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.
Wouldn’t think to get into a theological debate with you. That would take an open mind, and it’s obvious that neither one of us possesses one.
Go with G-D.
How about positive messages of white empowerment?
I’ve done that same thing too.
Yemeni Jews, , Sudanese, Korean Jews, Japanese Jews, Ethiopian Jews and so many more. Sad they have no idea how they are dividing and soon their asses WILL end up on a plantation with their hatres,, a plantation with metal bars.
The TRIP WIRES you dink, THE TRIP WIRES!
...I gotta explain them all!
?????
Chosen people.
Don’t the black militants say that Jesus was really a black man?
Was Sammy Davis Jr. a “sell-out” or “uncle tom”?
It’s all so confusing.
Especially when black nationalists who mentored Barack Obama are only now being discussed.
To any black person complaining about white supremacy, I suggest moving to China. A billion people live there and white people are a definite minority and not the ones holding power.
You are mistaken. Jew refers to the nation or race (or tribe) of people. Judaism is the religion of the Jews. Just like the Cherokee or Comanche and many others, they have their own identity which includes tradition, language, territory and religion.
These are separatists. They want a black state somewhere in the US. Jewish liberals’ solicitous, helpful attitudes are an obstacle to effecting a mass exodus of blacks to Louisiana or wherever, where I guess they’ll pick cotton or something, and build a wall to keep out the honkeys. So they are endeavoring to alienate Jews. It is idiocy on stilts, certainly not the general consensus among blacks, but they are series.
I was once surrounded by an angry mob of these separatists. While one of them lectured me on how I was personally responsible for slavery because there were Jewish slave traders on Rhode Island who imported 40% of the slaves from Africa to the US (Is it true? WGAF?), another one repeatedly screamed at me “YOU A DEVIL!” about an inch from my face. I managed to leave this celebration of the anniversary of the Crown Heights pogrom in one piece. But it was a near thing.
#4. Re: “Sammy Davis, Jr. would beg to disagree”.
So would Louis Armstrong who wore a Jewish Star of David around his neck, given to him by a white family that his mother worked for.
So would the late black teacher and great human being, William Carter (Temple Un., 1956) whose mother also worked for a Jewish family which helped he get through college.
Shabazz seems to be a name of Fascism that runs through the Black Moslem organizations, but for him to be a teacher at a black university is an insult to any remaining decent black universities.
However, the poison of black anti-Semitism is rising on almost all the black campuses of the US so he may just be bringing it all out into the light for liberal fools to see (and ignore for the most part).
Thank you Obama. You did well, spreading your hate of white people, Jews, black conservatives, good Christians, the police and of America as a whole.
Alinsky, Marx and perhaps Canter taught you well, reinforced by Bill Ayers, Calypso Louis Farrakhan, Rashid Khalidi, Van Jones, Valerie Jarrett, Anita Dunn, David Axelrod (a protégé of David Simon Canter, CPUSA), Dr. Quentin Young (CPUSA and DSA),and Frank Marshall Davis (CPUSA/Soviet operative via Paul Robeson and Harry Bridges).
All these anti-Semites have shown their “True Colors”, Fascist Black and Marxist Red, often on the same flag of hate.
#46. Re “Chosen people”. Well, I’ll trade you for that honor. You can have our pogroms, Moslem exterminations since the 660’s, the Holocaust, black hatred, white fascist/racist hatred, liberal hatred, Iranian Mullah hatred, and pisspoor imitation bagels.
I think that when Moses asked God “Why us?” God replied, because no one else wanted the job. To which Moses replied, “How about some oil to help us along?”. God thusly replied, “I only part the seas, not dig oil wells”.
Life was rough back in those days but we still are here (and some of us are armed, heavily armed, including combat veterans of Vietnam, Gulf War I, OIF/Iraq and Afghanistan).
It won’t be so easy this time.
I like that, a lot. I expect such a person would get a real education as to what real racism looks like, and would soon realize the USA isn’t so bad after all.
“This is not the hill to try to die on.”
Apparently the Founding Fathers believed otherwise.
And they were very clear in their understanding of Christianity and liberty.
Half my Sephardic family would disagree.
I am Ashkenazi. I’ve done all sorts of genetic test because I am a Cohenim.
Hate to break it to you but while I certainly have some Northern Europeans in the woodpile, my closest genetic relatives are Sephardi followed by Arabs in Israel.
No it’s from white supremacist telling us we are not white.
Me I consider myself white, although I am on the swarthy edge. Blue eyes. Black curly hair. Typical Israeli in other words.
Just remember, people who yell things like that are projecting their own deeply imbedded racisms. They are insecure with their own races and project this onto others. I am secure in the fact that I am an American citizen. I have Irish, Mexican and Cherokee blood in my veins, but the important thing is, I’m an American, and a Vet. And I am a productive part of society. I have made contributions to the communities where I have lived, and I am loved and accepted in all.
Those who march are still looking for acceptance, seeking a place where they might contribute, and have not come to terms with their own bigotries that were passed down to them from their parents or thought at local colleges.
Interesting point of discussion...
I've read many narrative "scholarly" histories (e.g., Tom Holland) that posits judaism wasn't defined as a "religion" until it became necessary to differentiate it from early Jewish followers of Jesus (Jewish Christians) and non-Jewish followers of Jesus (gentile Christians). Up until then, jewish was a race of people, just like other races of people scattered throughout the known world.
I see. Then again, my Italian Great-Grandfather was called a ni**er when he got off the boat too.
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