&#8220;In the Soviet Union, the important thing was to overcome the fear.&#8221; That is what former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky told me over tea in a Jerusalem cafe.
In the totalitarian, atheist Soviet Union, Jewish identity was forcibly submerged. &#8220;The only Jewish thing that was in my life,&#8221; Sharansky says, &#8220;was anti-Semitism!&#8221; That was until 1967. Israel&#8217;s victory in the Six-Day War, Sharansky says, changed the way the Soviets viewed Jews, and changed the way Soviet Jews viewed themselves. They were now, to friend and foe alike, part of something larger than themselves, connected to the Jewish state and to Jews the world over. With this knowledge, Soviet Jewish dissidents were no longer afraid and had the courage to confront the Evil Empire.
Sharansky has told this story many times before, but faced with the rising tide of anti-Semitic attacks and libels against Jews worldwide, I asked him about an often forgotten aspect of the crusade for human rights in the Soviet Union. There were many dissident groups with different goals, but the group that was best organized and had the most reliable contacts with the outside world were the Jewish “Refuseniks” (Soviet Jews who were denied the right to emigrate to Israel).
Sharansky, their spokesperson, was happy to help others. And that included many, many persecuted Christians.
Reports about the abuses suffered by Christians in the Soviet Union made their way through Sharansky&#8217;s network to the Western press and human rights groups. With each new revelation, demands on the Soviets to respect freedom of religion increased.
The importance of this channel wasn&#8217;t lost on Christians. &#8220;A group that I helped to establish their first contacts to reach the foreign press and to speak to the world were Pentecostals. I was very pleased later to find out that when I was arrested, there were tens of thousands of Pentecostals in Siberia who were fasting in solidarity with me.&#8221;
When the Soviets arrested Sharansky and sent him to the Gulag, his communist tormentors thought they might break him by placing him in a cell with a Christian activist. A religious Jew and a religious Christian would surely tear each other apart, they thought. But it did not turn out that way.
&#8220;You discover in prison [that] you can never know who is an informer and who is not. (That&#8217;s what you discover in general in Soviet life.) But what you discover is that with people with strong identities, there is less chance that they will be informers. Because, exactly as you have other values than physical survival — you have your identity you want to be a part of — they also have their own identities.&#8221; Strong identities give people values worth fighting for. &#8220;And that&#8217;s why if he was [an] activist, like Pentecostal or Christian activist, you knew that the chance that he [was] KGB [was] much less.&#8221;
Sharansky&#8217;s closest friend in the Gulag was a Christian activist named Vladimir Poresh. &#8220;I describe in this book,&#8221; he says, pointing to my copy of his 1988 memoir Fear No Evil, &#8220;ecumenical readings of the Bible, which we called &#8216;Reagan&#8217;s readings.&#8217; Because in 1983 it was in the Soviet press that Reagan called it the &#8216;Year of the Bible.'&#8221;
I recalled that in Fear No Evil, he describes going on a hunger strike so his friend can get back his Christian Bible. &#8220;Oh yeah! It was a very long hunger strike!&#8221; he said. When I expressed my amazement at this, he said that the fact that they were of different faiths was not an issue. &#8220;It was all about our rights to be free people and live in accordance with our conscience. And then you feel at this critical moment that, after all, we all have one God.&#8221;
The Soviet Union was a regime that depended on fear and control. When people found the courage to speak out, control would slip a little more, and more people would then find their courage. It was a death spiral, and the strain became too much for the regime to bear.
Here in the United States, the land of the free, Jews should not have to live in fear of being attacked. Christians must stand with them. The bonds of brotherhood between Jews and Gentiles should not require the Gulag to bring to the surface.

Natan Sharansky

EXCLUSIVE: Soviet Dissident Recalls Jews And Christians Stood United Against Fear

Anti-Semitism

Communism

Israel

Judaism

Russia

Soviet Union

Recently, documentary filmmaker and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ami-horowitz-talks-about-his-attempt-reach-65000-frank-camp">tongue-in-cheek</a> former 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate Ami Horowitz <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvw4_boUOi0">hit the ground running</a> in Brooklyn to highlight the increasingly unavoidable anti-Semitism epidemic currently plaguing New York City. Horowitz published a video last Sunday entitled, &#8220;Anti-Semitism Grows in Brooklyn.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe title="Anti-Semitism Grows in Brooklyn" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kvw4_boUOi0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
In the video, Horowitz approaches various Brooklyn denizens and asks them whether they believe New York City has an anti-Semitism problem.
&#8220;Video journalist Ami Horowitz recently spent two hours on the streets of Brooklyn asking black men and women why Jews are being attacked in New York,&#8221; the Jewish Press <a href="https://www.jewishpress.com/multimedia/video-picks/ami-on-the-loose-antisemitism-grows-in-brooklyn/2020/01/06/">reported</a>. &#8220;We believe the video important for several reasons and therefore are sharing the transcript of it below &#8230; .&#8221;
Because The Daily Wire agrees with the Jewish Press as to the importance of this brief documentary film, The Daily Wire is also sharing a nearly full transcript of the interview portions of Horowitz&#8217;s video. <a href="https://www.jewishpress.com/multimedia/video-picks/ami-on-the-loose-antisemitism-grows-in-brooklyn/2020/01/06/">Hat tip to the Jewish Press</a>:
<blockquote>Horowitz: What’s going on? What do you think is going on here?
Respondent #1: Know what I think is going on? Because it seems like — I’m not being a racist or anti-Semitic — but it seem like the Jewish people own all the buildings out here, and they own everything, and they’re not sharing nothing.
Respondent #2: They own everything down here. They comin’ over here and they takin’ over, but they’re not bringing it back to us. See, they kickin’ us out.
Respondent #1: And I don’t want to go back to World War II with Hitler and all of that, but it seem like they own all the property, and we don’t, they don’t even try to help us.
Respondent #3: We’re not sayin’ that it’s right, but they tryin’ to take over our buildings, and so they tryin’ to make everything more expensive for us.
Respondent #4: The Jewish is known to be rich for Brooklyn. So, you know, of course &#8230;
Horowitz: So is that a reason why you think the attacks are happening?
Respondent #4: That is why the attacks are happening.
Respondent #1: The “haves” and “have-nots.”
Respondent #5: That doesn’t mean that’s the majority thought over here. … Not everybody in this neighborhood has a problem with Jews. I really think you’re insulting African-Americans by being in this neighborhood and asking that question.
Respondent #6: The blacks are doing this to the Jews just to get by. It’s not right. It’s not right.
Respondent #7: I taught my children love. Love conquers all. … They controllin’ all the jobs, economic growth in the community.
Respondent #3: [They’re] comin’ from their country into our country and they tryin’ to change up our country to how they live.
Respondent #8: They’re gonna get money from here, and they’re gonna send it home to their country.
Horowitz: Which, which country? Not …
Respondent #8: Not in the United States.
Horowitz: That’s not their country.
Respondent #8: No.
Horowitz: So do you think the Jews here are not really American?
Respondent #8: They not.
Horowitz: So black people would have reason to attack Jews?
Respondent #9: I wouldn’t say they have reason to, but it is understandable ‘cause everybody takin’ from us.</blockquote>
New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz penned a <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/29/how-liberals-are-allowing-anti-semitism-to-flourish/">potent recent piece</a> about how the leftist governments of New York City and New York state are allowing anti-Semitism to fester there.
&#8220;I used to write about Europeans and their apathetic attitudes ­toward the Jew-hatred around them,&#8221; Markowicz wrote. &#8220;Synagogues torched, Jews beaten — just another day on the Continent. But now the demon is here, in America. Worse, it’s stalking Jews with increasing regularity in New York City, my city, home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel.&#8221;
&#8220;In 2020, I don’t want to read ­another column like this one,&#8221; Markowicz continued. &#8220;All Jews want is to live our lives in safety. To ensure that, [New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio] will have to stop using the violence against us to fight his invisible political foes. De Blasio’s ideology has led to apathy, which, in turn, has resulted in injured Jews in our city.&#8221;
In a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-an-armed-and-trained-jew-is-the-best-kind-of-jew">Daily Wire op-ed</a> following the recent horrific machete attack in Monsey, New York, I called for American Jews to train and arm themselves en masse:
<blockquote>It is wholly appropriate for us to demand concrete action, and not mere grandstanding, from <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/29/how-liberals-are-allowing-anti-semitism-to-flourish/">those politicians</a> who have allowed this despicable resurgence of the world’s oldest bigotry to fester under their watch. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio should both be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for their tepid responses, to-date, for what is rapidly metastasizing into a full-blown epidemic.
But ultimately, the imperative is on each individual Jew to be the guardian of his/her own security. Why on Earth would Jews, the most systemically persecuted group of humans to have ever lived, delegate responsibility for their own lives to third-party actors?</blockquote>

Orthodox Jews NYPD Brooklyn

WATCH: Ami Horowitz Hits The Ground In Brooklyn To Highlight NYC’s Shocking Anti-Semitism

