Jewish/Israeli Exploitation of Black Politicians
In 1989 the Los Angeles Times featured an expose on the questionable
personal and business relationship between Los Angeles Mayor Tom
Bradley and his "friend" Abraham Spiegel. A federal grant
jury was in fact beginning a criminal investigation, also
subpoenaing Bradley's campaign fund-raiser (also Jewish), Ira
Distenfield. (For his part, Distenfield, a Republican, yet the
largest personal campaign contributor to Democrat Bradley in 1985,
was eventually "sued by five current and former city commissioners
for allegedly misappropriating their investments in a limited
partnership that included several other political insiders.")
[CLIFFORD, F., 3-27-85, p. B1; KRIKORIAN, G., 9-3-90, p .B1] "The
City Attorney," noted the Times, "found no illegality in ... the way
a top mayoral aide cut through city red tape for three Spiegel [real
estate] developments ... Nonetheless ... the relationship raises
questions about the degree of access to the mayor enjoyed by
political contributors and supporters who have dealings with the
city ... The sheer number and personal nature of Spiegel favors for
the mayor ensures that he shares an intimacy with Bradley that few
others enjoy." [PASTERNAK/BUNTING, p. 1]
Spiegel even drew the African-American mayor of Los Angeles into the
web of international activism for Israel. "Bradley," noted the
Times, "has traveled twice to Israel to participate in
ground-breaking, and dedication of museum and university buildings
donated by Spiegel. And Spiegel in turn raised funds at a Los
Angeles dinner to establish a Tom Bradley Chair in Social
Integration at a college near Tel Aviv ... Spiegel has often invited
local officials to galas for visiting Israeli dignitaries." The
Times noted one especially disturbing meeting Bradley had with
Spielberg; the other two guests were former Israeli Foreign Minister
Abba Eban and Israel's Los Angeles consul general. "The
discussion at their table," said the Times, "centered on two topics
-- Bradley's friendship for Israel and Spiegel's construction
projects in Los Angeles ... Spiegel became Bradley's 'point man' in
Los Angeles' Jewish community, raising the mayor's profile among
Israeli officials and thus among affluent local supporters of
Israel." [PASTERNAK, J.; BUNTING, Glenn, F.; p. 1]
In Fall 1999, a Jewish Republican, Sam Katz, ran against an
African-American, Democrat John Street, (who beat a Jewish opponent,
Marty Weinberg, in the primary) to replace Ed Rendell as the
(Jewish) mayor of Philadelphia. (Katz's dog, noted a Jewish journal,
is even named Jabo, in honor of the famous right-wing
fascist/Zionist Ze'ev Jabotinsky). 87% of the Jews of
Philadelphia -- despite high nationwide Jewish proclivities to
liberalism and the Democratic Party -- voted for Republican Katz.
[FELDMAN, S., 3-2-2000, p. 1] Katz lost the mayoral contest,
however, to the African-American by a narrow margin. A victory
against Jewish political dominance? Hardly. Jews, after all, are
central to the Democratic Party machine.
As the Jewish Exponent observed about the African-American
candidate's victory:
"From mayor Ed Rendell to District Attorney Lynne Abraham
to City Controller Jonathan Saidel to primary opponent
Marty Weinberg to campaign co-finance chairman Robert Feldman
to State Senator Allyson Schwartz -- it appeared clear that
Street could not have gained his slim victory over Republican Sam
Katz Tuesday without key Jewish supporters. Need more proof?
Also on stage in the [victory] ballroom at the Warwick Hotel were
campaign insiders Leonard Ross, Leonard Klehr and
Mark Alderman; Rabbi Solomon Isaacson, who helped get the
votes out in the far Northeast, and Philadelphia Federation of
Teachers president Ted Kirsch, who prominently endorsed
Street in September. In the back of the room, chief campaign
spokesman Ken Snyder was busy fielding last-minute questions
from reporters, and looking on was campaign media consultant
David Axelrod." [FELDMAN, S., 11-4-99, p. 1]
In a follow-up article, the Jewish Exponent noted that
"As was the case during Street's campaign, Jews are playing prominent
roles in the transition phase [to the new mayor]." Two co-chairs of the
transition committee were Jewish: Leonard Klehr and Judith Rodin
(the president of the University of Pennsylvania). Education Committee
chiefs included Lee Annenberg, David Cohen, and Ralph
Roberts; working under them were Lois Yampolsky and Deborah
Kahn, who was later named to be Philadelphia's Secretary of Education.
