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Anti-Semitism among Muslims might not be acquired through the mothers milk, but it is nonetheless a part of the socialization of Muslims, especially from North Africa and the Middle East. The historic expulsion of 850,000 Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews, who were forced to leave their homes in these Muslim countries with only the clothes on their backs and what they could carry, should not be forgotten. The Jews in this region had preceded by more than a thousand years the seventh century Islamic invasion that came out of the Arabian desert.

With Muslims now fleeing this region for Europe, the plight of Europes Jews is now almost indistinguishable from that of their ancestors as Europe fell under the jackboot of fascism. For a Jew dressed as a Jew, his yarmulke makes him a target. The only difference is that, today, Europes political leaders give lip service to condemning anti-Semitism but are unwavering in their determination to absorb an endless stream of migrants steeped in a culture of anti-Semitism.

Indeed, even with the Trump administrations policy of extreme vetting of refugees, will anyone bother to vet them for anti-Semitism?

French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen says she will prohibit the display of religious garb in public. She need not worry about the Jews. Those who will not flee France will undoubtedly stuff their yarmulkes in their pockets and make sure their tzitzit are tucked safely inside their garments.

America, too, has seen a rise in anti-Semitism, most notably on the college campus. The purveyors of this anti-Semitism are the Muslim Student Association, Students for Justice in Palestine, and the largely Muslim organizers of the dual anti-Semitic hate fests known as Israel Apartheid Week and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. There is no Palestine Apartheid Week to publicize a political entity where no Jew is allowed to live and where selling land to a Jew is a crime punishable by death.

So, why have some 1,000 rabbis signed a petition in support of Muslim immigration to America? Do they not see what is happening in Europe? Are they bereft of any sense of the history of their own people in the Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa? Do they not comprehend that the Jews of Egypt, who preceded Islam, experienced dhimmitude as late as 1920?

When automobiles were on the road, airplanes were in the sky, and radio connected the peoples of the world, Egypt was treating Jews under restrictions designed for the seventh century. With the Jews gone, the Salafists in Egypt are calling for the imposition of the jizya tax on Coptic Christians in the 21st century.

Certainly, one can point to individual Muslims who are tolerant and countries such as Morocco where an enlightened brand of Islam is practiced. But this does not mitigate the threat of anti-Semitism, if the European experience is visited upon America.

Moreover, the rabbis who sign such petitions, who in their navet and their misguided desire to display some false sense of virtue, are a threat to the Jewish community. For America is not Europe in the sense that Americans will not tolerate here what Islam has done to Europe. There will be a backlash, some of which is already manifest in the ascendance of Donald Trump to the presidency.

Americans will organize against an assault on their culture and way of life. And when elected officials do not act, America has a long and ugly tradition of vigilantism that meted out justice on the frontier and harsh, brutal injustice ever since.

You might think the far right comprises Trump supporters and the people at Breitbart. Nonsense. That is just a political play by the left. The real alt-right resides beneath the political surface. Generally, they dont write editorials or give interviews.

If there is a reaction to Muslim immigration, they will be the primary beneficiaries, because it will give them a mechanism for mobilization. As in all such mobilizations, they will blame the Jews. Just as in Germany, the far right now blames the Jews for the Islamic assault on their culture. Islamic immigration has caused a resurgence of the German far right.

The 1,000 rabbis with their vacuous petition will have given them a symbol for mobilization.

The good rabbis should remember that Jews, even in America, are like a school of fish threatened from above by birds of prey and from below by sharks. The rabbis have provided succor to both.

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Progressive Rabbis Naively Help Strengthen the 'Real Alt-Right' - American Spectator

Misogynistic, and highly populist and led unofficially led by Richard Spencer, the alt-right movement a faction of people with extremely far-right idealogies expanded underneath values that President Donald Trump supported throughout the election. Preaching strict white ethnonationalism, the movement eerily resembles the Nazi party. During a rally in Washington D.C., members of the alt-right were filmed chanting Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory! The alt-right has grown rapidly since Nov. 8, gaining additional momentum when the infamous Steve Bannon was chosen to become Trumps Chief Strategist. Yet, despite their sudden rise, alt-right leaders recognize that there is additional recruiting to be coordinated.

