Its time to move.

These four life-changing words cut through the air, as a wife told her husband how they should respond to the recently planned antisemitism. In advance of this past Shabbos, February 25, Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups planned to organize a National Day of Hate. Shabbos, a day designated for rest and tranquility where we gather for worship, was targeted to become a day where we would be in fear to freely practice our religious obligations. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted over 200 years ago, declares that American citizens have the right to freely practice their religion. And yet, we are at a point in time where there are extremist groups in this country that are so blinded by hatred that they are willing to uproot the bedrock principles of a country that is supposed to lead the world on how a democracy should operate.

Unfortunately, we live in a time where parents are pressured into uprooting their entire lives and making Aliyah, even if they dont believe that it is the right time for them, because of the fear of being a Jew in America. This is not, chas vshalom [heaven forbid], to discredit any efforts to move to Israel, but rather to point out the antisemitism that is rampant throughout the United States and the urgent need to be part of a solution for tolerance.

As of the 2020 Census in the United States, Jews make up 2.4% percent of the U.S. population. Nonetheless, according to the FBI-released 2021 Hate Crime Statistics, anti-Jewish incidents represented 31.9% of the total religious incidents. Despite antisemitic incidents reaching an all-time high in 2021, an Axios article, released on December 17, 2022, warned that antisemitic hate crimes in 2022 may have surpassed the numbers from 2021.

This rise may have, in part, been due to antisemitic comments made by celebrities over the past year. On October 8th, Kanye West, who currently has over 30 million Twitter followers and 18 million Instagram followers, tweeted that he is going to go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE. Twitter removed the tweet and locked Wests account the following day, however, the damage had already been done. Shockingly, Wests follower count increased significantly on both platforms as his hateful remarks only continued to grow over the coming weeks. On October 22, an antisemitic hate group held banners over a busy Los Angeles freeway, with one banner saying Kanye is right about the Jews, with some group members raising their arms in a Nazi salute.

On October 27, NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving tweeted a link to a film filled with antisemitic conspiracies. On November 3, the Brooklyn Nets suspended Irving for a minimum of five games, and the following day, Nike terminated its relationship with Irving. Shortly after being suspended, Irving apologized in an Instagram post to the Jewish families and communities that he hurt. Irvings former teammate Richard Jefferson said in regards to Irving while broadcasting a Nets game: You have to understand that how you use your social media has effects and affects people. This is especially true for someone like Irving, who has over 18 million Instagram followers and 4.5 million Twitter followers.

The current hostility towards Jews in the United States needs to be addressed immediately. A legitimate response to the alarming increase in antisemitism is to move to Israel. Ultimately, we should strive to put ourselves in the best position to effectively work on our Avodas Hashem and not live in fear of being persecuted because of our religious beliefs. This response may have been reflected in Israels 2021 immigration statistics, as approximately 4,000 U.S. citizens made aliyah, the highest total since 1973. Although this solution will not help the current crisis in the United States, it is still a brave and commendable decision nonetheless.

For those that are currently living in the United States, even if it is just until they complete university, it is imperative to no longer stand on the sidelines, but rather be part of the solution for religious tolerance.

The Anti Defamation League lists seven ways to fight antisemitism. I believe that one of those ways, Educate against antisemitism, needs to be doubled down on in our efforts to combat antisemitism. A 2020, a 50 state survey in the United States revealed a concerning lack of Holocaust knowledge among Millenials and Gen Z. Astonishingly, 63% of respondents did not know that 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and 19% of respondents from New York believed that Jews caused the Holocaust.

A lack of a proper education results in little to no sensitivity to the potential harm of antisemitic remarks. Both Irving and West, who presumably have not been properly educated on this topic, immediately resorted back to their previous ways as soon as they were given the opportunity. After Wests access to his Twitter account was restored, on Dec. 1, he tweeted an image combining the Jewish Star of David with a swastika, resulting in his accounts suspension. After Irving was traded from the Nets to the Dallas Mavericks, he deleted his apology post from his Instagram, but claimed that there was no hidden message behind this cryptic move.

Never forget is not just a call for us to gather on Yom Hashoah [Holocaust Memorial Day] for an assembly, but a duty for us to make sure that all of those around us are also aware of the destruction that hatred can cause. This begins in the classroom; Teaching school children about the Holocaust will hopefully make them more aware of the antisemitism that occurs daily in society and stand against it. An encouraging result of the survey revealed that 80% of all respondents believe that it is important to continue teaching about the Holocaust so that it never happens again. This past August, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that will help improve Holocaust education in classrooms. Our role in strengthening Holocaust education throughout the United States can be done by lobbying our state and local government leaders and supporting candidates who value incorporating this education into school curriculums.

Educating others does not just end in the classroom. As we interact with people outside of our own communities, we need to engage with people of other faiths regarding their experiences and thoughts towards antisemitism. Although this may seem awkward and uncomfortable, and personally I can attest that I have yet mustered the courage to try this, I believe that it is a crucial step towards allowing us to practice our religion in harmony among neighbors of different faiths.

Most importantly, whether in front of people of other religions or even our own, it is imperative that we constantly go out of our way to make a Kiddush Hashem. Oftentimes, we are easily identified as Jews due to our different way of dress and religious practices; it is very easy to view this obligation of constantly scrutinizing our actions so as not to paint a bad image of Jews as a burden. However, I think that in reality, it is an opportunity that we have to show everyone else, including other Jews, the beauty of how the Torah tells us we are supposed to interact with others as well as with ourselves.

Sadly, as history has repeatedly told us, we as Jews can never get too comfortable in a specific land. There is a legitimate threat to the core of what America stands for; the extremism and hate that divide this country can uproot the exact ideals upon which this country was founded originally. As Jews, this is a threat to our ability to freely practice our religion and poses an imminent danger to our safety and well-being. We must stand up for ourselves and educate others on the dangers of antisemitism.

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Photo Caption:Education is critical to ending antisemitism

Photo Credit: Jarmoluk via Pizabay

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Unpack With YUPAC: Fight or Flight- Confronting Anti-Semitism - The Commentator

A shared history of oppression led Black and Jewish Americans to fight together for civil rights, particularly in the 1960s. And in many ways, the two groups have remained connected.

But lately, theres evidence of mistrust, misunderstanding and anger on both sides and some of that mistrust is stoked by conspiracy theories and antisemitic and racist tropes circulated online.

Now, a grassroots effort led by three people in Denver is encouraging both groups to come together to create understanding and reconciliation and to help fight against misinformation spread by white nationalist groups.

There has been a lot of coming together, but there has also been a lot of coming apart, said Caren Press, a retired attorney, co-organizing an event Wednesday night that invites Denvers Black and Jewish communities to discuss where their histories connect and diverge before they find ways to combat white supremacy. Together, we need to figure out how we can move forward in a productive way.

The free event, which will be held from 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. in the library at George Washington High School in Denver, is co-organized by Press and Evan Weissman, who are Jewish, and Theo E.J. Wilson, who is Black.

The discussion will be led by Wilson, the director of Shop Talk Live, a nonprofit dedicated to educating and empowering Black people, and Weissman, director of Warm Cookies of the Revolution, an organization working to cause social change through art.

The idea to host Wednesdays event came after rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, spewed antisemitic tropes online and on television, including one hateful comment encouraging Jewish people to forgive Adolph Hitler and another threatening members of the Jewish community. Wests long list of problematic remarks eventually got him suspended from Twitter and have caused several high-profile companies to sever business ties with him.

His rhetoric has also led to vandalism, harassment, intimidation and violence, under the Ye Is Right campaign, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League.

In mid February, University of Denver leaders released a statement condemning antisemitic vandalism and theft in residential settings at the school. And last year in Colorado, there were 53 instances of antisemitism, 163 instances of white supremacist propaganda and one instance of extremist murder tallied by the Anti-Defamation Leagues Hate, Extremism, Antisemitism, Terrorism map.

This is happening now because theres a real rise in white nationalism and white supremacy that has gotten to the point where now Jews cant go to synagogues or meet without security present, Press said. Things have just felt scarier.

The same need for security has been true for Black communities across the nation. In 2015, a young white man, who used a journal to detail his racist motivation to shoot Black parishioners at a Charleston, South Carolina, church, said during his murder trial that he did not regret his decision to kill nine people. In 2022, another white gunman killed 10 people and wounded three others in a racist attack at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York.

