…could someone please remind me?
Because based on the images and stories below, it seems like it might be 1932 in Germany, as Nazi street thugs work to complete the destruction of the Weimar Republic.
Or it might be 1928 in one of those American cities where the Ku Klux Klan is running rampant.
Here are reports and videos from some of the anti-Israel (and often openly anti-Semitic) demonstrations that have been held around the world since Israel launched its Gaza incursion:
San Francisco…also this
UPDATE: Read hating Israel in Trafalgar square
Except this time the Jews have nukes.
“Jews with Nukes” sounds like a band.
Let them demonstrate. They are ugly but the numbers are not that great and not that diverse in make-up. Who really cares what some washed-up celebrity says? I guess it is really ugly when even America is hit by this but, somehow, I can’t see these people gathering wide support anywhere. Even though the default opinion in Britain is anti-Israeli (I am mulling a posting on that subject), people can look at these scumbags (is that allowed?) and realize that they are our enemy as well. What is so very odd is the lack of realization that this means we and Israel are on the same side. And if Hamas thinks that Arabs will come to their rescue they’ve got another think coming to them.
‘“Jews with Nukes” sounds like a band.’
Their smash hit single is “I die, you die” and the B-Side, “Do you feel lucky (punk)?”
I think your Nazi comparison is a little off. You basically have two different factions demonstrating against Israel. First, white leftest middle class phony “revolutionary” types on Christmas break from school. Second; Muslim immigrants.
The phony Che Guevara t-shirt types see Israel as an extension of the West. Most of these people see Jews as just white people who wear little hats. To them, Israel’s actions is just imperialism within the oppressive white supremacist system. The second group (Muslims) are a little more willing to get “tribal” about it. They’re more willing to hold signs saying “Gods chosen evil people” and the like. The first group of “revolutionaries” wouldn’t even know what that was all about.
While I understand your frustration with these types of people, I don’t think people should be so quick to play the Nazi card. Calling people Nazis is what they do. I looked through the links you provided and even saw some photo’s of the Israeli flag with Swastikas on it.
I will admit that whenever I see pictures of phony exurban revolutionaries causing trouble in America’s streets, I very much wish that there were volunteer riot police units that I could join. These would be similar to volunteer fire companies, but for riots instead.
The sight of Tariq Ali again and all those assorted luvvies does not inspire many people to follow them. What is much more worrying in Britain is that the default position with people who might or might be interested in politics is anti-Israeli. When confronted with the logic of their position people retreat but not enough to think their ideas (if one can call that mish-mash of misinformation that) through.
Helen…”their numbers are not that great”…I wish I could believe that. IIRC, the British association of university lectures came within a hairsbreadth of voting to boycott Israel. In the U.S., anti-Israel sentiment, along with the justification and the romanticization of terrorism, is particularly strong among certain professional groups: entertainers, artists, writers, and academics. It is true that the number of people shouting “Jews to the gas” is relatively small, but the “respectable” denouncers of Israel provide moral air cover for the virulent extremists.
Seerov…”The phony Che Guevara t-shirt types see Israel as an extension of the West”…I think this is basically correct. Leftist loathing of their own societies has driven much of the negative sentiment toward Israel, and is in the process of merging with traditional anti-Semitism to create something very monstrous.
I see no objection to pointing out parallels with Naziism, or Communism, or Ku Klux Klan-ism, when such parallels are real. Continuous street violence, on the part of both Communists and Nazis, was one of the primary factors that led to the overthrow of the Weimar Republic. And violent intimidation has become an all-too-common feature of leftist protests, starting in the university and moving out into the broader society.
IIRC is not a particularly important organization and the reason they came so near to voting that insane idea is because practically nobody attended the conference. Same with the NUJ (a name from the past). As soon as members realized what was going on they poured in to vote this rubbish down. This is not a new phenomenon. The Communists and assorted lefties controlled the unions by turning up for all the meetings when other people just went home because they wanted to have a life and a family. The numbers remain small.
