SOME STUFF ON ANTI-SEMITISM

A SOBERING FILM

http://www.twocatstv.com/movies/antisemitism21st.mov

ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE 21st CENTURY:
THE RESURGENCE

Premiered on PBS, Monday, January 8, 2007
10:00-11:00PM EST


New York, December 12, 2006 - Today, many parts of the world are experiencing a

massive resurgence of anti-Semitism - from hate propaganda, to vandalism, to

violent attacks on Jews themselves. Worldwide, since the year 2000, major

violent acts against Jews and Jewish institutions have nearly doubled from 1990s

levels. People are asking: Why is this happening? What real threats does it

pose? And what roles do Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict really play? The

answers will surprise almost everyone. Hosted and narrated by veteran broadcast

journalist Judy Woodruff, Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence

explores the roots of anti-Semitism and examines how and why it continues to

flourish today. The 60-minute documentary was written, produced and directed by

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Goldberg in association with Oregon Public

Broadcasting. Goldberg is also the producer of the recent PBS film The Armenian

Genocide.

In June 2006, a poll by The Pew Charitable Trusts revealed that over 97 percent

of Egyptians and Jordanians hold "unfavorable opinions of Jews." Among scholars,

journalists and experts, there is little disagreement that anti-Semitism is on

the rise. Throughout the Arab and Islamic world, overt hatred of Jews has become

commonplace in mainstream media. Across the Middle East, a recent 30-part mini-

series depicts Jews murdering a Christian child to make Matzo with his blood;

anti-Semitic commentaries and cartoons appear regularly in newspapers.

"I think it is dangerous to underestimate the importance of propaganda and

rhetoric in terms of harming people," explains Salameh Nematt, Washington D.C.

Bureau Chief, Al Hayat Newspaper. "This anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish attitude

is victimizing a huge number of people."

Says host Judy Woodruff, "We live in a time of growing intolerance, especially

religious intolerance, and it is unsettling to see anti-Semitism on the rise

once again. As a journalist, I am proud to be associated with this documentary,

which sheds light on a particularly troubling form of hateful behavior."

Filmed in Syria, Egypt, Israel, the West Bank, France and the US, Anti-Semitism

in the 21st Century: The Resurgence includes interviews with David Ignatius of

the Washington Post; Israeli Knesset Member Natan Sharanksy; Columbia University

Professor Rashid Khalidi; New York Times best-selling author and NYU Professor

Tony Judt; Professor Hisham Ahmed of Birzeit University, Ramallah; Hassam Hamed,

Head of Egyptian State Television and others.

Through extraordinary and disturbing archival footage, interviews with leading

experts, and bold man-on-the-street interviews, Anti-Semitism in the 21st

Century: The Resurgence weaves together the past and the present to explore the

evolution and re-birth of an age-old prejudice. Producer Andrew Goldberg is the

owner of Two Cats Productions in New York City. His television credits include

numerous documentaries and long form programming for PBS, ABC News, E!, CNN and

others. His recent documentary, The Armenian Genocide, aired nationally on PBS

in 2006. It was described as "powerful" by the New York Times, "serious,

literate and heartbreaking" by the NJ Star Ledger, and garnered outstanding

reviews and coverage from virtually every major newspaper in the US. His

previous productions include A Yiddish World Remembered for PBS, which won an

Emmy in 2002, and The Armenians, A Story of Survival, which aired on PBS

stations nationally in 2002 and was awarded the CINE Golden Eagle. He has also

written and produced commercials for such companies as BellSouth, Sephora/Louis

Vuitton, AT&T, PetSmart and others.

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is a major provider of programs for the PBS

national primetime schedule and American Public Television (APT), producing a

variety of freestanding documentary specials and series. OPB is also a statewide

network of community-supported learning resources, including OPB Television, an

affiliate of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and OPB Radio, presenting

local news coverage and the programs of National Public Radio (NPR), American

Public Media (APM) and Public Radio International (PRI). The OPB Web site is

opb.org.

