Pro-Palestinian Protests: Insulting, Annoying

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com 

Hat tip PJ Media 

-Yahoo News

For years, our college campuses have been subjected to pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests that all-too-often cross the line into pure anti-Semitism. One would have thought that after the October 7 atrocities visited upon Israeli civilians-even children and infants-by the monsters of Hamas these protests would go away in shame. Not so. They have become more insulting and more annoying. Just in the past week or so, we have seen access roads to major airports in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles shut down by these mopes with their black and white keffiyehs and Palestinian flags. Christmas shoppers have had to put up with these reprobates. And in what is the most outrageous display of all, they shut down the World Trade Center site in New York, site of the 9-11 attacks. Some were even shouting, "Allahu akhbar".

Meanwhile, in Europe, police have had to drastically increase security at those Christmas markets that are at risk every December because they are so offensive to certain immigrants.

This is not how you win friends and influence people. Quite the contrary.

Here is what needs to be done:

Protests that block traffic and shut down public access should be met with arrests. Stiff fines and 30 days in jail would also be appropriate assuming no other violence or destruction was involved. Attacks on Jews should be charged as hate crimes and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

If the offenders are not US citizens, they should be deported when the justice system is done with them. After all, they are what we used to refer to as "undesirable aliens". 

This also applies to campus protests that go beyond the point of being lawful and peaceful. Offenders should be promptly expelled. If they are foreign students, their student visas should be canceled and they should be deported.

Of course, given the state of cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and others as "sanctuary cities" and given the state of our universities, I recognize I am engaging in wishful thinking. 

But as the quality of life is rapidly disappearing from large cities and universities are now starting to see donors turning away in disgust, there is hope for some sort of gradual change. A handful of universities have acted to suspend the odious Students for Justice in Palestine from their campuses. Hopefully, one day all universities will follow suit. The forced resignation of the president of the University of Pennsylvania is a hopeful sign. The pressure on Harvard and M.I.T. to follow suit should be kept on. Finally, the nation's attention is focused on campus anti-Semitism, albeit about 20 years too late but better late than never.

Ultimately, however, it is up to us the citizens, the voters to bring about change. As long as we keep electing politicians who allow this rot to continue-beginning at our borders- who turn their cities into sanctuary cities and who keep funding universities that teach their students to engage in these asinine activities, nothing will change.

On September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers screamed "Allahu akhbar" as they flew planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the ground in Pennsylvania. These are hollowed sites, and it is intolerable that people would repeat that phrase at the site of the Twin Towers. It is an insult to the memories of the 3,000 people who died that day.

France's March Against Anti-Semitism: Who Marched, Who Didn't

 Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

-Agence France Presse

Yesterday, an estimated 180,000 French people took to the streets all over the country to march against anti-Semitism, an estimated 100,000 just in Paris. The march drew some controversy over who chose to attend and who did not. French President Emmanuel Macron, while he issued numerous statements against Jew-hatred, chose not to march, for which he is drawing criticism. Far-left politician  Jean-Luc Melenchon also refused to march since, well, he is pro-Palestinian. Conservative leader Marine Le Pen did march, and that drew comment since some have accused her party, Rassemblement National, of having some anti-Semitic influences. Much of that comes from Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has a long history of anti-Semitic statements.

According to the below article by Clemence de Longraye in the conservative outlet, Boulevard Voltaire, another group was noticeable by its absence. The Muslim community in France.

While it is impossible to gauge how many individual Muslims marched on their own initiative (a couple of dissident imams did, in fact, participate), it appears that community leaders discouraged their faithful from attending. Of course, today, France is remembering the 8th anniversary of the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks (Bataclan nightclub, etc) carried out by Muslim fanatics. It should also be pointed out that there are very logical reasons why few Muslims would join yesterday's march. One reason is the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, in which almost all Muslims support Hamas. Another reason is that anti-Semitism is deeply embedded in Islamic teaching. How could any Muslim religious leader urge their followers to march against what is in the Koran and the hadith?