This time, it includes attracting women to join the dark side.

Writers that identify as alt-right have termed the process of bringing females into the movement, giving women the red pill. And it is understandably difficult. At each rally that is held, supporters rattle about the importance of alpha-males, often suggesting that women hold little value in the working class. Instead, a womans place is frequently identified as in the kitchen a disgraceful notion which marks a significant regression from past societal advances. Herein lies the issue with attracting women into the movement. However, this hasnt stopped female alt-righters from attempting to teach men about the recruitment process.

Earlier this month, The Economist featured a story about two writers named Cecilia Davenport and Wolfie James. Although they each have unique styles, they share a common interest. According to The Economists story, Mr. Spencer has said he believes women constitute around one-fifth of the movements followers. Others who are familiar with the movement tend to agree that there is simply not enough representation of women in the group. That is where writers such as James and Davenport fit into the broader picture.

Through blogging, women in the alt-right are trying to gather others that are secretly partial to the movement. As Davenport wrote in response to The Economist, You see alt-right women a lot more at private gatheringsmen are, by nature, more likely by nature to take risks: and there are real risks involved in being active in this cause. Similar to others, Davenport recognizes that there is the potential to grow the movements female base. This prospect is exciting for a predominately white, heteronormative group of males that seeks the attention of women. Davenport continues by saying, alt-righters want women to have the option to stay home and raise a family, making a sensible plea for women to support the cause. If one makes belonging at home a privilege, rather than a punishment, there will naturally be women curious about the movement.

Conversely, there are others who believe that women will need a significant push from their alt-right boyfriends to join the movement. Among those who believe this is Wolfie James, who wrote the original manual for red-pilling women. While I make reference to her work, I refrain from providing any direct link, as the articles language is rather vulgar and distressing. With sections entitled, Trigger her emotions; dont try to win an argument, Fear monger, and Support her when she starts to embrace it, James describes a step-by-step approach for men to recruit their partners. The manuals rhetoric primarily uses fear as the catalyst for bringing skeptical women into the movement. It should be noted, though, that lacking from the guide is a strategy for alt-right men to actually attract women in the first place.

Its difficult to fathom that a political movement aimed at restoring white male nationalism is actively attempting to recruit women. Yet, unofficial leaders such as Spencer are convinced that females are apt to join the cause with a little nudge. Whether it be from Davenport and James or others hidden amongst a sea of alpha-males, there is a growing push to expand the party. To expand the notion that multiculturalism is rife with issues, and that only a white America is safe from the tyranny of diversity. This notion could not be farther from the truth or worth anyones respect regardless of gender or race.

letters@chronicle.utah.edu

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Women of the Alt-Right - Daily Utah Chronicle

Striking a blow for liberal democracy ... detail from Marvels Captain America, issue No 1. Photograph: Courtesy of Marvel

Comics have never shied away from punching a Nazi. Captain America socked Hitler himself on the jaw in his first issue back in March 1941, with Superman and Batman also stepping up to fight the Fhrer that same decade.

But long after the Third Reich was toppled, Nazis and fascists continued to make good villain fodder for superheroes. For Captain America, Marvel created out-and-out Nazi agent Red Skull (who also became a communist in the 1950s), as well as the green-garbed fascist, terrorist, criminal organisation Hydra. In DC Comics, there was Captain Nazi genetically altered by his scientist father to fight for Hitler who was sent by the Nazis to fight American superheroes, and there were evil groups like Hive and Kobra.

Even during the 1990s, Marvels Avengers West Coast had a team of supervillains called the Lethal Legion that included demonically enhanced versions of Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Stalin (renamed Coldsteel).

