An ugly old tradition is back: exploiting anti-Semitism to break the backs of popular movements that threaten the power of the wealthiest 1 percent of our population. It is being used to undermine the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has conservatives in a state of near panic.
I don't know the first time the tactic was used, although it dates back almost to the beginning of the Jewish diaspora.
Perhaps its most famous use was by the viciously anti-Semitic Czar Nicholas, whose supporters concocted the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" at the start of the 20th century to prevent Russians from joining socialist movements and other reform efforts that were fighting to get the czar to cede some power to an elected parliament.
The Protocols were a forged document purporting to show that a cabal of Jews met regularly to solidify their supposed control of the entire world. According to the Protocols, Jews were behind socialist and liberal movements but also ran the banks and Wall Street. (A modern version of this ridiculous theme was a staple on Glenn Beck's television program that ran on Fox News until being canceled this summer.)
The Protocols have had a long life, used by the czar, the Nazis, and even today by extremist and fringe Muslim groups opposed to the existence of Israel.
But they were primarily used not so much against the Jews as against reform and revolution. Linking a progressive movement to the Jews would destroy progressive movements and preserve the power of those in control.
Perhaps not surprisingly, a bizarre variant of this phenomenon is now being deployed against Occupy Wall Street.
Because utilizing anti-Semitism directly would not succeed in this country today, the reactionary defenders of the economic status quo are using the flip side of the coin: the fear of being labeled anti-Semitic. They are accusing Occupy Wall Street of anti-Semitism, relying on the old myth that Wall Street is Jewish and hence that opposition to Wall Street's agenda is just opposition to Jews.
Not surprisingly, the first right-wing commentator to use this formulation in the Obama era was Rush Limbaugh. In 2010, Limbaugh told his radio audience that Jews might be having "buyer's remorse" about having voted for President Barack Obama because "[h]e's assaulting bankers. He's assaulting money people. And a lot of those people on Wall Street are Jewish."
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned those remarks, labeling them a "new low" for Limbaugh. ADL National Director Abe Foxman explained that Limbaugh's references to "Jews and money" were "offensive and inappropriate."
Foxman continued: "While the age-old stereotype about Jews and money has a long and sordid history, it also remains one of the main pillars of anti-Semitism and is widely accepted by many Americans."
And now the "age-old stereotype" is back, flipped on its head by right-wingers who seek to discredit Occupy Wall Street by accusing it of anti-Semitism, an accusation based on the idea, as Foxman said, "widely accepted by many Americans," that Wall Street is Jewish.
One of the first conservatives after Limbaugh to use this tactic was the usually quite proper Ivy League conservative, New York Times columnist David Brooks. In an October 10 column dismissing the Wall Street protests as "trivial sideshows," Brooks wrote:
Take the Occupy Wall Street movement. This uprising was sparked by the magazine Adbusters, previously best known for the 2004 essay, "Why Won't Anyone Say They Are Jewish?" — an investigative report that identified some of the most influential Jews in America and their nefarious grip on policy.
Interesting. Brooks essentially is charging that a magazine few have heard of "sparked" the movement and, even worse, tainting the movement with anti-Semitism by bringing up an article that magazine published seven years ago about the Jewish "grip" on policy. Quite a reach.
And then yesterday the Emergency Committee For Israel, a far-right Republican group run by Bill Kristol, issued a video flat-out accusing Occupy Wall Street of anti-Semitism, with side swipes at leading Democrats (what a coincidence!) like President Obama and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who have sympathized with the movement and are therefore, by implication, probably anti-Semitic themselves.
The Emergency Committee's evidence is presented in the video, which shows three anti-Semites and two anti-Semitic signs among the protesters. That's it, out of a crowd of thousands. (Far be it from me to guess at the number of anti-Semites who might be at a Tea Party event, but they don't define that movement either. Mass movements attract all kinds of people, some invariably unsavory.)
Watch:
In any case, the Emergency Committee for Israel is not concerned about anti-Semitism or Israel. It is, rather, dedicated to defeating Democrats and promoting its billionaire donors' economic interests. During the 2010 congressional campaigns, it produced videos almost as deceitful as the Wall Street video that lied about Democratic candidates. It used Israel and Jews as devices to direct money and votes toward the Republicans. (See this profile.)
In attacking Occupy Wall Street, the Emergency Committee's goal is simply to smear Democrats. If, in the process, it reinforces the stereotype that Jews and Wall Street are interchangeable, so what? How different is that from its usual practice of suggesting strongly that American Jews should vote only based on Israel's supposed interests, not America's? To put it not-so-mildly, the Emergency Committee for Israel does not care about fueling anti-Semitism in America.
Because that last video of a couple of anti-Semites may have left a bad taste in your mouth, here's another one. It was shot at the Wall Street demonstration on Yom Kippur Eve and it features not a few anti-Semites but thousands of Jews celebrating the holiest day of the Jewish year, a day dedicated to the same ideals as Occupy Wall Street: repentance for putting our desires before the needs of the poor, the homeless, and the exploited.
Watch:
In this video, Occupy Wall Street is repenting for greed. Wall Street itself is silent.