Ami Horowitz

Andrew Cuomo

Bill de Blasio

New York City

Far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) defended her support of the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement on Thursday by claiming that it was &#8220;very different&#8221; from the U.S. government sanctioning Iran, which she fiercely opposes.
On Wednesday, Omar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-ilhan-omar-laughs-while-colleague-talks-about-u-s-casualties-in-iraq/">attacked</a> the Trump administration for announcing new sanctions against Iran, which is the world&#8217;s leading state sponsor of terrorism, in response to Iran&#8217;s missile attack on U.S. forces in Iraq.
“This makes no sense. Sanctions are economic warfare,” Omar tweeted. “They have already caused medical shortages and countless deaths in Iran. You cannot claim to want deescalation and then announce new sanctions with no clear goal. This is not a measured response!”
Later at a press conference Omar doubled-down: “Since he got into office, the president of the United States has been angering Iran into war, first he canceled our best shot at avoiding armed conflict: the Iran nuclear deal. Then he announced crippling sanctions to starve the innocent people of Iran.”
Omar, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ocasio-cortez-omar-tlaib-take-democrats-anti-ryan-saavedra">documented</a> anti-Semite who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ilhan-omar-named-anti-semite-of-the-year">named</a> 2019&#8217;s &#8216;Anti-Semite Of The Year,&#8217; was slammed by critics who noted her hypocrisy because of her avid support for BDS, which is designed to destroy the state of Israel.
Omar was pressed on the issue on Thursday by a reporter in Washington, D.C., who asked Omar about her blatant hypocrisy.
&#8220;The BDS movement is a movement that is driven by the people,&#8221; Omar said. &#8220;The sanctions on Iran, are sanctions that are being placed to create maximum pressure by a government. That&#8217;s very different.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I asked Rep. Omar what her response is to those calling out her support for BDS against Israel while criticizing sanctions against Iran. She said it&#39;s &quot;very different&quot; bc BDS is by the people, while Iranian sanctions is by a gov to create maximum pressure.<a href="https://t.co/3TVNGFpWy1">https://t.co/3TVNGFpWy1</a> <a href="https://t.co/e2kC3qfllD">pic.twitter.com/e2kC3qfllD</a>
&mdash; Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Julio_Rosas11/status/1215420550786490368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The blog Legal Insurrection responded to Omar&#8217;s comments by writing, &#8220;BDS activists try to get governments to boycott Israel. So she&#8217;s just a liar, but she remembered her talking points.&#8221;
Critics on Twitter mocked Omar for her failed attempt to explain the difference between BDS and the U.S. government&#8217;s sanctions on Iran.
One Twitter user wrote, &#8220;this makes no sense when you consider she wanted to pass a pro-BDS resolution but sure ok @IlhanMN&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
this makes no sense when you consider she wanted to pass a pro-BDS resolution but sure ok <a href="https://twitter.com/IlhanMN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IlhanMN</a> <a href="https://t.co/riX5orHFXq">https://t.co/riX5orHFXq</a>
&mdash; Ashley ✡️ (@ashleyblair21) <a href="https://twitter.com/ashleyblair21/status/1215428923472928768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Another popular account on Twitter wrote, &#8220;Lmfao&#8230; she’s a f***ing moron To be fair, all antisemtic garbage are f***ing morons.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Lmfao&#8230; she’s a fucking moron 
To be fair, all antisemtic garbage are fucking morons <a href="https://t.co/GQV8ChW2Oo">https://t.co/GQV8ChW2Oo</a>
&mdash; Jay Malak (@KobbeMalak) <a href="https://twitter.com/KobbeMalak/status/1215421689355309056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Congressional Leadership Fund Rapid Response Director Matthew Foldi wrote: &#8220;By &#8216;very different,&#8217; @IlhanMN is referring to the fact that BDS is a bunch of racist anti-Semites whereas government sanctions have nothing to do with bigotry.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
By “very different,” <a href="https://twitter.com/IlhanMN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IlhanMN</a> is referring to the fact that BDS is a bunch of racist anti-Semites whereas government sanctions have nothing to do with bigotry <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MN05?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MN05</a> <a href="https://t.co/rlSh430ee4">https://t.co/rlSh430ee4</a>
&mdash; Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewFoldi/status/1215433076437811200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Seattle based radio host Jason Rantz wrote: &#8220;Actual difference: BDS targets Jews and Ilhan Omar is a vicious anti-Semite.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Actual difference: BDS targets Jews and Ilhan Omar is a vicious anti-Semite. <a href="https://t.co/x8MayGhhaK">https://t.co/x8MayGhhaK</a>
&mdash; (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonrantz/status/1215437678742659072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last week, Omar attacked President Donald Trump for ordering the drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force, which is a designated terrorist organization.
Omar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-ilhan-omar-attacks-trump-for-killing-top-iranian-terrorist-promotes-conspiracy-theory">suggested</a>, without evidence, that Trump may have launched the strike to distract from his Senate impeachment trial — a conspiracy theory that was quickly debunked as Trump has repeatedly called attention to the Senate trial by tweeting about it.
The next day Omar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ilhan-omar-im-outraged-trump-killed-iranian-terrorist-who-killed-hundreds-of-americans">said</a> that she was &#8220;outraged&#8221; by the strike that killed Soleimani, who is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans.
Omar later <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tlaib-attacks-trump-after-killing-of-iranian-terrorist-omar-solicits-donations-attacking-trump-on-iran">solicited</a> donations off of her attacks on the president for going after Iran.

Ilhan Omar

‘She’s A F***ing Moron’: Omar Tries To Explain Difference Between BDS, Iran Sanctions

Iran

Twenty-five thousand people marched in New York City on Sunday under the banner “<a href="https://forward.com/news/437752/photos-from-new-yorks-no-fear-no-hate-solidarity-march/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://forward.com/news/437752/photos-from-new-yorks-no-fear-no-hate-solidarity-march/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEdxXniI836EDbYLXaD_1sLKEoQig">No Hate, No Fear</a>,” ostensibly targeting anti-Semitic violence directed at recognizably-Orthodox Jews. Only two things were missing: Printed signs with the words “anti-Semitism” or “Jews,” and more than a smattering of recognizably-Orthodox Jews.
The two phenomena are related.
Hateful violence emerges from a hateful ideology. The march was not merely useless, but from my perspective it was actually counterproductive; it provided cover for those spreading bigotry to proclaim, “look, we love Jews!”
In reality, it is not difficult to understand why attacks are happening at an alarming rate. Classic anti-Semitism is not merely spreading on college campuses across the nation, but is even welcomed in the halls of Congress.
The classic beliefs of the anti-Semite are simple: That the Jews constitute a supremacist cult who believe themselves entitled to take advantage of others, and most commonly do so by theft, fraud, and deceit. In 3,300 years of Jew-hatred, there hasn’t been an anti-Jewish trope that didn’t trace its roots to this basic idea.
Mark Twain noted, while reporting on Austro-Hungarian battles in the 19th century, that the Jews were opposed by all sides — even though they largely tried to avoid the conflict and keep their heads down. It is no different today.
To white supremacists, the Jews are “International Enemy Number One.” Neo-Nazi website Stormfront.com has a discussion thread entitled “Jews are dangerous,” which since March 2016 has garnered over 715 pages of hate.
Yet anti-white racists tar Jews with “white privilege”; the fact that Jews obviously suffered at the hands of European whites more than any other people escapes them. They include even Jews expelled from Syria, Iraq, Iran, and elsewhere across the Middle East; they are still claimed to have “white privilege,” while those who drove them out, who have identical skin tones, are “people of color.” It is pure racism.
And by far the most popular current form of this bigotry is the modern invention of a purportedly unique &#8220;Palestinian&#8221; people, from whom we are told the Jews have ostensibly stolen land.
The proofs are legion. Until 1964, “Palestinians” actually referred to Jews living in British Mandatory Palestine. In 1922, the British divided modern-day Jordan from the rest of Mandatory Palestine, and even current Palestinian Authority chieftain Mahmoud Abbas says that Jordanians and Palestinians are “one people living in two states” — putting the lie to the notion of a homeless Palestinian.
Every indigenous people has its own name, such as the Apache, Pueblo, and Iroquois. They do not call themselves by the foreign term “Native Americans” — nor, of course, do they claim that the borders of particular U.S. states delineate their homelands. Yet the “Palestinians” appropriate their name from Roman imperialists, and have a homeland which, just coincidentally of course, precisely traces the borders of modern Israel.
And in case you still don’t get it, a “Palestinian” is anyone — <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/12/palestinian-relations-israel-druze-community-army.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/12/palestinian-relations-israel-druze-community-army.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEPKoy7m3b6gdWycicgEQSG0x-jdA">Druze</a>, <a href="https://www.palestine-studies.org/resources/special-focus/palestinian-bedouins" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.palestine-studies.org/resources/special-focus/palestinian-bedouins&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGivEiX4mLiUyA5ocNKQqaslGowFw">Bedouin</a>, Muslim, or <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/10/31/the-ethnic-cleansing-of-palestinian-christians-that-nobody-is-talking-about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/10/31/the-ethnic-cleansing-of-palestinian-christians-that-nobody-is-talking-about/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFEaXtRYS9FlIAN42-hnt0z0kzHgQ">Christian</a> — whose family ever lived in the ancient Jewish homeland. Rather, the &#8220;Palestinians&#8221; are defined by what they are not: The Jews who constituted the majority of Jerusalem’s populace prior to the advent of modern Zionism, and who never left the so-called “occupied” territories except due to deliberate ethnic cleansing — such as that conducted by Arab mobs in both 1929 and 1948.
Notice that these hateful tropes precisely correspond to what reporters heard on the streets of Jersey City and Brooklyn when they interviewed other residents after the hateful attacks there. Residents spoke about Jews unfairly buying them out, not renting to them, and driving them away. These lies are all rooted in the same animus as is the popular modern “Palestinian” narrative — which, in reality, is indeed far older than even Roman Palestine.
It is not mere happenstance that the machete-wielding thug who attacked people at a Chanukah celebration searched online not only for “Hitler” but for “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/nyregion/jewish-attacks.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/nyregion/jewish-attacks.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEkU392rry2GSMNaWT0let4P20pAg">Zionist Temples</a>” before attacking largely non-Zionist Hasidic Jews in suburban New York. Again, hateful violence emerges from a hateful ideology.
This hate will not be resolved by marching alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who, by her own admission, knows <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TJK1a8OHyw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D4TJK1a8OHyw&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGDYPykbd-Strnhxd-vSk0bZpicTw">nothing about the Middle East</a> except that the Jews are (surprise, surprise) &#8220;stealing land&#8221; (in &#8220;Palestine&#8221;) and being unfair to others. It will not be fixed by the bigots of <a href="https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org/2020-platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org/2020-platform&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFjBpsnMOCNuBxgGntQEii02LkRrQ">IfNotNow</a>, who claim that Jewish refugees of Arab ethnic cleansing are “occupying” Arab land in the eternal homeland of the Jews.
It will be helped if universities finally acknowledge that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is a hate group that <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/03/22/nyc-students-for-justice-in-palestine-pay-social-media-tribute-to-martyrs-killed-while-carrying-out-terrorist-attacks-against-israelis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/03/22/nyc-students-for-justice-in-palestine-pay-social-media-tribute-to-martyrs-killed-while-carrying-out-terrorist-attacks-against-israelis/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFmzgJzxBwGkw4Fso1d-wD6_CdnQw">honors almost exclusively</a> those who have committed <a href="https://dailynorthwestern.com/2017/05/16/campus/organizer-rasmea-odeh-speaks-at-northwestern-for-sjps-israeli-apartheid-week/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://dailynorthwestern.com/2017/05/16/campus/organizer-rasmea-odeh-speaks-at-northwestern-for-sjps-israeli-apartheid-week/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFn9UlTllaQBsAL2sPZ4P_oN_qREg">murderous, barbaric acts</a> against Jews both <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/far-left-students-praise-palestinian-terrorist-group-leader-at-liberation-event" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.foxnews.com/us/far-left-students-praise-palestinian-terrorist-group-leader-at-liberation-event&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHuZnEtXpCSJTWQAetp1M2T5YFTiA">in and outside Israel</a>. Today, the same universities that would deny funding to a KKK chapter sickeningly honor SJP as a <a href="https://nyunews.com/news/2019/04/10/president-service-award-palestine-israel-divest" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nyunews.com/news/2019/04/10/president-service-award-palestine-israel-divest&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGphZ56j8cr7z3aNOiAvbmLKRKuSg">“human rights” cause</a>.
And it will be helped when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) recognizes that an outstanding anti-Semitic bigot like Rep. <a href="https://www.stopantisemitism.org/anti-semite-of-the-week" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.stopantisemitism.org/anti-semite-of-the-week&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFDAjYGdrBCwxgWCk9QIP5VbnWxHA">Ilhan Omar</a> (D-MN) does not belong on the Foreign Affairs Committee — or, indeed, anywhere else in Congress.
Until this hatred is repudiated, these attacks will not stop — yet on the progressive Left, this hateful ideology is supported, while it is the opposition that is censored. Those infected with this mindset cannot be part of the solution, as they are themselves part of the problem.
Rabbi Yaakov Menken is the managing director of the <a href="https://coalitionforjewishvalues.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://coalitionforjewishvalues.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593164733000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHLN2_sFEnPCsMZZCT1wIePVktmOg">Coalition for Jewish Values</a>, and co-editor of the Orthodox Jewish journal <a href="https://cross-currents.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://cross-currents.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593164733000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHDWEFT_osCyA6CYu82vPnKoRactA">Cross-Currents.com</a>. Opinions are his own.