Today, comic-book writer Jeff Lemires new title for publisher Valiant, Bloodshot Salvation, is putting the alt-right in the villain role. Living in a world in which humans are transformed into enhanced killers through a controlled infection, Bloodshot has super-strength, speed and endurance. But the current incarnation Ray Garrison, who is attempting to settle down with his girlfriend Magic, is faced with in-laws you wouldnt want over to dinner: a cruel and sadistic clan of white supremacist criminals.

Set to debut in September with art by Lewis LaRosa and Mico Suayan, Bloodshot Salvation was announced at Comic Con in Seattle as [carrying] strong anti-fascist overtones as Bloodshot confronts the resurgent white supremacist underground of modern-day America.

Lemire, who is Canadian, told CBR.com that the man-made plague that sparks mindless violence in its victims was his take on Americas far right, saying: America is a scary place and I say that as one of your neighbours from the north who is equal parts terrified, appalled and saddened on a daily basis by something new going on, not the least of which is the rise of Trump.

Like most of us, Lemire didnt think there would be any more superheroes socking Nazis, 75 years after Captain America first took on Hitler. I dont think I would have ever anticipated the things that have happened over the last couple of years, Lemire told the Washington Post. I never really thought Id be commenting on this stuff the way I am or feeling compelled to, thats for sure.

So the real-world dramas of Trumps presidency are getting an airing on the page. Comic-book shenanigans it all might be, but with the USs new commander-in-chief firing off executive orders like Spider-Man slings webs, the fist-shaking cartoon baddies of yore simply wont cut it for todays comic-book audiences. The comics market is wider than its ever been before, and crucially, it has a far greater proportion of female readers. Competing for attention with the likes of Netflix, they have to be at least as sophisticated and well-written. These days, Spider-Man doesnt pull on his tights just because the Green Goblin has decided to rob a bank; Spidey today is a mixed-race teenager who has to deal with school drama, family drama, survivors guilt. For a long time now, weve been getting more depth to our heroes and now we look for credible reasons why the bad guys are so malign.

So while punching Nazis might suddenly be more relevant than it has been for decades, heres to hoping that comic books can deal with fascism and the far right in a far more nuanced way than a cheeky right hook to Hitlers face.

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Alt-right comic book villains? Comics have moved on from punching Nazis - The Guardian (blog)

How do you punch a Nazi in Yiddish?

Maybe deliver a khsime, or signature, as in putting a signature on someones face. Or give them a shmir, an open-handed smack to the face, like lathering schmear on a bagel. Or maybe it takes der gubernator, the governor, jabbing your thumb into a persons ribcage.

Obscure? To be sure. But you might find yourself becoming more familiar with such terms, if a growing number of Jewish antifa activists have their way.

In response to an energized American white nationalism, some Jews are gravitating toward anti-fascist activism. Theyre embracing the idea that the best way to combat your enemies in this case, white supremacists is through direct confrontation, even violence. Organizers say their members number in the thousands. Though on-the-ground organizing on that scale has yet to materialize, one recent protest attended by many Jewish anti-fascists drew hundreds, and organizers say they are planning more actions.

At the same time, they are celebrating their Jewish identity. Those Yiddish fighting words are a good example.

Jewish Antifa

Activists who call themselves antifa, short for anti-fascists, are inspired by early 20th-century responses to European fascism. They say they are influenced by militant left-wing and anarchist politics.

Facebook

A graphic shared by the Jewish Antifa Facebook page presents the German camp of Auschwitz as a justification for why its OK to punch a Nazi in the face.

A handful of loosely organized groups have cropped up to confront white nationalism online. There is the Jewish Antifa Facebook page, which promotes the Jewish history of confrontational protest (this is where the string of Yiddish punch descriptors appeared). Then there is the allied group MuJew Antifa, a collaboration between Muslim and Jewish activists. And there are dozens of other individuals who are active from their own social media accounts.

