150+ gravesites vandalized at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in Missouri
February 21, 2017 4:59 AM Subscribe
The gravesites of more than 170 Jews were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in University City, Mo., sometime over the weekend.
And on Monday, the Anti-Defamation League reported a wave of bomb threats directed against Jewish Community Centers in multiple states, the fourth series of such threats since the beginning of the year, it said, a development that elicited comments from a White House spokesman and Ivanka Trump, neither of which used the phrase “anti-Semitism” or mentioned Jews.
Last week, in response to a question about the White House's response to rising anti-Semitism, President Trump told Ami magazine correspondent Jake Turx, “That's an unfair question. So here’s the story, folks. No. 1, I am the least anti-Semitic person that you’ve ever seen in your entire life. No. 2, racism, the least racist person.”
And on Monday, the Anti-Defamation League reported a wave of bomb threats directed against Jewish Community Centers in multiple states, the fourth series of such threats since the beginning of the year, it said, a development that elicited comments from a White House spokesman and Ivanka Trump, neither of which used the phrase “anti-Semitism” or mentioned Jews.
Last week, in response to a question about the White House's response to rising anti-Semitism, President Trump told Ami magazine correspondent Jake Turx, “That's an unfair question. So here’s the story, folks. No. 1, I am the least anti-Semitic person that you’ve ever seen in your entire life. No. 2, racism, the least racist person.”
It is horrifying that coordinated, multi-state, organized anti-Semitic hate-crimes are being committed regularly with very little attention from the national media and none from the federal government. It is horrifying that the Trump administration has spent more time addressing made-up terror attacks than they have spent addressing this very real, ongoing, public threat.
Why won't the president say the words "Anti-Semitic terrorism?"
posted by Cookiebastard at 5:26 AM on February 21, 2017 [51 favorites]
Why won't the president say the words "Anti-Semitic terrorism?"
posted by Cookiebastard at 5:26 AM on February 21, 2017 [51 favorites]
Our President thinks the bad thing about rising antisemitism is that reporters will be mean to him about it and not say how great he is. S M F H
posted by Sing Or Swim at 5:26 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by Sing Or Swim at 5:26 AM on February 21, 2017
Heard about this on Twitter. God, how disgusting.
posted by tobascodagama at 5:31 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by tobascodagama at 5:31 AM on February 21, 2017
It takes a big strong Uberman to beat up dead people. At night. When no-one's looking.
posted by pompomtom at 5:31 AM on February 21, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by pompomtom at 5:31 AM on February 21, 2017 [20 favorites]
In a CNN segment with Rick Santorum's Grinning, Punchable Face, Santorum played POTUS Mouthpeace by repeating that Donny has been a better supporter of Israel than Obama, while avoiding saying anything about Trump's support of Jewish people in the US, as pointed out by the host and his Democratic counter-point provider.
Why won't the president say the words "Anti-Semitic terrorism?"
Because David Duke won't condemn them, and he takes cues from Duke and his people? Or Pres. Bannon hasn't made it a talking point for Donny?
posted by filthy light thief at 5:33 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
Why won't the president say the words "Anti-Semitic terrorism?"
Because David Duke won't condemn them, and he takes cues from Duke and his people? Or Pres. Bannon hasn't made it a talking point for Donny?
posted by filthy light thief at 5:33 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
>It takes a big strong Uberman to beat up dead people.
"Thank goodness, with the recent changes in the American political landscape, I can finally go vandalize those Jewish graves I've had my eye on for so long." (clasps hands in girlish delight)
I mean, it's obvious and adds nothing, but what kind of a walking piece of shit do you have to be to think and/or do this?
posted by Sing Or Swim at 5:37 AM on February 21, 2017 [15 favorites]
"Thank goodness, with the recent changes in the American political landscape, I can finally go vandalize those Jewish graves I've had my eye on for so long." (clasps hands in girlish delight)
I mean, it's obvious and adds nothing, but what kind of a walking piece of shit do you have to be to think and/or do this?
posted by Sing Or Swim at 5:37 AM on February 21, 2017 [15 favorites]
Read the comments in the Post Dispatch article
Why is this a hate crime? This happens all the time in cemeteries all over south county. Take a drive through the small Catholic Cemetery, Mount Olive, or Mount Hope or any one of the dozens of other cemeteries that dot south city and county. There are headstones knocked over all the time by kids who think vandalism is funny. I never hear a word about it being a hate crime when it happens in these areas.
posted by robbyrobs at 5:38 AM on February 21, 2017
Why is this a hate crime? This happens all the time in cemeteries all over south county. Take a drive through the small Catholic Cemetery, Mount Olive, or Mount Hope or any one of the dozens of other cemeteries that dot south city and county. There are headstones knocked over all the time by kids who think vandalism is funny. I never hear a word about it being a hate crime when it happens in these areas.
posted by robbyrobs at 5:38 AM on February 21, 2017
Our President thinks the bad thing about rising antisemitism is that reporters will be mean to him about it
Oh shut up, he got a bajillion electoral college votes, I think. I'm told it's more electoral college votes than there ever were. I'm told that by the best people.
posted by pompomtom at 5:39 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
Oh shut up, he got a bajillion electoral college votes, I think. I'm told it's more electoral college votes than there ever were. I'm told that by the best people.