The below article is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.bvoltaire.fr/edito-marche-contre-lantisemitisme-les-musulmans-grands-absents/

Editorial: March against anti-Semitism-Largely absent, the Muslims

Clemence de Longraye  13 November, society, anti-Semitism 

"France marches against anti-Semitism". Seen from abroad, the fight against anti-Jewish hate seems unanimous in France. Really? This Sunday, 12 November, as 180,000 French (all religions combined) hit the streets to say "no" to anti-Semitism, one community was absent: the Muslims. 

The day after the demonstration, several participants were moved by this absence. On CNews, Meyer Habib, deputy of the Republicans for Overseas French, notes that "there was a large absence in this march, the Muslim community". An observation shared by the Jewish authorities in France. At the microphone of RMC, Elie Korchia, president of the Central Israeli Consistory of France, though he welcomes the success of this demonstration, laments this absence. "It's too bad. When you have the world on the streets, that all religions are there, and the one missing is the Muslim religion, it's a glaring absence," he laments. And his colleague, Joel Mergui, president of the Israeli Consistory of Paris, adds on France Info: " We did not see Muslims massively appealing to come and demonstrate."  

The silence of Muslim authorities

As Joel Mergui points out, the absence of Muslims in France in the march against anti-Semitism is notably due to the silence of the Muslim authorities. With the exception of some dissident imams like Hassen Chalgouni (Drancy) or Tareq Oubrou (Bordeaux), who publicly announced their participation in the November 12 march, the majority of Muslim authorities preferred to keep their silence. The organization, Muslims in France (UOIF), accused of proximity to the Muslim Brotherhood, though they claimed "to condemn all forms of hate or violence against our Jewish compatriots without reserve and with the greatest firmness,"  did not wish to respond to the appeal of Gerard Larcher, president of the Senate, and Yael Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, to march against anti-Semitism. 

The French Council of the Muslim Worship (CFCM), for its part, made clear its refusal to participate in this demonstration. On November 8, on X ( formerly Twitter), the (group) hid behind the participation of the Rassemblement National in this march to justify its non-participation. In a press release, the CFCM explained that they "understand the reticence of Muslims in France to march alongside anti-Muslim racists". And it continued, "This march, which has the exclusive objective of denouncing anti-Semitism, should have made it a fight against racism. And there, we would have attended this march with all our hearts".

A new anti-Semitism

This glaring absence in the march against anti-Semitism also shines the light on the new anti-Semitism that the Jewish community confronts today. In effect, as revealed by "X-ray on anti-Semitism", conducted by the Foundation for Political Innovation (Edition 2022), 15% of Muslims say they "feel antipathy toward Jews, that is a proportion more than 10 points more than that measured in the population as a whole". Moreover, the hostile prejudices toward the Jewish community find a particular echo within the Muslim community. Thus, the idea of Jewish control over the media (54%, that is 30 points more than the French population) or finance (51%, + 27 points), is "shared by ( more than 50% ) of Muslims". This adherence to anti-Semitic prejudices is even stronger when the Muslim regularly frequents the mosque, Fondapol also notes. It is logical that the imams did not mobilize very much for the demonstration. 

Biden in Maui: A Total Disgrace

 Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

I have been watching videos of President Biden's arrival in Maui and his remarks. I am completely dumbfounded at what I have watched and heard. Flanked by Hawaiian officials, he starts by making inane remarks designed to produce chuckles but totally out of place with the event. Then he later compares a minor house fire he had several years ago that was caused by lightning to what has happened in Maui. A simple kitchen fire that was extinguished in 20 minutes. When talking about the Lahaina fire, the destruction, the dead, and the missing, he had to read from a sheet of paper.

And it appears he's already gone. According to Sean Hannity on his Fox News show tonight, Biden has flown back to Lake Tahoe to resume his vacation. Of course, he just finished his vacation in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware. 

It just staggers the imagination.

