The ash bin of history

There is a t-shirt that lists all the countries that tried to wipe out the Jews. Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and more, up to the "previous German government," as I like to call it. It's a long list. And all those countries, incredibly, lie on the ash bin of history. Once great civilizations, some of the most advanced of their time, exist today only in history books.

It's a startling record for countries for which antisemitism played a major role in shaping domestic policy. One would think this list would also serve as a guide for countries in our era that make decisions regarding policies toward Jews. Sadly, too many countries, motivated by religious hatred, ignore the lessons of the past. They continue to treat their native Jewish population horribly (Iran) and/or arm Israel's enemies (Iran, Syria). Will their antisemitic efforts seal their fate?

Intifada on campus

Speaking of mass murder....

Communism was responsible for the deaths of over 100 million innocent people in the previous century.

Vladimir Lenin. Josef Stalin. Mao Tse-Tung. Pol Pot. Heroes of Communism. All were mass murderers. The reason Pol Pot's personal death toll was "only" two million was because his small country had only seven million people. His colleagues were more successful.

These men are still celebrated as heroes in left-wing political groups. They meet at conferences on a regular basis (always in Chicago) to bash Israel and extol the virtues of their political system and their deceased leaders, who were surely misunderstood by the democracies that eventually prevailed.

I saw Joel Pollak speak at a political meeting Aug. 13. His focus was health care, but he spoke briefly about Communism. He pointed out that there is a Holocaust Museum in Washington which teaches children and adults too young to remember about the evils of Nazism. There should be a Museum of Communism, he said. I think he's right. Someone needs to remind us of the evils of a murderous political theology that specialized in arresting and murdering those who dared speak out against the dictatorship. For some reason, Jews always suffered under those dictatorships, too, and modern Communist groups continue to be terribly antisemitic. (Ask them why. They'll insist they're just anti-Israel. Right.) In a triumph of this century's moral relativism, Communism doesn't receive the widespread criticism, disdain and vitriol it deserves.

Antisemitism on the wane?

Until the horrible tragedy at the United States Holocaust Museum this afternoon, many people were apparently under the mistaken impression that antisemitic and racist hatred was on the wane, in the U.S. and worldwide. Just the opposite. The hesitation of media to criticize antisemitic hatred and Islamic terrorism across the Arab world has energized and legitimized such hatred.

Here is a case in point, which has little to do with Arabs but everything to do with Islam: Adbulhakim Mujahid Muhammad shot and killed William Long, 23, June 1 in West Little Rock, Ark. Muhammad, born Carlos Bledsoe, is an African-American convert to Islam. He called the Associated Press today (collect, from jail) and said his attack on Long, who was taking a cigarette break outside a U.S. Army recruiting office where he was volunteering his time, was justified due to U.S. military treatment of Muslims in the Middle East. This story is being handled very quietly by the media even though the circumstances are similar to what transpired in Washington today. The alleged killer is black and Muslim, so he is off-limits. Von Brunn is a white racist--a bit inconvenient that he hates Jews, too, like many Muslims. The media will go after von Brunn, and rightfully so. Muhammad should receive similar coverage, but he hasn't and won't.

The nasty, hate-filled attacks Israel receives on a daily basis at campuses across the U.S. are organized and coordinated by two groups: Muslims and white, middle-class left-wing extremists. The Muslim Student Association apparently spends much of its time and resources on Israel Apartheid Awareness Week (not to be confused with Islamo-Nazi Awareness Week) and spreading a propaganda campaign consisting of denouncements of such a horrible country that it deserves destruction. They harass and intimidate Jewish students, and Hillel houses have come under attack. If groups similarly attacked homosexuals or African-Americans, they would be banned from campus.

Two voting blocs voted for Barack Obama for president expecting him either to change his mind or renege on campaign promises: voters who favor legalizing gay marriage; and Arab-Muslim activists who favor the destruction of Israel. Apparently the latter were very disappointed that Obama addressed AIPAC in June, 2008. (He sent Vice President Biden this year.) They expected him to run for president and not appear pro-Israel? That might happen in 2012; we'll see. Too soon to tell. At this point, Americans who seek Israel's destruction must be pleased that the White House seems to be singling out Israel for criticism and are surely quite hopeful the U.S.-Israel relationship takes a sharp turn for the worse. The hatred of Jews is never far behind hatred of Israel. Without Israel, the International Socialist Organization doesn't have much of a political platform. Of course, everything it favors--women's rights, workers' rights, gay rights, abortion rights, laborers' rights--are permitted in Israel and banned across the Arab world. But Israel is a Jewish state, so it must be destroyed. I spoke to one socialist at the Howard cta station (mistake, I know) who told me he objected to Israel's status as a Jewish state. Of course the 23 Arab-Muslim states didn't bother him in the slightest. Socialists seem to have this idea of replacing Israel with a secular utopia. In the Middle East.