posted by pompomtom at 5:39 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
I was also happy to see Chris Cuomo on CNN's New Day open his segment on this by saying he was expecting Trump to send out an angry tweet about the segment being fake or attacking Chris, but still say nothing against the increase in anti-Semitic attacks and threats. (And the Santorum counter-point provider was Christine Quinn, Former NYC City Council Speaker, for the record.)
posted by filthy light thief at 5:41 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by filthy light thief at 5:41 AM on February 21, 2017
Why is this a hate crime? This happens all the time in cemeteries all over south county. Take a drive through the small Catholic Cemetery, Mount Olive, or Mount Hope or any one of the dozens of other cemeteries that dot south city and county. There are headstones knocked over all the time by kids who think vandalism is funny. I never hear a word about it being a hate crime when it happens in these areas.
SMH
posted by drezdn at 5:43 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
SMH
posted by drezdn at 5:43 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
Another rotation of the "background anxiety" knob. :(
posted by oceanjesse at 6:02 AM on February 21, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by oceanjesse at 6:02 AM on February 21, 2017 [9 favorites]
Rob Ford talked that way too, when he wanted to deflect charges of racism and homophobia.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:03 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:03 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
Who vandalizes a cemetery?
posted by wenestvedt at 6:04 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by wenestvedt at 6:04 AM on February 21, 2017
Who vandalizes a cemetery?
Unfortunately, there is a long & specific history of vandalism in Jewish cemeteries. (I'd guess that Black cemeteries and burial sites in the U.S. also have such a history.)
posted by listen, lady at 6:10 AM on February 21, 2017 [11 favorites]
Unfortunately, there is a long & specific history of vandalism in Jewish cemeteries. (I'd guess that Black cemeteries and burial sites in the U.S. also have such a history.)
posted by listen, lady at 6:10 AM on February 21, 2017 [11 favorites]
Who vandalizes a cemetery?
Sociopaths. Monsters in training. People who are working up the courage to do horrible things but need to practice first. People un-fucking-fit to participate in society.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:13 AM on February 21, 2017 [31 favorites]
Sociopaths. Monsters in training. People who are working up the courage to do horrible things but need to practice first. People un-fucking-fit to participate in society.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:13 AM on February 21, 2017 [31 favorites]
"Read the comments in the Post Dispatch article"
Do yourself a favor, and NEVER read ANY comments in local St. Louis media. Comments sections are pretty horrible to begin with, but St. Louis took it to a different level.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:16 AM on February 21, 2017 [11 favorites]
Do yourself a favor, and NEVER read ANY comments in local St. Louis media. Comments sections are pretty horrible to begin with, but St. Louis took it to a different level.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:16 AM on February 21, 2017 [11 favorites]
Who vandalizes a cemetery?
Nazis.
Restored Jewish Cemetery in Czech Republic Desecrated (1997)
Lost Jewish cemetery destroyed by Nazis being restored (2015)
@EmilyGorcenski - "I wanna pivot for a sec and talk about why vandalism at Jewish cemeteries isn't a harmless prank. This is the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague." (present day...)
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:16 AM on February 21, 2017 [15 favorites]
Nazis.
Restored Jewish Cemetery in Czech Republic Desecrated (1997)
Lost Jewish cemetery destroyed by Nazis being restored (2015)
@EmilyGorcenski - "I wanna pivot for a sec and talk about why vandalism at Jewish cemeteries isn't a harmless prank. This is the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague." (present day...)
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:16 AM on February 21, 2017 [15 favorites]
hatred, racial and ethnic, seems much more evident since the recent election, which has given rise to alt right, etc. What anti semites have to discover is that their hate and terrible acts further strengthen the State of Israel, as a safe haven should things get truly bad here. Those who hate in this manner also dislike Israel but are now spurring its growth. The vandals clearly learn such things from friends and families, and in doing what they do ought to know that they are outwardly expressing their low self esteem and bottom feeder place in society.
posted by Postroad at 6:32 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by Postroad at 6:32 AM on February 21, 2017
My grandparents, great grandparents, and about a dozen other relatives from their generations are buried there. My uncle is going over today to see if any of our family graves were affected, and what we need to do, if anything. Most of them are in the newer section of the cemetery, and it looks like the vandals hit the older section - so I am hoping that no one who suffered a recent loss (or even a loss within memory) is now dealing with this as well.
posted by Mchelly at 6:35 AM on February 21, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 6:35 AM on February 21, 2017 [13 favorites]
I mean, it's obvious and adds nothing, but what kind of a walking piece of shit do you have to be to think and/or do this?
Literally had a customer say "now that Trump is president, she didn't have to be PC anymore". Some people now think it's fantastic that they can now act like hateful pieces of shit because TRUMP.
posted by littlesq at 6:35 AM on February 21, 2017 [6 favorites]
Literally had a customer say "now that Trump is president, she didn't have to be PC anymore". Some people now think it's fantastic that they can now act like hateful pieces of shit because TRUMP.
posted by littlesq at 6:35 AM on February 21, 2017 [6 favorites]
hatred, racial and ethnic, seems much more evident since the recent election, which has given rise to alt right, etc. What anti semites have to discover is that their hate and terrible acts further strengthen the State of Israel, as a safe haven should things get truly bad here.