This man, whose corruption in the Ukrainian Burisma scandal has just worsened today with the disclosure of State Department documents that strongly indicate that his demand to fire the Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating Burisma and his son, Hunter, was not based on US policy, but his own personal interest. The documents revealed by investigative reporter John Solomon on Hannity's show tonight indicate that State and other agencies had urged the administration to go ahead with the billion-dollar aid package to Ukraine because it was their opinion that the government was making progress on corruption. This story will surely be expanded in the coming days. 

Joe Biden has neither the cognitive ability nor the integrity to serve as president. Everybody knows it whether they will admit it or not. And to make matters worse, his resignation (or impeachment) would only make Kamala Harris our president, another scary thought.

God help this country in such a troubled time.

US Loses to Sweden in Women's World Cup (Soccer)

 Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

 I hardly follow the sport of soccer at all, let alone, women's soccer, but I have to make a short reference to the elimination of the US women's soccer team by Sweden on Sunday.

As one who considers himself a patriotic American, I confess that I am pleased.

In my mind, this group of young ladies-with a handful of exceptions- has done nothing to merit the support of the American public. For several years now, we have put up with Megan Rapinoe's refusal to stand for our National Anthem before matches, coupled with her condemnation of her own country even before international forums. Then I saw a video clip of their recent match where most of the players stood around looking uninterested as the Anthem was played. A couple of the ladies placed their hands over their hearts, and a couple appeared to be singing, but for the most part, they appeared bored and uninterested.

So I say to myself, "why should I support this team?" If that is the attitude that the majority of this team appears to have about their own country, the country they are representing on the world stage, I have no interest in supporting them. So I am happy they lost. 

Now I can go back to ignoring the whole event.

Are the Walls Closing in on Joe Biden?

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

This article first appeared in New English Review.

(L-R) IRS agents Gary Shapely and Joseph Ziegler

History may record that the Republicans taking back the House of Representatives in 2022 was a landmark event in bringing about the downfall of Joe Biden. At the risk of getting ahead of myself here, the House hearings into the Biden family misdeeds seem to be bearing fruit. At appears about half a dozen FBI and IRS whistle-blowers have come forward to tell House Republicans how their investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings with China, Ukraine, and other questionable entities, coupled with his tax problems, was thwarted by the Justice Department under Attorney General Merrick Garland.

IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapely and Joseph Ziegler have now publicly testified under oath that their investigation into Hunter Biden was obstructed by DOJ. They claim that the US Attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, told them that he was not given permission by DOJ to fully investigate Hunter Biden’s business dealings. Garland has denied this allegation to Congress. In a letter to the House, Weiss basically supported Garland’s claim. This is a matter that needs to be clarified fully and in detail because somebody is lying to Congress here. As everyone knows, Hunter Biden has been allowed to plead to a sweetheart deal that fails to serve the cause of justice given the huge amounts of money he has reportedly failed to pay taxes on.

In addition, after much wrangling, Congress has finally obtained a copy of an official FBI report (FD-1023) that outlined allegations made by a confidential informant, whom they have described as highly trustworthy, one who has had a long association with the Bureau as a source of information. This informant told agents that he or she had met with Mykola Zlochevsky, the head of the Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, in Kiev and was told by him that he had 17 tape-recorded conversations with Joe (2) and Hunter Biden (15), as well as text exchanges discussing payments to the Biden family in exchange with then-Vice President Biden’s (successful) efforts to get the Ukrainian prosecutor fired who was investigating Burisma. This occurred while Hunter Biden was serving on Burisma’s Board of Directors. According to what the source heard from Zlochevsky, ten million dollars was paid to Joe and Hunter Biden, evenly divided. Others were reportedly at this meeting including Oleksandr Ostapenko, who reportedly traveled to Ukraine with the informant. If true, it would mean that Joe Biden had another reason to get the prosecutor fired aside from protecting his son-cold hard cash.

