his policies inflame the hatreds of many people.

[newyawker99]

39. Hi joe_b!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Shaktimaan]

44. No, I don't think this is in any way influenced (or even influencable) by politicians.

People don't do this kind of thing because they learned it from their political leaders. I mean, look at the violence that occurred during India & Pakistan's partition... and they had Ghandi. In some ways having hawkish leaders can occasionally forestall violence. There's a reason the only Israeli politicians who have been able to broker peace were the hardline hawks.

This kind of xenophobia is ingrained in all of us. Hate of the other. Most reasonable folks have enough education and sensitivity that they don't still live by caveman rules. Some never got that far.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

41. I'm technically jewish; I regularly get anti-arab remarks flung at me in the street.

I'm jewish, but I have a long black beard. I fairly regularly get racist remarks flung at me in the street, but almost always based on the assumption that I'm an arab.

I've encountered "jewish" used to mean "tight with money" a couple of times, but apart from that very little anti-semitism.

The best one was a guy who first asked me if I was "one of those Muslim bastards who'd been blowing up our trains", and then when he found out I was jewish switched to anti-jewish abuse without breaking stride as I walked away.

[Marrah_G]

48. well at least he is an equal opportunity racist!

[geek tragedy]

50. And if you had a pony tail he would have

bashed you for looking too 'gay.'

Prejudices tend to go together.

[TheBaldyMan]

42. racist attacks are up all round, the media have been whipping up xenophobia

and have been doing so for the past couple of years. East Europeans, gypsies and african refugees have been demonised. You are witnessing the outcome.

It's disgusting and shameful, the blame lies firmly with politicians and those that set the politicial agenda. Rather than take a firm stand against such loathsome behaviour they have vied to be the most xenophobic.

[manic expression]

45. Neo-fascism and racism is growing fast in Europe

the BNP actually has a measure of support (a bunch of Neo-Nazis in Britain, basically). Russia is a cess pool of racism, and it seems like it's getting worse.

Hopefully people can oppose these scumbags and FORCE them into silence.

Remember the Battle of Cable Street! No Pasaran!

[GreenTea]

49. Same with attacks on Italians...at a all time high!!!

Calling me a fucking Mussolini loving spaghetti eater! And that all us Italians are criminal mobsters...We love our country and our heritage...this goes back to Italian oppression when the Romans were in control of Italy centuries ago!

[LaPera]

52. You think that's bad, you should see what hate Muslim Americans receive daily.

in this country since Bush has been in office and made all Muslims a target and called Islam a dirty religion.

[ContraBass Black]

54. Is this isolated, or part of a larger trend of hate crimes?

[Behind the Aegis]

56. that is a really good question.

From the articles, I haven't seen if it is an overall trend (an increase in all hate crimes). I don't really know how to access that information, but I can look. I know when the FBI hate crimes stats emerge sometime this month, I will be able to answer that question, as that report shows all hate crimes and trends.

[TheBaldyMan]

67. Please read my post #42

I live in the UK and every major party has been having a competition to see who can bash foreigners the most. It is revolting. There have been quite a few threads started in the UK forum here at DU in the last year precisely on this issue.

Sadly the anti-semitic attacks are not the only race-hate crimes on the increase, pretty much anyone that looks dark-skinned or dresses different comes in for incrasing amounts of harassment. Remember the notorious veil comments from the British ex-Foreign Minister Jack Straw ? His comments have to be put in the wider context of widespread racial slurs in the popular media.

[JCMach1]

60. What about attacks on Muslims? It's not just Jewish people

Oh, let me guess, they're not reporting that... Britain has a problem with all forms of racism-- a big problem that it continues to ignore.

The number of hate crimes primarily affecting Muslims in the United Kingdom soared 600 per cent in the weeks after the London bombings on July 7, police say.

Crime statistics show there were 269 hate-motivated attacks in the three weeks following the bombings that killed 56 people. Similar crimes during the same period last year totalled 40... http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2005/08/03/racism050803.html

London, England - In the backlash that followed the London bombings, there has been a steep rise in incidents of hate crime against Hindus and Sikhs, with most of them perpetrated because of mistaken identity, the Hindu Forum of Britain said in London... http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=18647&sec=46&cont=5

[Behind the Aegis]

61. it was reported...several weeks ago.

There was a thread in LBN and I/P. So, your point would be what?

[in_cog_ni_to]

62. Jews. Jews own the media.

:eyes:

[JCMach1]

65. Please read my update... the issue is British racism, not simply anti-semitism

Britain has become a heavily racist society... It has always been classist and that has only served to fuel the fire.

[TheBaldyMan]

68. become racist? it always was racist.

[sakabatou]

66. Too much hate. So little love.

[Nikki Stone1]

71. Sadly, this is no surprise. The UN had a report a couple of years ago recording the rise in these

kinds of incidents. What is happening in Europe?

[Swamp Rat]

72. Poor little girl!

:cry:

[H2O Man]

76. Some of the responses

on here are sad. Let me explain something that I think is important about hate crimes. I've told some of this story before, and so a few may recognize it.