Black people and Jewish people share histories of oppression, and are faced with constant threats from white nationalist groups who spew hate, and voice opinions about wanting to destroy, enslave or dehumanize both groups, Press said.

And while both groups have come together over the past few decades to fight together during many social and economic justice movements, the tension between them is still apparent, Weissman said.

Racism shows up in an everyday systemic way and I think antisemitism can, too, but it often shows up in circumstances between individuals, he said. The divergence is, with white Jews in particular, they have had much more proximity to whiteness.

Caren Press, co-organizer

When Jewish people arrived in the United States en masse from the turn of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century, they were treated as something other, Weissman said.

Within a generation or two, their ability to (be viewed as) white in most cases has been a huge divergence, he added. White Jews, specifically, have to understand and acknowledge their white privilege while also recognizing where weve been victimized and continue to be victimized. But we have to also deal with how we as white Jews are aligned with white supremacy and everything that comes with that.

Weissman said he plans to discuss conspiracy theories Wednesday night, such as one commonly used against Jewish people, such as that they are overly materialistic and collectively control the worlds finances.

Conspiracy theorists often point to the seemingly high number of Jewish people in powerful positions in Hollywood, Weissman said. And thats because people dont understand the history.

Jewish immigrants were excluded from securing many jobs when they arrived in the U.S. So, you had to do things that werent (excluded), such as learning how to be a doctor, or learning the legal code, or working at banks or in the arts, he said.

Those were things that used to not be valued and those were the only things open to Jews, he said. So theres explanations for some of these things, and if you dont know some of those explanations and if someone presents you with white supremacist conspiracy theories and those are championed by someone like Kanye, it can seem very real and true.

The storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, showed extremist leaders can mobilize large numbers of Americans to use force and intimidation to impose their political will, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a legal advocacy nonprofit specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation.

The group coalesced for the attack on the Capitol now is one of the most powerfully forces shaping politics in the United State, the SPLC wrote in a 2021 report posted on its website.

White nationalist groups adopt white supremacist or white separatist ideologies, often focusing on the alleged inferiority of people who are not white. The Ku Klux Klan, neo-Confederates, neo-Nazis, racist skinheads and many other groups are considered white nationalists, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The rise in neo-fascist white supremacy is not slowing down and it wont slow down because economic conditions have worsened and the scarcity mindset breeds hostility, Wilson said.

As long as the population of people registered as white continues to shrink, the hostility will continue to grow, he said. Theyre going to become more interested than ever in pitting us against each other. And historically speaking, the divide and conquer tactic really, really works because when were unified, things happen. We saw how things shifted during the civil rights movement when both of these groups operated as one.

Press said there will be security at Wednesdays event and that she is worried about hateful rhetoric making its way into the conversation.

Theo E.J. Wilson, co-organizer

Were going to be prepared for everything that we can prepare for. Its hard to say how it will land, Wilson said. Our concern is truth and making sure that the truth is out there, regardless of what powerful interests may be against it, or who may be offended by it. The best you can do is use tact, use your words, and operate out of love. Its the love for people that makes this conversation happen.

Wilson and Weissman have been friends for about a decade and their friendship has blossomed partly through their shared love for acting and theater. Both have been open about their opinions on how Black people and Jewish communities can unite and why their relationships are fractured, said Wilson, who is the grandson of a Tuskegee Airman and the son of a historian who worked at the Black American West Museum.

So Im not going to say anything that surprises him and vice versa, Wilson added. And that is a key component here: There is a friendship between a Black guy and a Jewish guy who knows their stuff and this friendship is based in truth. So were exemplifying whats possible here, and thats why I think were the guys to have this conversation.

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Black, Jewish Denverites fight misinformation from white nationalists - The Colorado Sun

(March 14, 2023, JNS Wire) The Center for Combating Antisemitism (CCA), a division of StandWithUs (SWU), along with multiple partner organizations, launched a billboard campaign calling attention to the rise of antisemitism across the United States and around the world. The effort urges others of conscience to join the Together Against Antisemitism campaign.

The first billboards will be up from March 8 through April 9. One is located on Atlantic Avenue in Del Ray, Fla., one mile west of Military Trail. The other is located on Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami near 114th Street. The billboard states Together Against Antisemitism and directs people to learn more online (www.standuptohatred.com).

The aim of the campaign is to bring together organizations and individuals who recognize the evils of antisemitism and are willing to publicly stand with the Jewish community, condemn anti-Jewish bigotry and take steps to combat antisemitism in its many forms, said Carly Gammill, director of the CCA.

Sara Gold Rafel, executive director of StandWithUs Southeast, stated: The initial campaign is in South Florida because in the last few months, antisemitic incidents on campuses and communities there have risen to unacceptable levels. The billboards are one of many ways we are responding to this onslaught of hate and supporting the right of Jews to proudly express all aspects of their ethnic and religious identity. Members of the Jewish community deserve to be free of discrimination or harassment whether they are celebrating holidays, openly wearing Jewish symbols, expressing their connection to Israel, attending religious services or simply going about their daily lives.

Florida is not the only state plagued by an uptick in anti-Jewish bigotry. White supremacist groups have been spreading hateful messages targeting the Jewish community throughout the country. They have peppered Jewish and other neighborhoods with leaflets promoting ancient anti-Jewish stereotypes, including in Beverly Hills and Pasadena in California, and Palm Beach and Boca Raton in Florida. They have hung large banners with antisemitic messages from the overpasses of major highways in several states and cities from Southern California to Jacksonville, Fla. Jews have been viciously attacked in major cities from Los Angeles to New York and from Chicago to Austin, Texas.

During January and February alone, the StandWithUs Southeast campus team reported at least 20 antisemitic incidents occurring on the campuses of 12 universities, including Ye is Right tables (referring to musician/rapper Kanye West and his hateful speech against Jews), sweatshirts emblazoned with Anti-Zionist Social Club and Nazi imagery such as swastikas.

On Feb. 22, a group of anti-Jewish bigots affiliated with the Goyim Defense League and their leader Jon Minadeo Jr. stood outside a Jewish synagogue in Orlando, Fla., andshouted at congregants as they were leaving. Their antisemitic messages were vitriolic and abusive, clearly attempting to intimidate the Jewish community. Another neo-Nazi group declared a Day of Hate on Feb. 25, once again hoping to isolate and bully American Jews.

Rather than succeeding in instilling fear, however, these incidents have only strengthened the resolve of Jewish communities and our allies, said Rafel. Antisemitism is a societal disease that speaks not to any truth about Jewish identity but rather to the warped, conspiracy-based thinking of bigoted individuals who use age-old tropes and tactics, like scapegoating, to target the Jewish people.

She added that students in SWUs campus and high school leadership programs are not tolerating these kinds of actions. We are so proud of how they are standing tall against hate and antisemitism with proactive and creative solutions.

Gammill noted that despite their blatantly false nature, when such messages are repeated often enough, they open up the possibility that they could gain a foothold within the mainstream culture.

This is not a time for us to be bystanders, said Roz Rothstein, CEO and co-founder of StandWithUs. Hate is destructive, divisive and potentially dangerous. We are obligated to point a finger at bigotry and draw clear red lines within civil society about what we will simply never tolerate. We are grateful to our allies who stand with us against such outrageous antisemitic rhetoric and actions.

To learn more about the Together Against Antisemitism campaign, including an opportunity to add your name or organization to the list of those in support of the Jewish community, as well as access to resources about antisemitism and tools to combat it, visit: http://www.standuptohatred.com.

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Organizations partner to launch Together Against Antisemitism ... - JNS.org

Hundreds of thousands of Israeli protesters have been demonstrating against the extreme-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since January. The protests have become some of the biggest in Israeli history and are drawing out the countrys most famous faces.

On Thursday, protesters plan to disrupt Netanyahus travel to Rome in a sign of defiance of his ultranationalist, illiberal government. Theyre calling it a day of resistance to the dictatorship. This builds on two months of mass mobilization across Israel that have been squarely focused on the Netanyahu governments set of judiciary overhauls, which would weaken the independence of the countrys high court and create the conditions for unchecked majoritarian rule.

The backlash to these proposals has reached even staunchly establishment groups in Israel: A group of fighter pilots are on strike, tech workers staged a work stoppage, and former prime ministers have joined the protests.

This is not just another right-wing government, says Yehuda Shaul, an Israeli activist and co-director of the think tank Ofek: The Israeli Center for Public Affairs.