New York City Jewish Solidarity March

MENKEN: To Stop Hateful Attacks On Jews, Oppose The Ideology Behind Them

Palestinians

Students for Justice in Palestine

Zionism

Last night, Daily Wire Editor-at-Large Josh Hammer, an attorney and former federal judicial law clerk, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cup29nPmOgo">joined</a> “Tipping Point With Liz Wheeler” on One America News Network to discuss New York state&#8217;s extraordinarily controversial new &#8220;bail reform&#8221; legislation. The law, which the New York Post editorial board <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/07/with-lives-at-stake-albany-must-bail-reform-failure-now/">decries</a> today as a flat-out &#8220;bad law,&#8221; eliminates the possibility of judge-imposed cash bail for the overwhelming majority of crimes committed in the Empire State.
Here is how the Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/07/with-lives-at-stake-albany-must-bail-reform-failure-now/">describes</a> some of the problems with the law:
<blockquote>One huge problem: The new law prevents judges from ordering most criminal suspects jailed, or even requiring them to post bail, no matter how clear a threat to public safety they pose. Judges retain discretion only if the charges include a handful of very violent crimes and they deem the suspect a clear flight risk.
This guarantees a revolving door for serious perps: Caught for a minor holdup, you’ll be charged and released — and can do it again, get caught again and be released again, time after time after time.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-bail-reform-woman-involved-in-anti-semitic-attack-arrested-released-for-3-crimes-in-5-days">previously reported</a> on the law&#8217;s noxiousness. The Daily Wire&#8217;s Amanda Prestigiacomo recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-bail-reform-woman-involved-in-anti-semitic-attack-arrested-released-for-3-crimes-in-5-days">reported</a> on a serial anti-Semitic assaulter who astoundingly committed three separate crimes in a span of five days due to the law&#8217;s inordinate leniency. As also reported by Prestigiacomo, all five borough district attorneys in New York City have gone on the record stating that the law goes too far in favoring defendants.
Hammer has consistently been very critical of this type of pro-criminal, &#8220;jailbreak&#8221;-style legislation. Last weekend, Giancarlo Sopo of TheBlaze <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/virginia_weak_on_crime_democrats">quoted</a> him in the context of a similar partisan Democratic initiative in Virginia:
<blockquote>Reached by telephone, constitutional law attorney and Daily Wire editor-at-large Josh Hammer told TheBlaze that [the proposed Virginia] bill is part of a pattern among Democrats and like-minded &#8220;weak-on-crime&#8221; Republicans.
&#8220;Across the country, we see so many leftist Democrats — joined by no small share of libertarian-leaning Republicans — subscribing to the same weak-on-crime agenda,&#8221; Hammer, who has been critical of similar so-called &#8220;criminal justice reform&#8221; efforts, said.
&#8220;New York&#8217;s harrowing recent &#8216;bail reform&#8217; proposal is a shining example, and this Democratic proposal in Virginia fits in neatly, as well. Americans have historically cherished law and order, and it is devastating to see these kind of jailbreak, pro-criminal policies take hold as we descend further into mass lawlessness,&#8221; he added.</blockquote>
Wheeler began the segment by asking Hammer about the New York lawmakers&#8217; purported aim — to reduce inequality and promote justice — and why the law&#8217;s authors do not seem to care about equality and justice for the actual victims of crime. Hammer launched into a rant about how the Left is able to effectively wield seemingly anodyne language, such as &#8220;bail reform,&#8221; as a cudgel to advance their lawless agenda:
<blockquote>The problem with the Left is the Left speaks about justice and compassion and all these fancy words. They never focus on the people who actually suffer &#8230; from their policies. So in the case of border security and amnesty, there is no one who suffers worse from an open border and the human trafficking by drug cartels than the aliens themselves who are trafficked. In the case of &#8220;criminal justice reform,&#8221; &#8220;bail reform,&#8221; no one suffers more than victims of crime.
Where is anyone speaking for the victims of crime? But you know what the Left also does, Liz? The Left is amazing at getting the right version of language for their policies. &#8220;Bail reform,&#8221; it sounds so innocuous, right? What they&#8217;re doing is they&#8217;re throwing out a system of bail that has existed since at least 13th century England! That is how far back bail goes — cash bail, monetary bail. This is literally a centuries-old phenomenon that they are just throwing out.</blockquote>
WATCH:
<iframe title="New York&#039;s No Bail Law Disaster" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cup29nPmOgo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Hammer OANN 1.07.20

WATCH: Hammer On ‘Tipping Point With Liz Wheeler’: New York’s Insane Pro-Criminal Bail Law

Crime

Hate Crime

Jail

Leftism

New York

Prison

Progressivism

On Monday, after a poll had been conducted by <a href="https://www.stopantisemitism.org/">StopAntisemitism.org</a>, the announcement was made: congresswoman Rep.Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was chosen as the 2019 “Antisemite of the Year.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Mazal Tov to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IlhanOmar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IlhanOmar</a> on being named 2019&#39;s Antisemite of the Year! Thousands voted &amp; the Freshmen Congresswoman came out on top as the most vile Jew hater! 
America cannot afford leadership that perpetuates hatred against the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jewish?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jewish</a> people! <a href="https://t.co/hrRKRxoYuo">https://t.co/hrRKRxoYuo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Ilhan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ilhan</a> <a href="https://t.co/NJFE3rcM9B">pic.twitter.com/NJFE3rcM9B</a>
&mdash; StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites) <a href="https://twitter.com/StopAntisemites/status/1214187877564928000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
As <a href="https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2020/january/americans-vote-ilhan-omar-2019-rsquo-s-lsquo-antisemite-of-the-year-rsquo">CBN</a> reported, “On Nov. 21 voters narrowed down the finalists to notorious anti-Semite and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, neo-Nazi Richard Spencer, and Congresswoman Omar.” <a href="https://freebeacon.com/issues/ilhan-omar-named-2019-anti-semite-of-the-year/">The Washington Free Beacon</a> quoted a press release from StopAntisemitism.org stating:
<blockquote>Among Rep. Ilhan Omar&#8217;s transgressions, she perpetuated anti-Semitic tropes on Twitter to nearly two million followers and introduced an anti-Semitic resolution in Congress that promoted boycotts of the State of Israel and likened them to boycotts of Nazi Germany. The public&#8217;s vote highlights the growing concern among Americans about the Congresswomen&#8217;s ability to use and abuse her position of power to propagate hatred in the U.S.</blockquote>
Liora Rez, a spokesperson for StopAnti-Semitism.org, added, “Anti-Semitism is plaguing our nation and it&#8217;s about time we create real consequences for those spreading it. By exposing bigots like Rep. Ilhan Omar, we are ensuring that the public is alert and able to take action.”
In January 2019, Omar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-ilhan-omar-suggests-israel-should-not-be-ryan-saavedra">suggested</a> in an interview that Israel should not be allowed to exist as a Jewish state. As far back as 2012, Omar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42998/ocasio-cortez-omar-tlaib-take-democrats-anti-ryan-saavedra">tweeted</a>: &#8220;Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.&#8221;
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-sanders-defends-omars-anti-semitism-ryan-saavedra">The Daily Wire</a> has reported:
<blockquote>Omar repeatedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42998/ocasio-cortez-omar-tlaib-take-democrats-anti-ryan-saavedra">promoted</a> anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and tropes; has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/44328/watch-ilhan-omar-refuses-deny-shes-anti-semitic-ryan-saavedra">refused</a> to deny that she is an anti-Semite; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/43289/ilhan-omar-promotes-anti-semitic-conspiracy-ryan-saavedra">accused</a>pro-Israel groups of paying off American politicians to have dual loyalties to Israel; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/44100/watch-ilhan-omar-makes-most-blatant-anti-semitic-ryan-saavedra">accused</a> her Jewish colleagues of plotting to take her down by accusing her of anti-Semitism; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42864/watch-ilhan-omar-suggests-israel-should-not-be-ryan-saavedra">suggested</a> Israel does not have the right to exist as a Jewish state; and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42998/ocasio-cortez-omar-tlaib-take-democrats-anti-ryan-saavedra">admitted</a> to supporting anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel.</blockquote>
After Omar <a href="https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1002295140172664832">claimed</a> that in her tweet saying “Israel has hypnotized the world” she was “drawing attention to the apartheid Israeli regime,” New York Times columnist Bari Weiss <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/21/opinion/ilhan-omar-israel-jews.html">slammed</a> Omar’s conspiracy-minded views on Israel, writing:
<blockquote>The conspiracy theory of the Jew as the hypnotic conspirator, the duplicitous manipulator, the sinister puppeteer is one with ancient roots and a bloody history. In the New Testament, it is a small band of Jews who get Rome — then the greatest power in the world — to do their bidding by killing Christ. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, speaks to the Jews about Jesus in the book of John: “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your own law.” But the Jews punt the decision back to Pilate: “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” And so Pilate does the deed on their behalf. In the book of Matthew, the implications of this manipulation are spelled out: “His blood is on us and our children,” the Jews say — a line that has been so historically destructive that even Mel Gibson cut it from his “Passion of the Christ.”
In the two millenniums that followed, even after 1965, when the Catholic Church formally disavowed the belief that the Jews killed Jesus, this was the template for the anti-Semitic conspiracy: the ability of this tiny minority to use its wiles and its proximity to power to con others into accomplishing their evil ends. It has led to countless expulsions, murders, massacres and pogroms throughout Europe and elsewhere.
The Jewish power to hypnotize the world, as Ms. Omar put it, is the plot of Jud Süss — the most successful Nazi film ever made. In the film, produced by Joseph Goebbels himself, Josef Süss Oppenheimer, an 18th-century religious Jew, emerges from the ghetto, makes himself over as an assimilated man, and rises to become the treasurer to the Duke of Württemberg. Silly duke: Allowing a single Jew into his city leads to death and destruction.</blockquote>

Presidential Candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders And Rep. Ilhan Omar Hold Campaign Rally At University Of Minnesota

Ilhan Omar Named ‘Anti-Semite Of The Year’

<a href="https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/3633/Who-will-win-the-2020-Democratic-presidential-nomination">Top-tier</a> 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/where-does-michael-bloomberg-stand-on-the-issues-heres-everything-you-need-to-know">long been an adamant foe</a> of Second Amendment rights, has now come out with his latest anti-gun doozy.
In the aftermath of the recent church shooting outside Fort Worth, Texas, which saw an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-church-shooting-reported-in-texas-armed-churchgoers-appear-to-have-stopped-it-reporter-suggests">armed churchgoer hero take down the culprit</a> a mere six seconds after he initially opened fire, Bloomberg has seen fit to opine that we as a society &#8220;can&#8217;t let the average American have guns&#8221; in a &#8220;crowded place&#8221; such as a house of worship.
&#8220;It may be true — I wasn’t there; I don’t know the facts — that somebody in the congregation had their own gun and killed the person who murdered two other people, but it’s the job of law enforcement to have guns and to decide when to shoot,&#8221; Bloomberg recently said, as <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/bloombergs-texas-shooting-take-government-guns/">reported</a> by Conservative Review. &#8220;You just do not want the average citizen carrying a gun in a crowded place.&#8221;
That is a curious response, to say the least, to the revelation that the Texas church shooting hero was able to quickly neutralize the madman shooter. The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-footage-emerges-of-good-guy-with-gun-taking-down-attacker-in-seconds">reported</a> on the dramatic video footage from West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas that flooded national media after the horrific tragedy.
<blockquote>The footage shows a man dressed in black in the back corner of the auditorium talking to another man, who has been blurred out in the video. The alleged attacker then pulls out what appears to be a short shotgun and opens fire on the man with whom he was interacting.
The alleged attacker fires one shot at the man he was talking to before being immediately shot by a good guy with a gun. The alleged attacker fires off one more shot toward the front of the church before he falls to the ground.
Within a matter of only a few seconds, at least four armed people in the congregation draw their firearms and immediately provide backup assistance to the individual who engaged the alleged attacker.</blockquote>
Bloomberg, who is himself Jewish and has long been involved in Jewish/Israel-related philanthropy, also seems uniquely out of touch amidst an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/phillips-a-year-of-rampant-anti-semitism-in-new-york-city">alarmed</a> American Jewish community that seems increasingly interested in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-an-armed-and-trained-jew-is-the-best-kind-of-jew">arming itself</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/remer-its-time-for-jews-to-take-up-arms">en masse</a>.
Here is how The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/where-does-michael-bloomberg-stand-on-the-issues-heres-everything-you-need-to-know">summarized</a> Bloomberg&#8217;s stances on Second Amendment-related issues:
<blockquote>Bloomberg’s anti-gun advocacy is perhaps the single most defining issue of his recent private citizen activism — and perhaps the single most defining issue of his 2020 presidential bid. He is very closely affiliated with and has <a href="https://everytown.org/press/new-gun-violence-prevention-group-everytown-for-gun-safety-unites-mayors-moms-and-millions-of-americans-on-new-paths-to-victory-state-capitols-corporate-responsibility-voter-activation/">helped</a> <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amberjamieson/bloomberg-gun-violence-moms-demand-action-volunteers">fund</a> Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action, which are both groups deeply hostile to Second Amendment rights. He also co-founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns while he was mayor of New York City. Bloomberg supports <a href="https://www.mikebloomberg.com/policies/gun-safety">“universal” background checks</a>, which often serve as a rhetorical euphemism for the government serving as an intermediary in all private firearms transfers. Bloomberg believes that every gun owner should need a permit before making a gun purchase. He <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/cory-booker-wants-a-ban-on-assault-weapons-and-yes-it-means-putting-gun-owners-in-jail" data-reader-unique-id="49">supports a ban</a> on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called “assault weapons” — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42837/hammer-kamala-harriss-flirtation-banning-all-semi-josh-hammer" data-reader-unique-id="50">lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America</a>.</blockquote>