Yeah, no. If things are truly bad for Jews here, Israel is also going to be fucked.
posted by dinty_moore at 6:35 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah, no. If things are truly bad for Jews here, Israel is also going to be fucked.
posted by dinty_moore at 6:35 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
she didn't have to be PC anymore
The horses are long out of the barn on this one, but like letting the right name themselves pro-life instead of forcing the "anti-choice" label on them until it stuck, the general failure to figure out a better name for compassion, respect, and decency is going to keep biting us in the ass.
Then again, seeing as labeling someone a fighter for social justice has become a slur, maybe there was nothing to be done anyway.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:40 AM on February 21, 2017 [7 favorites]
The horses are long out of the barn on this one, but like letting the right name themselves pro-life instead of forcing the "anti-choice" label on them until it stuck, the general failure to figure out a better name for compassion, respect, and decency is going to keep biting us in the ass.
Then again, seeing as labeling someone a fighter for social justice has become a slur, maybe there was nothing to be done anyway.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:40 AM on February 21, 2017 [7 favorites]
My great-grandmother came here when she was 16, by herself (well, with a step-grandparent who then basically abandoned her), not speaking any English, leaving her parents and eleven siblings, all who died in concentration camps.
I don't want to be alarmist about what's going on, but my partner and I often talk about what it's going to take for us to just get up and leave.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:40 AM on February 21, 2017 [6 favorites]
I don't want to be alarmist about what's going on, but my partner and I often talk about what it's going to take for us to just get up and leave.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:40 AM on February 21, 2017 [6 favorites]
Also, I am okay with Ivanka's tweet. She's not officially a part of the administration and she tagged it with #JCC - for me it was an appeal to humanity while calling out the specific. I'm still furious with her and Jared for not speaking up after the Holocaust Rememberance Day erasure and I wish they would do more - especially Jared, who is in the administration.
But I don't think it should be their (or any Jews') job to be specially required to speak up. It's disappointing if they don't, but I don't think it's fair to hit them in both directions. The idea that Jews should be behaving better than the others because (fill in the blank) is part of the problem.
posted by Mchelly at 6:42 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
But I don't think it should be their (or any Jews') job to be specially required to speak up. It's disappointing if they don't, but I don't think it's fair to hit them in both directions. The idea that Jews should be behaving better than the others because (fill in the blank) is part of the problem.
posted by Mchelly at 6:42 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
Since I heard about this, have been wondering if it's possible to have granite tire spikes to mark a grave.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:45 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:45 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
Apparently, Mr. Trump told reporters this morning that it is "very important" for him to visit the Holocaust Museum soon.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:46 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:46 AM on February 21, 2017
Apparently, Mr. Trump told reporters this morning that it is "very important" for him to visit the Holocaust Museum soon.
Well, I can't disagree...
Is it open on weekends? He appears to have those pretty free.
posted by Etrigan at 6:49 AM on February 21, 2017 [5 favorites]
Well, I can't disagree...
Is it open on weekends? He appears to have those pretty free.
posted by Etrigan at 6:49 AM on February 21, 2017 [5 favorites]
Good news. The Museum is open every day except Yom Kippur, September 30, 2017, and Christmas Day, December 25.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:51 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:51 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
Here's the local Fox News report up now.
They had a couple earlier reports, one of which noted that despite it being an obviously organized effort requiring multiple people to accomplish, there's no hate crime investigation underway according to the STL police.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:55 AM on February 21, 2017
They had a couple earlier reports, one of which noted that despite it being an obviously organized effort requiring multiple people to accomplish, there's no hate crime investigation underway according to the STL police.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:55 AM on February 21, 2017
their hate and terrible acts further strengthen the State of Israel
Hello, excuse me, ding ding good morning, but THAT IS THE FUCKING PLAN. The antisemites keep propping Israel up because then they can push us out with as close to a clean conscience as they need. It's obvious and just fucking awful.
posted by phooky at 6:58 AM on February 21, 2017 [7 favorites]
Hello, excuse me, ding ding good morning, but THAT IS THE FUCKING PLAN. The antisemites keep propping Israel up because then they can push us out with as close to a clean conscience as they need. It's obvious and just fucking awful.
posted by phooky at 6:58 AM on February 21, 2017 [7 favorites]
Here is the local Reddit comment thread. The overall tone of the comments (so far as I write this ) seems to be gosh those troublesome teenagers!
posted by robbyrobs at 7:00 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by robbyrobs at 7:00 AM on February 21, 2017
The Chesed Shel Emeth Society, which maintains the cemetery, accepts donations to a dedicated fund for repairing and replacing broken monuments.
posted by jedicus at 7:01 AM on February 21, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by jedicus at 7:01 AM on February 21, 2017 [7 favorites]
Yeah, no. If things are truly bad for Jews here, Israel is also going to be fucked.
Yeah, my mother-in-law has always sort of had the back-of-the-mind idea that, well, we can always go to Israel. But now she's pretty sure that if things actually get to the point of needing to escape, Israel will not be a place for Jews, or anybody, to escape to. (For what it's worth, her current plan is, for some reason, PEI.)