At this point, I should point out that this is an allegation made by the confidential informant. It may be argued that it could all turn out to be another Steele Dossier, which contained unverified and false allegations against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. What is needed here is corroboration by Zlochevsky (and any others present) backed up by his producing and authenticating the recorded telephone conversations and texts. In addition, the payments need to be documented as well. I would assume that the appropriate travel documents for the source and Ostapenko are readily available for purposes of partial corroboration.

I have no idea whether Zlochevsky or the others present would be inclined to furnish this evidence and testimony, and given the huge military support we are giving Ukraine, I would not discount the possibility of international big-power politics getting involved here.

The task at hand for the House Republicans (because DOJ and the FBI cannot be trusted to follow this trail) is to corroborate what is alleged by the FBI informant through direct evidence-both testimony and documents- and to reconcile the contradiction between what the whistleblowers are telling Congress vs what Congress is being told by Garland and Weiss regarding alleged obstruction. If all that can be accomplished, the House Republicans can at least send a very strong referral for indictment to DOJ, not to mention a move toward impeachment. Of course, the difficulty of charging a sitting president also comes into play, added to the fact that DOJ has allowed the statute of limitations to pass on many of these alleged crimes, seemingly by slow-walking the whole investigative process.

Compared to the treatment of former President Donald Trump, it does not speak well for what was once the fairest system of justice in the world. 

A Look at BDS on College Campuses-With a Special Look at UC Riverside

 Hat tip Legal Insurrection

David Lloyd

UC Riverside

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

I am cross-posting an article in Legal Insurrection, which in turn, cross-posts a report by the National Association of Scholars (NAS) on the BDS campaign on college campuses (Boycott, Divest and Sanctions) against Israel and its effect on free speech and academic freedom. The author of the report is Dr. Ian Oxnevad. It can be accessed here.

In the part of the report that deals specifically with UC Riverside, the name of English Professor David Lloyd is mentioned prominently since he is one of the campus leaders when it comes to BDS. In January 2014, per his invitation, Omar Barghouti, a co-founder of BDS, spoke at UCR. I attended and asked a question during the q and a. In describing Barghouti's presentation as one-sided, I asked the school if and when they might invite a pro-Israel speaker to campus to give students an opposing view. (Barghouti's appearance was officially sponsored by the school.) Lloyd personally responded and called my question "preposterous". Lloyd also referenced the 2010 appearance at UC Irvine by then-Israeli ambassador Michael Oren (I was also present for that event) and noted that Oren was never asked to debate pro-Palestinian voices. What Lllyd neglected to mention was that Oren was repeatedly disrupted by members of the Muslim Student Union, eight of whom were UC Irvine students and three of whom were UC Riverside students. All in all, 11 students had to be removed by campus police and were subsequently prosecuted and convicted.

But imagine that: Asking for some degree of balance of opposing opinions for university students is "preposterous". 

Omar Barghouti

I also videotaped the entire 2014 event at UCR which can be viewed here. 

Euthanasia in the Third Reich

 Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

This article first appeared in New English Review.

Heil und Pflegeanstalt, Erlangen in 1890

Amid all the horrors of the Third Reich, including World War 2 and the Holocaust, one atrocity that is often overlooked (at least outside of Germany) was the program of euthanasia of mentally and physically handicapped people instituted by Hitler in 1939 when the war broke out. In Hitler's own terminology, these people were classified as "useless eaters". This program was referred to as "T4", named after the address of the office set up to oversee the program nationally (Tiergartenstrasse 4 in Berlin).

Under this program, patients in nursing care facilities around the country (Heil und Pflegenanstalten) were identified and their cases reviewed by doctors indoctrinated in Nazi philosophy. Once approved, these unfortunates (regardless of age) were transported to centers set up for the purpose of killing them by gas. It was sort of a dress rehearsal for the eventual gassing centers such as Auschwitz. This program also included children.

This went on without consultation with relatives of the patients, and these families were eventually notified by mail that their loved one had died in the nursing care facility of various natural causes or illnesses. The remains were generally cremated.