Michael Bloomberg campaign trail

Bloomberg On Hero Stopping Church Shooting: ‘Can’t Let The Average American Have Guns’ In Church

2020 Election

Democratic Party

Gun Control

Gun Laws

Gun-Free Zones

Guns

Homicide

mass shooting

In the past few years, the cavalier use of the term ‘Nazi’ by those on the Left and the comparison of modern times with how things were during the World War II era has sadly watered down the gravity and horror of the Nazis’ crimes against humanity. Nothing in modern Western society comes even remotely close to the horrors of the evil Nazi regime. Yet when people compare words and policies they do not like to Nazi crimes, they do both Third Reich survivors and the millions of victims of anti-Semitism a devastating disservice.
But there are certain times when the comparison is relevant and, indeed, accurate. The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-the-just-and-proper-strike-of-mastermind-iranian-jihadist-qassem-soleimani">death of Qassem Soleimani</a> presents one such opportunity. It is important to understand the gravity of his role — and what Iran had planned next. The late Soleimani and Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) formed — and still form — a modern-day version of Heinrich Himmler and Nazi Germany&#8217;s genocidal SS special police force. The IRGC’s elite Quds Force is a modern-day Iranian version of the Waffen-SS of the pre-World War II era.
These parallels put into perspective the dangers the IRGC poses — and the great deed carried out by the United States in striking Soleimani. When liberals such as Reza Aslan say that Soleimani was a “<a href="https://twitter.com/rezaaslan/status/1213223561063624704">uniformed general of a sovereign nation</a>” and <a href="https://twitter.com/brhodes/status/1213494775296516097">Ben Rhodes argues</a> the IRGC was not out to kill Americans and Jews, a historical comparison is in order. And yes Mr. Aslan, Himmler wore a uniform too.
The SS was the paramilitary force of the Nazi Party that operated independently from the German military until the start of World War II. The SS was directly loyal to Hitler and the Nazi Party — and not to Germany itself in the interwar years. Its goal was to carry out the Nazi ideology of Aryan purity, which of course ultimately led to the Holocaust. The SS supported like-minded dictators and groups abroad, and also set up Volksdeutsche groups — Germanic-origin terror groups to carry out atrocities against Jews.
When you look at the IRGC today, the parallels are uncanny. The IRGC is an independent military force directly loyal to the ayatollah and to the Islamic Revolution itself — and not, per se, to all levers of the Iranian government. The IRGC is the “guardian of the Revolution” set up to protect the country’s “Islamic system.” Iran also has its own military, but the IRGC operates with impunity at home and abroad with its separate sources of funding. The IRGC supports foreign terror organizations, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, who all share a similar goal: The destruction of Israel, the murder of Jews, and jihad against all of the West.
From the multitude of lessons taken from the Holocaust and 2,000 years of anti-Semitism, the most prevalent lesson today is when someone says they plan to kill the Jews, believe them. The Nazis promised it, and the IRGC does, too. The consequences of not stopping evil are always the same. It is always best to stop evil dead in its tracks — which President Trump did last Thursday evening.
&nbsp;
Ori Raphael is a civil rights attorney and the executive director of the Jewish Justice Foundation.

Iran Propaganda

RAPHAEL: Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Is A Modern-Day Nazi SS

Foreign Policy

Germany

Holocaust

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Middle East

Nazi Germany

Nazis

World War II

As has <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/29/how-liberals-are-allowing-anti-semitism-to-flourish/">finally </a>been noticed by the mainstream media, anti-Semitism in America has harrowingly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-hammer-tipping-point-liz-wheeler-why-no-one-daily-wire">been on the rise</a> over the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-times-just-made-stunning-admission-about-ben-shapiro">past couple</a> of years. While the first two lethal incidents occurred in synagogues in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-we-cling-tree-life-ben-shapiro">Pittsburgh</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-jews-simply-must-arm-themselves-now-josh-hammer">Southern California</a>, the recent upsurge of violent Jew-hatred has been disproportionately centered around the broader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/phillips-a-year-of-rampant-anti-semitism-in-new-york-city">New York area</a>. The epidemic reached its bloody December apogee first in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jersey-city-shootout-assailants-kill-police-officer-3-orthodox-jews">Jersey City, New Jersey</a>, and later in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-mass-stabbing-attack-reported-at-new-york-synagogue">Monsey, New York</a>.
Monsey is not terribly far from where I grew up, and has long been home to a sizable Orthodox Jewish community. The town is part of Rockland County, New York, which has the <a href="https://www.ny.gov/counties/rockland">largest Jewish population per capita</a> of any county in the United States.
Alas, despite this, Monsey and some of its surrounding towns in Rockland have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/08/29/county-gop-ad-saying-jewish-candidate-is-plotting-takeover-is-slammed-anti-semitic/">long been victimized</a> by noxious anti-Semitism. I would know, because <a href="https://firstliberty.org/about-us/">First Liberty Institute</a>, the nation’s largest nonprofit law firm solely dedicated to the protection of religious liberty of all and where I serve in an <a href="https://firstliberty.org/team/josh-hammer/">of counsel</a> capacity, has long been on the frontlines of this particular battle.
Specifically, in Airmont, New York, which directly neighbors Monsey, village officials have deployed discriminatory zoning tactics to prevent an Orthodox Jewish day school — Central UTA of Monsey — from peaceably operating. First Liberty helped <a href="https://firstliberty.org/cases/central-uta/">file a federal lawsuit</a> on behalf of Central UTA; for that matter, we have also helped file a <a href="https://firstliberty.org/cases/airmont/">similar lawsuit</a> on behalf of several individual Orthodox Jewish residents of Airmont. Overall, for decades now, the village of Airmont has systemically discriminated against the Orthodox community living there. Local officials in the Airmont/Monsey area of Rockland County have brazenly and shamelessly attempted to prevent their Orthodox Jewish population from actually practicing Judaism.
But the connection hits even closer to home. In our capacity representing the Central UTA Jewish day school, we at First Liberty directly represent school administrator Rabbi Moshe Rottenberg, who is the cousin of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg — the very <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/nyregion/monsey-synagogue-stabbing-anti-semitic.html">owner of the home</a> that was infamously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-mass-stabbing-attack-reported-at-new-york-synagogue">machete-attacked</a> last month toward the end of Chanukah.
Small world indeed.
To date, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has not officially taken action in the Central UTA case besides collect relevant information. To DOJ&#8217;s great credit, however, it did file an official &#8220;Statement of Interest&#8221; in our other Airmont case, regarding oppressive and discriminatory zoning laws. The United States &#8220;wishes to refute any suggestion &#8230; that the United States has previously provided its imprimatur to or otherwise endorsed the legality of&#8221; Airmont&#8217;s discriminatory zoning ordinances, DOJ wrote in a filing from this past September. The United States &#8220;believes that it is important &#8230; for the [district court] to have a full understanding of the troubled history of Airmont’s zoning code, its impact on Hasidic residents, and the numerous legal actions against [Airmont] that have been necessary in the past,&#8221; the DOJ filing continued.
Good for Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-america-is-better-off-for-having-bill-barr">Bill Barr</a> and for DOJ. In <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/phillips-a-year-of-rampant-anti-semitism-in-new-york-city">sharp contrast</a> to the blithe aloofness of both New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Barr has taken official action to convey his interest in the rampant anti-Semitism occurring in Rockland County, New York.
For the Central UTA litigation, we are currently awaiting the trial judge to rule on a handful of motions. But as someone serving in an of counsel capacity at a law firm representing the cousin of the homeowner of the house that was brutally machete-attacked barely over a week ago, I can personally attest to one thing: Jew-hatred in heavily Jewish Rockland County, New York is hardly new. The only thing that is new is the mainstream media attention such anti-Semitism has suddenly been receiving — and, perhaps, whether local and statewide politicians might decisively act to stop this bigotry.

Police Jews Monsey

HAMMER: Anti-Semitism Around Monsey, New York Is Not New. Here’s How I Know.

