BERNIE TO THE RESCUE AGAIN, OR “STAND BY ME”
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
FEBRUARY 16, 2019

THIS HATRED BETWEEN THE LARGER ISLAMIC WORLD AND THE JEWS HAS PROBABLY BEEN GOING ON FOR THE 8,000 YEARS OR SO SINCE THE FERTILE CRESCENT BECAME ONE OF THE CENTERS OF CIVILIZATION. THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE HAD DIFFERING RELIGIONS AND LANGUAGES, THERE WAS COMPETITION FOR TERRITORY, AND SOCIAL CUSTOMS WERE CLASHING EVEN THEN. THE BIBLICAL STORY OF “THE GOOD SAMARITAN” IS ABOUT TWO PEOPLES IN THAT DAY WHO WERE RIVALS – THE JEWS AND THE SAMARITANS – AND WHEN THE WEALTHY JEWISH MERCHANT WAS NEARLY KILLED AND ROBBED OF HIS GOODS, IT WAS HIS TRADITIONAL ENEMY, A SAMARITAN, WHO SAVED HIS LIFE. IT’S A BEAUTIFUL STORY, AND IT WILL GO ON UNTIL THE END OF THE HUMAN RACE, I SUSPECT BECAUSE IT IS SO APPLICABLE EVERY DAY.

IF ANY OF YOU READING THIS BLOG WANT TO WATCH A WONDERFUL MOVIE ON THE SUBJECT OF UNEXPECTEDLY FOUND FRIENDS, WATCH “ENEMY MINE.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_Mine_(film). IT STARS LOU GOSSETT, JR AS THE ALIEN AND DENNIS QUAID AS AN AMERICAN ASTRONAUT WHOSE SPACE SHIP WAS SHOT DOWN ON A DRY AND BARREN PLANET, ALONG WITH THAT OF A LIZARD-LIKE ALIEN. THEY FIND EACH OTHER AND BEGIN TO COMMUNICATE, FIRST WITH PANTOMIME AND THEN SHARE WORDS. IT IS A PROFOUNDLY HEALING FILM, PARTICULARLY THE ENDING.

SO, IF WE ARE CAPABLE OF THOUGHT AND SELF-REFLECTION, WHY ARE PEOPLE SO HARD-HEADED? THIS IS MY PERSONAL VIEW. MOST SOCIETIES ARE “CONSERVATIVE,” WHICH MEANS RESISTANT TO OUTSIDE INFORMATION, EVEN IF IT IS GOOD OR IMPORTANT INFORMATION. IT MEANS CLOSED-MINDEDNESS, BECAUSE TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW REQUIRES WORK AND MAYBE SOME PERSONAL HUMILITY. WE MIGHT HAVE TO ADMIT THAT SOMETHING WE THOUGHT WAS TRUE ISN’T REALLY. THE MORE ISOLATED THE PEOPLE ARE, THE MORE CLOSED AND RELATIVELY IGNORANT ABOUT OTHER KINDS OF PEOPLE THEY WILL PROBABLY BE, ESPECIALLY WHERE THE “SCARCE RESOURCES” ARE EVEN MORE SCARCE THAN USUAL.

A MOUNTAINTOP IN APPALACHIA WHERE MANY TO MOST PEOPLE ARE POOR AND VERY LIKELY UNEDUCATED; AND WHERE THEY WILL HAVE TO DRIVE 20 MILES OR MORE TO FIND A RESTAURANT, A LIBRARY, A GOOD PLACE TO SHOP, OR A MOVIE THEATER, EVEN IF THEY DO HAVE THE MONEY TO GET IN THE DOOR OF A THEATER. LIBRARIES, THANK GOODNESS, ARE USUALLY FREE. IF THEY HAVE ENOUGH FOOD, IT WILL VERY LIKELY BE PLAIN AND HOME-COOKED. IF THEY HAVE CLOTHING IT WILL BE BASIC. THAT TENDS TO MAKE PEOPLE DISAPPOINTED WITH LIFE AND AS A RESULT, ANGRY, SO THEY LOOK AROUND FOR SOMEBODY TO BLAME.