Major Funding for Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence is provided

by: Stockton Media, Harvey and Constance Krueger, The Marc and Diane Spilker

Foundation, The David B. Heller Foundation, and The Rita J. and Stanley H.

Kaplan Foundation.

DVD copies of Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence are available

for $29.95 + S & H. Offer made by: Oregon Public Broadcasting, 1-800-440-2651.

Or visit www.twocatstv.com.

Photos for Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence are available

online at pbs.org/pressroom. Additional photos are available at

pressroom.opb.org.

September 20, 2005 Caleb Corbin
US Anti-Semitism: Could the Unthinkable Occur?

The shores of the United States have been a historical anomaly for the Jewish

people. America is one of only a handful of nations on earth in which Jews have

been accepted as equals, and accorded all of the rights, privileges and freedoms

of her citizens.

America's first president, George Washington, wrote a letter in 1790 to the

Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island: "May the Children of the Stock of

Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of

the other Inhabitants, while every one shall sit under his own vine and fig

tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid."

The words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty's pedestal echo the sated hunger of

Jews in America after more than 17 centuries of unending global persecution and

wandering:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

The poem's author, Emma Lazarus, was Jewish. Fittingly, America's most

visible symbol of freedom is wreathed with words breathed from a Jewish heart.

But despite America's pure foundations, the disease of anti-Semitism has

surfaced from time to time throughout our history.

In 1862, General Ulysses S Grant, commander of the Union forces and later 18th

president of the United States, issued General Order No. 11, which expelled all

Jews from Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. Upon receiving news of such

order, President Abraham Lincoln immediately wrote to Grant, ordering him to

revoke the order. Grant revoked the order three days later.

And Henry Ford, the American industrial icon and automotive baron of the early

20th century, was a rabid anti-Semite. He authored an infamous four-volume work

entitled The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem, which portrayed

world Jewry as scheming together to take over the world.

Because it carried the Ford name, the work gained immediate notoriety and

credibility in the eyes of many, spreading like wildfire and sowing the seeds

for future anti-Semitism in the American consciousness. Today, The International

Jew is one of the holy books of the American anti-Semitic population.

And what of today? How successfully has America fended off societal decay, of

which widespread anti-Semitism is but a symptom?

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) conducts an annual survey entitled "Survey of

American Attitudes Towards Jews in America". Its 2005 findings were striking: a

full 14% of the American citizenry, or 35 million people, hold beliefs that are

"unquestioningly anti-Semitic". This is down from its 1992 survey, which

categorized a full 20% of Americans as strongly anti-Semitic. The ADL's 2005

"Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents" recorded a total of 1,821 events in the US - a

spike of 17% from the previous year.

As the annual survey shows, a resilient and hard-core base of Jew-haters reside

in the US, with evidence suggesting a large part of this core is actively

working to spread their poison across this nation.

One trend is of particular concern. Militant Islam is rapidly spreading its

tentacles across America. One of the few Islamic moderates in this country,

Muhammad Hisham Kabbani of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, estimated

that "extremists" have taken over 80% of the mosques in the US. These extremists

are working single-mindedly to turn America into an Islamic state, with the

Koran as its foundation.

The campaign is being coordinated by both foreign and domestic elements. It is

no coincidence that Libyan strongman Moammar Gaddafi pledged to Louis Farrakhan,

head of the Nation of Islam, an American militant Black Islamic group, one

billion dollars in aid and support. Also, the Saudis are bankrolling the

construction and staffing of dozens of mosques throughout the US. These mosques

are exclusively propagating the militant Wahabbi form of Islam, the very

religion which inspired the 9/11 attacks.

The campaign is not limited to mosques. It also includes Islamic community

centers, newspapers, schools, youth groups, political organizations,

professional associations and business activities - all involved in recruiting,

training, supporting and coordinating its members.

