*Image courtesy of AP Photo/Dan Balilty.
Anti-Semitism as expressed by the American Jewish community itself has become quite popular of late, though why this troubling phenomenon has achieved any acceptance defies easy description. And why Jewish and non-Jewish critics alike are not speaking out to a greater degree in condemning these acts is also problematic.
Take, for example, the perennially obnoxious comedienne Roseanne Barr and her photo shoot for "Heeb Magazine," an irreverent rag backed by nihilistic film director Steven Spielberg that apparently challenges traditional Jewishness through a popular culture approach. In the latest witty issue, Barr dresses up as a domestic Hitler--complete with iconic mustache and swastika armband--as she eats burnt gingerbread cookies representing the Jews ruthlessly murdered during the Holocaust by the Nazi regime. Notably, Barr is herself Jewish, as is Spielberg. And this somehow makes such a tasteless exercise in gross insensitivity amusing.
Another despicable individual of note is Professor William Robinson--also Jewish--at University of California, Santa Barbara. This academic pillar sent his sociology students a series of pictures equating Holocaust victims with Palestinian casualties of recent Israeli military operations in Gaza, though with no explanation provided to give any historical context whatsoever. As just one example from this rare piece of scholarship, Jews waiting in line to be gassed are directly compared to Palestinians standing at an Israeli security checkpoint, as if the two were unarguably analogous.
At least two of Robinson's Jewish students dropped the course--others are also presumably disturbed, but not enough to protest by withdrawing--and contacted the Simon Wiesenthal Center to make a video reading of Robinson's bizarre introduction to the material he humorlessly entitled "Parallel Images of Nazis and Israelis."
Ultimately, any legitimate group in society has the right to create some humor at their own expense, even if others tempt widespread condemnation for the same. But groups stooping to the same level of racism and genocidal hatred that historical enemies have utilized to murder innocents of their own kind is also horribly wrong.
Why are bigots such as Barr and Robinson tolerated? Perhaps it is an attempt to show the world that Jews are not really different from any other religious or cultural group. Or maybe that the Holocaust and ongoing anti-Semitism are regrettable but understandable aspects of strained relations with the rest of the world as Jews continue with their inexplicable habits of living. Or even that Jewish remembrance of atrocities is a juvenile and petty bid for the undeserved benefits of victimhood. Yet, all of these are vicious and dangerous lies that do in fact risk Jewish lives both here in America and abroad--and that much is obvious to reasonable individuals.
Clearly, criticism of this kind is not to say that such irresponsible behavior automatically guarantees another Holocaust. Or at least it is not to put direct blame on such choices. But these troubling events do erode the basic respect owed to any legitimate member group of society--in this case, a historically innovative contributor well out of proportion to its numbers--and dismisses one of the worst catastrophes in human history as a mere annoyance, a galling footnote repeatedly brought up that should serve only as a point of derision rather than profound contemplation.
And in the end, behavior like that isn't anywhere close to being funny or smart.
It has been reported that confessions have been offered by some individuals, though these were undoubtedly forced. And there also seems to be an inability on the part of defendants to obtain lawyers. Those fortunate enough to do so often find them locked out of the courtroom.
Additionally, three American tourists hiking near the Iranian border have been detained, though there is little substantive information regarding their captivity. Barring their release, occidental observers will likely know very little about what they are suffering at any point in the foreseeable future.
And there is no word yet as to whether or not President Obama will stand up and condemn these obvious abuses of human rights, but such an event seems extremely doubtful--after all, to date he has done virtually nothing to stop the shedding of innocent blood in Iran.
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