I am trying really hard to be baffled by the administration's flat-out refusal to address the increase in antisemitic activity in any real way, because any explanation is too dispiriting to contemplate, but I know in my heart that it's because the whole thing is run by, and certainly propped up by, antisemites.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:06 AM on February 21, 2017
Yeah, my mother-in-law has always sort of had the back-of-the-mind idea that, well, we can always go to Israel. But now she's pretty sure that if things actually get to the point of needing to escape, Israel will not be a place for Jews, or anybody, to escape to. (For what it's worth, her current plan is, for some reason, PEI.)
I am trying really hard to be baffled by the administration's flat-out refusal to address the increase in antisemitic activity in any real way, because any explanation is too dispiriting to contemplate, but I know in my heart that it's because the whole thing is run by, and certainly propped up by, antisemites.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:06 AM on February 21, 2017
Mod note: One comment deleted. Folks, we need this thread not to be about Israel or Netanyahu.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:07 AM on February 21, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:07 AM on February 21, 2017 [10 favorites]
Here's the one of the other clips. Having trouble finding a direct link to the second one with the remarks about obvious collaboration (field reporter is an Andy Banke). It autoplays after the first video in the Fox link above (unreliably).
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:09 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:09 AM on February 21, 2017
Ivanka's not getting any passes from me. She's never used the word Jewish (or Jew, Judaism, etc.) in any of her tweets or statements and she and her husband are obviously extremely entwined with this administration. She's as bad as her father.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:17 AM on February 21, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 7:17 AM on February 21, 2017 [12 favorites]
In a CNN segment with Rick Santorum's Grinning, Punchable Face, Santorum played POTUS Mouthpeace by repeating that Donny has been a better supporter of Israel than Obama, while avoiding saying anything about Trump's support of Jewish people in the US, as pointed out by the host and his Democratic counter-point provider.
Because for evangelical Christianists like Rick fecal-matter-slurry getting Jews back to the Holy Land so that Jebus can return is all that matters. (I don't think I can sound any more sneering in writing)
posted by tippiedog at 7:18 AM on February 21, 2017 [3 favorites]
Because for evangelical Christianists like Rick fecal-matter-slurry getting Jews back to the Holy Land so that Jebus can return is all that matters. (I don't think I can sound any more sneering in writing)
posted by tippiedog at 7:18 AM on February 21, 2017 [3 favorites]
@SpeakerRyan: Anti-Semitism in any form is abhorrent, and I encourage authorities nationwide to take these threats seriously. #JCC
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:22 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:22 AM on February 21, 2017
These poor families. I hope it didn't happen to any newly interred, it would be devastating to those still grieving. Is there any fundraising to help the cemeteries affected for clean up/rebuilding?
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 7:26 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 7:26 AM on February 21, 2017
The link Jedicus posted a bit upthread will take you to the cemetery's donation page.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:29 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:29 AM on February 21, 2017
Thank you, I missed that.
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 7:37 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 7:37 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
Politico: Trump calls anti-Semitism 'horrible'
His statements follow a call from the Anti-Defamation League and his former opponent Hillary Clinton to take action.posted by ZeusHumms at 7:41 AM on February 21, 2017 [4 favorites]
Anne Frank Center calls Trump's latest comments "a Band-Aid on the cancer of Anti-Semitism that has infected his own Administration."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:42 AM on February 21, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:42 AM on February 21, 2017 [13 favorites]
The full Anne Frank Center statement is a thing of beauty:
“The President’s sudden acknowledgement is a Band-Aid on the cancer of Antisemitism that has infected his own Administration. His statement today is a pathetic asterisk of condescension after weeks in which he and his staff have committed grotesque acts and omissions reflecting Antisemitism, yet day after day have refused to apologize and correct the record. Make no mistake: The Antisemitism coming out of this Administration is the worst we have ever seen from any Administration. The White House repeatedly refused to mention Jews in its Holocaust remembrance, and had the audacity to take offense when the world pointed out the ramifications of Holocaust denial. And it was only yesterday, President’s Day, that Jewish Community Centers across the nation received bomb threats, and the President said absolutely nothing. When President Trump responds to Antisemitism proactively and in real time, and without pleas and pressure, that’s when we’ll be able to say this President has turned a corner. This is not that moment.”posted by zombieflanders at 7:55 AM on February 21, 2017 [50 favorites]
Also, I am okay with Ivanka's tweet.
Yeah, I'm not. And I'm pretty angry about it. She and her husband are part of the problem. Through their silence and in his case active dismissal of the concerns of their fellow Jews, they have helped American antisemitism flourish in relation to the campaign Trump and Kushner ran.
But I don't think it should be their (or any Jews') job to be specially required to speak up. It's disappointing if they don't, but I don't think it's fair to hit them in both directions. The idea that Jews should be behaving better than the others because (fill in the blank) is part of the problem.
This isn't a matter of requiring Jews to be better than another group. No other groups are involved here.
There's a difference between being a random Jew on the street and being part of the First Family. When you're an adult member of the First Family and you are actively involved in advising the President, yes, it's your responsibility to speak up. As a human being. Because that's how speaking truth to power works. But frankly, yes, I think that being Jewish advisors to the President of the United States in modern society means speaking up when you see your fellow Jews being targeted. To not do so is frankly indefensible.
