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Tag Archives: anti-semitism

In 21st Century America

03 Saturday Dec 2022

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

anti-semitism, Joe Biden, president, social media

That we have to even do this:

President Biden @POTUS

I just want to make a few things clear:

The Holocaust happened.

Hitler was a demonic figure.

And instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides.

Silence is complicity.
10:23 AM · Dec 2, 2022

Joe Biden (D) [2020 file photo].

The Venn Diagram is a circle

26 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anti-semitism, Fascist pigs, Jason Kander, missouri, Twitter

Venn Diagram.

Today:

Jason Kander @JasonKander
When I tweet about #antisemitism the replies are almost as vile as when I tweet about #gunsense

Courtneyfleming @WIhomereno
[….]
Maybe they should start keeping your foreskins on. Man you guys are pu$$ies. Why can’t you take any criticism? You do realize there are scumbags, liars, thieves and and all around shitty people in the tribe, too, right?

3:56 PM · Oct 26, 2022

Poifect.

Jason Kander (D) [2016 file photo]

Previously:

That’s funny, you don’t look Jewish (October 26, 2022)

That’s funny, you don’t look Jewish

26 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

anti-semitism, Jason Kander, Martin Niemöller, social media, Twitter

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. – Martin Niemöller

Believe people when they show us what they are.

Early this morning:

Jason Kander @JasonKander
“Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was without a dog in that fight.”
@JesseKellyDC
[….]
12:03 AM · Oct 26, 2022

Jason Kander (D) [2016 file photo].

Sen. Josh Hawley (r): אַ שאַנדע פֿאַר די גוים

16 Monday Dec 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Josh Hawley, social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anti-semitism, Josh Hawley, missouri, social media, Twitter, U.S. Senate, אַ שאַנדע פֿאַר די גוים

The irony of Goyim Jewsplaining Jews.

Last week, via Twitter:

Josh Hawley @HawleyMO
.@realDonaldTrump is doing the right thing here, taking bold action to confront the rising tide of anti-Semitism on campuses. Title VI absolutely should protect Jewish students, and now will
[….]
4:27 PM · Dec 11, 2019

Citing a Jared Kushner op-ed? Really? Kushner is an embarrassment in front of the world.

Some of the responses:

I live in Missouri (unlike you). Show me.

What about Muslim students?

Good question.

What a joke

This is a lie. Making Judaism a nationality has a genocidal history. Such moves by a fascist authoritarian like Trump are deeply menacing.
Yale philosophy/rhetoric professor Jason Stanley is a leading expert on fascist rhetoric. This is what he has to say.

Trump’s new executive order is the most explicit challenge to the First Amendment in my lifetime.

What’s next? The Republican Kristallnacht?

But trump seems to think Seoul can just be moved. Who can take him seriously?

Holy crap! *nudges WW2 history book at a clearly ignorant man*

The President indicated that this was written to limit free speech. How can a conservative see this as acceptable?

Calling “Jewish” a nationality is not protecting Jewish students. It’s a despicable act designed to separate Jewish citizens from other citizens. It’s as anti-Semitic as it come. Shame on you, Senator for condoning this despicable act.

cringe

This is shameful and you should be embarrassed to be a cheerleader for fascism.

How does that boot taste, you disgrace?

Sure, let’s declare that all American Jews are actually Israeli.

What could go wrong?

Are you ok with the President’s dehumanizing speech towards immigrants, Muslims, and calling FBI agents “scum”?

No a religion is not a nationality, kushner can claim this bullshit but it’s offensive and pandering and the Jewish Community rejects it

Right wing extremists are emboldened because of Trump. Let’s at least be honest about that.

Bullshit. This is not constitutional.

Fuck you…you don’t get to decide my nationality. They do that shit in Soviet Russia which is why I’m sure this treasonous snake likes that.

You are nuts and you have bad judgment. To consider Judaism as a nationality makes them the ‘other’. Are Republicans really so gullible you are still believing Trump’s cons? Jewish-Americans’ nationality is American, moron.