Department of Justice

Discrimination

Lawsuit

Media Bias

William Barr

ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), a partner of the World Worker&#8217;s Party, organized and held several large &#8220;anti-war&#8221; rallies Saturday in a handful of major cities, including New York City and Washington, D.C., and dozens of smaller rallies in at least 70 locations across the United States.
But what began, ostensibly, as a march to prevent further action against Iran quickly &#8212; and predictably &#8212; evolved into a group tirade against one of ANSWER&#8217;s perennial bogeymen, the state of Israel.
Around 250 people marched on Times Square in New York City and a similar-sized group appeared on the lawn across the street from the White House (and in front of the Trump International hotel), carrying signs that read, &#8220;US out of Iraq,&#8221; and &#8220;No War in Iran&#8221; and chanted slogans like, &#8220;No justice, no peace. U.S. out of the Middle East,” and &#8220;Donald J. how many kids have you killed today?&#8221;, a re-hashed anti-Vietnam war chant.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Oh look! The sleeping anti-war movement has decided to exist again right before an election! How convenient after silence through an entire administration of drone enthusiasts. <a href="https://t.co/ojp57W11HR">pic.twitter.com/ojp57W11HR</a>
&mdash; Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) <a href="https://twitter.com/brandondarby/status/1213565668529819648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In Los Angeles, the gathered group accused President Donald Trump of unspecified &#8220;war crimes.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
An activist at the anti-war protest in Los Angeles asks the crowd if they think the Soleimani strike Trump authorized was a war crime. The crowd cheers.
He then asks if Trump should be impeached, removed from office, and jailed for the strike. The crowd cheers again. <a href="https://t.co/iK7hmipZ34">pic.twitter.com/iK7hmipZ34</a>
&mdash; Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Julio_Rosas11/status/1213590292189679618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
One protester even carried a memorial to slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A L.A. anti-war protester memorializing Qasem Soleimani. <a href="https://t.co/S1nNhdmLrC">pic.twitter.com/S1nNhdmLrC</a>
&mdash; Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Julio_Rosas11/status/1213602414969835521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The amassed group in Washington, D.C., was treated to a eulogy for Soleimani, whom one speaker described as a &#8220;hero&#8221; to the region because he opposed &#8220;US imperial aggression.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
An honor to stand w the people of DC as they resist US war on Iran from within the belly of the beast!
I spoke to the crowd about my recent trip to Syria &amp; why Maj. General Soleimani was considered a hero in the region: he led the Resistance Axis against US imperial aggression <a href="https://t.co/EQYz39Nn3H">pic.twitter.com/EQYz39Nn3H</a>
&mdash; Anya Parampil (@anyaparampil) <a href="https://twitter.com/anyaparampil/status/1213585395146985472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In Chicago, socialists and Communists joined up with the protests to express their disdain for the United States&#8217; &#8220;capitalist, racist, and imperialist&#8221; system.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
When you attend an anti-war protest, calling out a capitalist, racist, &amp; imperialist system that sends our working class sons, daughters, &amp; they to die in war 
&amp; run into students of yours! We radicalize in our classrooms! ✊🏾<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoWarOnIran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NoWarOnIran</a> <a href="https://t.co/DzPmuYgY8N">pic.twitter.com/DzPmuYgY8N</a>
&mdash; Anthony Clark for Congress (@anthonyvclark20) <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyvclark20/status/1213526033401556992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In New York, protesters called to &#8220;Defeat US Imperialism and Defend Iran.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Anti-war protest in Herald Square, NYC. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoWarWithIran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NoWarWithIran</a> <a href="https://t.co/H1ZRGlLaQk">pic.twitter.com/H1ZRGlLaQk</a>
&mdash; Tom (@tkendrick21) <a href="https://twitter.com/tkendrick21/status/1213539995241373698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
And called Soleimani &#8220;fighters for the oppressed&#8221; who were &#8220;murdered by Trump.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
American strike in Iraq prompts anti-war protests in U.S. cities <a href="https://t.co/XNko0C4BZs">https://t.co/XNko0C4BZs</a> <a href="https://t.co/od2ta7WibW">pic.twitter.com/od2ta7WibW</a>
&mdash; Reuters (@Reuters) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1213571003194003456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
ANSWER, the group that organized the protests (with some help from Code Pink), however, is an &#8220;intersectional&#8221; group that bills itself as an anti-war collective, and the marches experienced a fair amount of &#8220;mission creep,&#8221; with subgroups protesting against poverty, for workers&#8217; rights, and, of course, against the Israeli &#8220;occupation&#8221; of Palestinian territories.
It wasn&#8217;t long before the New York City rally, particularly, devolved into an anti-Semitic tirade, with at least one speaker railing against the &#8220;racist monstrous state that sits on the land of Palestine that is known as Israel &#8230; free free Palestine end all aid to Israel.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Anti-war rally turns antisemitic 
“..racist monstrous state that sits on the land of Palestine that is known as Israel&#8230;free free Palestine end all aid to Israel”<a href="https://t.co/bVpK7wgZPD">pic.twitter.com/bVpK7wgZPD</a>
&mdash; Eytan Sosnovich (@EytanSosnovich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EytanSosnovich/status/1213604847007805446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
ANSWER Coalition was founded in the days after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks to oppose the Bush Administration&#8217;s decision to attack targets in Afghanistan in order to wipe out the roots of international terrorism. The group&#8217;s initial marches billed themselves as opposed to &#8220;the Bush administration’s reactionary foreign and domestic policy and the IMF and World Bank,&#8221; but the group later organized itself as an “anti-racist, anti-war, peace and justice group.”
However, ANSWER is regarded by the Anti-Defamation League <a href="https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/israel-international/Top-10-Anti-Israel-Groups-in-America.pdf">as one of the nation&#8217;s top-ten anti-Israel organizations </a>and it regularly organizes anti-Israel protests featuring anti-Semitic rhetoric. ANSWER, ADL reports has “sponsored and organized numerous anti-Israel events, rallies and demonstrations” involving “anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic rhetoric, expressions of support for terror, and offensive Holocaust imagery likening Jews and Israelis to Nazis.”
The group, ADL continues, in its comprehensive report on ANSWER, has “repeatedly expressed support for terrorist groups determined to dismantle the state of Israel, including Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as ‘resistance’ groups fighting U.S. forces abroad.”
Saturday&#8217;s rallies were, of course, no exception.

Hundreds took to the streets as antiwar and social justice

WATCH: &#8216;Anti-War&#8217; Protests In New York City, Washington Quickly Turned Anti-Semitic, Anti-U.S.

Donald Trump

Protest

Qasem Soleimani

Qassem Soleimani

The year 2019 wraps up as one of the most anti-Semitic in the recent history of New York City — capped off by a slew of hate crimes occurring over the celebration of Chanukah and even extending into the nascent new year.
In just over a week, nine incidents were perpetrated against Jews in the greater New York area, among them a machete-wielding attacker injuring five individuals at a suburban Monsey Chanukah celebration, a shooting threat at a Jewish organization’s headquarters in Brooklyn, and a Hasidic man punched and thrown to the ground by a group of thugs. At least 13 anti-Semitic assaults have been reported in New York City just since December 23.
And while the latest wave of anti-Semitism carried out in the New York City metropolitan area is disturbing, the upward trend of anti-Semitic attacks over a span of several years demonstrates a much larger and more predictable pattern. Anti-Semitic incidents in New York state surged over 96% from 2016 to 2017, with over 50% of the anti-Semitic assaults committed nationally occurring just in the Empire State. For the year 2017, more than 60% of New York state anti-Semitism took place in New York City.
The year 2018 saw anti-Semitic assaults in New York proliferate yet again, this time by an order of 55% — all of that just within the five boroughs. And yet again, in 2019, anti-Semitism accounted for considerably over half of all hate crimes perpetrated in the city.
Nationally, similar patterns arise, with anti-Semitism consistently ranking as the most prominent form of religious discrimination, but the unenviable ascent of anti-Semitism in New York City remains unparalleled in any other big city.
And the logic for the rapid rise in New York City-based Jew-hatred lies, in no small part, with the leadership and neglectful inaction by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming narrative surrounding any form of discrimination — anti-Semitism chief among them — in New York City places blame squarely with those on the far-right. Ironic, perhaps, given that New York City consistently ranks among the most liberal urban areas globally, that the far-right might hold sway there. Nonetheless, de Blasio trudges forward, claiming last summer that “the violent threat, the threat that is ideological, is very much from the Right.”
Sadly, the vast majority of the recent anti-Semitic attacks have been perpetrated by <a href="https://www.investigativeproject.org/8240/black-on-jewish-violence-marks-the-new-new-anti">black and Hispanic individuals</a> and in some of the most liberal enclaves of an already left-leaning city. In the first four months of 2019, with anti-Semitic hate crimes on pace to increase by 82% from 2018, de Blasio denied City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s request for a fully-funded Office of Prevention of Hate Crimes. Speaker Johnson noted, at the time, that the funding necessary for a fully functional office would nearly double in the 2020 fiscal year, yet de Blasio has shown no intention to allocate any additional funds.
Beyond budgeting shortfalls, New York City’s criminal and bail reform practices have demonstrably returned virulent anti-Semites to the street without bail set. Thirty-year-old Tiffany Harris, responsible for the aggravated assault of three Jewish individuals last week, was released from police custody without bail following the first assault, only to commit the same heinous act twice more — a day later. She was again released with no bail. A policy enacted for the new year disqualifies swaths of crimes from being eligible for bail altogether in New York state. The laundry list of now-disqualified crimes includes third-degree assault, forms of aggravated assault, terrorist threats, arson in the third- and fourth-degrees, and even second-degree manslaughter. These crimes are often the direct criminal behaviors that have been taking place against Jews.
Tangible solutions and an end to the public safety crisis faced by Jews won’t come about by denying the realities of the situation. Pragmatically, significant fault lies with de Blasio himself and the state legislature, due to enacting poorly conceived policies and deflecting responsibility for the attacks to a preferred ideological foe.

Sunset in New York City

PHILLIPS: A Year Of Rampant Anti-Semitism In New York City

New York Police Department (NYPD)

Amid the spate of anti-Semitic attacks occurring around the world, and particularly the series of vicious assaults on Jews in the New York/New Jersey area recently, a <a href="https://www.thesiyum.org/">massive celebration</a> of Jewish learning was held in Met Life Stadium in New Jersey on Wednesday night where 90,000 people braved the cold to rejoice over their completion of studying the entire Talmud in the Daf Yomi tradition, a daily odyssey that takes 7 ½ years.
Known as the Siyum HaShas, as &#8220;Siyum&#8221; means &#8220;completion,&#8221; &#8220;Ha&#8221; means &#8220;the,” and “Shas” is the name for the 20-volume Babylonian Talmud, the celebration is unlike any other celebration, as it is not a massive gathering to share a sporting event or musical concert but rather an introspective journey into the intricacies of Jewish law and an elucidation of what is adumbrated in the Bible. The Siyum HaShas, which has completed its 13thcycle, is marked by celebrations around the world by Jews; the other celebrations will be marked in the next few weeks.
Rabbi Yaakov Perlow <a href="https://www.thesiyum.org/">explained</a>, “Every person must maintain in his program of daily activities, just like he eats and sleeps and walks the streets and breathes fresh air, every person must learn Torah. This is &#8216;Ki Haim Chayeinu&#8217; (They are our life) in its simplest meaning and its profound message.&#8221;
Herschel Schachter of Yeshiva University added, “Rashi (Medieval commentator on the Bible and the Talmud) in his commentary on the Bible quotes from the early rabbis &#8216;You shall love the Lord your God,&#8217; which we say every day twice a day; &#8216;How does one develop a love? By learning Torah.&#8217; By learning Torah we come closer, we get to understand a little bit allegorically what God is all about. And if you know something about Him, it’s worthwhile to fall in love with Him.”
In light of the anti-Semitic attacks that have eventuated recently, <a href="https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/01/01/metlife-stadium-siyum-hashas-2020/">CBS News</a> noted, “Rabbi Yosef C. Golding, an organizer, told The Record newspaper that he has worked with more than 50 law enforcement agencies on security for the event, and that more than 300 uniformed state police were in the stadium. The event was broadcast internationally.”
Rabbi Yissocher Frand offered, &#8220;The Nazis burned the Talmud because they knew that this text has the power to rebuild the Jewish people.” In 1242, King Louis IX of France ordered the burning of all the handwritten copies of the Talmud; each 20-volume set contains roughly 1.8 million words.
Rabbi Daniel Wasserman of the Shaare Torah Congregation told CBS News, “I live in Pittsburgh and of course, just over a year ago, we had the massacre in Pittsburgh. We see what’s been happening here, all of the anti-Semitic attacks last week and on the streets in New York. Whatever the reasons are, I’ll leave that to the political scientists. But the reality is that whether it’s ourselves or any ethnic group, we are here. We’re proud. We’re not going anywhere. And this is a perfect example of it.”
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/jews-talmud-anti-semitic-attacks-meadowlands">Fox News</a> reported one attendee stating, “We are gathering to celebrate the Talmud because it is the source of our strength.”
<iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/378850791" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

US-RELIGION-SIYUM HASHAS

Amid Anti-Semitic Attacks, Massive Jewish Celebration Marks Completion Of 7 1/2 Year Odyssey Of Learning