[FELDMAN, S., 3-9-2000, p. 15] The Government Organization Committee included
Leonard Ross, Mark Adelman, and Alan Kessler. Marty
Weinberg was in Policy and Programs. Jewish Task Force transition
leaders also included Ed Schwartz, Emmanuel Freeman, Ira
Lubert, Moshe Porat, Marciarose Shestack, David Marshall
(Campaign Chairman for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia),
Harold Goldman (president of Jewish Family and Children's Services),
Michael Blum, Harriet Dichter, Ken Jarin, Robert
Feldman, John Binswanger, Steven Cozen and Rabbi
William Kuhn. [FELDMAN, S., 12-2-99, p. 10]
Two weeks later the Jewish
Exponent featured another article about the many Jews in mayor Street's
entourage, joking to its Jewish audience that "the Jewish community is
well represented in this round of appointments. In fact, if your name
is not on the list, you just might feel left out." Appointments of Jews
in city government included: Education: Shelly Yanoff, Sandra
Fellman, Ted Kirsch. Government Organization Specialists: Bennett
Levin, Larry Silverman, Michael Sklaroff, Ronald
Caplan, Sandy Fox. Policy and Programs: Stuart Shapiro,
Ellen Solms, Neil Stein, Max Berger, Richard Green,
Sharon Pinkenson, Roseann Rosenthal, Larry Cohen,
Bart Blatstein, Marvin Block, Howard Asher, Joseph
Zuritsky, Mike Masch, Deborah Kodish, Adele Manger,
Stephanie Naidoff, Marjorie Sarnoff, Sandra Stein,
Sallie Glickman, Brad Blumberg, Jeffrey Batoff, Judith
Eden, Kenneth Goldberg, Wendy Rosen, Ted Hershberg,
Paul Levy, Ronald Rubin, Connie Beresin, Howard
Kessler, Larry Frankel, Michael Karp, Vicky Weitzman,
Joel Posner, Rabbi Lina Grazier-Zerbarini and Sharon Weinberg.
[FELDMAN, S., 12-16-99, p. 18]
In the same time frame, the Exponent also did an article about the visit
of the Tel Aviv mayor to Philadelphia, noting that the two sites were
"sister cities." "There has been, for a long time -- or as long as I can
remember," noted the Chairman of the Jewish Federation, Joseph Smukler,
"a special relationship between Tel Aviv and Philadelphia." [FELDMAN,
S., 4-20-2000, p. 13]
Among new mayor John Street's ceremonial tasks was to cut the ribbon to
open Philadelphia's new "National Liberty Museum: America's Home for Heroes."
The museum's Executive Director is Gwen Borowsky. Wealthy media
mogul Irwin Borowsky founded the organization. He also is the founder
of the "American Interfaith Institute, which aims to expunge anti-Jewish
sentiment from editions of the New Testament." Borowsky's museum, like
so many these days, clearly aims to appropriate American patriotic heritage
under the umbrella of Jewish Holocaust mythology. In the heart of Philadelphia,
one of the icons of American heritage, the Liberty Museum features a second
floor "hall of heroes [which] is studded with Holocaust memories." [MONO,
B., 1-20-2000, p. 9]
And new Philadelphia mayor John Street's inevitable bending to Jewish
Zionist concerns and their ties to Israel? In 1998, while still a city
councilman, Street, his wife, and son were flown to Israel for eight days
as a guest of a Philadelphia Jewish businessman, Joseph Zuritsky.
Criticism of Israel, nor Jewish loyalties, was not the focus of a Philadelphia
Daily News story about the trip. After all, as the paper observed, "Most
of the potential candidates in the 1999 mayor's race, as well as Mayor
Rendell, have traveled to Israel at some point in their careers -- and
in most cases the trip was paid for or subsidized by one of several groups
promoting closer U.S. ties to the Jewish state." These politicians courted
by Zionists include Happy Fernandez, Doug Evans, and John White, Jr.)
[BUNCH, W., 11-2-98]
Rather, the Daily News piece examined the economic
self-interests of Zuritsky (the CEO of the Parkway Corporation, Philadelphia's
major "parking lot developer"), in sponsoring Street's trip to the Jewish
state. The future mayor's journey "was paid for by a parking-lot magnate
at the same time his firm was lobbying the [City] Council for millions
of dollars in low-cost financing for a Center City development ... Zuritsky
said he had no motive in sponsoring the trip -- which had planning assistance
from several local Jewish community leaders -- other than to educate Philadelphia's
highest-ranking black leader about Israel and Mideast politics. He said
he wanted to promote ethnic harmony." [BUNCH, W., 11-2-98]
Among the critics of the trip was the president of the Philadelphia division
of Common Cause, Barry Kaufmann,
Israeli propagandizing influence in the African-American community --
from Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley across the country to Philadelphia
mayor John Street [the African-American mayor of Washington D.C. -- also
included Washington DC mayor Marion Barry, famed when he was busted for
cocaine possession in 1990. He also had a Jewish "longtime friend and
campaign fundraiser": Jeffrey Cohen. [LAFRANIERE, S., 1-19-90]
Jewish/Israeli influence in the Black community was also noted by the
Jerusalem Post in 1996, in a piece headlined "The Israeli "Secret"
Diplomacy Inside the Afro-American Community." As the Post observed:
"There are 100 Black colleges and universities in this country but only
41 are members of the United Negro College Fund presided over by William
H. Gray, III, the ex-congressman. And he is the 'secret weapon' of Israel
... Black scholars, intellectuals and students are the new Israeli target
group."
