Posted on 05/01/2018 7:57:11 PM PDT by SJackson
Why are positive messages of black empowerment tainted by antisemitic tropes? And why do they portray Jews, themselves reviled by white supremacists, as the ultimate symbol of whiteness? BY
Amiri Baraka. Louis Farrakhan. Kwame Ture. Leonard Jeffries. Tony Martin. Joy Karega. Tamika Mallory. Each one of them has a message of strength and empowerment for African-Americans that uses Jews or Israel as a contrasting example of corruption and evil. But responding to such rhetoric is complicated, in part because their messages also position Jews as the quintessential symbol of whiteness, racism and oppression. This can be particularly problematic when issues erupt on college and university campuses.
In a recent controversy, Kwame Zulu Shabazz, an interim professor in the African Studies department at Knox College in Illinois, took to Twitter to condemn Jewish profit-mongers and explain that contemporary Jews have malign intent toward others in the Middle East because the “brutal” God of the Hebrew Bible commanded Jews to commit genocide. While this type of rhetoric would not be out of place at a gathering of white supremacists, Shabazz has garnered support from both students and faculty who support his black nationalist views and dismiss any negative reaction to his views as an inconsequential reaction of coddled white students.
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According to an article in The Knox Student, Shabazz concurs with this assessment.
“Jews have aspired to whiteness, integrating into the white category,” he explained. “I’m writing as a black person who is a victim of white supremacy, of which Jews are a part of that group.”
In relation to his tweets, Shabazz explained, “There are currently a subset of Jewish students on this campus who are very hurt and I respect that. And I tell my white students this in classes: whenever a white student feels uncomfortable about something, you can get a fleeting sense, a very fleeting, superficial sense of what it’s like to be black in America.”
This type of incident has recurred for decades, and the pattern is, unfortunately, familiar. A black academic, public intellectual, or activist makes some sort of oral or written comment depicting Jews or Israel as white oppressors, often in terms that evoke historic antisemitic tropes or imagery and sometimes included as part of a message of empowerment. Spokespeople and organizations in the Jewish community react to what they see as the antisemitic content of the comment, and the generator of the comment (along with his or her supporters) then responds in one or more of the following ways:
• Denial of antisemitic effect or intent (sometimes accompanied by an apology, whether sincere or pro forma).
• Justification of the comment because Jews or Israel are white oppressors.
• Approbation of the original comment, even if it might be antisemitic, because it is “the truth.”
Jews in the mainstream speak out forcefully against the statement. Right-wing commentators are unabashedly condemnatory, while progressives are likely to hedge (“speaking as a liberal who supports affirmative action and understands the serious problems of structural racism, I oppose the recent statements of...). Others on the more progressive Left wish to rid themselves of the distraction of antisemitism by citing the more pressing need of communities of color. Admonitions to Jews of “check your privilege” and warnings not to make this issue about antisemitism inevitably follow.
On campuses, progressive students and students of color rally to the side of the accused. Some progressive Jewish students and faculty, loath to be pulled into the melee (even if they agree with the charges of antisemitism) because they do not want to be seen as opposing a left-wing coalition, disappear from the discourse. Those who do speak out can be subject to harassment and worse; in the case of Knox College, a crude and offensive graphic was slipped under the office door of the few Jewish professors who spoke out against the antisemitic content of Shabazz’s tweets.
Why are positive messages of black empowerment tainted by anti-Jewish and antisemitic tropes? And why do they portray Jews, who are themselves reviled by white supremacists, as the ultimate symbol of whiteness?
Shabazz and others use the negative aspects of black life in the United States as the central paradigm for measuring discrimination, prejudice and oppression. Consequently, any detail that contradicts this approved pattern must be deleted, ignored, explained away, or denied. And university and college officials are often reluctant to condemn the offending statements because they are afraid of provoking charges of racism and insensitivity to black issues and concerns. Legitimate Jewish concerns are often downplayed or ignored.
American Jews, although the majority are defined and identify as white, clearly do not fit neatly into the category of white oppressors for historical and contemporary reasons. The fact of the Holocaust, although it has been described dismissively in other instances as “white-on-white crime,” is that Jews were persecuted on the basis of race. White supremacists’ opposition to Jews is also based on the concept of Jews as a separate race. Thus, to force the example of American Jews – and, similarly, Israel – to follow the outlines of his explanatory paradigm, Shabazz and others are forced to resort to conspiracy theories, specious arguments, crude stereotypes and denial of basic factual information.
Analysts must continue to explain that while threats to Jews can be expressed through religious, ethnic and racial hatred that share characteristics with classic elements of racism, the more dangerous elements of antisemitism are the fantastical conspiracy theories, canards about disproportionate power and influence in government and the corporate world, and allegations that Jews reap financial gain through cheating others. Any individual who employs such theories should understand that Jews must combat these falsehoods because they have resulted in existential threats in the past, and no amount of security, affluence and comfort that contemporary Jews might experience – whether they live in Israel, the United States, France, or any country in the world – can erase that difficult, paradigm-shattering truth.
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The saddest part of this culture in academia is that there are a limited number of jobs for race hustlers. Even for community organizers. In most cases they have to be created. But then I suppose creating self supporting, productive citizens isn't what college does.
Peaceful coexistence with these lunatics is not possible.
Prepare accordingly.
L
Sammy Davis, Junior would beg to disagree
bfl
I do not understand the hatred prominent Blacks have for Jews
This doublespeaking moron is just looking for excuses for himself & Co. as to why they are multigenerational failures, while Jews immigrated into this country as very poor people and excelled. He is a pathetic race baiting stooge.
Sammy Davis Jr would NOT be happy.
Ethiopian and Chinese Jews are disappointed....
Stupid premise...
I think increasingly more and more the left will become the main home of antisemitism. Because jews are too successful and marxists hate success, success to them doesn’t mean merit, it means you cheated and oppressed others.
Most Jewish people are Ashkenazi, which is European (Turkish actually). Yiddish is a Germanic language although based on Hebrew script. Besides, Jewish refers to a religion and not a race. There’s way too much focus on race these days, and for all the wrong reasons.
Every black person who moans and groans about “white supremacy,” I would like to suggest that there’s a way to get the bennies without changing the skin. Be a black redneck. People read the attitude well before reading the skin.
What about the Gorsky Jews, or Ethiopians?
Now, that there’s funny...
In addition, Christianity sprang up from within Judaism, with Jesus of course at the center of it, and historically Christianization in Europe and America has been carried on by white people. Hating the bible imputes a stink to Jews. Both Old Testament and New Testament state so. Why is anybody surprised.
But there are black Jews, as in Ethiopia. And God has, per promise, blessed all countries where the Jews and the rest of the people are on friendly terms.
I thought this was strange coming from CNN so I checked the source you linked to. The Jerusalem Post.
>> Why are positive messages of black empowerment tainted by antisemitic tropes?
Why are positive messages of conservatives tainted by Jeff Zucker?
And it’s easy enough to fall into hate at Jews if you don’t understand the bigger picture. Getting a blessing has a hazard on this sinful earth, and that’s the hazard of becoming proud.
At its worst, “black empowerment” threatens to slide back to bad old Africa which is mired in self defeating attitudes. Combine this with envy at the blessed and resentment at pride, and the devil’s cauldron awaits.
I hope such questions as above get people to thinking about the issues earnestly enough that God can speak.
MEGA (or MAGA) DITTOS!!!
BTW, I really like your tagline. Truer words have never been said.
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