The Israeli government is embarking on two revolutions at once, according to Shaul. One is inside Israel: getting rid of any remains of checks and balances, independence of the judiciary, going full-blown illiberal democracy Orbn-style, he told me, referring to Hungarys prime minister. Then there is the second revolution, which is the changes in the Israeli governance in the occupied territories, mainly in the West Bank. That is one word: annexation.

Largely absent from the protests calls has been attention toward the already abysmal situation for Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank. But Netanyahus current government is unprecedented in this regard, too: Israeli settlers who advocate for Jewish supremacist policies now hold powerful ministerial roles and are making moves to annex the occupied West Bank. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently called for the eradication of a Palestinian village. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is a longtime inciter of violence against Palestinians.

The anti-government protests also come at a time of intensive violence between Israelis and Palestinians that could spiral to a new dangerous phase with these extremist Israeli ministers in top posts. Israeli authorities have been conducting deadly raids on West Bank cities and villages, including a military raid that killed six Palestinians on Tuesday. Its part of a crescendo of Israeli clampdown, as grassroots Palestinian groups and individuals turn to violent resistance and terrorism in response to the daily violence of the Israeli occupation.

This moment is a crisis for Israels democracy sparked by these proposals, but built from decades of right-wing policies promulgated by Netanyahu. The crisis is also inseparable from the erosion of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories. Netanyahu and his allies are pursuing a shock doctrine that amounts to crippling the Israeli governance system and a total reordering of the Israeli occupation.

Netanyahu was elected to a sixth premiership this November, but this time with the most extreme, nationalistic, and exclusionary government in Israeli history.

From the get-go, the Israeli government has sought to make significant changes to the high court that would hollow out its independence and its power to serve as a check on the Israeli parliament, or the Knesset. The several bills put forward would restrict the courts ability to overturn laws it sees as unconstitutional and allow a simple majority in the Knesset to reject its decisions. It would also give government lawmakers and appointees effective power over the committee of nine individuals that appoints judges, and rescind key authorities from the attorney general. These and other changes would weaken the independent judiciarys power in a parliamentary system that otherwise lacks checks.

An aerial view shows protesters stopping before police barricades during a demonstration against the Israeli governments controversial justice reform bill in Tel Aviv on March 1, 2023.

Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

Professor Yuval Noah Harari speaks during a demonstration. Over 400,000 people protested all over Israel for the ninth consecutive week against a governments plan to overhaul the judiciary.

Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

This is all complicated by the fact that Israel doesnt have a constitution, but a set of regulations passed as the basic law. The proposals backers, like a group of Israeli academics who recently published an open letter in support, say the court has grown too powerful. But, according to a recent survey by the Israel Democracy Institute, 66 percent of Israelis think the Supreme Court should have the power to strike down a law if it is incompatible with the Basic Laws.

The result of the judicial overhaul would be a form of majoritarian rule, where minority groups especially Palestinian citizens of Israel, who are about 20 percent of the countrys population would face serious threats. Minority rights will be protected by the majoritys benevolence. That contradicts a core element of democracy, of course, writes Natan Sachs of the Brookings Institution.

These proposals have sparked the massive protests in Israel and outrage from unexpected quarters.

Many former Israeli leaders have warned of fascism taking over the country, and now their voices are growing loud. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, one of the countrys most decorated military leaders, has been joining the demonstrations, along with former prime minister and opposition leader Yair Lapid and former Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni. In Israel, nobody will be above the law, not even the prime minister, Livni said in January.

Ram Ben Barak, a member of the Knesset who formerly worked as deputy director of Israels Mossad intelligence services, made a comparison to Nazi Germany in a stark indication of how bad Israels opposition judges the situation to be. Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and all you other fellow travelers check Wikipedia and read the history of how the Nazi party rose to power democratically and immediately became a dictatorship, Ben Barak tweeted.

Pilots from elite Air Force reservist unit are on strike, and former Air Force chiefs have written a letter against the judicial actions. Israels national security leaders worry that Israel will be less able to defend itself in international forums; for example, for its potential war crimes in Gaza, the West Bank, and inside Israel if its judiciary is less credible and not independent.

Investors, bankers, and financial leaders have expressed concern about how it would affect the economy. Israels influential tech sector staged a work stoppage in protest. Bestselling international writer Yuval Noah Harari, who is a professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, called the governments moves an antidemocratic coup.

But Netanyahu and his partners have condemned the protesters and are standing firm in their conviction. The extreme and dangerous group that organizes [the protests] just wants to burn down the house and create chaos in the country, Netanyahu said.

It should be noted that Netanyahu is on trial for alleged corruption charges that hes denied but that have plagued his political life in recent years. Theres been speculation that those allegations are why hes been pursuing a major overhaul to the Israeli judiciary, with the effect of weakening its independence.

But thats only part of the story.

There are three pillars of his governing coalition Netanyahus conservative Likud party, ultranationalist settlers, and the ultra-Orthodox and they each have something to gain from this massive judicial overhaul. For the first time, they have a complete alignment of interests with no daylight in between, to destroy the judiciary and institutions, for different reasons, Shaul told me. And thats what makes this moment so dangerous.

It would be beneficial for Netanyahus allies in his party for the courts to be disempowered as he tries to wriggle out of longstanding corruption allegations. For the ultranationalist settlers led by Ben Gvir and Smotrich, such judicial changes would open up the opportunity of annexation of the occupied West Bank and other policies that would benefit settlers. And for the ultra-Orthodox supporters, it would perhaps through changing the makeup of key judiciary appointments lessen the Supreme Courts likelihood of ruling that exemptions to the military draft are unconstitutional, among other issues of church and state important to this constituency.

In short, the judicial reforms might be the most incendiary and attention-grabbing of the coalitions proposals at this moment, but theyre in keeping with its broader goals.

The judiciary is only one component of this governments attack on the rule of law.

Netanyahus government is also proposing radical changes to the way the occupation of the West Bank is administered and other legal shifts inside Israel that will severely affect Palestinians.

Theres a ton to keep track of, and not all of it might be implemented, but taken together it represents a shock-doctrine-style approach to transforming the way Israel operates.

An aerial view of burned and destroyed vehicles in the town of Huwara after settlers set houses and cars on fire following the death of two Israelis when their vehicle was fired on at a crossroads south of the Palestinian city of Nablus.

Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images

Israeli diggers demolish a Palestinian familys home, claiming that it was unlicensed, in East Jerusalem on March 6, 2023.

Saeed Qaq/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

One of the most significant changes would be the transfer of military authority over the occupied West Bank to the hands of civilian government. That would in effect constitute the de jure annexation of territory. The Biden administration opposes this, but if there is not an direct condemnation from the United States and Europe, and real consequences for Israel, experts fear that Netanyahus government will move forward.

The governments overt policy is of Jewish supremacy over all the land of Israel, broadly construed, and its nonbinding coalition guidelines seek to entrench annexation without official declaration, according to a policy paper by top Israeli human rights organizations.

Other changes include advancing legislation to give Ben Gvir, who is minister of national security, the authority to intervene in the priorities of investigations of the police. It could lead to further deprioritization of investigations into settler violence, which already receive relatively scant attention from Israeli authorities.

Then theres a new law that would revoke the citizenship of Palestinian citizens of Israel and their families should they be convicted of terrorist charges; theres also the potential reinstatement of the death penalty for those convicted of terrorist offenses.

The government has already approved the construction of more than 7,000 settlement units in the West Bank, almost twice the total approved last year. New policies would further legalize settler outposts. (State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US was deeply troubled by these settlement announcements, but has not outlined any consequences.)

This is in addition to actions that human rights organizations view as collective punishment of Palestinians, like an uptick in Palestinian home demolitions. Every night raid, random checkpoint, and home demolition holds out the potential of further radicalization, as the Israeli occupation hits new levels of violence.

The two revolutions being pursued by the new Israeli government have been enabled by the decay of rule of law inside Israel as a result of the occupation of Palestinian territory that started in 1967.

The parallel legal systems, which Palestinian and Israeli experts call apartheid, have created the conditions whereby its easier for a radical right-wing government to chip away at checks and balances. Indeed, researcher Yousef Munayyer notes, The governments assault on the judiciary is driven by the same urge as the states founders: to protect their power to privilege Jews over Palestinians.