אַ שאַנדע פֿאַר די גוים

Josh Hawley (r) [2016 file photo].

On loyalty

21 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

anti-semitism, Donald Trump

“…And I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty…” – Donald Trump, August 20, 2019

This is the only photo I have of my father, Theodore Conley Bersin, in uniform. It was taken in August of 1958. He’s holding me. I believe the photo was taken either at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska or, possibly, at Fairchild AFB, Washington.

The rank on his sleeve is Tech(nical) Sergeant. Dad served our country in uniform from 1943 to 1965, retiring, honorably, from active duty at the rank of Master Sergeant. After twenty-two years of military service. He swore an oath to the Constitution of the United States.

My father passed away on November 14, 2017 at the age of 92. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery on June 7, 2019.

Dad was Jewish. Dad was a Democrat and voted for Democrats in every election. In every election.

He was a loyal American. He owed no explanation or apologies to anyone.

Previously:

Fascist anti-Semite (August 20, 2019)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r) voting with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D)

07 Thursday Mar 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

4th Congressional District, anti-semitism, HR 183, missouri, Representative Ilhan Omar, Vicky Hartzler

Chutzpah.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) [2016 file photo].

Via Twitter this evening, from Representative Vicky Hartzler (r):

Rep. Vicky Hartzler @RepHartzler
Tonight I voted for second House resolution condemning the anti-Semitism associated with Rep. Omar’s repeated remarks. It’s a shame we even need to have a resolution to proclaim this fact. Support for Israel & the Jewish people is fundamental to our democratic ideals.
5:48 PM – 7 Mar 2019 from Washington, DC

“…Well, I’ve been to one world’s fair, a picnic, and a rodeo and that’s the stupidest thing I ever heard come over a set of earphones…”

Uh, the resolution doesn’t mention any individual.

The vote this evening:

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 108
H RES 183 2/3 YEA-AND-NAY 7-Mar-2019 5:32 PM
QUESTION: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, as Amended
BILL TITLE: Condemning anti-Semitism as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values and aspirations that define the people of the United States and condemning anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contrary to the values and aspirations
[….]

—- YEAS 407 —

Hartzler
Omar

—- NAYS 23 —

Biggs
Brooks (AL)
Buck
Budd
Burgess
Cheney
Collins (NY)
Conaway
Crawford
Duncan
Gohmert
Gosar
Graves (GA)
King (NY)
LaMalfa
Massie
Palazzo
Rogers (AL)
Roy
Steube
Walker
Yoho
Zeldin

—- ANSWERED “PRESENT” 1 —

King (IA)

—- NOT VOTING 1 —

Clay

[emphasis added]

Twenty-three republicans voted against the resolution. Seriously.

Representative Steven King (r) voted “present”. That’s ironic on so many levels.

Previously:

I dare you. (February 11, 2019)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): living in a glass house (March 5, 2019)

Projection (March 7, 2019)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): token Jews (March 7, 2019)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): token Jews

07 Thursday Mar 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

4t Congressional District, anti-semitism, Hypocrisy, missouri, Representative Ilhan Omar, social media, Twitter, Vicky Hartzler

“…Who’s that yonder dressed in black? Must be the hypocrites turnin’ back…”

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) [2016 file photo].

This afternoon on Twitter from Representative Vicky Hartzler (r):

Rep. Vicky Hartzler@RepHartzler
#SorryNotSorry House Dems unsure whether to condemn anti-Semitism, pull HRes 186. Again. #ThursdayThoughts
12:33 PM – 7 Mar 2019 from Washington, DC

And one commenter was having none of it:

Lynz @ln_simmons
I had some #ThursdayThoughts myself, in fact, on this very same issue.

You’re #HypocriteHartzler for sure—sounding off about Anti-Semitism but then casting votes against prohibitions against it.