As reported earlier in the week by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-nyc-woman-accused-of-anti-semitic-attack-let-loose-again-after-second-arrest">The Daily Wire</a>, a woman named Tiffany Harris was arrested and released for two different alleged attacks within three days due to early-implemented &#8220;bail reform&#8221; in New York. On New Year&#8217;s Eve, Harris was arrested yet again.
Harris &#8220;was <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/27/jewish-mom-son-assaulted-in-latest-anti-semitic-attack-in-brooklyn/">nabbed for allegedly slugging three Jewish women</a> and yelling &#8216;F-U, Jews!&#8217; but let go Saturday with no bail, despite an open assault case. Last month, she got no jail for a felony in another incident,&#8221; <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/30/revolving-door-injustice-serial-slugger-gets-sprung-again/">The New York Post</a> reported. &#8220;Nabbed again Sunday in a new attack, she was once more freed, on no bail, Monday.&#8221;
Harris was then most recently picked up on Tuesday at a Brooklyn area hotel &#8220;on an arrest warrant issued earlier Tuesday after she allegedly failed to comply with court-ordered monitoring,&#8221; the Post reports, citing officials.
&#8220;They issued a bench warrant around 5 p.m. this evening,&#8221; said New York City Sheriff Joseph Fucito, according to the outlet.
&#8220;At 6:18, I was notified that she was a fugitive. We put together teams of deputy sheriffs that did basic background investigation, and started conducting interviews and canvassing known locations,&#8221; Fucito added.
&#8220;She went to the office as instructed, gave the information she needed, clearly she wanted to leave,&#8221; Lisa Schreibersdorf, Harris’s lawyer, said of her client. &#8220;Anyone would want to leave in that circumstance, no one felt she did anything wrong.&#8221;
On Wednesday, Jaclyn Cangro, a reporter for Spectrum News Albany, outlined a list of crimes New York judges are no longer allowed to set bail for, as of January 1. Although, it appeared New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, implemented the reform earlier, hence Harris&#8217;s releases.
&#8220;Confused about bail and discovery reform? This is the list of crimes New York judges are no longer able to set bail for. That means pending conviction, those charged with these crimes will stay out of jail (unless for certain circumstances),&#8221; explained Cangro.
The list includes charges related to burglary, robbery, stalking, possession of a controlled substance, and criminal possession of a weapon.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Confused about bail and discovery reform? This is the list of crimes New York judges are no longer able to set bail for. That means pending conviction, those charged with these crimes will stay out of jail (unless for certain circumstances). <a href="https://t.co/IJ4jcweaOl">pic.twitter.com/IJ4jcweaOl</a>
&mdash; Jaclyn Cangro (@JaclynCangro) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaclynCangro/status/1212382726915051532?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
New York, as of January 1, has implemented controversial discovery reform as part of criminal justice reformation in the state.
As detailed in an op-ed published in the left-leaning <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-discovering-huge-holes-in-discovery-reform-20190603-7dczo26lu5fc7e46wvny4chfyy-story.html">New York Daily News</a> this summer, all five borough district attorneys have said the reform goes too far in favoring defendants.
<div class="crd clln--it" data-type="text">
<div class=" crd--cnt ">
&#8220;One of the primary reasons why witnesses are hesitant to cooperate with an investigation is confidentiality,&#8221; said the authors, Seth Barron and Ralf Mangual. &#8220;Prosecutors will no longer be able to assure witnesses that their identity will be protected, even in the case of grand jury testimony, which the new law will now require be disclosed. (While there’s a provision to ask a judge for a protective order to shield a name, that would come after cops and prosecutors talk to witnesses to make an arrest and build a case.)&#8221;
&#8220;If you talk to any assistant district attorney, they will tell you that one of the first questions they are asked by victims and witnesses is: ‘Will the defendant know who I am?’ ‘Will they know where I live?’&#8221; explained Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez.
</div>
</div>

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio

Democrat ‘Bail Reform’: Woman Involved In Anti-Semitic Attack Arrested, Released For 3 Crimes In 5 Days

In October 2018, during Sabbath morning services, a white supremacist attacked the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, murdering 11 people and wounding another six. In April 2019, in the middle of Passover, a white supremacist attacked the Chabad of Poway synagogue, murdering one person and seriously wounding another three. Both incidents started absolutely necessary conversations about the prevalence and nature of the white supremacist threat to Jews across the country.
Four people were murdered at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City by self-described Black Hebrew Israelites just weeks ago; five people were stabbed at a Hanukkah celebration in Monsey, New York; this week alone, New York police are investigating at least nine anti-Semitic attacks. The upsurge of violence against Jews in New York in particular has finally prompted commentary from Democratic politicians ranging from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who just weeks ago expressed shock at anti-Semitism reaching &#8220;the doorstep of New York City&#8221;; to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who expressed puzzlement at the attacks, noting broadly: &#8220;This is an intolerant time in our country. We see anger; we see hatred exploding.&#8221;
This isn&#8217;t new. Back in 2018, The New York Times admitted there was a massive spike in anti-Semitic attacks in the city — and even acknowledged that the newspaper of record had failed to cover that surging anti-Semitism because &#8220;it refuses to conform to an easy narrative with a single ideological enemy.&#8221; But that has always been true of anti-Semitism. It&#8217;s possible, as the Times should recognize, to walk and chew gum at the same time in covering anti-Semitism.
But it&#8217;s not mere lack of focus and time preventing the media from taking anti-Semitism in New York seriously. It&#8217;s the identity of the attackers. Armin Rosen wrote for Tablet Magazine back in July 2019 about the Jew hatred in New York and correctly noted &#8220;that the victims are most often outwardly identifiable, i.e., religious rather than secularized Jews, and the perpetrators who have been recorded on CCTV cameras are overwhelmingly black and Hispanic.&#8221; This throws the media — and many left-leaning Jewish organizations — into spasms of confusion, since it cuts directly against the supposed alliance of intersectionality so beloved by the political Left. White supremacists attacking left-leaning Jews fits a desired narrative. Black teenagers beating up Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg doesn&#8217;t.
And so the Left ignores the wrong type of anti-Semitism.
The same media that will ask whether President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive orders designed to protect Jews on campus are ackshually anti-Semitic will ignore the fact that former President Barack Obama sat in Jeremiah Wright&#8217;s church for 20 years — the same Jeremiah Wright who railed against Jews and Israel routinely during those years; who said Jews kept Obama from talking with him after the election; and who avers that &#8220;Jesus was a Palestinian.&#8221; Democratic candidates who suggest that Trump has emboldened anti-Semites will make pilgrimage to Rev. Al Sharpton, who was instrumental in not one but two anti-Semitic riots. The same commentators who will police Republican references to George Soros for hints of anti-Semitism completely excuse open anti-Semitism when it comes from Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. It&#8217;s deemed completely vital by our intelligentsia to survey white Americans for signs of white supremacy and, by extension, signs of anti-Semitism. Those same intelligentsia will patently ignore the fact that anti-Semitic attitudes among black Americans far outweigh similar attitudes among other racial groups, according to repeated polling by the Anti-Defamation League.
Anti-Semitism grows when the victims become secondary and the perpetrators become primary. If you&#8217;re only concerned about anti-Semitism from white supremacists but utterly blithe about Jews being beaten in the streets of one of the nation&#8217;s largest cities by suspects who clearly are not white supremacists, you&#8217;re part of the problem. And that goes for those who govern New York, from de Blasio to Cuomo.

Bill De Blasio

SHAPIRO: When Anti-Semitism Doesn’t Matter

Generally, politicizing tragedy is a scourge that should be avoided. But sometimes, the cause of the tragedy is so obvious that it becomes impossible not to trace it back to politics.
For the last few years, parts of New York, including much of New York City, have become <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/18/nyregion/anti-semitism-brooklyn-new-york.html">hotbeds</a> of anti-Semitic attacks against Jews at random, ranging from beating Jews in the streets to <a href="https://abc7ny.com/vandals-break-window-at-synagogue-in-brooklyn/5142611/">throwing</a> bricks into synagogue windows.
However, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/29/us/jewish-attacks-week-new-york-trnd/index.html">this week</a> saw a new, unprecedented wave of anti-Semitic attacks in New York. An elderly Jew was beaten by a Latino assailant in broad daylight in Midtown Manhattan. A few days <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/28/suspects-released-without-bail-after-shocking-attacks-on-jews/">later</a>, a homeless black attacker hit a Jewish woman in the face with a bag of groceries in front of her son. And over the weekend, multiple Jews were stabbed by an African-American attacker near a Monsey synagogue during a Hanukkah celebration.
This is horrifying, to say the least. I grew up in Monsey. To say I never thought I’d see the day a tragedy such as this one would occur in my own hometown is an understatement.
But this should cause Jews, both in New York and throughout the country, to truly question who in power has their best interests in mind. And it’s becoming increasingly obvious that, try as they may to <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1211376731422113792">deny</a> it, it is the Left that truly has no interest in helping to stop this epidemic of anti-Semitism.
To his credit, however, after the Monday attack, far-left New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted the following:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hate doesn’t have a home in our city. 
In light of recent anti-Semitic attacks, the NYPD will increase their presence in Boro Park, Crown Heights and Williamsburg. 
Anyone who terrorizes our Jewish community WILL face justice.
&mdash; Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1210529913004015617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Still, leftists, even Jewish ones, pounced:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
in a decision that impacts both Black and Jewish New Yorkers, how many Black Jews have you consulted before deciding occupying Black and Jewish communities with more NYPD makes everyone safer?
— rafael (@rafaelshimunov) <a href="https://twitter.com/rafaelshimunov/status/1210613561065705473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
One may wonder why Jews would be upset by this. After all, it seems insane that Jews would be against the notion of protecting their own co-religionists. But the Left’s obsession with race and identity politics leads directly to this logical conclusion.
To the Left, African-Americans and Latino Americans are a perpetual victim class, no matter the progress each community makes over time. As such, leftists feel a visceral guilt about these communities and will excuse any action in which people of these ethnicities participate. And even though Jews are a minority as well, their disproportionate success in America puts them on a pedestal above other minorities, such as African-Americans and Hispanics. As such, leftists will side with the supposed “oppressed” group, no matter what the truth actually is.
Even The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/nyregion/jewish-bias-safety-nyc.html?auth=login-email&amp;login=email">admitted</a> the conundrum for progressives in fighting anti-Semitism, noting that &#8220;[I]t is the varied backgrounds of people who commit hate crimes in the city that make combating and talking about anti-Semitism in New York much harder.&#8221;
How else do you explain New York’s new law <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/new-york-prosecutor-abolishing-bail-will-lead-dangerous-crime-waves-witness-intimidation/">abolishing</a> bail, which clearly will lead to spikes in crime, rampant witness intimidation, and more criminals out on the streets? Or the fact that the endorsement of Rev. Al Sharpton, infamous for his role in the Crown Heights riots of the early 1990s and the 1995 Freddy&#8217;s Fashion Mart massacre, is a de facto <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/the-run/articles/2019-04-02/2020-democrats-flock-to-al-sharptons-national-action-network-to-address-race-gap">gateway</a> to qualifying for the Democratic Party presidential nomination? Or that Democrats in the House leadership have <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/03/anti-semitism-louis-farrakhan-democratic-party/">met</a> with the anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, and none have denounced him as the racist he so clearly is?
The answer is that intersectionality and identity politics are sacred cows to the Left. It is a golden rule that the color of a perpetrator’s skin is always more important than the actions they take. As such, as long as the culprit is not a white supremacist, as white Christian males are on top of the intersectional totem pole, Jewish blood becomes cheap to the Left.
We as Americans cannot let this stand. The cancer to the civil society that is identity politics must end now.

Vigil.

FRANKEL: The Golden Calf of Identity Politics Must Be Destroyed. Jewish Lives Depend On It.