Yet, the public gradually became aware, and curiously enough, as complaints mounted, the Nazi government discontinued the program in 1941, but then reduced the patients' diets to the point that they gradually died of malnutrition.

While researching my book on the history of the German town of Erlangen (Erlangen: An American's History of a German Town), I became aware of the tragic history of their own Heil und Pflegeanstalt   This information was included in the chapter on the years 1933-1945.

With all that as a background, I happened to find a 2019 German YouTube documentary on the topic of the Heil und Pflegenanstalten of Ansbach and Neuendettelsau, two towns near Erlangen in Middle Franconia (Bavaria). In watching the video, I learned that many, if not most of the doomed patients in these two clinics were transferred to the facility at Erlangen before being shipped on to the infamous Hartheim Castle in Austria, which had been transformed into a euthanasia center. It is estimated that over 900 patients from Erlangen were euthanized in killing centers such as Hartheim and another 1,500 were allowed to starve to death.

Hartheim Castle in Austria

In the video, Als hätte es sie nie gegeben (As if they had never existed), there were clips of an interview with medical historian, Hans-Ludwig Siemen, as well as clips from his presentation on the topic, which took place in Erlangen. Siemen and Christine-Ruth Müller are co-authors of a book entitled, "Warum sie sterben mussten: Leidensweg und Vernichtung von Behinderten aus den Neuendettelsauer Pflegeanstalten im "Dritten Reich" (Why they had to die: Suffering and extermination of the disabled in the Neuendettelsau nursing homes in the Third Reich), published in 1991.

While watching the video, I happened to see a good friend of mine in Erlangen in the audience attending Siemen's presentation. I contacted him by email this week, and he quickly replied that indeed, it was him in the audience. With his permission, I am reposting what he emailed me:

Yes, that's me in the audience, Gary! Amazing coincidence! An act of providence really. I was there when Dr. Siemen spoke about the matter in the Volkshochschule Erlangen some years ago (before Corona). The reason is that in my mother's family, there were two physically (deaf and mute by birth) and finally probably mentally handicapped elderly women who died in the Bezirksklinikum Ansbach in the 1940s after they had been transferred from Neuendettelsau (Lutheran homes for the handicapped) to Ansbach where the Nazi physicians had total control. One of them died presumably due to the scanty "Hungerkost" diet, and the other one died in 1946, i.e. after the Nazi regime.

 I have been researching about their case in archives for years and will definitely write something about them because I feel they belong to our family although they have been more or less forgotten over the decades. Thank God both my grandmother and my mother told me frankly about them during their lifetime. I'll watch the video tomorrow in quiet. I'll touch base again with you afterward. Thanks a lot, Gary! Again I needed you to show me this. Wonderful connection!

All the best,

Helmut

The site of the Erlangen Heil und Pflegeanstalt is now part of the University of Erlangen Psychiatric Clinic. Recently, the city of Erlangen tore down some of the old buildings, but some of it has been left standing as part of a memorial to the victims. It is one of many examples of sites related to the Nazi years that have become the subject of debate. Should they be torn down, erased, or preserved in an appropriate context so as to remind future generations of a time that must never be repeated. Just a few miles south of Erlangen, the city of Nuremberg is wrestling with what to do with the surviving (but crumbling) relics of the Nazi Party Rally grounds.

As a side note, when Erlangen fell to the US Army in 1945, a World War 1 memorial to Germany's fallen was partially torn down by the Americans. While they left standing concrete blocks with the names of Erlangen's war dead, a huge statue of a seated soldier, shirtless, with a helmet, was removed as being overly militaristic.

My personal opinion is that in the case of Germany, these sites should be preserved in some manner as a memorial to the victims. In the US, we are having a somewhat similar debate over the preservation of Civil War memorials. History, good or bad, cannot be erased. It is there. All we can try to do is put it in an appropriate context and learn from it.