Pathetic. #movemo4ward #DoBetter4MO
[….]
1:50 PM – 7 Mar 2019

So, we followed the commenter’s trail – ending with a House vote on February 13, 2019:

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 83
H J RES 37 YEA-AND-NAY 13-Feb-2019 4:28 PM
QUESTION: On Passage
BILL TITLE: Directing the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress
[…]
—- YEAS 248 —
[….]
—- NAYS 177 —

Hartzler

—- ANSWERED “PRESENT” 1 —
[….]
—- NOT VOTING 5 —
[….]

[emphasis added]

Included in that resolution:

[….]
(11) It is in the national security interest of the United
States to combat anti-Semitism around the world because–
(A) anti-Semitism is a challenge to the basic
principles of tolerance, pluralism, and democracy, and
the shared values that bind Americans together;
(B) there has been a significant amount of anti-
Semitic and anti-Israel hatred that must be most
strongly condemned; and
(C) there is an urgent need to ensure the safety
and security of Jewish communities, including
synagogues, schools, cemeteries, and other
institutions.
[….]

Hypocrite.

Previously:

I dare you. (February 11, 2019)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): living in a glass house (March 5, 2019)

Projection (March 7, 2019)

Projection

07 Thursday Mar 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

anti-semitism, chutzpah, Donald Trump, Representative Ilhan Omar, social media, Twitter

Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check…

August 15, 2017:

[….]
Trump: [Inaudible.] You have some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people on both sides. You had people in that group — excuse me, excuse me — I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name.

Reporter: Do you support white nationalists, then?

[Cross talk. Reporters shout questions.]

Trump: Well, George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So, will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down- Excuse me. Are we going to take down, are we going to take down statues to George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him?
[….]

Yesterday:

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
It is shameful that House Democrats won’t take a stronger stand against Anti-Semitism in their conference. Anti-Semitism has fueled atrocities throughout history and it’s inconceivable they will not act to condemn it!
1:50 PM – 6 Mar 2019

Chutzpah.

Previously:

I dare you. (February 11, 2019)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): living in a glass house (March 5, 2019)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): living in a glass house

05 Tuesday Mar 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media, Town Hall

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

4th Congressional District, anti-semitism, birtherism, Hypocrisy, Ilhan Omar, missouri, Sedalia, social media, town hall, Twitter, Vicky Hartzler

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) [2016 file photo].

Yesterday, via Twitter:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler @RepHartzler
Does Pelosi really believe that Rep. Omar’s statements are anti-Semitic? This weekend she blithely promoted their shared cover on @RollingStone while Omar was doubling down that supporters of Israel “push for allegiance to a foreign country.”
[….]
4:01 PM – 4 Mar 2019 from Washington, DC

Stone throwing.

A few of the comments:

Rep. Hartzler, do you believe Obama is a US citizen? Did you condemn Republicans who said he wasn’t? I never remember you commenting on that issue. Did you?

She did comment on the issue (see below).

Do Republicans really believe all that was said in the 2hr TPAC speech yesterday? #GOP double standards

Do @SteveKingIA next.

Qui tacet consentire videtur.

You’re arguing in bad faith.

“MY BLIND LOYALTY IS THE ONLY BLIND LOYALTY ALLOWED. ALL OTHER BLIND LOYALTY IS REPREHENSIBLE!” -@RepHartzler probably

People who aren’t influenced by $$ or brainwashed by cable news agree with Ilhan. Sorry you have a problem with people actually doing their jobs, criticizing our gov instead of blithely promoting foreign propaganda all the damn time.

Do @Jim_Jordan next

Qui tacet consentire videtur.

Look forward to your tweet condemning @Jim_Jordan, next.

You guys really do live in the glassiest of glass houses, don’t you? [….]

Does Hartzler believe that @SteveKingIA and @realDonaldTrump had said many racist statements. Remember Charlottesville chanters, “Jews will not replace us?” Trump they were fine people. You’re a hypocrite!

“Rep. Hartzler, do you believe Obama is a US citizen? Did you condemn Republicans who said he wasn’t? I never remember you commenting on that issue. Did you?”

