Yep, it's an in vogue, politically acceptable stance. But often it dresses itself up in anti-Zionism.
Look at the stark contrast in Germany in the 1930s. While America is now accused of being "fascist," attacks on Jews, whose only crime was to be Jewish, were rampant in Germany. In America, we face a minority population led by CAIR and AIM that refuses to credibly denounce terrorism against Americans. We face a minority population whose religion has been associated with countless acts of violence are committed against Judeo-Christians world-wide. We face a minority population who is itself confused about its future and finds conflicting loyalties in an increasaingly global war between its religion's extremists and modernity.
And yet we accept these people on the basis of their individual humanity, and even protect them as they live among us. Because we are Americans, and we abhor race and religious hatreds. Let this ratio stand in stark contrast to intolerance shown to Jews and Americans in Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir, Nigeria, and Kosovo.
This is America. This is not Nazi Germany. This will never be a political hate machine that systematically identifies a minority as an arch enemy. Bringing to zero the number of hate crimes against muslims will speak out even more strongly the brilliant truth that is America: this is a beacon of freedom to the world. We are not at war with peoples' religious beliefs. We are at war against intolerance, and it will not be accepted here, or in the mideast. Note: I'm not advocating that we encourage additional Islamic immigration, not on the basis of what we're seeing in Europe. But that's a different issue.
I am writing to you about discrimination which has been expressed by the selective enforcement of city ordinances against me with respect to my rental business in Southern Indiana once city officials discovered that I am a Jewish person.
More about me: I was named to the “30 under 30” list by my alma mater and did my PhD work at Princeton Univ. under John Nash. I am a applied mathematician/ entrepreneur in my day job.
In the years since I completed my undergraduate work at IU in 1998, I proceeded to buy a small number of rental properties in Bloomington, Indiana, which I have successfully run as a side business for a number of years.
However, about 2-3 years ago, the normal flow of my side rental business ran into some serious roadblocks.
It started when two housing inspectors made a number of explicit anti-semitic statements to me and to a Jewish tenant at one of my rentals.
Soon thereafter, four (4) groups of my otherwise law-abiding and happy tenants were threatened with $10,000 + fine (assessed PER tenant) for alleged ordinance violations.
Long story short, I was soon stuck with numerous vacancies and left paying the mortgage payments on these properties which were subsequently burglarized and vandalized. At the same time, the Housing Department caused complaint inspections to take place at these properties, identifying dozens and dozens of “defects” in the properties not otherwise noted in previous move-in inspections and causing me to incur thousands of dollars of needless “improvements”.
And then the Legal Department went to work on me, filing at least five (5) lawsuits against me for alleged ordinance violations, and at the same time, the Legal Department Chief’s wife, over at Student Legal Services, encouraged my erstwhile tenants to sue me for recovery of their security deposits, in spite of their breaches. I was soon dealing with about ten lawsuits at once.
So in April 2007, I filed a lawsuit against the City of Bloomington for violating my right to equal protection of the law, and a number of other civil rights violations. For reasons unbeknownst to me, I have become of the despotism of city government in small town Indiana. My attorneys have recently discovered that my case is not unique. Another Jewish landlord also has a case pending in federal court against the City, regarding the improper withholding of a building permit based upon the impermissible consideration that the prospective buyer of the commercial property in question was a Jewish investor from New York.
My life has been turned upside down by the systematic abuse of ordinances and
judicial proceedings. I find it outrageous that such a negative spirit still thrives in modern America. I would love the opportunity to talk about my story on your show, as I think it is in the public interest.
Seth Patinkin