THAT’S WHERE THE FEAR AND DISLIKE OF “THE OTHER” COMES IN. BEING MENTALLY AND EMOTIONALLY CLOSED AND SUSPICIOUS, THEY JUST DON’T LIKE THAT DIFFERENT-LOOKING AND SOUNDING PERSON. THEY THINK HE IS CARRYING DISEASES AND MIGHT RAPE THEIR DAUGHTERS, AS TRUMP CLAIMED RECENTLY ABOUT THE DESPICABLE TERM, “ILLEGALS.” IN ALL TRUTH, THEY DON’T LIKE ANYBODY VERY MUCH, AND THERE’S A HOSTILE EDGE ON THE INTERACTIONS IN MANY CASES. HUMOR MAY BE CRUDE AND UNCARING. DISAGREEMENTS MAY BE SETTLED WITH FISTS OR EVEN DEADLY WEAPONS. THEN THERE ARE THE WEALTHY WHO TREAT THEIR POORER NEIGHBORS RUDELY. ALL IN ALL, IT BECOMES HARDER AND HARDER TO FOLLOW CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS CONCERNING LOVING OUR NEIGHBORS AS OURSELVES.

IF SOME EVIL-NATURED, POWER-HUNGRY AUTOCRAT COMES INTO POLITICAL OFFICE AND STARTS SLANDERING ONE GROUP OR ANOTHER, OR EVEN SEVERAL RIVAL GROUPS JUST TO MAKE SURE, THE REAL HATRED WILL COME TO A HEAD. THE OLD CULTURAL LIES LIKE, “JEWS EAT BABIES,” STUPID AS THEY ARE, THEY WILL BE VOICED MORE LOUDLY AND FREQUENTLY, AND THE WITCHES BREW COMES TO A BOIL – “EYE OF NEWT AND TOE OF FROG, WOOL OF BAT AND TONGUE OF DOG” – WELL, YOU KNOW HOW IT GOES IF YOU HAVE MADE IT THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL.

THE LACK OF EMPATHY FOR EACH OTHER WHICH THE CHILDREN HAVE BEEN TAUGHT ALL THEIR LIVES BY PARENTS, NEIGHBORS, AND SOMETIMES EVEN SCHOOLS AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS, WILL HAVE ERODED WHATEVER GENTLENESS THE INDIVIDUALS HAVE IN THEM, AND THEY BEGIN TO TALK AGAINST EACH OTHER IN AN UGLY WAY. PRETTY SOON, THERE ARE ATTACKS AND LOOTING. PLACES OF WORSHIP ARE DESECRATED IN SOME VILE WAY – PIGS BLOOD, PERHAPS. THEN THE GOVERNMENT BECOMES NERVOUS AND STAGES A BRUTAL CRACKDOWN ON THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES RATHER THAN HOLDING NICE TOWN MEETINGS TO DISCUSS THEIR ISSUES CREATIVELY AND PEACEFULLY. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY.

PEOPLE LIKE BENJAMIN NETANYAHU COULD STOP SETTLING JEWS IN THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES AND THE MILITANT PALESTINIAN GROUPS COULD STOP SHOOTING ROCKETS ACROSS THE BORDER INTO ISRAELI HOUSES. THEY COULD ALL GET TOGETHER TO SOLVE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THAT THE WHOLE AREA HAS, AND STOP TRYING TO CHANGE EACH OTHERS’ RELIGION. RELIGION IS LIKE LANGUAGE. ONLY A CERTAIN NUMBER OF MENTALLY ACUTE AND CARING PEOPLE WILL FORM FRIENDSHIPS ACROSS THE CULTURAL LINES, BUT IF THEY WILL JUST STOP HARASSING EACH OTHER IT WILL REALLY HELP THE SITUATION. IT IS MY PERSONAL BELIEF THAT DOING THAT IS THE ESSENTIAL THING THAT MUST HAPPEN.