A few years ago I had a heated exchange with a British colleague, prompted by her assumptions of Israel’s villainy; she was surprised at NPR’s “balanced” history of Palstesine. Regular listeners were less surprised. She believed she only heard the truth during her summers in England & on BBC; she argued, Americans make far too much of the limited anti-semitism in Europe. She affirmed Jordan, where she had lived, treated Jews with respect and gave them an equal voice in government – unlike Isreael’s treatment of Arabs. She also believed Sowell (obviously a wealthy and privileged American) said less in the essay our faculty group was reading than Said did in a sentence. Her new son-in-law is Jewish – though their political approaches may well be similar. Modern Brits feel themselves superior to their smug colonial forebears; they don’t understand how irritating (based on less duty and hard work) contemporary British smugness can be. It is a wonderful culture and perhaps its strength comes from a relative lack of introspection.
David, on the other hand, there was a pro-Israel-in-Gaza demonstration in Paris (yes, quelle surprise!)…Video.
There will be a pro-Israel demonstration in London this Sunday. I plan to be there. Maybe take some photos.
“I see no objection to pointing out parallels with Naziism, or Communism, or Ku Klux Klan-ism, when such parallels are real. Continuous street violence, on the part of both Communists and Nazis, was one of the primary factors that led to the overthrow of the Weimar Republic. And violent intimidation has become an all-too-common feature of leftist protests, starting in the university and moving out into the broader society.” (David Foster)
Fair enough, but do you truly fear that these protests are the start of something bigger? I see this as more of the same. Europe may have some problems down the road with their Muslims, but I don’t think the US is any danger of become Europe in the 30’s.
One thing that we never see is the American Right going into the streets? The Nazi brown shirts of the 30’s went into the streets becuase the streets were where information was disseminated, and where people organized. The brown shirts arose for this reason, as their speakers couldn’t speak without being harassed by communists.
We’ve all seen Right Wing speakers get harassed at universities. I suppose Rightwing students lack of “action” is due to their lack of numbers on Campuses? The administration also seems to give the green light to the left to attack people? If Right Wing students disrupted some liberal “activists,” I have no doubt it would make the national news? Can you imagine some “Young Republican” group screaming at some “La Raza” speaker on campus? This may be an automatic “hate crime” in some states?
One more thing to add:
Is there something inherent about the American Right that makes it less likely to engage in Street politics?
Helen, feel free to post your photos on Chicagoboyz. If you blog them elsewhere, please share the URL here so that we may see them.
Thanks, Jonathan. I have to work out the tecchie part of it. Btw there was a pro-Israeli demo in London yesterday. I didn’t know about it but had some pictures. If anyone is interested here is the info about them:
Photos (c) Adrian Korsner, Sound Images Photography.
Larger files available
Email: adrian@jazzpics.co.uk
During WWI, the US had an odd experiment called “War Socialism.” In addition to nationalizing the railroads, there was considerable neighborhood-level surveillance, much of it by volunteers. One of the methods used was having the Post Office accept second-class (newspaper) mailings in foreign languages only after a certified English translation was submitted. These publications were widespread and influential, given the demographics of 1917–and not a few were inflammatory, in several causes. The policy had the strange unintended consequence of preserving translations of cultural documents whose originals have been lost to time.
I mention this because it is evident that many English-only protesters have rallied behind marching signs in Arabic whose meaning they clearly do not understand. If parade permits are constitutional (please discuss at leisure), surely it would be just as constitutional to require banners and signs to be in English, or to be accompanied by equal-size translations. I have the al-Jazeera factor in mind. The impact of a TV image of hundreds of Americans marching behind a banner that says (to a middle eastern audience) “Jews to The Ovens” is considerable. That impact should be shared by US news audiences who are limited by monolingualism. This should be a fairly easy policy to enact (it would be interesting to hear the argument against it in Congress), and certainly would be an eye-opener to many–one way or the other.
What do you think?