(Michael Ledigin, 36, was one of those killed in the latest Islamic terror attack.)
In the latest Islamic terrorist attack, three Jews were murdered in Israel. Three others were wounded. Two were fathers and another a grandfather.
The response from the organizational American Jewish establishment were typically muted with pro-forma condemnations that lacked the intensity of outrage over the recent wave of cultural antisemitism from black celebrities.
Why is that?
As I recently wrote, “American Jewish organizational leadership remained rooted in overlooking violent threats against other Jews while fighting social threats against themselves.”
“Social antisemitism, especially when it touches the cultural demographic likely to run and donate to Jewish establishment groups takes precedence over existential threats to Jews in other countries, from Europe to Israel, and Jews in America, like Chassidim, Russian or Middle Eastern Jews, who are culturally different from them. That’s why the murder of millions of Jews in Europe or the daily attacks on Jews in Israel don’t stir up nearly as much outrage as cultural outrage over political incorrectness.”
“American liberal Jews of the leadership class remain highly attuned to social signals that antisemitism is becoming acceptable. Signals of this kind lead to a five-alarm fire reaction even as far more worrying trends in society are ignored. A celebrity saying something antisemitic is treated as a more urgent problem than a political party slowly becoming antisemitic without saying anything overtly offensive.”
It’s not that social and cultural antisemitic messages don’t matter. They do. But it’s hard to defend an establishment that shrugs off the murder of Jews as routine while getting deeply involved in pop culture antisemitism.
Tamir Avihay, 50, from Kiryat Netafim, Michael Ledigin, 36, from Bat Yam, and Moti Ashkenazi, 59, from Yavne were named as two of the three victims in the Ariel terror attack on Tuesday.
Avihay was a father to six children ranging from the age of 12 to 29, he had five daughters and one son.
“Our father was a joyful man,” said Avihay’s daughters Liron and Shirel, adding that they are grateful to the soldier who shot the terrorist.
Ledigin made aliyah five years ago and some of his family still lives in Russia. He was the father of two kids aged seven and 12.
“I’m in shock, I still cannot believe he’s gone,” his wife told Kan.
Ashkenazi was a father of three and grandfather of two from Yavne. “Motti was a loving person full of joy for life, an exemplary husband and a family man with a huge soul who always loved to help everyone,” said his family. “He loved life and used every moment to wrap his family in warmth and love. This is a great loss for all of us and everyone who knew him.”
The Biden administration has restarted funding to the “Palestinian” terrorist pipeline responsible for this. His ambassador has expressed sympathy for the deaths while failing to condemn the terrorists.
Meanwhile, many of these same liberal Jewish organizations will condemn and attack Israelis for voting for a conservative government more willing to fight Islamic terrorism.
At what point do Abbas and Hamas leadership pay a persona price?
Leftist Jews and their organizations (like the ADL) loyalties are to their political ideologies not their fellow Jews. Leftism is their new religion.
This has been getting increasingly clear for decades in America.
Jews in America who are truly interested in protecting Jews around the world need to form their own organizations that put Jewish lives ahead of left wing politics.
The answer to Daniel’s rhetorical question is that, sadly, decades of Arab Muslims’ propaganda efforts in the west have paid undeniable and concrete dividends. The narrative of alleged Arab Muslim “brown” “Palestinian” victimhood at the hands of the alleged “colonial,” “occupier,” “white” Israeli Jews — however fallacious, historically and factually dishonest and contrived — is now considered to be holy writ, an inviolable article of faith, among European dhimmi Leftists and American Dhimmi-crats. Victim/oppressor narratives are simply catnip for Dhimmi-crats and Leftists, no matter how brazenly and intrinsically dishonest.
And, once this evil and contemptible propaganda narrative takes root, it is entirely predictable that the murder of Jews by Arab Muslim terrorist thugs is rationalized as an allegedly legitimate, laudable and morally acceptable response to the alleged theft of land by Jews who’ve been living in the middle east for millennia before the founding of the supremacist, totalitarian and belligerent ideology of “Submission.”
Excellent comment,and completely accurate, begs the Question; why do Israel and Jewish not do more to fight this Information War that we have been losing for Years.
Lies should be confronted immediately and forcefully; Funding and Coordination are needed.
There are efforts and organizations that say they fight this but they seem to not make a huge change happen. They get one apology or one correction at a time, when they even get that.
I am sometimes surprised the Biden admin didn’t target Jews openly and specifically but settled for the just about non existent “white supremacist” and “domestic terrorist” labels. I cant help thinking they’d love to if it would fly.
And that reflects my very low opinion of them.
Well, as an American Jew living in Israel, I do feel targeted by the dems. They don’t seem to realize a great number of us stlll vote in US elections. But worse, it is G-d who they are actually attacking, and His pushback will not be pleasant.
The American Jewish leadership has sacrificed support of Israel in a zeal to look as woke as possible. The Orthodox communal leadership remains strongly committed to Israel but should be more vocal .