#WalkAway

Intersectionality

Jews

On Monday, federal prosecutors filed five hate crime charges against the man who wounded five Orthodox Jews during a Hanukkah celebration at the home of a rabbi Saturday night.
In a <a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/6628-grafton-thomas/44d55e7c8e2bdb5ccaaf/optimized/full.pdf#page=1">criminal complaint</a> filed Monday with the Southern District of New York, Special Agent Julie S. Brown accuses the suspect — a 38-year-old African American man who family members say suffers from mental illness, specifically schizophrenia (his name is here redacted in accordance with Daily Wire policy on mass killers) — of &#8220;obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs involving an attempt to kill and use of a dangerous weapon, and resulting in bodily injury.&#8221;
In the complaint, Brown provides previously unrevealed details about the contents of the suspect&#8217;s journals and cell phone indicating that he was potentially motivated by &#8220;anti-Semitic sentiments.&#8221;
&#8220;On or about December 28 , 2019, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, [the suspect], the defendant, intentionally obstructed, by force and threat of force, each victim listed below in the enjoyment of that victim’s free exercise of religious beliefs, and attempted to do which conduct was in and affected interstate commerce,&#8221; the complaint reads. &#8220;[The defendant’s] acts included an attempt to kill, and resulted in bodily injury to, each victim in Counts One through Five; the acts also included the use, attempted use, and threatened use of a dangerous weapon, to wit, a machete.&#8221;
After detailing the actions of the suspect the night of the attack — from entering the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg in Monsey, New York at around 9:52 p.m. to being pulled over by police at 11:59 p.m. and found with &#8220;what appeared to blood on [his] jacket, clothing, and hands&#8221; (excerpt of the report below) — Brown provides some key details concerning the possible motives of the suspect uncovered during the investigation.
In his handwritten journals, Brown found evidence of anti-Semitic views (formatting adjusted):
<blockquote>Based on my training and experience, it appears that several of the pages in the journals express ant-Semitic sentiments, such as:
<ul>
<li>Stating that the “Hebrew Israelites” took from the “powerful ppl (ebinoid Israelites [a reference to the ‘Black Hebrew Israelite’ movement).”</li>
<li>Questioning “why ppl mourned for anti-Semitism when there is Semitic genocide.&#8221;</li>
<li>Referring to “Adolf Hitler” and “Nazi Culture” on the same page as drawings of a Star of David and a Swastika.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
A footnote on the first item explains:&#8221;The term ‘ebinoid Israelites’ appears to be a reference to the ‘Black Hebrew Israelite’ movement, in which groups of Africa-Americans assert that they are the descendants of the ancient Israelites. Both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center have stated that some Black Hebrew Israelites espouse anti-Semitic beliefs.&#8221;
The Black Hebrew Israelites is the same group that made national headlines after members taunted the Covington Catholic High School students ahead of their encounter with a Native American demonstrator.
The complaint also lists a few of the red flag searches conducted on the suspect&#8217;s cell phone between Nov. 9 and Dec. 27, including:
<ul>
<li>“Why did Hitler hate the Jews”</li>
<li>“German Jewish Temples near me”</li>
<li>“Zionist Temples in Elizabeth NJ”</li>
<li>“Zionist Temples of Staten Island”</li>
<li>“Prominent companies founded by Jews in America”</li>
</ul>
The suspect’s cell phone was also used on the day of the attack to access an article titled “New York City Increases Police Presence in Jewish Neighborhoods After Possible Anti-Semitic Attacks. Here’s What to Know,&#8221; the complaint reveals.
Below is an excerpt of the complaint&#8217;s summary of the alleged actions of the suspect from the start of the attack to his arrest (formatting adjusted):
<blockquote>On or about December 28, 2019, at approximately 9:52 p.m., an individual later identified as [redacted], the defendant, entered the home of a rabbi in the vicinity of Monsey, New York (the “Rabbi’s Home”), which is located next door to the rabbi’s synagogue (the “Synagogue”). Members of the local Hasidic community consider both the Rabbi’s Home and the Synagogue as places of worship. Dozens of congregants from the Synagogue were inside the Rabbi’s Home at the time, celebrating the end of Shabbat and the seventh night of Hanukkah by, among other things, lighting candles and reciting prayers. These congregants, including the victims listed above, were members of the Hasidic community and were, thus, easily identifiable as adherents to the Jewish faith.
When [Defendant] entered the Rabbi’s Home, he had his face covered with what appeared to be a scarf and said, in substance and in part, “no one is leaving.” [Defendant] then took out a machete and started stabbing and slashing people in the Rabbi’s Home. Five victims of [Defendant’s] attack […] were later hospitalized with serious bodily injuries, to include a severed finger, slash wounds, and deep lacerations. At least one victim is in critical condition with a skull fracture.
After the attack, [Defendant] fled. A witness followed [Defendant] and observed him enter the driver’s side of a gray car with New York State license plates (the “Car”) and drive away. Based on a review of a law enforcement database containing license plate reader data, the Car crossed the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee, New Jersey, to Manhattan, New York about one hour later, at approximately 11:02 p.m.
At approximately 11:49 p.m., officers from the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) found and stopped the Car in Manhattan. [Defendant] was the Car’s driver and sole occupant. The NYPD officers detected a strong smell of bleach coming from the Car, and observed what appeared to be blood on [Defendant’s] jacket, clothing, and hands. The NYPD officers placed [Defendant] under arrest.</blockquote>
<a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/6628-grafton-thomas/44d55e7c8e2bdb5ccaaf/optimized/full.pdf#page=1">Read the full legal complaint here</a>.

NYC Attack

Prosecutors Charge NYC Knife Attack Suspect With Hate Crime, Reveal Contents Of His Journals, Cell Phone

Eight months ago, following the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/opinion/rabbi-chabad-poway-antisemitism.html">lethal shooting</a> at the Chabad of Poway, California, I called for American Jews to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-jews-simply-must-arm-themselves-now-josh-hammer">immediately arm themselves</a> en masse.
After the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-man-accused-of-anti-semitic-mass-stabbing-attack-may-be-connected-to-another-anti-semitic-attack-report-says">horrific events</a> of this past weekend, it is now time to renew — and to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/remer-its-time-for-jews-to-take-up-arms">amplify</a> — that call.
It is no secret that non-<a href="http://www.amimagazine.org/2019/12/19/trumps-support-among-orthodox-jews-is-at-89-percent-poll-2/">Orthodox</a> American Jews tend to disproportionately support the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-stark-choice-facing-jewish-democrats-josh-hammer">Democratic Party</a>. There are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5IqH7oJ9h4">numerous reasons for this</a>, with the bastardization of Torah-true Judaism into <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heal-World-Corrupts-Judaism-Endangers/dp/1250160871">&#8220;tikkun olam&#8221;</a>-inspired social justice claptrap chief among them. Accordingly, American Jews — who also disproportionately live in geographically tight-knit urban or suburban areas — tend to be among the least-armed members of the American polity. A 2005 American Jewish Committee <a href="https://www.jewishdatabank.org/content/upload/bjdb/617/AJC_JewishDistinctivenessAmerica_TS_April2005.pdf">study</a> revealed that just 13% of Jewish homes reported owning a gun — less than one-third of the percentage of non-Jewish homeowners.
Contemporary American Jewish disdain — perhaps outright hostility — to gun rights is deeply ahistorical, as Second Amendment activist Yehuda Remer explained earlier today <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/remer-its-time-for-jews-to-take-up-arms">here at The Daily Wire</a>. As Yehuda wrote, &#8220;Jews have a long and storied history of being fierce warriors — not vulnerable sheep.&#8221; The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-the-lesson-of-chanukah-is-deeply-relevant-in-2019-heres-why">story of Chanukah</a>, a holiday that ends this evening, certainly comes to mind. Ditto the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/10/10/the-warsaw-ghetto-uprising-armed-jews-vs-nazis/">Warsaw Ghetto Uprising</a>. There are a myriad other examples.
But history lessons aside, the collective lack of American Jewish intimacy with firearms is also a moral travesty. And it is a travesty that simply <a href="https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/analysis/experts-suggest-6-firearms-that-will-fit-in-your-tallit-bag/2019/12/30/">must be remedied</a>.
A Jew who is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-what-you-need-know-about-ar-15-toting-josh-hammer">trained, armed, and proficient</a> in the use of firearms is necessarily a Jew who the anti-Semites fear the most — which makes this Jew the very best kind of Jew. This is a Jew who is ready, willing, and able, if need be, to heed the <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.72a.4">Talmudic principle</a> that one must rise to take the life of someone who is trying to take his/her own life. This is a Jew who, while praying in shul, is trained and prepared to act like the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-church-hero-delivers-powerful-message-owned-gun-range-appears-to-be-nra-supporter-report-says">Texan heroes of West Freeway Church of Christ</a>. This is a Jew who is physically capable and emotionally prepared to take down an active shooter, if need be.
It is the Jew who fought back against the SS shepherding Jews to their deaths via cattle car. It is the fighting Jew — the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-the-lesson-of-chanukah-is-deeply-relevant-in-2019-heres-why">Maccabean Jew</a>.
I live in Texas, and it is hardly the least bit unusual for Jews here to pack heat while attending synagogue or attending any other kind of Jewish-themed event. But the reality is that even for Jews who live in blue state jurisdictions with heavy gun regulations, it is oftentimes still possible to secure a coveted concealed carry permit — or at least purchase a weapon to secure home and hearth. I personally know people who obtained carry permits while living in Chicago. Legally purchasing a firearm in Rockland County, New York, home to the recently besieged Monsey, also does not appear to be <a href="https://twitter.com/beyondreasdoubt/status/1211152659153117184">too terribly burdensome</a>.
It is wholly appropriate for us to demand concrete action, and not mere grandstanding, from <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/29/how-liberals-are-allowing-anti-semitism-to-flourish/">those politicians</a> who have allowed this despicable resurgence of the world&#8217;s oldest bigotry to fester under their watch. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio should both be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for their tepid responses, to-date, for what is rapidly metastasizing into a full-blown epidemic.
But ultimately, the imperative is on each individual Jew to be the guardian of his/her own security. Why on Earth would Jews, the most systemically persecuted group of humans to have ever lived, delegate responsibility for their own lives to third-party actors?
As I wrote back in April: &#8220;Jews, who for millennia have been demographic minorities in every land except for the modern State of Israel itself, ought to be uniquely willing and eager to take advantage of the protections secured by the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment">Second Amendment</a> of the U.S. Constitution. &#8230; Jews who were properly armed instead of forced to live at the behest of gun-grabbing tyrannical oppressors could have better resisted any number of pogroms and atrocities committed throughout history.&#8221;
Do not be a Hellenized Jew; be a Maccabee. Do not be a sheep; be a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar1WygVl_Vg">sheepdog</a>. Do not be a victim; be a hero.
Arm and train yourselves. Now.