Substantial segments within the Black American community are converting to

militant Islam or have fallen under its influence. This is creating a real and

present danger to American Jews. In late August, Los Angeles police discovered a

major terror plot by three Black Islamic Americans affiliated with the Jamat-E-

Masjidul Islam mosque. A list was found in their possession containing the

addresses of several Los Angeles synagogues and the Israeli consulate. Police

speculate the men were part of a network planning to attack these targets during

the upcoming Jewish High Holy Days.

One week later, possibly in response to the arrests, the Nation of Islam called

for a "jihad" against the Los Angeles Police Department.

Gravely, militant Islam has entered into and is directing much of mainstream

Black America. The Millions More March (MMM) on Washington DC, scheduled for

October 14-16 of this year, was created by Farrakhan to further the Black

militant's agenda. Farrakhan appointed Malik Zulu Shabazz, the virulent anti-

Semitic leader of the New Black Panther Party, as co-organizer of the event.

Among many other anti-Semitic diatribes, Shabazz claims it was the Jews who

enslaved Blacks and brought them to America. He also asserts the "Zionists

control America, lock, stock and barrel."

Farrakhan and Shabazz have successfully courted and enlisted several mainstream

Black organizations and political groups in the MMM campaign, including the 43

members of the Congressional Black Caucus, NAACP, National Council of Negro

Women, National Progressive Baptist Convention, National Urban Coalition, Black

Entertainment Television, the African American Leadership Institute, Rainbow

PUSH Coalition and dozens of others.

A second trend of concern is the millions of illegal immigrants flowing into the

US from Mexico and Central and South America. It is estimated approximately one

million immigrants illegally slipped into the US from Mexico in 2004. As the

2005 ADL survey shows, 35% of foreign born Hispanics hold hard-core anti-Semitic

beliefs, as do 19% of US-born Hispanics. Illegal immigration and high birth

rates make Hispanics the fastest growing segment of the American population.

Hispanics, heavily influenced by the historically anti-Semitic Catholic Church,

are quickly becoming a major force in America's political, cultural, judicial

and social landscape. Hispanics already out-number whites in America's eighth

largest city, San Antonio, Texas.

Please note that Hispanics and Blacks themselves are not, as a group, anti-

Semitic, but the numerical quantity of individuals within these two groups has

an increased tendency towards anti-Semitic beliefs.

American white supremacists are also seeing an explosion in growth. Mike

McQueeney, a Ku Klux Klan leader in Wisconsin, said that since the 9/11 attacks,

"Recruitment has definitely been up. That's not just with the Klan. It's with

every white organization."

Throughout history, outbreaks of Jewish persecution would often follow on the

heels of catastrophe. During the European Black Death, Jews were fingered as

causing the pestilence by poisoning the wells. Thousands were massacred.

Ominously, in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, rumors that a

visiting Israeli delegation stayed away from the World Trade Center were

immediately picked up by the Associated Press and other mainstream media outlets

and broadcast nationally. The implication, at best, was the Israelis knew in

advance of the attacks. At worse, that the Israelis, or domestic or

international clandestine Jewish groups, had perpetrated the attacks. The

Internet is full of American anti-Semitic literature "proving" the Jews carried

out the 9/11 attacks.

Many Americans are also buying the Islamic/anti-Semitic subterfuge that Islamic

terror attacks against America are the result of America's support of Israel. By

extension, the Jews are responsible for Islamic terror attacks against the US.

Remove the Jews, the logic goes, and remove the cause of Islamic terrorism.

The great concern for American Jews should be whether history will repeat

itself. Will the Jews, as they have in almost every other nation on earth, be

held as the scapegoats for whatever future disaster befalls this land? And what

will the reaction be if future terror attacks employ WMDs in one or more

American cities?

As 9/11 shows, even the mainstream American media is not immune from singling

out Jews in the immediate aftermath of a major terrorist event.

The trends in America are disturbing. History has an irritating way of repeating

itself. America has been an anomaly, but anomalies are just that: temporary,

isolated events, which eventually conform to pattern.

The question remains: Will America forever defy the historical pattern?

Don't bet on it.

This article compliments of Caleb Corbin and the Unity Coalition for Israel.

See our immediate previous post for some perspective.