PEOPLE IN VERY POVERTY STRICKEN OR ISOLATED AREAS WON’T ALWAYS HAVE ACCESS TO SUCH A LEARNED IDEA AS MAINTAINING A FAIR AND OPEN EXCHANGE, LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER, AND SIMPLY EXCHANGING GOODS AND SERVICES, AS FREQUENTLY AS THOSE IN CITIES DO. EVERY PEACEFUL INTERACTION WILL SMOOTH THE RELATIONSHIPS OUT MORE, SO THE FREQUENCY OF PEOPLE SAYING “JEWS EAT BABIES” WILL GO DOWN, AND WHEN IT DOES OCCUR THE POPULACE AS A WHOLE WILL REACT NOT IN THE WELL-KNOWN SHAMEFUL SORT OF ENJOYMENT OF CRUELTY THAT CAN HAPPEN – POGROMS, OR SIMPLE INSULTS ON THE STREET – BUT WILL APOLOGIZE WHEN THEY DO WRONG AND OPEN THEIR HEART TO VARIATIONS FROM THEIR OWN PARTICULAR IDEAS. NOBODY WANTS TO GO TO THE MARKET FOR A LITTLE FOOD AND BE INSULTED IN THE STORE. IF THAT DOES HAPPEN, WE CAN SIMPLY REMEMBER THAT THAT IS ONLY ONE PERSON, AND NOT ALL PEOPLE OF THAT RACE OR RELIGION ARE THE SAME. IF WE CAN STOP “GROUPING” PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, THERE WILL BE IMPROVEMENT. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT IN OUR GOVERNMENT, WE MUST TOLERATE EVEN IF WE CAN’T “LOVE.”

WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS START OBEYING THE SIMPLE RULES THAT WE SHOULD BE TAUGHT AS CHILDREN, AND REACHING OUT EMOTIONALLY. WHAT BERNIE SANDERS DID, AND NOBODY TOLD HIM TO DO IT, EITHER, WAS TO STEP ACROSS THAT LINE AND BREAK THE TENSION WITH SOME KINDNESS. SANDERS ISN’T CHRISTIAN, BUT THAT WAS A CHRISTLIKE THING TO DO. AGAIN, I SALUTE VERMONT’S SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS, AND I SUGGEST HIS NAME FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020 IF HE DOES DECIDE THAT HE WANTS TO RUN. SEE ALL OF THE ARTICLES BELOW. THEY ARE ON THE POINT AND EXPLORE IT FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES, EACH ADDING A BIT TO THE OTHERS.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/13/us/politics/anti-semitism-democrats-republicans.html
With Procedural Maneuver, House G.O.P. Elevates Anti-Semitism as Political Issue
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
Feb. 13, 2019

PHOTOGRAPH -- The House voted unanimously on Wednesday to condemn anti-Semitism, a motion that came two days after Democratic leadership condemned Representative Ilhan Omar’s tweets.CreditCreditTom Brenner for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The House voted unanimously on Wednesday to condemn anti-Semitism and “all attempts to delegitimize and deny Israel’s right to exist,” adopting language put forth by Republicans who have spent weeks trying to paint two freshman Democrats as anti-Semites and dozens of other Democrats as their enablers.

The surprise vote attached the nonbinding resolution to an unrelated measure demanding an end to American support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. Republicans, taking advantage of a procedural rule that permits them to move to send a bill back to committee, attached the anti-Semitism language to the motion.

Democrats, led by one of their most prominent Jewish members, Representative Eliot L. Engel of New York, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accepted it. Every member of the House voted in favor, except for two Republicans who voted present: Representatives Justin Amash of Michigan and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who said the measure should not clutter a War Powers Resolution. (Republicans agreed that the bill would not be sent back to committee.)

The anti-Semitism resolution comes two days after Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the entire Democratic leadership condemned Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, and forced her to apologize for a Twitter post in which she insinuated that American support for Israel is fueled by money from donors and pressure from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group known as Aipac.

