[HANASHIR:17166] RE: The OTHER anti-Semites

[Meris Ruzow <meris...>]

It's really very unsettling Eric; my daughter tells me she saw a lot of
that at Columbia when she was there 2 years ago.  Lots of
Pro-Palestinian stuff going on in the Village too.   I shudder to think
what happens at the anti-American rallies across Europe.   We need to
stay together and stay strong.
Meris Ruzow
 
Meris (at) nycap(dot)rr(dot)com
 
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-hanashir (at) 
shamash(dot)org] On
Behalf Of Eric Komar
Sent: Sunday, March 21, 2004 12:10 AM
To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
Subject: [HANASHIR:17162] The OTHER anti-Semites
 
OK, this posting is not music-related, but please bear with me (and
Adrian, excuse me. I don't ordinarily do this).
 
At this stage, instances of anti-Semitism from the Christians that many
of us worried about after "The Passion" are thankfully few and far
between. In fact, I was pleased to learn of rekindled Jewish-Christian
dialogue and also to read of a recent poll showing that for some the
movie sparked more understanding and good will towards Jews. 
 
Today, I witnessed a truly disturbing event that should warrant much
more concern: the "anti-war" rally in New York City. To put it bluntly,
this was NOT a peace rally. This was a "down-with-America-and-Israel"
rally. The participants numbered in the tens of thousands, and hundreds
carried signs with "U.S. occupation of Iraq = Israeli occupation of
Palestine" or the portrayal of Jews as Nazis, swastikas and all. Among
the chief organizers, denouncing the alliance between "imperialist
America" and "imperialist Israel", was the notoriously Anti-Semitic
Communist group International A.N.S.W.E.R. 
 
Interestingly, later major network news coverage showed little to no
footage of the anti-Semitic marchers. But they were there - in droves. 
 
Look, some of us may be against the war, and some may even have marched
in their own local rallies. However, the one in NYC was not simply
anti-war and anti-Bush, but anti-American and anti-Israel, and we should
be careful who we may - quite literally - rub elbows with. I can only
imagine what other protests around the world were like, given that it's
no secret that their organizers are groups that are openly socialist,
pro-Palestine, and pro-terrorism. If anyone felt any uneasiness by "The
Passion" or Mel Gibson or his father, it should be dwarfed by the
actions of hundreds of thousands throughout the world this afternoon. 
- Eric