Follow MJ Rosenberg on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mjayrosenberg
Jonathan Weiler: The Media and the Five Stages of Grief Over Occupy Wall Street
David Nassar: Does Occupy Wall Street Make Mainstream American Media Irrelevant?
Turnstyle: Landmarks Of The Movement: Occupy Wall Street Timeline
Secondly, bring media attention and open public gatherings together, and you're going to get the anti-Semites, the anti-Blacks, the Islamophobes, the Homophobes, and any other 'hate is what you need' trying to hijack some of the soundbites and some of the crowdshots (they'll also be trying to recruit from the 'I don't care what we're protesting, I just want to find a group I can belong to' element that also shows up)
Third, the governophobes want to try and delegitimise the Occupy movement because they are afraid that having a genuine popular protest movement become part of the publics present day awareness will make the governophobe protest movement look fake/artificial. Add in their desire to suppress anything that makes people likely to question memes manufactured to manipulate people individually and collectively, and what issue do you think they are most likely to use as the pointy end of the wedge?
The Koch brothers took over the Tea Party movement.
Now Wall Street is trying to put a bad light on the OccupyWallStreet crowd. I hope it doesnt work. That people wont fall this BS. The Tea Party and the OccupyWallStreet want the same thing accountablity, justice and end of corruption.
all tea party members hate black ppl - check
all occupy wall st squatters hate jewish ppl - check
Never do any of these gentlemen say the black community is powerless. But your bag view is going away soon, the people have had enough of your lies and innuendo
ANY group that has enough support to threaten the status quo extreme financial fraud and looting that is going on will have to deal with those who will try to a) discredit them as racists or communists, b) co-opted them with leaders that appear who will try to lead them right back to the status quo agenda and c) there will be many attempts to divide and conquer them.
Don't buy into this 99ers.
I choose the latter. Why waste an opportunity to expose the hypocrisy on the left and give bigots a pass?
http://reason.com/blog/2011/10/14/anti-semitic-protester-at-occu
http://reason.com/blog/2011/10/08/danny-cline-occupy-wall-street
And in his rebuttal to Rosenberg's article, Larry Hart writing in the LA Jewish Community Examiner observes:
"...Rosenberg does not want you to upset the Jewish liberal applecart by speaking out against it. Instead he follows classic Alinsky rule no. 10 for radicals “you do what you can with what you have and clothe it with moral garments.” By attempting to show the moral high ground by blaming this disgusting display on the other side, he is, in this article urging Jews to ignore the anti semitic slurs in lieu of possessing the greater good."
http://www.examiner.com/jewish-community-in-los-angeles/anti-semitism-inside-the-occupy-wall-street-movement-review
Reporting it is fine. Spinning it, however, is when it becomes propaganda. When it has come to nonsense like this by a very token few at the NYC protests, protesters themselves have responded in kind, making it very unwelcome. If these incidents had been "reported," you'd know that. But, "reporting" isn't the goal for what you are likely reading. Rather, shaping your opinion is.
Reporting from "approved" sources? "Spinning" when the message is less than flattering?
As a 50-year-old black man, I know racism and bigotry when I see it and hear it, so please don't attempt to insult my intelligence by implying that it doesn't exist in OWS.
I take sourcing my posts as seriously as you do, so I have no doubt you're already aware of the amount of audio, video and text available from multiple sources regarding this issue.
Studying the "Arab Spring" uprisings has taught me to look for the signatures of certain individuals and organizations involved in pre-uprising planning and organizing - an aspect of the Egyptian Uprising that was largely ignored the MSM. And since I was unable to find any evidence of the U.S.-based groups and individuals employing any extraordinary measures to hide their activities. I've concluded, then, as now, the lack of coverage by the MSM to be deliberate.
I've had my doubts regarding the OWS movement from the organizers to the movement's stated "inspiration" and objectives. That readily-identifiable anti-Semitism pervades OWS is a surprise only to the disingenuous and uninformed.
Right now, however, I have to get dinner started before my wife leaves for work. I'm making P.F. Chang's awesome lettuce wraps:
http://isitlupus.com/recipes/entry/lettuce-wraps/
The thing to look at are statistics. Statistics don't have a political ideology. By using statistics lots can be learned. What are the statistics in this case? The evil billionaires are truly from all groups, but are some of these high finance casino capitalists statistically high for their representative group? Take for example how many of the 1% have Ivy League educations and so forth.
So your point is what?
Gee MJ, everything you write is so poorly researched that just five min. on Google enables anyone to refute your points
our divisive community organizer president?
it's the political elite who are the problem, not the financial elite.
there's an essay you can easily find online. it's called 545 People by Charley Reese.
it's dated but it still applies and it explains everything except why we keep re-electing these people.
Oh, please. Guess who keeps the political elite in power? FOLLOW THE MONEY!!!
Relevant quote from "The Matrix:"
Merovingian: Oh my god Persephone, how could you do this? You betrayed me.
Persephone: Cause and Effect, my love.
Merovingian: Cause? There is no cause for this. What cause?
Persephone: What cause? How about the lipstick you're still wearing?
Merovingian: Lipstick? Lipstick? Heh, what craziness are you talking about woman? There is no lipstick.
Persephone: She wasn't kissing your face, my love.
But it's not about race..
Really?