In 1998, my nephew was the victim of a hate crime. He and a friend were minding their own business, when they were attacked by a gang of about 15 men in a dark field, which was being used as a patking lot at a community event. The two high school students were hit from behind with either rocks or bottles. Then, as my nephew lay unconscious, with his hands in his pockets, he was kicked and punched and left for dead. Doctors would say it was a miracle he lived. He lost the hearing in one ear, and suffered physical injuries that changed his life.

His crime? Being a brown-skinned high school athlete that the media adored, who brought teams to state championships.

There were two gang leaders. One wasn't charged; the other was charged with hitting and kicking an unconscious person more than a dozen times. The three who were charged were big guys: 280, 290, and 310 pounds. They did serious damage. The gang leader received zero consequences for the assault. He did get a $50 fine for having an open beer.

The gang continued to attack people. In one instance, a rifle was fired into a home of a girl, because she dated a black student. Although 7 shots went through the walls, the one gang leader escaped charges.

And then he led attacks on Asian-American students at SUNY-Binghamton. Again, the group left one student for dead. Again, zero legal consequences.

Now, I'll say this: during the ordeal of the trial that led to the $50 fine -- which took five months! -- community-based support brought my family needed emotional support. Some of it was high-profile .... friend Robert Kennedy Jr wrote a beautiful letter requesting the then-republican state attorney general take the case. (The letter was, of course, ignored.) But there were also hundreds of people, including Jewish Americans, Arab Americans, Irish Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans there. None of them mistook it for an opportunity to they were treated worse historically. No. Instead, there was a sense of community. It was not based upon accepting the role of victim -- no! just the opposite. We refuse to be the victims. Hate crimes destroy the fabric of society.

The young FBI agent who would talk to my family, and who advocated having the federal government step in, was Jewish. And it did my little sister good to hear him talk about the way he viewed hate crimes, based upon the horrors that his family endured.

We are not on some fence, where some will be okay while others suffer. Hate crimes are a threat to us all. Those "fences" are things that people put up as psychological barriers, and I can tell you that they do not make us safer. Tear those walls down, and re-use the materials to build mental bridges. If you have such a cold heart that you do not feel for a little girl, who was beat up and knocked unconscious because she was Jewish, there is something very wrong with you.

[rockymountaindem]

79. What a terrible situation

It's pathetic that these criminals got away with their acts, which as you have described them could have and should have gotten them serious time for attempted murder. However, your account of the way in which it brought the community together is touching, and I agree with your message. The fact that others are suffering or have suffered doesn't detract from or minimize the suffering of anybody. By that logic, we should all forget about Iraq and the I/P conflict because of the Darfur genocide. That just doesn't sound right or prudent to me. Thanks for sharing your story and I hope you get some justice soon.

[Beacho]

80. Simple question

Aren't Arabs considered to be a semitic people?

Wouldn't an attack on an Arab technically be 'anti-semitic'?

[Behind the Aegis]

81. Simple answers.

"Aren't Arabs considered to be a semitic people?" Yes.

"Wouldn't an attack on an Arab technically be 'anti-semitic'?" No.

Antisemitism

Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility toward or prejudice against Jews as a religious, racial, or ethnic group, which can range in expression from individual hatred to institutionalized, violent persecution. While the term's etymology may imply that antisemitism is directed against all Semitic peoples, it is in practice used exclusively to refer to hostility towards Jews. The highly explicit ideology of Adolf Hitler's Nazism was the most extreme example of this phenomenon, leading to the Holocaust.

---snip---

Semite refers broadly to speakers of a language group which includes both Arabs and Jews. However, the term antisemitism is specifically used in reference to attitudes held towards Jews. The word antisemitic (antisemitisch in German) was probably first used in 1860 by the Austrian Jewish scholar Moritz Steinschneider in the phrase "antisemitic prejudices" (German: "antisemitische Vorurteile"). Steinschneider used this phrase to characterize Ernest Renan's ideas about how "Semitic races" were inferior to "Aryan races." These pseudo-scientific theories concerning race, civilization, and "progress" had become quite widespread in Europe in the second half of the 19th century, especially as Prussian nationalistic historian Heinrich von Treitschke did much to promote this form of racism. In Treitschke's writings Semitic was practically synonymous with Jewish, in contrast to its usage by Renan and others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Semitism

[Beacho]

82. So it's a question of popular usage

or 'co-opting, as it were.

I never understood why 'semitic' was used to only refer to Jews. I guess I have this attitude because of my familiarity with anthropology and history, where it's more referenced to language groupings(as well as custom) than ethnicity.

[Behind the Aegis]

84. Read the link I provided.

It explains the history of the word. "Semitic" is not only used to refer to Jews, but anti-Semitism is. It really is very simple. Basically, the word was coined by an anti-Semite that wanted a better word than "Jew hater." Consider it the first version of right-wing PC-ism.

[Beacho]

85. interesting point

that it would be used by anti-Jewish bigots to 'upgrade' their hate speech.

BTW, by using the term 'popular usage', I'm not trying to invalidate the term. That is, after all, what makes language.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

83. Why is it going up all of a sudden? I guess hate towards everyone is going up.

Arabs are now the bottom of the totem pole though - right after gays.

At least in this country AND I would guess most of Europe.