We remember:

POLITICS 04/06/2012 06:20 pm ET Updated Apr 06, 2012
Obama Birth Certificate: Missouri Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler Expresses Doubt
By John Celock

A congresswoman from Missouri expressed doubt over Obama’s birth certificate, becoming the second Republican elected official this week to make comments sympathetic to the birther movement.

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler answered a question about Obama’s birth certificate from a man who identified himself as a veteran during a town hall meeting Thursday. Hartzler — who was filmed by the group Show Me Progress — said she had doubts and asked why Obama did not release his birth certificate sooner….

[….]

Someone else’s excerpt of our video:

Our original video (complete):

The Internets is forever.

Previously:

I dare you. (February 11, 2019)

The empire strikes back

28 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anti-semitism, John Hancock, missouri, Republican Party, Tom Schweich, Tony Messenger

If you’re interested, Missouri GOP Chair John Hancock is now issuing the expected and inevitable statements denying Tom Schweich’s posthumous accusations that he spearheaded an anti-Semitic whisper campaign in order to derail Schweich’s gubernatorial candidacy in favor of the Rex Sinquefield-blessed Catherine Hanaway. Not a surprising move, although his terminology in an email sent to folks identified as “party-leaders” is interesting:

Many of you on this committee are aware of the issue, as it came up in several of our conversations during the past few months,” Hancock wrote, as quoted by the Post-Dispatch. “While those who know me understand I would never denigrate anyone’s faith, Tom had mistakenly believed that I had attacked his religion.”

This left me scratching my head. Nothing that I’ve read implied that Hancock had ever attacked Schweich’s religion. According to reports, Schweich was an Episcopalian and nobody to my knowledge is accusing Hancock of slandering Episcopalians. What folks are saying is that Hancock was falsely asserting that Schweich, who had a Jewish grandfather, was himself Jewish. And that Hancock was doing it in those Republican circles where that might make Schweich persona non grata – at least as far as raising money to finance his race against Hanaway.

There’s a difference. Maybe Hancock doesn’t understand that, or maybe he’s just a sloppy kind of guy when it comes to explaining himself. But what Schweich accused him of wasn’t attacking his religion, but of practicing the dirtiest type of very dirty politics. An accusation that derives a certain credibility from the fact that we all know Republicans are good at doing just that – as I pointed out earlier.

That impression is reinforced by Hancock’s efforts to discredit the motives of Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger who had been made privy to what was on Schweich’s mind during his last weeks of life:

“Now, some political opponents-particularly liberal Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger-are using this tragic incident as an opportunity to criticize me and to smear the Missouri Republican Party,” Hancock wrote, as quoted by the newspaper. “These attacks are not only disgusting; they are wrong.”

Hoowee! Hancock evidentaly belongs to that school of conservative thought that seeks to answer any accusation of wrongdoing by evoking that rightwing bugaboo – those damn “liberals.” Count on them to be “disgusting and wrong.”

Wrong in what sense, though? Does wrong here mean inaccurate or morally culpable? Does Hancock think Messenger made up Schweich’s claims? By his own admission, lots of folks knew that Schweich was getting hot under the collar about what he considered an underhanded and nasty effort to knock him out of the race for the governor’s mansion. So what’s disgusting and wrong, in either sense, about telling folks about the beliefs that had been driving Schweich prior to his death, especially since Messenger correctly ensured that his account of what Schweich said neither affirmed or denied the accusations. If, based on past experience, we’re inclined to take Schweich seriously, the onus should fall on those of Mr. Hancock’s partisans who paved the way for us.

By many accounts Schweich was a highly-strung individual; maybe he was magnifying a few garden-variety incidents of who knows what. But by all the same accounts, he was also a man of integrity who refused to countenance what he considered bad behavior; it is probably undeniable that if he had not taken an even more decisive action yesterday, he would have been making those accusations public himself. How is it wrong – or even “liberal” – for Tony Messenger to act as Schweich’s proxy? Wasn’t Messenger just practicing honest journalism?  Doesn’t Tom Schweich, whose last phone call seems to have been an effort to arrange an interview on the subject, deserve a little respectful and honest journalism on the day of his death?

 

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