Softening African-Americans to Israeli propaganda is expedited by "Israel
Cultural Days" at Black American colleges, visits by Ethiopian Jews (who,
never stated, face, as Blacks, omnipresent racism in Israel: see Israel
chapter), and vacations to Israel for seven presidents of African-American
colleges to build "a new bridge between the academic community in Israel
and the black academic community in this country." [NAHSHON, G., 3-96]
In 2001, after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington
DC, even Al Sharpton, the controversial African-American religious leader
who had long been at odds with Jewish organizations, visited Israel. As
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach explained, Sharpton was known as "someone
who was antagonistic to the Jewish community. But I think anyone who knew
him privately, Rabbi Schneier, myself, [knew] that was clearly
not the case ... After September 11 ... he said to me that he wanted to
make a bold gesture of reconciliation to the Jewish community ... I hope
that all my Jewish brothers and sisters will extend not just an olive
branch, but a warm hand of familial friendship, seeing Rev. Sharpton as
a friend of the Jewish community, as a friend of the State of Israel."
[FORWARD, 10-26-01] The Village Voice also notes that Sharpton
has also been courted by Jewish New York mayoral candidate Mark Green
who "took Sharpton and his wife to the opening of a performance of
Judgment at Nuremberg, a Broadway play about the Holocaust. At the same
time Green was trying to kosher Sharpton, he was riding his coattails
to popularity in the African American community." [NOEL, P. 10-22-01]
Council's Minority Caucus Should Welcome Weprin,
Newsday
(Editorial) , March 4, 2002
"The Weprin name is as synonymous with Jewish affairs as it
is with Queens politics. So some members of the City Council's Black and
Hispanic Caucus were understandably taken aback when a membership application
arrived from Councilman David Weprin - whose mother is a Jewish-Cuban
immigrant. Some of the caucus' 25 members are resisting, which is troubling
because of the message it sends. Even if the Hollis Democrat has not identified
as much with Hispanic causes, he is emblematic of a city in which many
people claim multiple heritage. That he's extending his reach later in
life is a poor excuse for discouraging him from joining the caucus, which
is not some private club."
Zionist Logic - Malcolm X on Zionism, by Malcolm X (Omowale Malcolm
X Shabazz), Taken from The Egyptian Gazette -- Sept. 17, 1964,
malcolm-x.org
"If the Israeli Zionists believe their present occupation of Arab
Palestine is the fulfillment of predictions made by their Jewish prophets,
then they also religiously believe that Israel must fulfill its "divine"
mission to rule all other nations with a rod of irons, which only means
a different form of iron-like rule, more firmly entrenched even, than
that of the former European Colonial Powers. These Israeli Zionists religiously
believe their Jewish God has chosen them to replace the outdated European
colonialism with a new form of colonialism, so well disguised that it
will enable them to deceive the African masses into submitting willingly
to their 'divine' authority and guidance, without the African masses being
aware that they are still colonized ... The Israeli Zionists are convinced
they have successfully camouflaged their new kind of colonialism. Their
colonialism appears to be more 'benevolent,' more 'philanthropic,' a system
with which they rule simply by getting their potential victims to accept
their friendly offers of economic 'aid,' and other tempting gifts, that
they dangle in front of the newly-independent African nations, whose economies
are experiencing great difficulties ... The modern 20th century weapon
of neo-imperialism is 'dollarism.' The Zionists have mastered the science
of dollarism: the ability to come posing as a friend and benefactor, bearing
gifts and all other forms of economic aid and offers of technical assistance.
Thus, the power and influence of Zionist Israel in many of the newly 'independent'
African nations has fast-become even more unshakeable than that of the
18th century European colonialists... and this new kind of Zionist colonialism
differs only in form and method, but never in motive or objective."
Apartheid
in the Holy Land, by Desmund Tutu [South African Bishop, Nobel Prize
winner, and activist against apartheid],
The Guardian, April 29, 2002
"I have experienced Palestinians pointing to what were their homes,
now occupied by Jewish Israelis. I was walking with Canon Naim Ateek (the
head of the Sabeel Ecumenical Centre) in Jerusalem. He pointed and said:
'Our home was over there. We were driven out of our home; it is now occupied
by Israeli Jews.' My heart aches. I say why are our memories so short.
Have our Jewish sisters and brothers forgotten their humiliation? Have
they forgotten the collective punishment, the home demolitions, in their
own history so soon? Have they turned their backs on their profound and
noble religious traditions? Have they forgotten that God cares deeply
about the downtrodden? Israel will never get true security and safety
through oppressing another people. A true peace can ultimately be built
only on justice. We condemn the violence of suicide bombers, and we condemn
the corruption of young minds taught hatred; but we also condemn the violence
of military incursions in the occupied lands, and the inhumanity that
won't let ambulances reach the injured. The military action of recent
days, I predict with certainty, will not provide the security and peace
Israelis want; it will only intensify the hatred ... My brother Naim Ateek
has said what we used to say: "I am not pro- this people or that. I am
pro-justice, pro-freedom. I am anti- injustice, anti-oppression." But
you know as well as I do that, somehow, the Israeli government is placed
on a pedestal [in the US], and to criticise it is to be immediately dubbed
anti-semitic, as if the Palestinians were not semitic. I am not even anti-white,
despite the madness of that group. And how did it come about that Israel
was collaborating with the apartheid government on security measures?