concealed carry handgun

HAMMER: An Armed And Trained Jew Is The Best Kind Of Jew

Second Amendment

In an interview with <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/after-string-of-anti-semitic-attacks-de-blasio-laments-hatred-emanating-from-washington">Fox News</a>, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio seemingly blamed President Trump for the wave of anti-Semitic acts in and around New York City, saying, “An atmosphere of hate has been developing in this country over the last few years. A lot of it is emanating from Washington and it&#8217;s having an effect on all of us.”
Fox News host Ed Henry played for De Blasio the remarks of former Democrat state assemblyman Dov Hikind, who in the wake of the mass stabbings at a synagogue in Monsey, New York over the weekend voiced his fury on Fox News at New York’s elected officials, saying, “Unfortunately, the leadership, the mayor of New York, what’s his plan? That’s all what I wanted to know. I want to know what’s his plan? For him to tell me, every time there’s an anti-Semitic incident, that he condemns it, that he feels the pain, and then he goes home and waits for the next incident and does the same thing; what is going to be done by the mayor? The governor?”
Henry noted that Hikind had openly condemned the anti-Semitic rhetoric of the Left, then asked De Blasio if he would condemn the rhetoric of Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
De Blasio protested, “I have! I have! When I think something is anti-Semitic, I say it. I’ve said it about fellow Democrats. But I also want us to be clear about what’s happening: An atmosphere of hate has been developing in this country over the last few years. A lot of it is emanating from Washington and it&#8217;s having an effect on all of us.”
Henry interrupted, “Wait, so you’re blaming the president by saying it comes from Washington.”
De Blasio answered, &#8220;Not just the president, I’m saying, but we have to be clear: we need a different tone starting in Washington; we had, by the way, with Democrats and Republicans both in the White House, that encourage this country to actually find some unity and some common ground. We haven’t had that the last few years.”
Last June, after a string of anti-Semitic acts had taken place in and around New York City, De Blasio blamed the political Right. As the <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/06/04/de-blasio-says-anti-semitism-is-strictly-a-right-wing-movement/">New York Post</a> reported, De Blasio stated, “I think the ideological movement that is anti-Semitic is the right-wing movement.”
The Post noted, “De Blasio said he did not agree with a claim by a reporter that there is also rising anti-Semitism ‘on the left in the BDS movement and around the world.’&#8221;
De Blasio stated, “I want to be very, very clear: the violent threat, the threat that is ideological is very much from the Right.” Chaim Deutsch, a Brooklyn Democrat, snapped back, “I don’t agree with the mayor. I have not seen any white supremacists coming in here committing these hate crimes.” Staten Island Republican Borelli mocked De Blasio, saying, “A simple look at where anti-Semitic hate crimes have occurred just disproves this– unless you count central Brooklyn as the home of a vast right-wing conspiracy. Bill de Blasio regularly says stupid things, but this is literally the stupidest effing thing he’s ever said.”
&nbsp;

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio Accepts Resignation Of NYPD Commissioner O&#8217;Neill, And Names Predecessor

De Blasio Appears To Blame Trump For Violence Against Jews

Anti-Semitism is on the rise in America: Shootings, stabbings, swastikas painted on buildings and sidewalks, and a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-stark-choice-facing-jewish-democrats-josh-hammer">Democratic Party that condones anti-Semitic views</a> constitute the new normal in what was once an incredibly safe country for Jews.
Two weeks ago, there was a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jersey-city-shootout-assailants-kill-police-officer-3-orthodox-jews">targeted shooting in New Jersey</a>, which claimed the lives of two Jews. This week, a man walked into a Chanukah party in Monsey, New York and stabbed numerous Jews. Attacks, especially in the Tri-State area, are happening in what <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/29/how-liberals-are-allowing-anti-semitism-to-flourish/">seems like a daily occurrence</a>.
However, it’s apparent that far too many American Jews are merely waiting for the wolves to strike.
Unfortunately, many American Jews believe that anti-Semitic attacks will not — simply CANNOT — happen to them. They don’t believe a murderous gunman will enter their synagogue. They don&#8217;t expect to be stabbed or beaten on the streets. They don’t expect it — but it’s happening with increasing frequency.
So, I ask this question to the Jews of America who think this way: When did we become sheep? What happened to our David versus Goliath mentality?
Jews have a history of being fierce warriors and not backing down from a fight. Here are some biblical examples:
<ul>
<li>Abraham battled four kingdoms and was victorious.</li>
<li>The Jews fought the Amalakites and were victorious.</li>
<li>The campaigns of Joshua.</li>
</ul>
You don’t like the biblical ones? Here are some more modern-day Jewish heroes.
<ul>
<li>Mordechai Anielewicz (leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising).</li>
<li>Abba Kovner (leader of the Vilna Partisans).</li>
<li>Eli Cohen (Mossad spy).</li>
<li>Mickey Marcus (American colonel who helped win the 1948 war for Israel&#8217;s independence).</li>
</ul>
There are numerous examples of Jews standing up to adversity and not being afraid of a fight. Jews have a long and storied history of being fierce warriors — not vulnerable sheep.
Jews around the world just finished celebrating Chanukah, which is not merely a holiday about presents, oil, dreidels, and latkes. Chanukah, fundamentally, is a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-the-lesson-of-chanukah-is-deeply-relevant-in-2019-heres-why">holiday about liberty</a>. It’s a celebration of a band of freedom fighters who won back our religious freedoms from a larger and highly trained military. This holiday is celebrated because Jews took up arms, fought for their Jewish identity, and won.
In other words, we defeated the anti-Semitism of the Seleucid Empire.
It is well past time for modern-day Jews to follow in the footsteps of their forebears and take up arms. Jews need to fall in line, not to the gas chambers, but under the banner that reads “Second Amendment supporters.” It is time to embrace and take advantage of the right enshrined in the Second Amendment. Purchasing a firearm, learning to use it, and training with it will help ensure you and your family or community are safe.
Don’t rely on the police or government to protect you. Don’t rely on the security guard standing in front of your synagogue. Be your own guardian.
Let’s take it one step further with what may sound controversial to some: STOP RELYING SOLELY ON PRAYER!
There is a famous latin phrase that reads, “Si vis pacem, para bellum.” If you want peace, prepare for war.
How did Jacob prepare for his encounter with his brother, Esau?
He sent gifts and prayed. He also prepared for war.
Jacob split his family into two different camps in order to spare one if Esau were to attack. What can we learn from this? You must put in the hard work and find the appropriate balance between personal effort and trust in God!
I’m a Jew who carries a firearm. I write about guns for a living. I know many Jews from all walks of life who hate firearms and believe that guns have no place in society.
But how is exercising my Second Amendment right to help ensure my family&#8217;s safety any different than what Jacob did?
The answer is that there is no difference.
When Goliath threatened the Jews, a young David took up arms. David explained to King Saul that as a shepherd, God delivered him from the “paw of a lion and the paw of a bear”; and now, God will deliver him from Goliath. Although David prayed to God for deliverance, he also prepared for battle.
It says in <a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/15846/jewish/Chapter-17.htm">I Samuel 17:40</a>: “And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth pebbles from the brook, and he placed them in the shepherds&#8217; bag which he had, and in the sack, and his slingshot was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.”
Good conquered Evil.
Another example is seen in<a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/15861/jewish/Chapter-1.htm"> II Samuel 1:18</a>, after the death of Saul. David laments, “And he said to teach the sons of Judah the bow. Behold it is written in the book of the just.”
David understood that with Saul gone, the Jews would need to learn how to fight if they were to survive.
We can’t rely solely on prayer to ensure our safety. Don’t take that to mean that I don’t believe in prayer. On the contrary, prayer isn’t only important, but is integral to survival. We must pray constantly that we be delivered from evil.
But God gave us the natural right to self-defense that is constitutionally enshrined in the Second Amendment. It’s time for Jews to embrace it.
Get a firearm and learn how to use it.
There is a very famous phrase that states, “God made man, but Samuel Colt made them equal.” Firearms are equalizers. I understand that many Jews are afraid of firearms and don’t want them around. But it’s time that you educate yourself. Lastly, it’s time to stop believing that it can’t happen to you; it can happen in your synagogue, on the streets, or in your local market.
Arm yourself. Train. Become proficient. Survive.
“Never Again” means nothing if you are not willing to do something about it.
&nbsp;
<a href="http://yehudaremer.com/">Yehuda Remer</a> is an author of numerous children’s books on Second Amendment education and the founder of <a href="http://thepewpewjew.com/">The Pew Pew Jew</a> Brand.  You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/thepewpewjew">@thepewpewjew</a>.

praying at Western Wall

REMER: It&#8217;s Time For Jews To Take Up Arms

Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had harsh words for her colleagues in both the legislative and executive branch of government on Sunday, demanding that they strongly condemn anti-Semitism in the wake of a series of anti-Semitic attacks, culminating in a mass stabbing late Saturday night at a Hanukkah party in suburban New York City.
Strangely, though, Pelosi seems to be struggling with selective amnesia on the subject, having refused, just months ago, to press through a measure condemning anti-Semitism within her own Congressional delegation.
Pelosi tweeted her exhortation Sunday morning, begging President Donald Trump and others to vocally and forcefully admonish anti-Semites and condemn anti-Semitic attacks.
&#8220;Heartbroken and deeply disturbed by the stabbing in Monsey and the many recent anti-Semitic attacks in the NY metro area, especially during this holiday season,&#8221; Pelosi said. &#8220;We must condemn and confront anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry and hate wherever &amp; whenever we see them.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Heartbroken and deeply disturbed by the stabbing in Monsey and the many recent anti-Semitic attacks in the NY metro area, especially during this holiday season. We must condemn and confront anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry and hate wherever &amp; whenever we see them.
&mdash; Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1211317940026576897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The president, of course, signed an executive order just last week openly condemning anti-Semitism, particularly the anti-Semitism enshrined in the &#8220;boycott, divest, and sanction&#8221; movement that wants to see the state of Israel punished for perpetuating an &#8220;occupation&#8221; of what BDS adherents say is Palestinian territory. The EO defines &#8220;Jewish&#8221; such that it becomes a protected class under Federal anti-discrimination laws, giving groups greater power to push back on anti-Semitism where it is disguised as &#8220;anti-Zionist&#8221; rhetoric.
The weekend&#8217;s attack, also, does not appear to have been perpetrated by a supporter of President Donald Trump.
There are bigger problems with Pelosi&#8217;s sudden interest in condemning anti-Semitism, however &#8212; not just a refusal to acknowledge the events of the last six months. Back in March, members of the House &#8212; Democrats including Pelosi herself, at least at first &#8212; wanted to issue a blanket condemnation of anti-Semitism, distancing themselves from members of their own caucus, notably Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who has a history of anti-Semitic remarks and, in early March at a meeting of Washington, D.C. progressives, repeated a centuries old anti-Semitic smear, accusing legislators who support Israel of having &#8220;dual loyalty.&#8221;
The remarks met with widespread horror, including from the Anti-Defamation League, and Democratic House members began drafting a measure reaffirming Congress&#8217; support for its ally, Israel, and condemning Omar&#8217;s anti-Semitic remarks, along with anti-Semitism as a whole.
Pelosi initially supported the measure, but famously backed down, allowing Omar and others to rewrite the resolution condemning &#8220;all hate&#8221; instead of just hate directed at the Jewish people. Pelosi also excused Omar&#8217;s behavior, claiming that the freshman Democrat had &#8220;a different experience in the use of words,&#8221; and wasn&#8217;t actually accusing her fellow members of Congress of having dual loyalty to the United States and Israel.
The dustup hasn&#8217;t slowed Omar, or her colleague in anti-Zionism, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), from continuing to use anti-Semitic language. Tlaib even headlined a conference in Chicago several weeks ago for an openly anti-Semitic organization, and once penned articles for the openly anti-Semitic Nation of Islam&#8217;s newsletter.  Omar, most recently, took aim at former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/ilhan-omar-tweet-michael-bloomberg-anti-semitism-1470872">in a tweet with clear anti-Semitic references</a>.
Pelosi has not followed up on her tweet.

Speaker Pelosi And House Democrats Hold News Conference Ahead Of H.R. 1 Vote

Nancy Pelosi Demands Condemnation Of Anti-Semitism, Forgets She Failed To Condemn Anti-Semitism In Congress

Nancy Pelosi

Menu