We are absolutely not talking about the 'average believer,' but we can't pretend that Muslims are not an important part of the puzzle, just as we can't pretend our own people aren't a part of the puzzle when it comes to, say, kahanist violence. Individuals – disaffected, unstable, generally troubled individuals – may be responsible, but it is disingenuous at best to pretend that individuals are not products of communities. What is simply not talked about enough, however, is the fact that French domestic policy, which punishes its Muslim citizens (and in some cases its Jewish citizens as well), and foreign policy, which meddles in its former colonies, creates the perfect environment from which disaffected, radicalized muslims emerge to kill Jews. Knowingly or not, in classic antisemitic fashion, the French government is using our cousins in France as a buffer for the rage of its disenfranchised citizens.
Antisemitism is a dance with a leader and a follower, both of whom step on Jews.
Yes, it's about French Muslims. It's also about a French nativist government, nostalgic for empire, that squeezes French Muslims at home while pretending to care about antisemitism, turning French Jews into an easy target for the disaffected and radicalized. It's a two-for-one deal that is successfully forcing Jews out of the country and keeps gentile French North Africans and Middle Easterners as a source of cheap labor. Marine and Jean-Marie Le Pen are laughing all the way to the polls.
It is a disgusting irony that these nations – with a past and present of bloody imperialism; which cleansed themselves of Jews; some of which were instrumental in the creation of Israel; which have for years provided funding, technology and materiel to the Israeli state and military; which profit off of trade with Israel; which are complicit in creating the conditions in Israel and Palestine today, and are complicit in the violence in Israel and Palestine today – think they are in a position to single out Israel for criticism. It's almost as if they want to use Jews to avoid confronting their own egregious abuses of power.
We need a just JDL. This is not that JDL.
Terrorists. The JDL are murderers, and they cannot be depended upon to defend all Jews. I'll put my life and limb on the line to stand in solidarity with any Jew to defend Jewish life and property on the day anti-Israel demonstrators in America start assaulting synagogues. Will the JDL defend my family's Reform Synagogue? The Recon congregations to which members of my family and friends belong? Can the JDL be depended upon to set politics and denomination aside to protect ALL Jews? No. They are a self-serving organization and a shameful presence in our communities. By legitimizing terrorists in our communities we are telling our enemies that terrorism is a legitimate tactic, and invite more severe violence upon ourselves while losing the ability to hold the defenders of terrorists accountable in the court of public opinion. It is just that we defend ourselves, but the mantle of the JDL must be removed.
Are you kidding? The Jewish men engaged in violence with demonstrators are the JDL! A terrorist organization! I can absolutely understand why Jews in France would turn to their local JDL, but the presence and legitimization of the JDL gives our enemies license to damn us for defending ourselves, and provides material evidence with which they might sway the ignorant. We are absolutely justified in defending our synagogues and places of worship with force when we are threatened with force, but we cannot do it under the auspices of a terrorist organization like the JDL!
Actually, metzitzah b'peh is really uncommon.
Hate speech is not protected by the first amendment. That this is being recognized and treated as hate speech is a good thing.
As an aside, it is entirely possible to speak out against terrorism carried out by Islamic fundamentalists without resorting to hate speech that libels all Muslims.
If you labor under the belief that any Jewish law or ritual sanctions or involves sex with a child, you will find good company on Stormfront.
Metzitzah b'peh does not have and has never had a sexual connotation in Jewish culture. It simply is not a sexual act, as shocking as it might look to those who have never encountered the practice. It is no more sexual than when a doctor inspects someone's genitalia during a physical. To compare it (or any bris) with sexual assault is a wild misrepresentation, and yes, deeply antisemitic.
![[Avatar]](/images/avatar26.png){kind=avatar}
Medley