This is a failure by Kushner. He tried to dismiss / publicly defend the antisemitism that poured out of the Trump campaign and that others were doing in Trump's name. He gives a very public pass to Trump and Steve Bannon and any other white nationalist who targets Jews online and elsewhere. For Trump, this apparently means he doesn't feel have to mention Jewish genocide, (or any Jewish deaths) or antisemitism in relation to the Holocaust and he also apparently doesn't feel the need to condemn dozens upon dozens of bomb threats against Jewish children.
Because let's face it, that's who's being targeted here. As you know, most JCC's run early child care programs. Most run after-school programs. Some house Jewish day schools. These threats are being made against our children.
Where is the outrage? Where is the anger? Where is the President's full-throated, full-volume condemnation of threats being made against Jewish children? Or of the desecration of our dead? If this had been President Obama, does anyone here have any doubt that he would have said something? I do not.
We get a tweet from his daughter, instead. And the media had to ask(!) for a response from the White House press secretary. They had to ask. In his reply to a question about Jewish kids being threatened at Jewish Community Centers, Spicer did not mention Jews. He didn't mention antisemitism. But he did claim the President has made his position "abundantly clear." Even though we're still waiting for Trump to mention us by name.
She's not officially a part of the administration
She's so unofficial that she sits in on meetings with foreign heads of state.
I choose not give her or her husband or her father or their administration a pass on this.
posted by zarq at 8:04 AM on February 21, 2017 [51 favorites]
Yeah, I'm not. And I'm pretty angry about it. She and her husband are part of the problem. Through their silence and in his case active dismissal of the concerns of their fellow Jews, they have helped American antisemitism flourish in relation to the campaign Trump and Kushner ran.
But I don't think it should be their (or any Jews') job to be specially required to speak up. It's disappointing if they don't, but I don't think it's fair to hit them in both directions. The idea that Jews should be behaving better than the others because (fill in the blank) is part of the problem.
This isn't a matter of requiring Jews to be better than another group. No other groups are involved here.
There's a difference between being a random Jew on the street and being part of the First Family. When you're an adult member of the First Family and you are actively involved in advising the President, yes, it's your responsibility to speak up. As a human being. Because that's how speaking truth to power works. But frankly, yes, I think that being Jewish advisors to the President of the United States in modern society means speaking up when you see your fellow Jews being targeted. To not do so is frankly indefensible.
This is a failure by Kushner. He tried to dismiss / publicly defend the antisemitism that poured out of the Trump campaign and that others were doing in Trump's name. He gives a very public pass to Trump and Steve Bannon and any other white nationalist who targets Jews online and elsewhere. For Trump, this apparently means he doesn't feel have to mention Jewish genocide, (or any Jewish deaths) or antisemitism in relation to the Holocaust and he also apparently doesn't feel the need to condemn dozens upon dozens of bomb threats against Jewish children.
Because let's face it, that's who's being targeted here. As you know, most JCC's run early child care programs. Most run after-school programs. Some house Jewish day schools. These threats are being made against our children.
Where is the outrage? Where is the anger? Where is the President's full-throated, full-volume condemnation of threats being made against Jewish children? Or of the desecration of our dead? If this had been President Obama, does anyone here have any doubt that he would have said something? I do not.
We get a tweet from his daughter, instead. And the media had to ask(!) for a response from the White House press secretary. They had to ask. In his reply to a question about Jewish kids being threatened at Jewish Community Centers, Spicer did not mention Jews. He didn't mention antisemitism. But he did claim the President has made his position "abundantly clear." Even though we're still waiting for Trump to mention us by name.
She's not officially a part of the administration
She's so unofficial that she sits in on meetings with foreign heads of state.
I choose not give her or her husband or her father or their administration a pass on this.
posted by zarq at 8:04 AM on February 21, 2017 [51 favorites]
I'm totally in agreement with everything you (zarq) and Sophie1 said. I don't think she or especially Jared should be off the hook with regards to any of this.
I am just fine with her tweet, as a tweet. Hillary's also didn't mention anti-semitism. There are times when it's implied, and you know it is. I believe (in this case and this case only) Ivanka's falls under that.
That is not intended as a pass for her on anything else.
posted by Mchelly at 8:10 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
I am just fine with her tweet, as a tweet. Hillary's also didn't mention anti-semitism. There are times when it's implied, and you know it is. I believe (in this case and this case only) Ivanka's falls under that.
That is not intended as a pass for her on anything else.
posted by Mchelly at 8:10 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
I am just fine with her tweet, as a tweet. Hillary's also didn't mention anti-semitism. There are times when it's implied, and you know it is. I believe (in this case and this case only) Ivanka's falls under that.
It's the pattern. They keep not mentioning it.
That is not intended as a pass for her on anything else.
Okay. Fair enough. Sorry for jumping.
The entire situation -- the threats, the desecration of the graves, the lack of response -- is very upsetting.
posted by zarq at 8:22 AM on February 21, 2017 [5 favorites]
It's the pattern. They keep not mentioning it.
That is not intended as a pass for her on anything else.
Okay. Fair enough. Sorry for jumping.