The Jewish Antifa page has fewer than 60 members, but the MuJu Antifa network boasts more than 2,000, one organizer said. Jews who identify as anti-facists could also be involved in groups like Black Lives Matter or other left-wing Jewish groups without belonging to one of these two antifa groups.

One MuJu event last month brought a couple hundred people into the street to protest President Trumps immigration ban. Activists marched down the street in Manhattan, carrying signs against Trump and chanting in Yiddish.

Were seeing an increase in far-right activity the activity of people identifying as white supremacists and even Nazis, said activist Michael Gould-Wartofsky, who is also the author of the 2015 book The Occupiers: The Making of the 99 Percent Movement.

Gould-Wartofsky said there are a range of opinions on tactics among Jews who might call themselves antifa: With a massive rise in the climate of violence, some people [say] that it takes confrontation to combat far-right activity.

There is a growing interest in learning physical self-defense among Jewish activists, Gould-Wartofsky said, adding, People want to have the skills necessary to defend their community and other communities that are also under attack.

Some Groups Are Naive

This activism marks a sharp break with mainline Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League. While the ADL has for decades monitored and advocated against anti-Semitism, it does not encourage confronting groups such as white supremacists head-on, nor does it do so itself.

Some antifa activists think thats exactly what it takes.

For example, when a masked antifa activist dramatically clobbered alt-right figurehead Richard Spencer, the image sparked debate but it was celebrated widely in more left-wing circles as a direct repudiation of mainstream liberalism.

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I disagree with liberal tactics, Bethany Benny Koval, a New Jersey-based activist, wrote in an email to the Forward. Some groups are naive enough to believe that if we display the nude white supremacist onstage, the crowd will simply laugh him away.

In the eyes of these Jewish antifa activists, mainstream advocacy groups need to do more than condemn far right-wing groups like the alt-right.

Twitter

Benny Koval, at right, is one of a handful of Jews who identify as antifa activists. At a protest against President Trumps travel ban, she carries sign commemorating Anne Frank.

The purpose of these groups is to condemn hate and violence, Raphael Dreyfuss, a Los Angeles-based activist, wrote in a message to the Forward. But the thing about Nazis is, they dont care if theyre being condemned. You can condemn and condemn and condemn until youre being marched towards a gas chamber they dont give a damn.

The best way to confront?

The only thing that can stop the growth of fascism is building power, Dreyfuss wrote. That means confronting fascists in the streets but it also means building up community defense organizations, it means revitalizing our unions, it means confronting the material issues that create fascism in a way that liberalism is fundamentally unable to.

At left, a traditional antifa emblem. At right, a Jewish take featuring a golem, a Star of David and a biblical call to justice.

Heritage

For these antifa groups, their activism is an affirmation of Jewish identity both religious and secular.

Many of us take inspiration from Bundism and the explosion of secular Yiddish socialism that happened at the turn of the century, Dreyfuss said, but many are also inspired by their spirituality.

Bundism was a secular, non-Zionist Jewish movement that was founded in the Russian Empire in 1897 and sought to organize the working-class Jews of Russia, Poland and Lithuania.

In a widely circulated meme, one activist offers a particularly Jewish spin on an antifa emblem.

The logo traditionally reads Good night white pride and pictures a neo-Nazi being kicked to the ground.

But the new Jewish version reads Good night alt-right, and pictures a Star of David; a cartoon golem, the vengeful creature of Jewish folklore and a biblical reference from Deuteronomy: Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof or Justice, justice, you shall pursue.

Contact Sam Kestenbaum at kestenbaum@forward.com or on Twitter, @skestenbaum

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Pulling No Punches In Fight Against 'Alt-Right' And Neo-Nazis - Forward

White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Feb. 23. Bannon said the media is "adamantly opposed to" the president's agenda. (The Washington Post)

Leading conservatives have taken to pretending that the alt-right is a fringe movement that they and President Trump have disavowed. In recent interviews and at a high-profile conservative conference last month, conservatives have taken great pains to distance conservatism and the Trump administration from any alt-right influence.

