By Amy Zewe—
What have the Jews suffered from recently?
I ask because Jews now more than ever are continually targeted as the oppressors and causes to ills worldwide. Clearly these notions are lies and hateful—so what has the media missed in its hype for social justice?
The Algemeiner, June 17, 2020, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Dr. Mozhgan Savabieasfahani has spent the past 16 years picketing outside a synagogue in Ann Arbor on Shabbat holding up signs among other things with swastikas and harassing Jewish children. She is running now for public office, city council, as a progressive. Originally from Iran she is a professor at the university in Ann Arbor and is part of environmental studies department. She has long advocated for BDS activities in addition to her Shabbat evenings holding offensive signage.
In Canada, new data shows, “Jews Most Targeted Group for Hate Crimes in Toronto Area.”
Newly-published police data showed that Jews were the most targeted group for hate crimes in the greater Toronto area last year. In all, 44 out of 139 hate-related incidents — or 32 percent — registered in the City of Toronto last year targeted Jews. In the neighboring York Region, Jews were targeted in 40 out of 133 total recorded incidents — or 30 percent.
The Times of Israel, reported by Marcy Oster, April 28, 2020, that Ontario had the greatest increase and Quebec saw the largest number of antisemitic incidents for the second year in a row. Ontario and Quebec are home to the largest Jewish communities in Canada. And the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Canada rose to a record high for the fourth consecutive year much of it including online harassment.
The League for Human Rights, part of B’nai Brith Canada, recorded 2,207 anti-Semitic incidents in its 2019 Annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents. That’s an 8 percent increase over the 2,041 incidents from the previous year and an average of more than six per day.
Anti-Semitic incidents in Canada rise to record high for 4th straight year.
Cnaan Liphshiz reported in the Jewish Telegraph Agency, on June 19 that In Brazil, a pastor is preaching from his pulpit “Massacre the Jews, God, hit them with your sword, for they have left God, they have left the nations,” Pastor Tupirani da Hora Lores shouted at dozens of congregants earlier this in April at his Geracao Jesus Cristo church, a recording of the event shows. His congregants are heard repeating his words passionately. He was openly advocating and calling for another Holocaust.
In response, Sinagoga Sem Fronteiras, a network of Jewish communities in Brazil, filed a complaint for incitement against da Hora Lores with federal police, who said they were looking into the case.
On June 12, 2020, Rabbi Alter Yaakov Schlesinger, a Chasidic rabbi, was stabbed multiple times while he was standing in front of a bank in London. Multiple news outlets reported this incident.
Ariel Behar reported in The Algemeiner on June 24 that Linda Sarsour told Zionists they are not welcome at a civil rights rally for Juneteenth. It was an event to celebrate freedom and protest ongoing bigotry and discrimination. But the group Muslims4Abolition openly engaged in bigotry and discrimination in promoting its Juneteenth rally (June 19) in New York. The event, an advertisement made clear, was “open to all, minus cops & Zionists.”
Anti-racism protesters in Paris last month yell ‘dirty Jews’ at counter-protesters. They amassed in Paris’s Place de la République, carrying banners accusing Israel of massacring Palestinians and shouting ‘dirty Jews’ at their opponents. More recently at protests in Belgium in early July, “Slaughter the Jews” was chanted.
Times of Israel reported on June 15 that in Los Angeles in May and June 2020, in the wake of George Floyd protests, the Jews were the target of many chaos-makers in L.A. This city’s Fairfax district, a heavily Jewish area that has been continuously represented by a Jewish city councilman since 1953, was hit particularly hard by the kind of vandalism that has struck major cities following the killing of George Floyd in police custody.
JTA.org also posted an article regarding the L.A. incidents including graffiti on the walls of synagogues that read “Free Palestine” and “f*** Israel.” A statue of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis, was smeared with anti-Semitic slogans.
Along with the synagogues, Jewish-owned buildings and stores vandalized and defaced. Several were smeared with anti-Semitic graffiti. The businesses were also looted.
“The attack on our community last night was vicious and criminal,” Paul Koretz, the district’s current city councilman, said in a statement Sunday. “As we watched the fires and looting, what we didn’t get covered were the anti-Semitic hate crimes and incidents. Under the guise of protests, some advanced their anti-Semitic agenda.”
The ADL reported antisemitic incidents hit an all-time high in 2019 in California as vandalism numbers rise significantly. ADL’s annual report found more than 2,100 acts of antisemitic hate nationwide: 56% increase in assaults, 4 fatalities Los Angeles, CA.
(I already reported at length in past week about the antisemitism issues in NYC).
The American Jewish community experienced the highest level of antisemitic incidents last year since tracking began in 1979, with more than 2,100 acts.
And for those who claim there is some sort of co-called Jewish privilege and their suffering is inconsequential or even, God forbid, justified, here is some context for you…less than 80 years ago, within one lifetime of our sitting here today, the Holocaust happened.
Yochy and the Truth posted to Facebook on June 17 a poignant consideration in response to the organizations and antisemitic leaders in the current race and culture wars the following response to the continued notion that Jews are somehow privileged and are the cause and not the recipients of much suffering:
Jewish privilege is one member of your family miraculously survived the Holocaust while their entire family was gassed.
Jewish privilege is the men and women that weren’t starved to death in the camps were somehow able to have children.
Jewish privilege is being able to breathe while a pile of corpses is on top of you.
Remember, this happened within the lifetimes of people still living who have experienced it firsthand. Not centuries ago.
Next week we will list out the contributions to many causes and innovations to the world that Israelis and Jews have made to the world—at least recently because the list is too long to go back too far.
Shavua Tov, have a great week.