The entire situation -- the threats, the desecration of the graves, the lack of response -- is very upsetting.
posted by zarq at 8:22 AM on February 21, 2017 [5 favorites]
John Marshall writes that his mother is buried in that cemetery, his thoughts are worth reading:
We live in troubled times. Hate and barbarity are always with us. But today they are being granted permission to act. Like the wink and a nod one gives to dissolute youth to help them along to do evil. It's part of what I've called the 'great disinhibition'. All of this can only be fought - mercilessly. It must also be understood, yes. But only in a pragmatic and instrumental fashion to fight it more effectively, more totally. I think of the fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto, the Jewish partisans rising out of their displaced persons camps who took vengeance on Nazis in the months and years after the War. No one of age is an infant and none deserve coddling. Of course the tide of barbarism is not only upon us. It has taken critical high ground. It is coming for Jews, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Muslims, every group that is marginalized. We must fight it everywhere and not simply with words and ideas. It's a fight, not a metaphor. Treat it that way.posted by peeedro at 8:22 AM on February 21, 2017 [17 favorites]
> re: who desecrates cemeteries
Oh, indigenous burial grounds are desecrated & have been for centuries. Also, pretty sure Dolores Park in SF is built on a Jewish cemetery.
posted by listen, lady at 8:37 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh, indigenous burial grounds are desecrated & have been for centuries. Also, pretty sure Dolores Park in SF is built on a Jewish cemetery.
posted by listen, lady at 8:37 AM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
(For what it's worth, her current plan is, for some reason, PEI.)
Maybe she's an LM Montgomery fan?
I love PEI, but I don't know how much Jewish culture or community there is there. It's a pretty tiny and predominantly Anglo-Hiberno kind of place, with a francophone minority.
posted by jb at 8:43 AM on February 21, 2017
Maybe she's an LM Montgomery fan?
I love PEI, but I don't know how much Jewish culture or community there is there. It's a pretty tiny and predominantly Anglo-Hiberno kind of place, with a francophone minority.
posted by jb at 8:43 AM on February 21, 2017
Cut Trump a little slack. He's obviously still reeling from the news of the tragic events in Sweden. I'm sure he'll pick up the thread when he gets back from Maralago.
posted by mule98J at 8:52 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by mule98J at 8:52 AM on February 21, 2017
For anyone that may have a relative who is interred at the Chesed Shel Emeth, here's a Twitter thread with updates from an interview with the cemetery's executive director.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:00 AM on February 21, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 9:00 AM on February 21, 2017 [5 favorites]
Thank you, zombieflanders. Have a friend who has several family members buried there. Passed it on to her.
posted by zarq at 9:26 AM on February 21, 2017
posted by zarq at 9:26 AM on February 21, 2017
Footage here from KSDK of cemetery staff lifting the broken headstones back into place.
posted by zarq at 9:53 AM on February 21, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by zarq at 9:53 AM on February 21, 2017 [3 favorites]
My great-uncle and uncle were gravediggers and caretakers at a cemetery with a large Jewish section. They often stayed up digging through the night for conservative Jewish families whose beliefs included prompt burial. They always kept a special eye on that section, because they knew vandals were more likely to strike there than elsewhere. Picking on the dead is a low blow to the living.
Man, I wish I hadn't read those comments.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:32 AM on February 21, 2017 [5 favorites]
Man, I wish I hadn't read those comments.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:32 AM on February 21, 2017 [5 favorites]
PEI has a sizable fundamentalist xtian community; the place I stayed (listed in the AAA/CAA guide) the week before 9-11 was run by a family of them. I didn't know this when I made my reservation; the main reason why I picked it was because they had an onsite laundry.
posted by brujita at 2:55 PM on February 21, 2017
posted by brujita at 2:55 PM on February 21, 2017
My Nephew's school is in a JCC, and it's been evacuated multiple times because of bomb threats. I can't help but wonder, if catholic schools or other christian schools were being targeted, would there would be a task force and serious congressional hearings already?
posted by gryftir at 4:45 PM on February 21, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by gryftir at 4:45 PM on February 21, 2017 [3 favorites]
Two local Muslim Americans (operating under a fiscal agent) crowdfunded over $25,000 to help repair the damage.
posted by JustKeepSwimming at 6:17 PM on February 21, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by JustKeepSwimming at 6:17 PM on February 21, 2017 [9 favorites]
Such horrors that surround us right now. My brother said the other day he was glad for my mother that she has dementia so she doesn't have to know this is happening. I must agree.
My only hope is we use this moment, all of us who are targeted, us Jews and queers and immigrants and trans folks and poor people, and those targeted by racist and Islamophobic attacks to gather together and find common cause and fight for a better way. More than ever our survival depends on us fighting for each other right now: we outnumber the racist white men with money and power. We have to stand together right now.
posted by latkes at 6:48 PM on February 21, 2017 [12 favorites]
My only hope is we use this moment, all of us who are targeted, us Jews and queers and immigrants and trans folks and poor people, and those targeted by racist and Islamophobic attacks to gather together and find common cause and fight for a better way. More than ever our survival depends on us fighting for each other right now: we outnumber the racist white men with money and power. We have to stand together right now.
posted by latkes at 6:48 PM on February 21, 2017 [12 favorites]
I don't remember racist, misogynist or anti-non-xtian incidents happening after Reagan or the Bushes were elected. I was 4 in 1972; Watergate was discussed in my presence but not explained and I wondered how a gate made out of water wouldn't flow everywhere .
posted by brujita at 7:54 PM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by brujita at 7:54 PM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
the kind of cognitive dissonance doublethink madness (or, alternatively, plain ignorance) it must require to be a jewish trump supporter right now boggles my mind. i want to slap the kushners and sheldon adelsons of the world every second of every minute of every day, or at the very least make them watch the BBC's excellent documentary Story of the Jews about our people, since apparently these assclowns have forgotten pretty much everything.
posted by wibari at 12:24 AM on February 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by wibari at 12:24 AM on February 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Jewish preschool had a bomb threat here in Durham this morning.
posted by oceanjesse at 9:01 AM on February 22, 2017
posted by oceanjesse at 9:01 AM on February 22, 2017
For a lot of them, I don't think it's ignorance, it's a different kind of awful.