But heres the reality: The alt-rights deep influence over this White House is on display daily in Trumps rhetoric and his administrations policies. The alt-right influence on Trump matters: it means the most powerful man in the world is under the influence of a racist and white nationalist movement. And conservatives should reckon with this more forthrightly.

For instance, note this podcast that the Washington Posts Jonathan Capehart conducted with American Conservative Union president Matt Schlapp. Capehart pointed out that Stephen K. Bannon and Stephen Miller are Trumps top White House advisers, and asked: Doesnt that mean, that despite the concerns, the alt-right is now mainstreamed, if not the power within the White House? Schlapp flatly denied that the alt-right had been mainstreamed in this manner.

Bannon who is now Trumps most influential adviser told melast summer, when he was chairman of Breitbart, that his site was the platform for the alt-right. Capehart questioned Schlapp about this, but Schlapp argued, implausibly, that this is not as significant as it appears. Schlapp insisted that when Bannon said that Breitbart is the platform for the alt-right, he wasnttrying to endorse the racist ideology of that group. Yet Breitbart was and remains one-stop shopping for readers looking for anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-refugee rhetoric and disinformation, as well as stories about black crime.

This echoed similar head-in-the sand denials that were on full display last month at the ACUs Conservative Political Action Conference. For instance,Dan Schneider, the ACUs executive director, delivereda speech denouncing the alt-right but not as the far-right white nationalist movement that it is, but rather as garden variety left-wing fascists. By attempting (not very convincingly) to pin the movement on the left, Schneider sought to portray the alt-right as an interloper thatis not exerting any influence over Trump or his conservative supporters.

But hours later, Schlapp welcomed Bannon for an interview on the CPAC main stage. Schlapp didnt ask Bannon a single question about the alt-right or about what Bannon meant when he claimed that his web site was a platform for it.

The reality is that itisunder Bannons influence that the administration has taken its actions that most thrill the alt-right, most notably his moves to step up deportation of undocumented immigrants, and ban refugees and migrants from Muslim-majority countries.

When Bannon and I spoke this summer, he tried to deny to me that the alt-right is a white nationalist movement, although he did concede that white nationalists and anti-Semites could be attracted to some of thephilosophies of the alt-right. But, as I have writtenafter Trump tapped himto head up his campaign, Bannon nonetheless praised the deeply Islamophobic ethno-nationalism on the rise in Europe, like the National Front in France, led by far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen.

No, they aren't just pranksters and they aren't an extension of European nationalism. Reporter and author Olivia Nuzzi tackles five myths about the alt-right. (Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)

And then theres Trumps choice of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. During the transition, alt-right leaders were delighted with the Sessions pick, pointing to his opposition to immigration as well as their hope that he would stop enforcing civil rights laws and might even prosecute Black Lives Matter protesters.

As Emily Bazelon writes, Sessions has long been a devoted Breitbart reader, and met regularly with the sites writers. Trumps dark vision of America as besieged by inner city crime, immigrants, and refugees, Bazelon notes, provides clear justification for policies that will advance Sessions, Bannon and Millers divisive nationalism. Justice Department policy, under Sessions, she adds, aims to strengthen the grip of law enforcement, raise barriers to voting and significantly reduce all forms of immigration, promoting what seems to be a longstanding desire to reassert the countrys European and Christian heritage.

Indeed, Sessions is altering the core mission of the Department of Justice to one with less of a focus on civil and voting rights. Trumps false claims about voter fraud are straight out of the ugly maw of alt-right meme-making, portraying supposed voter fraud as a scourge perpetrated by African-Americans and undocumented immigrants a possible signal that a crackdown on voting rights is coming, one that Sessions would likely help carry out from the Justice Department.

Despite the determined spin, the reality is that Trumpism would not exist without the alt-right. Conservatives can pretend its fringe and has little to no influence on the Trump administration but the proof is in the policy.

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Conservatives insist Trump is not influenced by the alt-right. Here's why they're wrong. - Washington Post (blog)