But Democratic leaders are losing patience with a continuing campaign by Republicans to smear Democrats as anti-Semitic when some of their own leaders — including President Trump — have trafficked their own anti-Semitic tropes and failed to renounce anti-Semitic followers.

“She apologized for her remarks,” Ms. Pelosi said of Ms. Omar. “I’m still waiting for some of the Republicans to apologize for their ‘Jew-S-A’ chants that they had at their rallies right in front of the president’s face, and he never rejected that.”

“They don’t have clean hands on this. A newcomer member of Congress has apologized for her remarks. It took them, what, 13 years to notice Steve King?” Ms. Pelosi continued, referring to the Iowa Republican recently stripped of his committee posts for embracing white supremacy.

Republicans have repeatedly attacked Ms. Omar and another freshman Democrat, Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, as anti-Semitic, citing remarks that both have made on Twitter. They have been deeply critical of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

The resolution does not mention either woman by name. But it expresses opposition to the movement to boycott, divest from and impose sanctions on Israel — known as the B.D.S. movement — that they support.

Wielding Rocks and Knives, Arizonans Attack Self-Driving Cars

The National Republican Congressional Committee blasted out emails on Wednesday insinuating that two freshman House Democrats, Elaine Luria of Virginia and Mike Levin of California, were covering for Ms. Omar’s anti-Semitism. Ms. Luria is Jewish, and Mr. Levin has spoken openly about the anti-Semitism faced by his paternal grandparents.

Democrats say Republicans are being hypocritical. They note that the Republican leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, was himself accused of anti-Semitism in the fall when he said the Jewish billionaires George Soros, Michael R. Bloomberg and Tom Steyer were trying to buy the election.

“We are still waiting for an apology” from Mr. McCarthy, Representative Katherine M. Clark of Massachusetts, a member of the House Democratic leadership, told reporters on Wednesday.

Representative Steny H. Hoyer, the Democratic leader, echoed her point, adding that Mr. Trump routinely makes offensive comments — such as his recent tweet making light of the Trail of Tears, the genocidal removal of Indians from their homelands — while Republicans remain silent.

Mr. Trump, too, has been accused of anti-Semitism. When he was running for office, he posted a tweet showing Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent, on a pile of money and a Star of David, calling her the “most corrupt candidate ever!” He later deleted the tweet amid an outcry from those who said he was playing into the anti-Semitic trope about Jews using their money to wield influence.

The latest war of words over anti-Semitism on Capitol Hill is making some Jewish leaders increasingly uneasy. Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, the liberal Jewish lobbying group, said in a recent interview that he worries that charges of anti-Semitism are being thrown around lightly.

“This pattern of overheated, ill-considered and reductive attacks, playing out on social media and in the press, has failed to address these issues with the nuance, sensitivity and seriousness that they deserve,” Mr. Ben-Ami said Monday in a statement, after Ms. Omar apologized. “It does nothing to advance the true interests and needs of Israelis or Palestinians, nor those of the American Jewish community.”

But Aipac praised the vote: “We applaud the overwhelming, bipartisan rejection of anti-Semitism and B.D.S. by the House of Representatives today.”

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A version of this article appears in print on Feb. 14, 2019, on Page A18 of the New York edition with the headline: House Backs G.O.P. Move Denouncing Anti-Semitism. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe



https://www.thedailybeast.com/bernie-sanders-called-ilhan-omar-to-offer-his-support-amid-anti-semitism-controversy
REACHING OUT
Bernie Sanders Called Ilhan Omar to Offer His Support Amid Anti-Semitism Controversy
The senator privately reached out to Omar after she was criticized by both parties for trafficking in anti-Semitic tropes while criticizing U.S. policy on Israel.
Gideon Resnick
02.14.19 1:07 PM ET

Photograph – Sanders And Omar Alex Wong/Getty

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) reached out to Rep. Ilhan Omar on Tuesday to offer his support amid criticism from both Democrats and Republicans that the progressive freshman lawmaker trafficked in anti-Semitic tropes on Twitter.