Take Rabbi Hier (please!), founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Last night, he told Anderson Cooper that "[e]verytime Donald Trump kisses his Jewish grandchild, he's repudiating anti-Semitism." Apart from being ludicrous on the face of it, this isn't the first time he or the SWC has been more willing to defend the Trumps than side with fellow Jews for what seems like cynically political reasons. They've come under criticism for their notable silence and inaction in the face of the anti-Semitism of the Trump campaignand their supporters during the election. Hier himself "proudly" spoke at Trump's inauguration alongside a number of Christian "prosperity gospel" preachers, who appropriate Jewish religious trappings in part because of the stereotype of Jews and money, and didn't even flinch when Trump used a slogan popular among American Nazi supporters in his inauguration speech. He dismissed the concerns around the absence of Jews in Trump's Holocaust Memorial Day statement as a "rookie mistake" and (not for either the first or last time) cited Jared and Ivanka as the reasons why this behavior wasn't that bad. And more relevant to the subject of the thread, I don't know if he's spoken out against this desecration at all, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. Even if he did, the SWC is currently bulldozing a millenia-old Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem over repeated and vehement protest (from both Muslims and Jews) to build a gallingly hypocritically-named "Museum of Tolerance and a Center for Human Dignity".
So I don't what it is, ignorance or madness or something else, but it seems more deliberate than not. Whatever it may be, it's clear that there's something very worrying happening between many prominent Jewish American conservatives and the Trump administration. That the fault line is largely (but not entirely) between the smaller but more religious right-wing Jewish community and the much larger and more secular left-wing one is becoming more and more apparent, and I fear what that means for the majority of Jews that feel targeted either as organizations or individuals by Trump and his supporters.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:05 AM on February 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
Take Rabbi Hier (please!), founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Last night, he told Anderson Cooper that "[e]verytime Donald Trump kisses his Jewish grandchild, he's repudiating anti-Semitism." Apart from being ludicrous on the face of it, this isn't the first time he or the SWC has been more willing to defend the Trumps than side with fellow Jews for what seems like cynically political reasons. They've come under criticism for their notable silence and inaction in the face of the anti-Semitism of the Trump campaignand their supporters during the election. Hier himself "proudly" spoke at Trump's inauguration alongside a number of Christian "prosperity gospel" preachers, who appropriate Jewish religious trappings in part because of the stereotype of Jews and money, and didn't even flinch when Trump used a slogan popular among American Nazi supporters in his inauguration speech. He dismissed the concerns around the absence of Jews in Trump's Holocaust Memorial Day statement as a "rookie mistake" and (not for either the first or last time) cited Jared and Ivanka as the reasons why this behavior wasn't that bad. And more relevant to the subject of the thread, I don't know if he's spoken out against this desecration at all, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. Even if he did, the SWC is currently bulldozing a millenia-old Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem over repeated and vehement protest (from both Muslims and Jews) to build a gallingly hypocritically-named "Museum of Tolerance and a Center for Human Dignity".
So I don't what it is, ignorance or madness or something else, but it seems more deliberate than not. Whatever it may be, it's clear that there's something very worrying happening between many prominent Jewish American conservatives and the Trump administration. That the fault line is largely (but not entirely) between the smaller but more religious right-wing Jewish community and the much larger and more secular left-wing one is becoming more and more apparent, and I fear what that means for the majority of Jews that feel targeted either as organizations or individuals by Trump and his supporters.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:05 AM on February 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
Rabbi Hier makes me want to באַרף
posted by Sophie1 at 10:02 AM on February 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 10:02 AM on February 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
The Anti-Defamation League's New York headquarters received a bomb threat this morning.
I have been close to many wonderful, hard-working, generous Jewish people over my life. Burial desecrations, bomb threats, and an antisemitic (and Islamophobic) executive branch are antithetical to the shared value of religious freedom.
I am so ashamed of how so many people in our country are treating and have historically treated Jewish people--especially people for whom their interest in Judaism and Jewish people begins and ends with a) how Israel is the centerpiece of their eschatological psychodrama and b) how Israel* can be used to advance US foreign policy interests.
Where's the support for all Jewish people living in the United States? Where are the disavowals of supporters who do and say antisemitic things?
* Not an invitation to start a discussion about Israel or Israeli policies/politics.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 10:49 AM on February 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
I have been close to many wonderful, hard-working, generous Jewish people over my life. Burial desecrations, bomb threats, and an antisemitic (and Islamophobic) executive branch are antithetical to the shared value of religious freedom.