The slippery slope poses a threat to the very tenets of Israeli democracy. The designation of seven Palestinian NGOs that focus on human rights as terrorist groups in 2021 may create conditions for the further crackdown on Israeli civil society. If a Palestinian citizen of Israels citizenship can be revoked, as a new law enshrines, it could lead to laws that institute the same for Jewish citizens of Israel.

One of the most frightening outcomes could be what Shaul calls the nuclear option, whereby Palestinian political parties could be barred from participating in Israeli elections. The Central Elections Committee, for example, has disqualified parties like Balad from participating in Knesset elections, only to then have the Supreme Court override this. But what if there was no override? Balad would not be able to run, and other Palestinian parties in Israel would likely be prohibited, too, or choose not to participate. Then you basically have elections where Palestinian citizens of Israel cannot run or boycott, Shaul told me. Game over, so to speak.

Yet only some protesters have apparently made this connection. As journalist Peter Beinart wrote recently in the New York Times, a movement premised on ethnocracy cannot successfully defend the rule of law.

Netanyahus colleagues are reportedly engaged in secret talks with legal experts toward a compromise on the judicial proposals.

But for now, the protests continue, the violence of the Israeli occupation increases, and the resistance of Palestinians has led CIA Director Bill Burns to warn of a third intifada or uprising. A recent statement put out by Israel, the Palestine Liberation Organization, the United States, Jordan, and Egypt sought to calm tensions, but that very day saw a Palestinian gunman shooting two brothers in the West Bank and a settler rampage against the Palestinian village of Huwara. The diplomatic effort showed how wide the gap is between leadership of these countries and the ever-worsening reality on the ground.

The Biden administration will need to do more than just call for a two-state solution. It will need to do more than offer subtle rebukes while hugging Israel closer with joint statements professing its concern for Israels security. It will need to grapple with the two revolutions underway in Israel.

One thing is clear: Focusing on the judicial aspect and not on the radical changes to the occupation of Palestinians is not just a bad strategic choice. It will also weaken security and stability for all.

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Whats behind the protests in Israel? - Vox.com

Detroit A man from the Adrian area accused of threatening to kill members of state government was indicted Thursday and could face more severe punishment because a federal grand jury alleges he intentionally targeted Jewish politicians.

The indictment of Tipton resident Jack Eugene Carpenter III, 41, was filed eight days after Carpenter was charged in the most recent incident involving alleged extremism targeting public officials and members of the Jewish community. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has said she was among those targeted by Carpenter.

Carpenter was indicted on one count of transmitting an interstate threat, a crime that carries a maximum five-year federal prison sentence. The indictment includes a special finding that Carpenter "intentionally selected Jewish members of the Michigan government as the objects of his threat...because of the actual and perceived religion of those individuals. ..."

Carpenter is being held without bond in the Livingston County Jail. His lawyer Jean Pierre Nogues III did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Hate and bias-related crimes poison our communities and make people afraid simply because of who they are or what they believe, Detroit U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in a statement. We will not tolerate such actions, and we will prosecute those who engage in them to the fullest extent of the law.

There were no public officials identified in the case against Carpenter, but FBI agents found threats on his Twitter account to "carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is jewish (sic) in the Michigan" government, according to the unsealed criminal case. The threats were sent through his Twitter account @tempered_reason, prosecutors allege.

Antisemitic incidents have been on the rise across the country. The Anti-Defamation League noted 257 incidents of white supremacy propaganda in Michigan in 2022, a large increase over the 150 incidents in 2021, according to a Thursday release and interactive map by the ADL.

More:ADL says Michigan ranks 4th in the country for most white supremacist propaganda

The investigation against Carpenter started with a tip in mid-February after the FBI office in Detroit received screenshots from the Twitter account.

The account included tweets declaring the creation of a new sovereign country called "New Israel" was formed on land that included a home in Tipton, about 10 miles north of Adrian in Lenawee County.

The Twitter account was still active Thursday and included a Feb. 17 tweet that accused unidentified Jewish public officials of waging an unlawful war of aggression using a biological weapon against me.

Investigators discovered Carpenter lived at the home and had a valid restraining order against him filed last month and a recent arrest for assault. A review showed Carpenter had three handguns registered to him.

Carpenter also was under investigation by Michigan State Police for stealing a handgun, according to the criminal case. A trooper had learned from Carpenter's mother that Carpenter was returning to Michigan soon and that he was angry. She shared Carpenter's Twitter account and screenshot of a Feb. 18 post.

"I'll be coming back to Michigan, still driving with expired plates," the post reads. "You may want to let everyone know, and Wayne County sheriff (sic) as well, any attempt to subdue me will be met with deadly force in self-defense."

Carpenter's mother told investigators her son had three handguns, a shotgun and two rifles, and was driving a 2015 green Ford Fusion.

On Feb. 18, investigators traced his cell phone to a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas. Jail records show he was held in two facilities late last month after being arrested and detained in Fort Worth.

There have been other cases involving threats targeting public officials in Michigan in recent years.

Seven people have been convicted on state or federal charges related to a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. An eighth person, FBI informant Stephen Robeson, was convicted of a federal gun crime.

rsnell@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @robertsnellnews

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Feds indict Michigan man accused of threatening to kill Jewish ... - Detroit News

A sustained violent attack by hundreds of Jewish settlers on the Palestinian town of Huwwara last week - as well as the response of Israels new far-right government - has divided Jewish opinion in Israel and deeply discomfited Jews abroad.

The Board of Deputies, which claims to represent Britains Jewish community and is usually a reliable defender of Israel, felt compelled last week to issue a short statement condemning comments by a senior Israeli government minister, Bezalel Smotrich, after he called for Huwwara to be wiped out.

Palestinians dont need very belated sympathy from Israel or its supportersthey need genuine solidarity and real international protections

At the weekend, the distinguished British historian Simon Schama described the events in Huwwara as absolutely, utterly horrifying and urged fellow Jews to speak up.

He was joined by Margaret Hodge, a veteran Labour MP who was at the forefront of attacks on the partys previous leader, Jeremy Corbyn, over his activism in solidarity with Palestinians. She said Israel was at a dangerous moment and British Jews could not just stand by.

Even Yehuda Fuchs, the Israeli army commander whose soldiers allowed the settlers to rampage, described the attack as a pogrom, a word with especially troubling connotations for Jews. It is historically associated with massacres and the ethnic cleansing of Jewish communities in eastern Europe that served as a prelude to the Nazi Holocaust.

But Palestinians dont need very belated sympathy from Israel or its supporters, least of all from the Israeli army, any more than they need empty calls for restraint and calm from western capitals.

What they need is genuine solidarity and real international protections, all the more so as the appeal of overt religious fascism sweeps across Israel. Instead, much of the rhetoric in the wake of the attack, even if it is well-meant, misleads far more than it clarifies.

On 26 February, a mob of several hundred settlers stormed Huwwara and spent several hours terrorising the local inhabitants, looting and burning homes and cars.

A Palestinian man was shot dead during the events, and some 100 other Palestinians were injured. Videos show that Israeli soldiers and armed police either stood by or assisted in the settlers attack.

The rampage followed the shooting of two settlers by a Palestinian gunman earlier that day. For many months, there has been growing unrest among Palestinians - both at the continuing failure of their leaders to secure any kind of diplomatic achievement, and at the steady rise in Israeli state and settler violence. Last year was the most deadly for Palestinians in the West Bank for nearly two decades.

Huwwara: A town of olives, gold traders and stolen lands

Huwwara is especially vulnerable. It sits on a major intersection close to the large Palestinian city of Nablus. It is a critical artery for settlers because most traffic, whether Palestinian or Jewish, needs to pass through Huwwara to move between the southern and northern parts of the occupied West Bank.

It was close to this intersection, hours before the attack, that thetwo settler brotherswere killed.

The settlers in this area are among the most extreme and violent in the occupied territories, the kind who vote solidly for the religious fascists who are now key partners in Benjamin Netanyahus government. The Religious Zionism faction, led by Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, emerged from last years general election as the third largest in the parliament.

Nearly 30 years on from the signing of the Oslo Accords, with Israel still refusing to honour a process that was expected to lead to the dismantling of the settlements and Palestinian self-rule, Huwwara has found itself permanently trapped under Israeli military control.

Israeli soldiers are supposed to guarantee the security of the towns Palestinian inhabitants. Instead, like so many other Palestinians in the West Bank, those inhabitants live under a reign of terror from unwelcome Jewish settler neighbours endlessly indulged by the Israeli army.