People are scared in this country [the US], to say wrong is wrong because
the Jewish lobby is powerful - very powerful. Well, so what? For goodness
sake, this is God's world! We live in a moral universe. The apartheid
government was very powerful, but today it no longer exists. Hitler, Mussolini,
Stalin, Pinochet, Milosevic, and Idi Amin were all powerful, but in the
end they bit the dust."
Schuster, Joshua. Jews Want E. Bay School Activist Removed for Racism,
Jewish Bulletin of Northern California, 3/5/1999, p. 12A
"Oscar Wright lit the fuse in December when he remarked that an attempt
to oust the district's superintendent was a play for 'white and Jewish
control' of the predominantly minority district. He has continued to make
such comments at school board meetings and to the press, which has in
turn given wide coverage to his statements. Wright, 76, is a community
activist and the appointed co-chair of the school district's Task Force
on African-American students. He has a a history of anti-Semitic speech
dating back to at least 1993. 'Wright should be removed from the task
force,' said Jan Malvin, who works for Oakland's Human Relation
Commission and has been following Wright's case for several years. Malvin,
who is Jewish, said, 'The issue is racist rhetoric at the school board
in general. Anti-Semitism is part of the bigger picture.' In 1993, Wright
told the board that a cadre of Jews from the schools to the government
to businesses was responsible for some of the 'wickedest acts of institutional
racism against black people.' Local Jews didn't want to hear it again.
'He's the wrong person to hold an official position,' said Barbara
Bergen, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League ... Wright's
anti-Semitic epithets, however, are apparently directed at school board
member Dan Siegel and Alameda County Superintendent of Schools
Sheila Jordan. Both are Jewish ... Wright has not been the only
one to denounce Jews in the Oakland school district in recent history.
Superintendent Jordan said that when she was on the school board from
1988 to 1992, a flurry of anti-Semitic remarks was hurled at Jewish board
members. Some Jewish members ended up resigning."
Blacks
and Jews: The end of an alliance,
Final Call, September 24, 2002
"The recent defeat of Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of the 4th District
of Georgia by Judge Denise Majette has caused vast soul searching among
Black Americans. We may quibble over the causes of McKinney’s defeat.
Yes, there was a low Black voter turnout. Yes, White Republicans crossed
over and voted against McKinney in the Democratic primary. Yes, certain
prominent Black Americans withdrew their support for McKinney at a critical
stage before the election. While all of the above were contributing factors
to McKinney’s defeat, the most significant cause was an outside force
that mobilized strong support for her opposition. When asked to identify
this force, Georgia state legislator and father of McKinney, Billy McKinney,
stated to the media: "J-E-W-S." Indeed, it was the Jewish lobby that not
only orchestrated, headed, mobilized and funded Congresswoman McKinney’s
defeat, these same organized Jews—particularly the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC)—also defeated Alabama’s five-term Black incumbent,
Representative Earl Hilliard, earlier this year ... While I share the
outrage of many Black Americans over this, the latest successful move
by prominent Jews to silence outspoken Black leaders and to set the Black
agenda, I also sense that there is greater indignation now than ever before
over this ongoing affront. So much so that for many Blacks, THIS IS INDEED
THE LAST STRAW!!! Consequently, it is high time—no, long past time—that
Black Americans everywhere re-evaluate the so-called Black/Jewish alliance
... This tendency of prominent Blacks to placate Jews by ignoring their
excesses or deflecting criticism from them is precisely why so many Jewish
leaders and organizations have consistently criticized, defamed, degraded
and defeated certain Black leaders with impunity—AND WILL DO SO AGAIN.
Jewish leaders have clearly decided that, no matter how widespread the
outrage among Black people, if Black leaders—fearing Jewish reprisals—continue
to cower before them, to rationalize their racism and to apologize for
their flagrant disrespect for Blacks, Jews will suffer no consequences
for their actions ... In light of the crisis before us, Black leaders
must close ranks and act on one accord. The defeat of McKinney and Hilliard
is not the work of a disaffected ally, but of cold-blooded racists who
are willing to block Black progress—no matter what the cost to Black Americans
in a loss of power and influence—if it conflicts with the overall Jewish
agenda. It is high time, at this historical juncture, for Black Americans—the
long-suffering, ever-obliging buffer between Whites and Jews—to step aside
and let Jews fend for themselves so that White people will, at long last,
stop focusing on Black people and get a good look at American Jews, whose
McCarthyistic tactics and stranglehold on Congress threaten to make this
country the United States of Israel."
Blacks,
Jews meet to mend relations,
Washington Times, September 11, 2002
"The defeat last month of Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney has further widened
the split between blacks and Jews, despite Democratic efforts to heal
the rift dividing two key parts of an important coalition. Mrs. McKinney's
loss in the Georgia primary was the second primary loss suffered by an
incumbent black Democrat. Rep. Earl F. Hilliard of neighboring Alabama
lost in June. In both elections, the incumbents blamed Jewish money flowing
to their opponents ... Mrs. McKinney's father, state Rep. Billy McKinney,
said before the Georgia primary that the effort against his daughter was
a Jewish plot. 'Jews bought everybody. That's J-E-W-S,' he said."
