By JEROME DANNER
Photo: Louis Farrakhan
Hostility and prejudice towards Jewish people is
obviously nothing new in our country or the world.
It is actually quite
interesting to note that there are neo-Nazis and Black radical extremists, who
while simultaneously hating one another, share common ground with both groups
having a fanatical distaste for Jewish people.
With this in mind, this
form of bigotry has been the impetus for some political rumblings in the media
as of late.
The Daily Caller has revealed the number of politicians with
direct connections to Minister Louis Farrakhan, the 84-year-old leader of the
Nation of Islam, who has been known for his hostile remarks toward the Jewish
people in the past.
Some have gone on to denounce Farrakhan and/or his
statements recently. However, there are still those who have maintained a
relationship with him in spite of the vile remarks that he has made about this
particular people group.
Farrakhan’s history of anti-Semitism
In 2014, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) detailed Farrakhan’s
anti-semitism and what they call his “anti-white theology.”
The SPLC may
not always be correct in their assessments of other well-known individuals or
organizations, especially those with a conservative viewpoint, but they seem to
hit the nail on the head when analyzing Farrakhan and his own controversial
statements from the past.
The page about Farrakhan on their site gives
his “extremist info,” his background, and quotes from him going back to 1990.
With a video he made and
a certainly debatable remark from 1990 — “The Jews, a small handful,
control the movement of this great nation, like a radar controls the movement
of a great ship in the waters … the Jews got a stranglehold on the Congress.” —
one may ask the question: did he ever list out the evidence that he has against
Jewish people?
Inconsistencies on the left regarding
Farrakhan
Even with there being a history of disputable assertions
by Farrakhan, politicians, like Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters, have
not condemned him.
Also, as pointed out by The Daily Caller,
Minnesota Representative and Democratic National Committee deputy chair Keith Ellison
continued to meet with
Farrakhan, even after having condemned him earlier in 2006.
CNN’s Jake Tapper made a
good point about condemning Farrakhan’s bigotry through a recent social media
post.
James Hasson, a Contributor for The Federalist,
actually pointed back to previous social media posts by
Farrakhan to reveal the “bile” that he is known for uttering.
If Trump was seen taking pictures and shaking hands with
White supremacists, like David Duke and Richard Spencer, then the Left would be
having a field day about his apparent racism and ties to racists.
Therefore,
for them to keep some supposed air of moral superiority over Republicans or
conservatives, they must remain consistent and denounce the anti-semitism of
Minister Farrakhan.
How can Rep. Maxine Walters blast Trump over the white
supremacy displayed in Charlottesville and
allow bigotry in another name slide? Rep. Ellison once said about
Trump:
I have to come to a conclusion, based on all
of the behavior I’ve seen out of Donald Trump, that the reason he is reluctant
to denounce white supremacy and neo-Nazis and Klan members is because he has
some level of sympathy for them.
So, if we use Ellison’s logic against itself in this
situation, then can we ascertain from his reluctance to completely denounce
Farrakhan’s prejudice (and avoid meeting with him until there is change or an
expression of regret from Farrakhan) that he sympathizes with this form of
prejudice?
Any rational individual who is against any form of
bigotry is against all forms of bigotry.
Jerome Danner is a member of Project 21,
an initiative of The National Center for Public Policy Research.
Follow him on Twitter and Facebook for
more of his thoughts and commentary. For more of Jerome’s writing, please
check out his website.