At the weekend, the United Nations rapporteur for the occupied territories, Francesca Albanese, told the BBC that Israel should be investigated for crimes against the Palestinian people.

Smotrich, Israels finance minister, who has also been awarded unprecedented powers by Netanyahu to run the occupation, responded to the Huwwara attack by urging greater violence. He called for the town to be wiped out.

But he qualified his statement by arguing that it was important the Israeli state organise the violence rather than that it be left to the settler movement he represents.

Heaven forbid it should be done by private individuals, he said. I think the village of Huwwara should be wiped out, but I think the State of Israel should do it.

Israel: Evidence of Bezalel Smotrich's support for genocide is clear. The US must act

His comment did not come out of the blue. Hours before the settlers invasion of Huwwara, Smotrich had called on his own government to abandon discussions with Palestinian officials in Jordan to ease tensions. He demanded instead that Israel attack Palestinian cities mercilessly with tanks and helicopters.

Other legislators in his faction have echoed him. Zvika Fogel, a retired general who was once in charge of Gaza, said in response to the settlers' rampage: Huwwara closed and burned down - thats what I want to see. Last December, he told the UK's Channel 4 News that Israel was too merciful towards Palestinians and it was time for us to stop being so.

Both were giving succour to a familiar slogan against Palestinians shouted out at demonstrations by Israels fascist right: May your village burn.

In any other context, calls by a senior government minister for state-organised violence against civilians because of their ethnic or national status would be clearly understood as genocidal. But, of course, other standards apply to Israel, a key partner for the United States and Europe in projecting western power into the oil-rich Middle East.

Instead, the full significance of Smotrichs threat - given that he and his partner, Ben-Gvir, the police minister, control the means by which such genocidal actions can be undertaken - is not being addressed.

The Biden administration called his remarks irresponsible and repugnant.

The liberal Haaretz newspaper warned only that Smotrich was urging collective punishment of Palestinians, in violation of international law. But collective punishment has been the stock-in-trade of Israeli policy towards Palestinians for decades.

In my view, something far more sinister is going on. Smotrichs comment that it should not fall to individuals to wipe out Palestinian communities - that it was the duty of the state - was directed at his supporters among the fanatical settlers. He was intimating two things to them.

First, he was reminding these religious fascists, the constituency that propelled him into government, that he and Ben-Gvir are now the state - thanks to them. He was not seeking to dissuade the settlers from perpetrating genocidal violence against Palestinians. He was reassuring them that he is there to help.

He and Ben-Gvir now effectively run the occupation. He was telling the settlers they have allies for their genocidal project in the highest places.

But, in my opinion, he was doing something more. He was also reminding them that he and Ben-Gvir are fighting their corner but cannot win the battle alone. They need the settlers to aid them in their struggle against wavering ministerial colleagues, or those in government who might hold back from fear of the international reaction.

Smotrichs remarks were intended not to curb the settlers excesses. He wants them to exert even more pressure on the government to strengthen his hand.

The more effective he is in forcing the state to wipe out places like Huwwara - or help the settlers to do so - the larger his support base will grow, the more he will become a central figure in Israeli politics, and the more his and settlers agenda will become normalised.

And Smotrich knows too that opposition to the settlers genocidal violence may be only skin deep among much of the wider Israeli Jewish public. The dehumanisation of Palestinians and incitement towards violence is standard fare, on both the right and the supposed left.

Smotrich and Ben-Gvir now effectively run the occupation. He was telling the settlers they have allies for their genocidal project in the highest places

Singling him out pretends that more respectable government ministers, even prime ministers, have not been talking and thinking this way for decades.

Generals, senior politicians and rabbis regularly compare Palestinians to cockroaches, snakes, lice and cancer. Settler rabbis have even called for Jews to kill Palestinian babies.

In 2008, Matan Vilnai, an army general who at the time was a Labor deputy defence minister, called for a shoah - the Hebrew word for the Holocaust - against the Palestinians of Gaza.

Ehud Barak, a former Labor prime minister, famously compared Israel to a villa in the jungle, implying that the dangerous creatures outside needed exterminating.

And Netanyahu himself suggested in the 2019 general election that the parties representing Israels large, much-oppressed minority of Palestinians, want to annihilate us all - women, children and men. The implication was clear: Israel had a right to pre-empt such annihilation.

Smotrich knows that most Israeli Jews understand, at least subconsciously, that their self-declared Jewish state was founded by wiping out - literally blowing up and demolishing - many hundreds of communities like Huwwara in 1948. So why not continue that process in the occupied territories? Why not make explicit in the areas occupied in 1967 what was entirely routine in the areas seized in 1948?

While criticism is focused on Smotrich, wider patterns are being ignored. The settlers and army - and behind both, the Israeli state - have been working hand in glove to drive out Palestinians from swaths of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem for more than half a century.

Even the US State Department noted in 2021 that Israeli security forces often failed to prevent settler attacks against Palestinians and that violent settlers were almost never held to account.

It was the army and police that allowed the settlers free reign for their rampage in Huwwara. Those same security forces arrested almost none of the hundreds of pogromists, and released the half a dozen who were arrested almost immediately.

It is not as though the Israeli state is incapable of dealing with Israeli Jews - let alone Palestinians asserting their rights - when it wishes to.

The same army and police that stood by, or assisted, as the settlers attacked Huwwara proved quite capable on Friday last week of sealing off the town from a convoy of Israeli human rights activists trying to pay a solidarity visit. It did so even as settlers continued to drive through the Palestinian community.

And unlike their hands-off approach with the settlers, the army was ready to beat and fire stun grenades at the solidarity activists.

Similarly, the security forces presented an iron fist at the weekend towards Israelis who protested against the settler takeover of Palestinian homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and peaceful anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv, who were charged by police on horseback and had water cannon used against them.

Ben-Gvir ordered the police to show zero tolerance in Tel Aviv, as he turned a blind eye in Huwwara. The minister whose police force could not foresee an entirely predictable pogrom by the settlers warned darkly on Monday that the Israeli left was "planning the next murder, supposedly of Netanyahu and his wife, Sara.

The difference in treatment was not lost on the demonstrators in Tel Aviv, who called out to the security forces: Where were you in Huwwara?

The reality is that Smotrichs comment was reckless, coarse and undiplomatic. But outrage at his and Ben-Gvirs rhetoric is now serving chiefly as a comfort blanket for those who have always supported Israel as a Jewish supremacist state.

Smotrichs biggest offence is not that he called for the destruction of Huwwara, or even that he fuels the crimes committed by his fascist settlers' allies. It is that he highlights a little too clearly what has been going on for more than five decades in the occupied territories - and before it, inside Israel.

His crime is offering the unvarnished truth. His transgression is to be seeking to intensify and speed up a state policy of violence and ethnic cleansing that has until now been conducted a little more discreetly and incrementally - a policy of creeping annexation that dates back to the Labor politicians and generals Moshe Dayan and Yigal Allon.

How Ben-Gvir blows apart the security story of Israels occupation

Before the Board of Deputies issued its denunciation of Smotrichs remarks, it issued a much more typical statement as the settlers unleashed their violence on Huwwara. This earlier statement not only tied the rampage against the Palestinian community, backed by the Israeli security forces, with the earlier killing of the two settler brothers, it implied that the attack was a form of retaliation - or, in the settlers parlance, a price tag.

Had a critic of Israel done something similar but the other way around, the board would have lost no time in suggesting that such linkage served to minimise or excuse Palestinian violence.

But has this not been the strategy of Israels apologists from the outset. Any crime, any outrage by Israel can be justified because the Palestinians started it, or because they dont listen to reason, or because they want to drive Jews into the sea.

The excuses have been interminable. And now, with religious fascism at the heart of the Netanyahu government, still they come. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir have become the excuse. They are the problem. They are the cause of Israels woes. It is yet more self-delusion and misdirection.

Israel was founded as a Jewish supremacist state and it continues along that path, growing more confident, and less ready to compromise, with every passing year.

All the signs are that Israels defenders in the West will continue to stand by as Palestinians suffer, as they are denied statehood and stripped of their dignity. The clamour will grow, but only for Smotrich and Ben-Gvir to stop disturbing these apologists slumber as the embers burn.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye

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It's not just the settlers - or Israel - responsible for the torching of ... - Middle East Eye

A British peer in the House of Lords has accused the UK government of effectively boycotting an Israeli minister after the British foreign secretary said he had no plans to work with far-right figure Itamar Ben Gvir.