Wither
Congress, Wither America? Crushing Congressional Dissent: The Fall of
Hilliard, Barr and McKinney,
Counterpunch, August 22, 2002
"Hilliard and McKinney join a long list of politicians who were defeated
after advocating an independent U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East:
Senators Charles Percy, James Abourezk, James Abdnor, and J. William Fulbright,
and Representatives Paul Findley and Paul McCloskey. The careers of Adlai
Stevenson and William Scranton were similarly ended after they supported
a Middle East policy less tied to the interests of Israel. Only Michigan's
veteran Representative John Dingell was able to stave off a recent assault
from the powerful American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC)
in a match off with fellow Representative Lynn Rivers in a redrawn congressional
district."
Splenetic Thoughts
for Dog Days From Cynthia McKinney to Katha Pollitt, to the ILWU to Paul
Krugman,
Counterpunch, August 21, 2002
"One less radical black voice in Congress. One less champion of labor.
One less brave soul unafraid to jump the traces of political orthodoxy.
Cynthia McKinney, five-term US rep from Georgia's Fourth District, was
beaten in Tuesday's Democratic primary by Denise Majette, also black,
a former judge, put in with the help of lots of money from American
Jewish groups and by a hefty Republican cross-over in Georgia's
open primary. Don't you think that if Arab-American groups or African-American
groups targeted an incumbent white liberal, maybe Jewish, congressperson,
and shipped in money by the truckload to oust the incumbent, the rafters
would shake with bellows of outrage. Yet when a torrent of money from
out of state American Jewish organizations smashed Earl Hilliard, first
elected black congressperson in Alabama since Reconstruction, you could
have heard a mouse cough. Hilliard had made the fatal error of calling
for some measure of even-handedness in the Middle East. So he was targeted
by AIPAC and the others. Down he went, defeated in the Democratic
primary by Artur Davis, a black lawyer who obediently sang for his supper
of the topic of Israel. Then it was McKinney's turn. A terrific
liberal black congresswoman. Like Hilliard she wasn't cowed by the Israel
right-or-wrong lobby and called for real debate on the Middle East. And
she called for a real examination of the lead-up to 9/11. So the sky fell
in on her. Torrents of American Jewish money showered her
opponent, a black woman judge called Majette. Buckets of sewage were poured
over McKinney's head in the Washington Post and the Atlanta
Constitution."
Impact
of McKinney Loss Worries Some Democrats Tension Between Blacks, Jews a
Concern ,
Washington Post, August 22, 2002
"Black and Jewish political leaders voiced concerns yesterday that
the defeat of Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.), a critic of pro-Israel policies,
by a challenger receiving extensive Jewish support might intensify ill
feelings between two important Democratic constituencies. Any increase
in tensions between Jewish and African American voters, political activists
said, could damage Democratic hopes of taking back the House and keeping
control of the Senate. Aided by hefty contributions from Jewish donors
and big vote totals in predominantly white precincts, former state judge
Denise Majette soundly defeated McKinney -- 58 percent to 42 percent --
in Tuesday's primary in Georgia. Majette is strongly favored to win the
Nov. 5 general election in the solidly Democratic district near Atlanta.
Although both Majette and McKinney are African American, the unusual interest
in their primary by pro-Israel groups backing Majette and by pro-Muslim
groups backing McKinney triggered talk yesterday of a potential for sharpened
conflicts between blacks and Jews -- in Georgia and elsewhere. Rep. Eddie
Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said
that 'at the grass roots' among African American voters, there is a growing
perception that "Jewish people are attempting to pick our leaders. . .
. There is some concern about that. It's concern about any candidate being
targeted by a special-interest group for voting on any one issue.'"
N.J.
Gov. Seeks Authority to Fire Poet, Newsday,
October 6, 2002
"Gov. James E. McGreevey is seeking the power to fire the state's
poet laureate, who has refused repeated calls to resign after writing
a Sept. 11 memorial poem criticized as anti-Semitic. Legislation giving
the governor the authority to end Amiri Baraka's two-year term could be
introduced as early as Monday, McGreevey said Sunday. Last month, McGreevey
demanded Baraka's resignation after the poet read 'Somebody Blew Up America'
at an August festival. Then he tried to fire him, but the attorney general
ruled he did not have the authority. The poem, written in October 2001,
refers to an oft-repeated but long-discredited rumor, saying: 'Who told
4,000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers to stay home that day? Why did
Sharon stay away?'"
N.J.