Omar’s office confirmed that the congresswoman spoke with Sanders—who is Jewish—but the conversation was off-record and so they could not go into further details about the contents of the discussion. A source familiar with the conversation confirmed to The Daily Beast that Sanders expressed support for Omar.

Earlier on Thursday, Jewish Insider reported that Sanders was asked about Omar’s tweets on a conference call hosted by James Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute and a former member of the Democratic National Committee’s executive committee.

“I talked to Ilhan last night to give her my personal support,” Sanders was quoted as saying. “We will stand by our Muslim brothers and sisters.”

Zogby told The Daily Beast the call was off-record when contacted about the veracity of the reporting, but the source familiar with the lawmakers’ conversation confirmed the Jewish Insider story.

INTENSE
Rep. Omar Skewers Elliott Abrams Over Central-American Coups
Gideon Resnick

IN HOT WATER
Ilhan Omar Condemned by Dems for Using ‘Anti-Semitic Tropes’

MAKE AMENDS -- Omar Apologizes After Dems Rebuke Use of Anti-Semitic Tropes

Omar apologized Monday after Democratic leadership condemned a series of tweets—including one in which she wrote “It’s all about the Benjamins”—suggesting that many fellow lawmakers are beholden to the pro-Israel lobbying interests of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

“Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes," she said in her apology. "My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole. We have to always be willing to step back and think through criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me for my identity. This is why I unequivocally apologize."

RELATED IN POLITICS
Notes of support are posted on the name plate outside the office of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in the Longworth House Office Building on February 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. Rep. Omar is drawing criticism from both sides of the aisle for what some say was an antisemitic tweet.

Rep. Omar Apologized. Now Let’s Talk About the Palestinians. Some progressive allies have perceived the attacks on her as being disingenuous and have since thanked Sanders for reaching out.

“Ilhan is a vital, important new leader in Congress--and she’s been facing a slew of Islamophobic attacks,” Ilya Sheyman, executive director of MoveOn Political Action told The Daily Beast. “We’re proud to have supported her in her primary and general election campaign. We’re eager to continue supporting her strong, principled leadership on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and across our shared priorities. She apologized for her tweet, and these endless bad-faith attempts to attack and undermine the only two Muslim women in the House need to stop.”

Gideon Resnick
@GideonResnick
gideon.resnick@thedailybeast.com


MY APOLOGIES FOR SOMETHING THAT I CAN’T HELP, EXCEPT BY PAYING THE TOLL FEE. I DON’T USE THE DAILY BEAST OFTEN ENOUGH TO CAUSE ME TO PAY FOR A SUBSCRIPTION. DAILY BEAST CUT THE STORY SHORT AT THIS POINT; HOWEVER, THERE’S A GOOD BIT OF INFORMATION IN THESE THREE PARAGRAPHS.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ilhan-omar-apologized-can-we-talk-about-the-palestinians-now
GETTING REAL
Ilhan Omar Apologized. Can We Talk About the Palestinians Now?
Anti-Semitism is abhorrent, in all forms. But America stills need to talk about Trump’s, and Israel’s, treatment of the Palestinian people.
Dean Obeidallah
02.15.19 10:19 PM ET

Photograph -- Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast

There’s absolutely no place for anti-Semitism in America—it’s morally repugnant. And that especially includes in discussions of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by those advocating on behalf of Palestinians. I say that as the son of a Palestinian man.

Using anti-Semitic words or tropes while discussing the Middle East conflict is not just wrong, it derails vitally needed conversations regarding the facts surrounding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and conflates valid criticism of Israeli policy with anti-Semitism. And this discussion is especially needed now that Donald Trump is again championing his vision of a “peace plan” for the Middle East over the next few weeks.

That’s why Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) use of an anti-Semitic trope that support for Israel is all about the “benjamins,” as she put it, funded by the pro-Israel group AIPAC was especially troubling. It was wrong, as she noted in her apology, and it conflates rightful criticism of the policies of the Netanyahu administration with bigotry in a time when robust debate on the topic is desperately needed.