Speaking on Tuesday during a debate in the lower chamber about a recent escalation in tensions in Israel and Palestine, Lord Stuart Polak commented on a letter UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly wrote last month.

The UK government has not engaged Itamar Ben-Gvir in his role as minister of national security, and we have no current plans to do so, Cleverly wrote to the Council for Arab-British Understanding on 24 February.

It is not about whether one agrees with minister Ben-Gvir, said Polak.

We work with all elected Israeli politicians, and we must be very careful not to go down a route of suggesting that our support for Israel is somehow conditional on any individual politician.

Could we be holding Israel to a different standard from other countries? he asked.

Ben-Gvir has been convicted in Israel of incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organisation.

As the current national security minister, he has oversight of the police and the force that controls security at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

It seems that we are fine working with Prime Minister [Giorgia] Melonis extreme right-wing Italian government and with some kleptocracies and dictatorships, but working with elected officials who could be tried and found guilty in democratic Israel is somehow not fine, said Polak, who was director of the Conservative Friends of Israel for 26 years.

Last month, a former confidante of Ben-Gvir said the far-right leader took him as a teenager to raid a UN base and paid other minors to vandalise Palestinian property more than 20 years ago.

In an interview with the New Yorker published on Monday, Gilad Sade said Ben-Gvir drove him to a UN base in occupied East Jerusalem in 2001, provided him with a wire cutter, and showed him where to breach the fence.

The minister denies the accusations.

Ben Gvir, Smotrich, and the end of the peace process

In the 1990s and early 2000, Ben-Gvir was a student and disciple of Rabbi Meir Kahane, an Israeli Jewish supremacist rabbi who inspired deadly attacks against Palestinians.

Kahane founded the Kach party in 1971 and was elected to parliament in 1984, where he publicly advocated the mass expulsion of Palestinians.

He was killed in New York in 1990.

Aged 16, Ben-Gvir joined Kach as an activist before it was designated a terror group by the US and banned in Israel in 1994 after a Kach member killed 29 Palestinian worshippers and wounded dozens in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.

Ben-Gvir, now aged 46, has been convicted on eight charges, including for his support of Kach and incitement to racism.

Last year, he attended a memorial honouring Kahane saying he believed he was all about "love".

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Fox News host Mark Levin called out the Democratic Party for "tolerating" anti-Semitism Sunday on "Life Liberty & Levin."

He highlighted an event led by Louis Farrakhan, who used his speech to attack the Jewish people.

" Jewish power has all of our people the knowledge, wisdom, and talent afraid. But just look at what these people control. And every door that leads to power, they have a sentinel on watch. Somebody has to take on the synagogue of Satan. And here we are. What good is your vote if the man you voted for has to go to somebody that you never elected? Behind the door to get instructions. And the Jews have become wealthy just by loaning money, charging you interest and the stranglehold the Jews have on this government," Farrakhan said at the Saviors Day event.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 16: Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan delivers a speech and talks about U.S. President Donald Trump, at the Watergate Hotel, on November 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. This is the first time that Minister Farrakhan will speak directly to the 45th President of the United States and will address "issues of importance regarding Americas domestic challenges, her place on the world stage and her future." (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Levin said he wanted to highlight the remarks because Farrakhan has a "significant impact" on the Democratic Party.

WHO IS LOUIS FARRAKHAN? WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE CONTROVERSIAL NATION OF ISLAM LEADER

"Is there a reason Joe Biden didn't condemn this? Is the reason Kamala Harris didn't condemn this? Is a reason why nobody at the White House has mentioned it? Is there a reason why the Washington press corps blows this off? Yeah, there are reasons for this," he said. Levin highlighted how Farrakhan was invited to the Congressional Black Caucus for lunch on Capitol Hill.

"Why did they invite this man? Because the Democrat Party has a problem," the host argued.

He read part of an article from Kevin Williamson at the National Review, who argued Democrats have a "minor socialist problem."

"They have a major problem in the form of Jew-hating weirdos. Prominent among them, the Reverend Louis Farrakhan of the so-called Nation of Islam. Farrakhan has been out and proud, Jew-hating weirdo for many decades. But Democrats still feel the need to make gestures of obeisance before him. Anti-Trump leaders such as Tamika Mallory or Linda Sarsour of the Women's March, have embraced Farrakhan and courted his favor. Barack Obama came a-calling in 2005 when he was ramping up his political career. The Congressional Black Caucus has consulted him. Bill Clinton stood alongside him at Aretha Franklin's funeral, implicitly elevating the cult leader. California Democrats Barbara Lee, now wants to be a senator, and Maxine Waters attended Farrakhan's public events, and Obama administration veteran, Eric Holder, posed for a picture with him," Williamson wrote.

"Farrakhan is an anti-Semite. About that there is no real debate. Eric Holder. Maxine Waters. Others who confer status and influence on Farrakhan and his gang. Maybe they aren't anti-Semitic. They certainly are collaborators."

WHITE HOUSE DENOUNCES DC OFFICIAL'S PRAISE OF ANTISEMITE LOUIS FARRAKHAN

Levin continued, highlighting how progressive members of the Democratic Party today continue to spread anti-Semitic remarks.

According to one Israeli commentator, Israelis view the Democrat party through the lens of the Squad

"Newly elected representative Ilhan Omar apparently cannot open her mouth without letting out an anti-Semitic libel accusing Jews of being unpatriotic. The dual loyalty canard and bribing US political leaders into supporting Israel. The Jews, she insists, push for allegiance to a foreign country. Representative Rashida Tlaib has similar problems and turns out to have been a contributor to one of Farrakhan's batty publications," Williamson wrote. "Members of the Democratic Socialists of America, Representative Ocasio-Cortez is a member, recently chanted eliminationist slogans calling for the liquidation of the Jewish state."

Levin said the left would rather call former President Trump a White supremacist than address its own history of anti-Semitism.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"This effort to try and turn conservatism into the KKK, into neo-Nazi ism is really amazing, especially considering the history of the Democrat Party and its embrace of the KKK and slavery and segregation and Jim Crow. Despite its history of filibustering the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, despite its current president, Joe Biden being a racist and segregationist early in his career opposing public school integration, calling it a jungle," he said.

Levin added that anti-semitism is spreading, and it's becoming "very, very ugly." "The President of the United States is saying almost nothing about any of this. The Democrat leadership is tolerating anti-Semitism."

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Mark Levin calls out the Democratic Party for 'tolerating' anti-Semitisim - Fox News

(March 14, 2023 / JNS) When Jeff Schoep, former head of the violently antisemitic National Socialist Movement, speaks at a private Highland Park, Ill., residence on March 14, he intends to cite his life as a cautionary tale for those seeking meaning by joining white supremacist groups.

A common misconception is that someone joins neo-Nazi organizations in order to be evil, Schoep told JNS. This may be true for a small minority of people who are sociopaths who join. But for most people, it is like joining a cult, where you do evil things and not realize that what you are doing is evil.

Once known as Americas most notorious neo-Nazi, Schoepwhose talk is sponsored by the Simon Wiesenthal Centershared with JNS the radicalization process that brought him to embrace a life of extremism and antisemitism.

I started at a young age, he said. My grandfather and great-uncle fought in the German army during the Second World War, and my initial fascination with that side of my family history put me on the path.

Schoep borrowed World War II history books from his elementary-school library; at the age of 21, he joined the National Socialist Movement in 1992. He took on a leadership role two years later.

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Several factors led him to renounce neo-Nazism. He noted that it took allowing himself to empathize with minority groups and the pain that his actions were causing to see the error in his ways.

I thought I was helping my people, he said of white Americans. But when you join with one of these neo-Nazi organizations, you are forfeiting your humanity. When I saw how my racism and hatred was causing so much pain, that really was the final straw.

With academics, professionals and other ex-extremist leaders, Schoep founded the nonprofit Beyond Barriers to deradicalize those who adopt extremist or violent ideologies. A proven method for deradicalizing neo-Nazis is showing them how much they harmed victims.

The primary objective of our organization is to raise awareness of how radicalization takes place in order to stop it, he said. We also coordinate with law enforcement so that police officers are aware of what is going on and will be able to stay safe.

After founding Beyond Barriers, Schoep heard from African-American musician and activist Daryl Davis and Norwegian film director Deeyah Khan, who wanted to interview him for separate films each was producing. In his discussions with the two, he came to understand the extent of the harm he had caused.