Poet Strikes Back at Critics,
By Michael Weissenstein, Newsday,
October 17, 2002
"Stung by accusations of anti-Semitism, New Jersey poet laureate
[and African-American] Amiri Baraka struck back at critics from the stage
of a downtown poetry cafe, saying he wanted to know 'why the Anti-Defamation
League is not registered as an agent of a foreign power.' The Jewish civil
rights organization and the governor of New Jersey have called for Baraka's
resignation over his poem, 'Somebody Blew Up America,' which implies that
Israel had prior knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks. In a nearly hour-long
monologue and question-and-answer session Thursday at the Bowery Poetry
Club, Baraka criticized Israeli and Jewish groups' involvement in U.S.
politics and reiterated that he would not give up his post ... New Jersey
Gov. James E. McGreevey has sought Baraka's resignation as official state
poet. A pending bill in the state legislature would give the state Council
for the Humanities authority to remove the laureate. The title cannot
currently be rescinded. Baraka also blasted McGreevey for appointing Golan
Cipel, an Israeli national, as his unpaid liaison to New Jersey Jews.
'In New Jersey, there is an Israeli national shaping the opinion of the
state's Jewish community,' Baraka said."
Investigation:
Elections Official Accused Of Anti-Semitism Community; Relations Coordinator's
Background, Beliefs Questioned,
Channel 10 (Florida),
October 9, 2002
"An employee working for the Broward County supervisor of elections
may find himself having difficulty with more than helping manage the election,
Channel 10 News has learned ... Channel 10 reporter Jeff Weinsier
has been looking into [African-American Jimmy] Davis' background and performance.
Here's a sample of Davis' writing that Weinsier found in the Westside
Gazette published in late 2000: 'How dare the Jews ask or have the
nerve to demand an apology or compensation from their oppressors.' 'The
Jews must turn that money over to blacks because they accumulated their
wealth through the slave trade.' And later: 'It is difficult for me to
find sympathy for what the Jews are calling a holocaust' ... Channel 10
News has learned that soon after Davis was hired, there were problems
on the job. Elections officials found what they describe as anti-Semitic
e-mails on Davis' computer in the supervisor's office. After less than
two weeks on the job, personnel records show Davis' pay was cut, he lost
his supervisor's position, and he was demoted. Weinsier was told
that the reason Davis was not fired was because the evidence against Davis
was 'second and third hand.'"
Sharpton
Parley With Israelis Turns Focus to 2004,
[Jewish] Forward, October 11, 2002
"The Rev. Al Sharpton hosted a delegation of Israeli students at
his Harlem offices last week in what many saw as a bit of image-polishing
ahead of his intended run for president in 2004. The controversial civil
rights leader, who antagonized many Jews and others in the past decade
with his comments during several racially fraught episodes in the Empire
State, welcomed the two Ethiopian-born and two native Israeli students
at his National Action Alliance headquarters in a meeting arranged by
the Israeli consulate. They discussed how terrorism had changed life in
Israel and America, while the reverend showed the students some gifts
he had received at an absorption center for Ethiopians during his trip
to Israel last year. The consulate billed the meeting as 'another show
of solidarity with the people of Israel' and a 'look at the human price
of terrorism' ... Sharpton's relations with New York Jews also have ramifications
for national Democratic politics ... Sharpton's consultant Ramirez said
the minister had not yet decided to make a presidential run ... The Jewish
vote is a crucial factor in Democratic primaries in New York and California.
Dismissing any political concerns, the Israelis, for their part, professed
themselves to be pleased with the Sharpton meeting. David Nekrutman,
the consulate's director of community relations, said the consulate had
staged two previous events with Sharpton: a meeting before his trip to
Israel and a September 11 memorial prayer service six months ago. As far
as Israel is concerned, such meetings serve to 'bring a face of Israel
not shown in the media... meaning a black face' to the attention of Americans,
Nekrutman said."
Interview: Alan Keyes, by Charley J. Levine. Hadassah
[the women's Zionist organization], October 2002, p. 12
[Alan Keyes is African-American and a former member of the United States
delegation to the United Nations]
"Alan Keye's quixotic run for the Republican presidential nomination
in 2000 may not have attracted many voters, but it made him a leading
figure among conservative intellectuals. The protests, particularly among
American Jews, over the cancellation of his talk show on MSNBC earlier
this year showed his popularity broadening among at least one more liberal
constituency ... Q: What is behind the love affair behind
American Jews and Alan Keyes? How do you react to headlines this one in
a recent Jewish newspaper: 'Jews Go Ga-Ga for Pro-Israel TV Host?'
A:
I've simply tried to talk about issues in a way that I think has integrity
...Q: Does the concept of Israel being a light unto the nations
have meaning for you? A: The twentieth century and the culmination
of the aeons-long saga of the Jewish people in the Holocaust set the stage
for one of the most breathtaking demonstrations of the inextinguishable
quality of the human spirit. Israel is the tangible manifestation of the
truth that I see in Jewish people all the time and marvel at."
Southern
Poverty Law Center,
Guide Star Pages (The National Database of
Nonprofit Organizations)
"Financial Info: Fiscal Year: 2000. Assets: $147,441,903.
Income: $32,520,416 ... Chief Executive: Mr. Joseph J. Levin, Jr."
(President and Chairman of the Board).