I am so ashamed of how so many people in our country are treating and have historically treated Jewish people--especially people for whom their interest in Judaism and Jewish people begins and ends with a) how Israel is the centerpiece of their eschatological psychodrama and b) how Israel* can be used to advance US foreign policy interests.
Where's the support for all Jewish people living in the United States? Where are the disavowals of supporters who do and say antisemitic things?
* Not an invitation to start a discussion about Israel or Israeli policies/politics.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 10:49 AM on February 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Mod note: Just a nudge here, there are many pieces of the picture here, but let's not get pulled into focusing on Israel or how there are some Jewish Trump supporters.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:20 AM on February 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:20 AM on February 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
Looks like Pence is continuing his #potus46 campaign.
Pence makes surprise visit to vandalized Jewish cemetery
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 4:27 PM on February 23, 2017
Pence makes surprise visit to vandalized Jewish cemetery
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 4:27 PM on February 23, 2017
Pence did everything right, too. I can't support the the guy, but he condemned anti-semitism unequivocably, stepped up to help raise some stones, and took time to talk with people who were affected. Not that he went above and beyond or anything, and I'm waiting to see if it's a one-time gesture - but at least for the first time someone connected with the administration did something (Vice-)Presidential. This is so not normal that now you can do the bare minimum and get praised for it, but I guess that's what we've come to?
I'd love to think that he's actually doing the right thing on his own and standing up to the Trumpers, but after Trump's statement the other day as well, I have a pretty strong feeling that Trump's toadying right-wing Jewish supporters who wouldn't say anything in public at least put pressure on someone important in private. I'm guessing it will leak soon enough. Too little too late, though. I'm still furious. And Trump and his administration still have a hell of a lot more to do before I'll forgive any of them. This was a good first step, but it doesn't make anything okay.
And maybe this is not the place to say it, but as long as they're still attacking every other minority group, they're not getting any points for non-bigotry just because they made nice with us all of a sudden.
posted by Mchelly at 4:45 PM on February 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'd love to think that he's actually doing the right thing on his own and standing up to the Trumpers, but after Trump's statement the other day as well, I have a pretty strong feeling that Trump's toadying right-wing Jewish supporters who wouldn't say anything in public at least put pressure on someone important in private. I'm guessing it will leak soon enough. Too little too late, though. I'm still furious. And Trump and his administration still have a hell of a lot more to do before I'll forgive any of them. This was a good first step, but it doesn't make anything okay.
And maybe this is not the place to say it, but as long as they're still attacking every other minority group, they're not getting any points for non-bigotry just because they made nice with us all of a sudden.
posted by Mchelly at 4:45 PM on February 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
My 2 cents: This is exactly the right place to say this: And maybe this is not the place to say it, but as long as they're still attacking every other minority group, they're not getting any points for non-bigotry just because they made nice with us all of a sudden
We are desperately in need of solidarity right now and the solidarity I'm seeing right now between Jewish, Muslim and other oppressed communities is a heartening thing to come out of this ascent of fascism.
posted by latkes at 5:09 PM on February 23, 2017 [9 favorites]
We are desperately in need of solidarity right now and the solidarity I'm seeing right now between Jewish, Muslim and other oppressed communities is a heartening thing to come out of this ascent of fascism.
posted by latkes at 5:09 PM on February 23, 2017 [9 favorites]
Lili Bayer: Senior Trump Aide Forged Key Ties To Anti-Semitic Groups In Hungary
When video recently emerged showing Sebastian Gorka, President Donald Trump’s high-profile deputy assistant, wearing a medal associated with the Nazi collaborationist regime that ruled Hungary during World War II, the controversial security strategist was unapologetic.posted by zombieflanders at 5:12 AM on February 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
“I’m a proud American now and I wear that medal now and again,” Gorka told Breitbart News. Gorka, 46, who was born in Britain to Hungarian parents and is now an American citizen, asked rhetorically, “Why? To remind myself of where I came from, what my parents suffered under both the Nazis and the Communists, and to help me in my work today.”
But an investigation by the Forward into Gorka’s activities from 2002 to 2007, while he was active in Hungarian politics and journalism, found that he had close ties then to Hungarian far-right circles, and has in the past chosen to work with openly racist and anti-Semitic groups and public figures.
Gorka’s involvement with the far right includes co-founding a political party with former prominent members of Jobbik, a political party with a well-known history of anti-Semitism; repeatedly publishing articles in a newspaper known for its anti-Semitic and racist content; and attending events with some of Hungary’s most notorious extreme-right figures.
I didn't think it was possible for me to despise that guy more but, as a Jew of Hungarian extraction, turns out I was wrong.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:11 AM on February 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:11 AM on February 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
I feel like this must have been mentioned and I missed it, but just in case:
Muslims, Led By Philly Man, Raise More than $100K To Repair Jewish Cemetery
posted by hungrytiger at 2:09 AM on February 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Muslims, Led By Philly Man, Raise More than $100K To Repair Jewish Cemetery
posted by hungrytiger at 2:09 AM on February 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Dozens of headstones damaged at Philadelphia Jewish cemetery
posted by zombieflanders at 1:00 PM on February 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 1:00 PM on February 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
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seriously though how does a person even talk like this
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:05 AM on February 21, 2017 [13 favorites]