The underground world of hate and antisemitism

Liram Koblentz-Stenzler, a senior researcher and head of the global far-right extremism desk at Israels International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, told JNS that radicalization occurs in stages. She said that a model that the New York City Police Department usespre-radicalization, self-identification, indoctrination and then violenceuses with respect to jihadists is the most effective explanation.

It is very tough to talk to someone who is already fully radicalized, said Koblentz-Stenzler. Thats why it is very important to identify someone before they reach the third step because by then its very hard for them to quit.

Koblentz-Stenzler thinks it is noteworthy that Schoep was able to deradicalize himself after two decades of being a full-fledged neo-Nazi. That is very rare, she said.

Schoep when he was active with the violent, antisemitic National Socialist Movement. Credit: Courtesy.

Chicago police officers Roger Heath and Michael Spechtboth of the citys 24th district and both of whom workwith Chicagos Orthodox Jewish communitiesdescribed the work that Schoep and Beyond Barriers does to monitor neo-Nazi elements on the dark web as instrumental.

Alison Pure-Slovin, Midwest director at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, introduced the officers to Schoep. During the Day of Hate, Beyond Barriers helped us understand what it was all about and the underground world of neo-Nazi hate and antisemitism, Heath told JNS.

Heath and Specht speculate that notices the Chicago Police Department released that day may have put neo-Nazi groups on notice that law enforcement was watching them and served a preventative role.

Heath thinks Schoeps journey from neo-Nazi to anti-racist activist can inspire others. To me, it was an amazing story, he said. It serves as proof that people can change.

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Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood delivered a strong message to the people responsible for recent antisemitic acts across the county.

FLORIDA - A Central Florida Sheriff took to Facebook to respond to "white supremacists" who have reportedly been passing around flyers touting the elected official as a cross-dresser.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood responded to the flyers of the "Cross Dressing Sheriff" explaining his longtime participation in the Daytona Beach Realtors Bratini fundraiser which helps to raise money for people battling breast cancer.

In a Facebook post, Sheriff Chitwood said:

"These 'master race' white supremacist morons keep dropping flyers of the 'Cross Dressing Sheriff' like its going to hurt my feelings or turn people against me. Hey losers, here are a few more photos you can use."

Sheriff Chitwood goes on to explain that the group has raised tens of thousands of dollars for people with breast cancer.

Central Florida has seen an influx in recent weeks of antisemitism flyers being passed around several counties. During the Daytona 500, police officers in Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach denounced the anti-Semitic propaganda that was passed out over the weekend.

Officers said the group known as "First Amendment Auditors" came into town displaying anti-semitic messages from the top of the pedestrian bridge on Speedway. Police believe they were trying to bait the officers into violating their rights in hopes of acquiring justification for a lawsuit against the department.

On Feb. 27, Sheriff Chitwood held a press conference condemning recent hate speech and harassment targeting Jewish people in Volusia County and Central Florida.

The Sheriff called the meeting following a series of incidents involving the white supremacist neo-Nazi hate group Goyim Defense League ("GDL"), which recently dropped explicit hate propaganda in area neighborhoods and parking lots, draped banners across International Speedway Boulevard, and projected messages onto Daytona International Speedway. The group also recently used megaphones to shout hate speech and terrorize people outside the Chabad of South Orlando.

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Florida sheriff blasts 'white supremacist morons' for passing out flyers of him in a bra - FOX 35 Orlando

Settlers on Monday wounded five Palestinians in a new attack on Hawara, only a week after their deadly rampage through the town. Israeli soldiers were even filmed dancing with the settlers as they together celebrated Purim, the Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from annihilation. This is the latest in a series of atrocities that have been conducted against Palestinians since the most right-wing government the country has ever known came to power at the end of last year.

Benjamin Netanyahus government is becoming vocal in its persecution of Palestinians. There has been a lot of controversy around Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, who called for Hawara to be wiped out. He is due to visit the US in the coming days. More and more voices are calling for him to be barred from entering the country. Though Smotrich tried to excuse himself by saying it was a slip of tongue, such slips usually reveal the real intentions of the person.

Netanyahu is trying to keep the balance between pleasing his racist allies and appeasing the international community. However, the truth is so obvious, not only regarding the treatment of the Palestinians, but also when it comes to respecting any democratic norms. The governments judicial overhaul is a clear manipulation and distortion of the law to suit the interests of Netanyahu. Is that not what happens in autocratic countries? Isnt democracy the main reason why the US supports Israel? It is its supposed shared democratic values that make Israel so special and so similar to the US.

However, Israel is showing that its democratic narrative does not match its daily reality, which is becoming increasingly racist. If we rewind, a major reason why the US has no credibility in the Arab and Islamic worlds is because of its biased attitude, its favoritism. Israel is treated on a different scale to everyone else.

CNNs ChristianeAmanpour, while interviewing Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian last week, tried to get from her guest an answer on what his own female family members think about the protests in Iran and whether they think women should have the freedom to wear the hijab or not. Amir-Abdollahian intelligently diverted the conversation by asking Amanpour if the US defended Shireen Abu Akleh, her fellow journalist, woman and Christian. He asked her if a UN resolution similar to the one issued against Iran was issued against Israel. Amanpour could not give him an answer. Why was Israel allowed to act with impunity? Why were Abu Aklehs killers not brought to justice?

Israel is showing that its democratic narrative does not match its daily reality, which is becoming increasingly racist

Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib

No Israel advocate can defend the current government and say it is being democratic. No one can defend the demolition of homes or the pogroms like the one conducted in Hawara. If anything, the incident in Hawara reminds us of the antisemitic actions in Europe ahead of the Second World War. Israel has been able to act with impunity because it benefits from the muscle of the US in the UN Security Council. Washington has consistently vetoed any resolution aimed at containing Israels unbridled behavior. The only exception was during the presidency of Barack Obama. Toward the end of his second term, the US did not veto a resolution condemning the illegal settlements. He took this step as he was exiting the White House and knew that the pro-Israel lobby could not go after him.

However, Israel is now becoming an embarrassment to its own supporters. The racist, Jewish supremacist ministers who are openly calling for Palestinians to be kicked out of their homes feel empowered. They know that, without them, Netanyahu would go to prison. They are no longer shy about showing their true colors. They are vocal about their real intentions. How can the US continue to justify its unconditional support for Israel? How can it veto any action in the UNSC?

The UAE last month decided against putting a draft resolution on Israels settlement expansion plans to a vote. Instead, the UNSC issued a useless statement. We do not know what the inner workings were that led to this move, but it would have obviously been very embarrassing for the US to have to use its veto to defend Israel, especially as Russia is being criticized for using its veto power to block any resolution condemning its actions in Ukraine. Instead, the US has been going to the General Assembly to pass resolutions against Russia because Moscow can paralyze the Security Council. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, unlike those of the UNSC.

More and more, the US use of its veto to defend the indefensible is looking like an abuse of power, very much similar to what Russia is doing to defend its invasion of Ukraine. Is the US getting a taste of its own medicine? It seems like it. No matter how you look at it, the US is getting squeezed into a tighter and tighter corner and its unconditional defense of Israel is becoming ever more difficult to justify.

Israels far-right fanatics are experiencing what we call the arrogance of power. They do not feel they have to abide by anything except their blind racism and hatred of the Palestinians. However, the far right does not realize one important thing: The more it shows power, the more it is, in fact, losing power because it will be losing support. Losing the support of American Jewry is not an issue that the likes of Itamar Ben-Gvir and Smotrich should take lightly.

The first step for the US to save its credibility not only in front of the Arab and Islamic worlds but in front of its own audience, the American people should be to deny the racist minister a visa to enter the country. The second step should be to stop using the veto to block any resolution condemning the illegal settlements. These steps would not only save Americas reputation, they would also save Israel from a third intifada.

The racist measures taken by the Netanyahu government will not allow Israel to get rid of Palestinians, but they will likely push the Palestinians to conduct a third intifada. Would Netanyahu want that? Would the US want that? Surely not. This is the time for the US to show Israel some tough love.