[What
about the Southern Poverty Law Center, famed fighter for the impoverished
and African-American rights, especially in the South? It is based in Montgomery,
Alabama, and in 1996 the local Montgomery Advertiser printed an
embarrassing expose about the Center. The salary, noted the paper, for
SPLC president and CEO (as well as SPLC co-founder) Joseph Levin was $137,798
a year. Not bad for a fighter on behalf of those mired in poverty. The
Center's Legal Director, Richard Cohen, made $151,420. But that's not
all. The Advertiser further noted that
Minister Louis
Farrakhan,
Anti-Defamation League
Louis Farrakan comments about Jews:
"And you do with me as is written, but remember that I have warned
you that Allah will punish you. You are wicked deceivers of the American
people. You have sucked their blood. You are not real Jews, those of you
that are not real Jews. You are the synagogue of Satan, and you have wrapped
your tentacles around the U.S. government, and you are deceiving and sending
this nation to hell. But I warn you in the name of Allah, you would be
wise to leave me alone. But if you choose to crucify me, know that Allah
will crucify you."
-Savior's Day Speech, Chicago, February 25, 1996
"They [Jews] cannot stop me in what I'm doing and the power of God
is with me and it's time for them to recognize that everything they've
done has been able to thwart our progress towards the resurrection of
our people."
-New Bethel Baptist Church, Detroit, April 16, 1996
"What are [Jews] saying, that 'I'm the boss,' that crap is why I'm
fighting. This is why I'm here: Because too many of our people are under
the inordinate control of members of that family, and I can't sit idly
by and watch you punk out in your life. You're a big man in front of me,
but your future is controlled by somebody else. If you're a doctor, of
the AMA [the American Medical Association], it's members of the Jewish
community. If it's the lawyers, they're in there, I it's the social workers,
if it's medicine, if it's science, if you don't play ball, you don't move."
-District Council 33 Union Hall, Philadelphia, April 22, 1996
"It becomes very difficult when people want to be exclusive. You
know, like the Jews have an exclusive club, who are the 'chosen' of God
-- that you are not 'chosen,' that he is not, that they are not. The question
that I always raise is 'Are you using your influence to bring people to
God? Or are you using your influence in a Satanic way?' That is not anti-Semitism.
That is dealing with truth, as I see it. So when I see Jews and Anglo-Saxons
involved in manipulation, like causing members of Congress to take away
from the government the right to print money and instruments of credit,
and then establishing a Federal Reserve system so the printing of currency
of America is not owned by the government, but by families --that, to
me, is Satanic, man!"
-Interview with Louis Farrakhan in Utah Business Magazine, July 1996
"Of course, it's true (that it is the truth to call Jewish, and other
inner-city business owners bloodsuckers). A bloodsucker is as a bloodsucker
does, whether it's Jewish, Asian, or Black. When you take from a community
and give nothing back, what are you doing? You are living from that community.
You put a leech on your arm and let that leech suck your blood, what does
that leech give? Nothing. What does it take away? The lifeblood of that
organism."
-Interview in Swing magazine, October 1996
"On the Jewish myth: [U]ntil Jews apologize for their hand in that
ugly slave trade; and until the Jewish rabbis and the Talmudic scholars
that made up the Hamitic myth -- that we were the children of Ham, doomed
and cursed to be hewers of wood and drawers of water -- apologize, then
I have nothing to apologize for."
-Interview in Swing magazine, October 1996
[Two-faced and loaded with Jewish "PAC" money, Lieberman
seeks to buy the Black vote]
The
Lieberman Coalition Guess who's coming to the support of his campaign?
by Stephen F. Hayes, Weekly Standard, 1/27/2003,
Volume 008, Issue 19
"It's odd to say the least --Joe Lieberman, first ever Jewish-American
presidential candidate, leading the Democratic field in support from black
voters. But according to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll asking
black Democrats who they liked best from a list that included Al Sharpton,
that's exactly what is happening today. The first explanation most political
observers give for this popularity is also the most obvious: name identification.
A former vice presidential candidate gets a head start from having his
name on the leftover blue and red bumper stickers that still decorate
the rear ends of cars across the country ... And since the 2000 campaign
ended, even before he knew for sure he would run in 2004, Lieberman
spent time cultivating support among African-American leaders in Washington
and around the country ... Last spring, as he waited for Al Gore to decide
whether to make another bid for the White House, Lieberman telephoned
Eddie Bernice Johnson, then head of the Congressional Black Caucus, to
ask which caucus members he might support with his PAC. She gave him a
list of the CBC members thought to be most vulnerable, and Lieberman
contributed to almost 20 of them. Among his contributions was a $1,000
check to the reelection effort of Rep. Earl Hilliard of Alabama. Hilliard
had a long record of hostility to Israel. He refused to sign a resolution
in support of Israel's war on terrorism, and sponsored a bill, after September
11, that would have lifted sanctions on states that sponsor terrorism.