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Time for the US to show Israel some tough love by barring Bezalel ... - Arab News

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White supremacists passed out more propaganda than ever in 2022: Thats according to a new Anti-Defamation League report out this morning. The group found 6,751 incidents of white supremacist propaganda, a 38% increase from the previous year and the highest number since the ADL began tracking it. Among those propaganda incidents, according to the ADL, 852 about 13% were antisemitic, more than double the number in 2021. Carla Hill of the ADL said a a small number of people were responsible for large numbers of incidents, adding: One person can literally make a town feel like its inundated with antisemites. Read the story

Conservative movement finds highly sexualized culture in youth programming: The group released a report Wednesday identifying 40 victims of sexual abuse or misconduct over more than seven decades. No adult accused in the report is currently associated with the movement. We are heartbroken by these accounts, said Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, CEO of the movements umbrella groups for both synagogues and rabbis, and feel deep sorrow that any individual may have suffered. Read the story

Why does this logo for Israels 75th anniversary look like a Philadelphia 76ers knockoff? The two designs share a color scheme, a nearly identical font for the numbers and who knows perhaps even a geographic brotherhood. Im glad youre noticing the logo, Herbert Block of the American Zionist Movement, told our sports reporter, Louis Keene. Maybe people will celebrate more in Philadelphia, because of the logo. Read the story

A Purim costume spoofing police brutality triggers concerns about racism and insensitivity: The photo of two girls dressed as cop and prisoner posted to the Instagram account @OnlySimchas received nearly 300 likes Wednesday before it was taken down amid complaints. Some commenters noted previous costume controversies like a 2021 incident in which Haredi Jews in in Lakewood, New Jersey, wore blackface, wigs and Black Lives Matter sweatshirts. And this was not the only dicey costume on the OnlySimchas page this Purim another post featured someone dressed as the QAnon Shaman from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, complete with white supremacist symbols. Read the story

Doug Mastriano, a Pennsylvania Republican, with his wife, Rebecca. (Getty)

Chaim Topol, left, and director Norman Jewison on the set of the film version of Fiddler on the Roof. (Zeitgeist Films)

Chaim Topol, the star of Fiddler on the Roof on screen and stage, died at 87. Topol, an Israeli native, won two Golden Globe awards and was nominated for both the Tony Award and a best actor Oscar, for playing Tevye and for his leading role in the film Sallah Shabati. His death was announced this morning by President Isaac Herzog of Israel. Once described by the Jerusalem Postas Israels most famous export since the Jaffa orange, Topol was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize in 2015. In his later years, he was chairman of the board of Jordan River Village, a camp serving children with life-threatening diseases. Read his obituary from our partners at Haaretz

Lea Szlanger, a Yiddish actress and former radio correspondent for the Forward, died at 91. She reported on various topics in Jewish culture, and made aliyah from Poland in 1957. Rukhl Schaechter, our Yiddish editor, penned an obituary in Yiddish.

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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Protesters in Tel Aviv faced off against mounted police on Thursday. (Getty)

A planned Day of Resistance is underway Thursday in Israel as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets to protest what they called the governments plan to neuter the judicial system. A convoy of cars blocked roads around Ben Gurion International Airport, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was departing for an official trip to Italy. (Times of Israel)

An Israeli translator turned down a request to join Netanyahu on the trip. His leadership is extremely dangerous to democracy, she wrote on Facebook. If I agree to cooperate in translating his remarks, my children wont forgive me. (Times of Israel)

The New York Times was driving a lot of conversation Wednesday with a lengthy article exploring how the current upheaval in Israel is splitting American Jewry like never before. American Jewish leaders now have no choice but to choose sides, OpEd columnist Tom Friedman, a former Jerusalem bureau chief of The Times and author of From Beirut to Jerusalem, wrote in a separate piece. The sound you hear is the start of a huge paradigm shift. (News article, Friedman column)

The man charged with shooting blanks inside a San Francisco Jewish center last month told the police the attack was his way of praying for a friends bird, according to court testimony this week. He also said he lives on a submarine and regularly talks with North Korean dictators. The suspects mother says he has Jewish heritage. (San Francisco Standard, J. The Jewish News of Northern California)

Four states have presidential primaries that coincide with the first day of Passover next year. Lawmakers in two of them Pennsylvania and Maryland have already introduced legislation to change the dates. The other two states are Rhode Island and Delaware. (JTA)

Republican lawmakers in Florida are pushing legislation to require that speakers representing multiple, divergent and opposing viewpoints appear on college campuses. Which could lead to some unintended consequences. Some speakers might be speaking out against antisemitism, noted state Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from Orlando. Are we then forcing universities to identify someone who is an antisemite to speak to a college campus? (Florida Politics)

And speaking of college campuses, George Washington Universitys student council established an antisemitism task force this week. The school has been condemned as a hotspot for antisemitism and anti-Zionisim. Our Arno Rosenfeld spent a year talking to Jewish student leaders on campus about what its really like. (Algemeiner, Forward)

What else were reading Orthodox NBA prospect Ryan Turell returned to New York for a game on Purim In North Idaho, religious and secular activists work to fight Christian nationalism Landlord becomes legal guardian of 93-year-old Holocaust survivor after saving her life.

President Jimmy Carter and Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the White House in March, 1979. (Robert A. Cumins)

On this day in history (1992): Menachem Begin, the sixth Prime Minister of Israel, and founder of Israels Likud party, died at 78. Begin survived the Holocaust and escaped to the Soviet Union, only to endure years in a Soviet Gulag. As prime minister, he oversaw the crafting of a landmark peace treaty with Egypt, which earned him the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. Writing for the Forward in 2021, PJ Grisar noted that with the rise of Israeli nationalism and the historic Abraham Accords, Begins ideas survive him both in war and peace but there will never be another leader like him. And our editor-in-chief wrote a column about Upheaval, a Begin documentary released in 2021 that revealed a lot about the man via his wife.

Also on this day, in 1959, Barbie made her debut at the International Toy Fair in New York. The doll itself looked pretty goyish, even if her namesake wasnt, PJ wrote in an appreciation when she turned 62.

Last year on this day, I eulogized Charles Edward Entenmann, who helped turn his familys New York bakery into a national brand (and my childhood sweet).

More than a dozen Israeli women dressed as characters from A Handmaids Tale marched Wednesday evening in front of the offices of the Tikvah foundation on Manhattans Upper East Side. The organization backs the principles of the Israeli governments judicial overhaul plan, which the women and a broader protest movement see as undermining core democratic principles of the Jewish state. Staged on International Womens Day, the march is part of a worldwide trend of protesters donning the red cloaks and white hats from the dystopian show.

Rep. Kathy Manning at the Jewish Women in Congress reception Wednesday night. (Courtesy NCJW)

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Elissa Slotkin were among the speakers at a reception honoring Jewish women in Congress. Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. antisemitism envoy, also made an appearance.

Rep. Kathy Manning, a Michigan Democrat, said that she will work with Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, to improve data collection about antisemitic incidents on college campuses and elsewhere. It is the obligation of the government, not the Jewish community, to combat antisemitism, she said, adding that most of our students do not go to college to be warriors.

Thanks to Laura E. Adkins, Nora Berman, Zach Golden, Jacob Kornbluh, Tani Levitt, Matthew Litman, Lauren Markoe, Arno Rosenfeld, Jodi Rudoren and Talya Zax for contributing to todays newsletter. You can reach the Forwarding team at editorial@forward.com.

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Fiddler star Topol dies + Conservative movement finds highly sexualized culture in youth groups - Forward

Michael Goldberg| Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. A Mississippi man who burned a cross in his front yard to intimidate his Black neighbors was sentenced Thursday to 42 months in prison.

U.S. Southern District of Mississippi Judge Sul Ozerden handed down the sentence after Axel Cox, 24,pleaded guilty to a federal hate crimein December.

Cox, of Gulfport, was charged with violating the Fair Housing Act over a December 2020 incident in which he put together a wooden cross in his front yard and propped it up so his Black neighbors could see it. He then doused it with motor oil and lit it on fire. He also addressed the family with racially derogatory language, records say.

This cross burning was an abhorrent act that used a traditional symbol of hatred and violence to stoke fear and drive a Black family out of their home, said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division.

Clarke added, While one might think cross-burnings and white supremacist threats and violence are things of the past, the unfortunate reality is that these incidents continue today."

The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groupshistorically practiced cross burningsto intimidate Black and Jewish people.

Agrand jury indictedCox in September 2022. His attorney, Jim Davis, filed a notice of intent for him to plead guilty to the cross burning in November. Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Davis told theBiloxi Sun Heraldthat Cox was reacting to his neighbors allegedly shooting and killing his dog. He added that his client acted totally inappropriately.

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Mississippi man sentenced to 42 months in prison for cross burning - Hattiesburg American