Columnist Cynthia Tucker called Hilliard 'a loose cannon, a dimwit, and
perhaps a crook' who 'gained a reputation for trying to persuade his colleagues
to vote against pro-Israeli initiatives.' Hilliard lost in a nasty June
primary in which his opponent solicited and received large sums from Jewish
Democrats. After the race, he warned of a 'future with a great deal of
conflict between African Americans and Jews in this country' and suggested
African Americans would seek 'retribution' for his loss. Lieberman's
advisers point out that the money was given in late March, several weeks
before the primary turned into a bitter referendum on the Middle East.
But the senator's critics say the Hilliard contribution is one example
of just how far Lieberman is willing to go to win support among
black politicians and voters. Another, they say, came last week, when
Lieberman blasted the Bush administration for filing a brief with the
Supreme Court opposing the University of Michigan's affirmative action
program. 'I am deeply disappointed by the president's decision today,'
Lieberman said. 'This was an opportunity for the president to demonstrate
his commitment to achieving real equality in education. Instead, he sided
with the right wing of his party, and sent a signal that equal opportunity
in higher education is a low priority for his administration.' It's a
shot that might be expected from any of the other Democrats running for
president. But Lieberman's own views on racial preferences in the
mid-1990s put him arguably to the right of where President Bush is today
... Lieberman went further. He infuriated many in his own party
when he said he would support California's Proposition 209--a 1996 statewide
ballot initiative that banned racial preferences--taking a step then Governor
George W. Bush would not ... [African-American] Representative Maxine
Waters said Lieberman must be 'vigorously opposed' because 'what he's
doing is dangerous.' A local Connecticut Democratic party chapter circulated
a petition to oppose Lieberman's efforts, and Jesse Jackson teamed
with the National Organization for Women to sponsor an anti-Lieberman
rally at Yale University, Lieberman's alma mater. Jackson also
fired off a four-page letter to Lieberman calling the senator's
remarks 'particularly irresponsible,' later adding that on affirmative
action 'Lieberman and Jesse Helms are indistinguishable.'"
[Same theme: Jewish money and Blacks at its mercy. Jews own the Democratic
Party; march to the Israeli drum or you're history.]
Sharpton
Will Seek Jewish Dollars, Says an Aide,
[Jewish] Forward, January 17, 2003
"Reverend Al Sharpton is seeking campaign contributions from the
Jewish community like any other presidential candidate, according to his
political adviser. Former Bronx Democratic Party chairman Roberto Ramirez
told the Forward that Sharpton's 'progressive, populist and clear
message' would attract Jewish campaign dollars despite his often dicey
relations with the community. The civil rights firebrand is anathema to
many New York Jews because of conduct many Jews viewed as inflammatory
during two local racial incidents: the 1991 Crown Heights riots and the
demonstrations that preceded the 1995 torching of a Jewish-owned clothing
store in Harlem. Eight people died in those incidents ... 'I would hope
and argue that in there lies a wealth of support,' Ramirez said in an
interview in his New York office Monday. Jewish
donors supply a vastly disproportionate share of the millions raised by
Democratic presidential candidates; the amount has never been measured,
but political operatives say that it is more than half. Ramirez
said that Sharpton, who plans on creating a presidential exploratory committee
later this month, did not need as much money as some others would ...
Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding
and a Sharpton confidant, said the minister would have 'limited' support
in the Jewish community. 'He has sought rapprochement with the Jewish
community,' Schneier said, but "the Jewish community at large is very
suspect and remains very much on edge when it comes to Al Sharpton and
his candidacy.'"
ZOA
Protests Campus Speaking Engagements by Tutu,
by Max Gross, [Jewish] Forward, April
11, 2003
"The Zionist Organization of America has denounced two universities
for inviting Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu to speak on their
campuses. Citing at least half a dozen instances in which the anti-apartheid
activist spoke out against Israel, ZOA president Morton Klein criticized
Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law for hosting Tutu last week
and the University of Pennsylvania for inviting Tutu to be its commencement
speaker in May. Tutu, said Klein, 'is viciously anti-Israel. To
give a podium [to a] man who hates Israel, who compared Israel to Hitler,
is shameful.' In a speech last year in Boston, Tutu was quoted by the
Israeli daily Ha'aretz as saying the Palestinian experience 'reminded
me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa.... I say
why are our memories so short? Have our Jewish sisters and brothers forgotten
their humiliation?' Tutu has also voiced support for efforts to convince
American universities and municipalities to divest from Israel. The ZOA
is not alone in objecting to Tutu. 'Many students would have preferred
that Tutu not be chosen as commencement speaker,' said Rabbi Howard
Alpert, executive director of Hillel of Greater Philadelphia. 'That
being said, since he is coming, most students are hoping that their commencement,
that their one graduation, will go on unimpeded.' Tutu could not be reached
for comment by press time, but other Jews have defended Tutu against charges
of antisemitism. 'He's the chief patron of the Holocaust museum' in South
Africa, said Yehuda Kay, national director of the South African
Jewish Board of Deputies 'In no way is... Archbishop Tutu an antisemite.'"
From:
WHEN
VICTIMS RULE. A CRITIQUE OF
JEWISH PRE-EMINENCE IN AMERICA
Return to:
Jewish Tribal Review
