Mediaboss Marketing

Members of the Shield Wall Network celebrating Hitlers birthday on April 20. Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images

When Dylann Storm Roof walked into the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, he joined the Bible-study class before gunning down nine African-Americans as they prayed.

Roof still communicates with his admirers on the outside. In jail, he began exchanging letters with a man in Arkansas named Billy Roper. A former schoolteacher and the son and grandson of Klansmen, Roper leads the Shield Wall Network, a group of several dozen white nationalists who organize rallies and conferences often collaborating with neighboring hate groups with the goal of building a white ethno-state. I have a lot of empathy for him. Im 47, and hes young enough to be my son, Roper said of Roof when interviewed recently for this project. These millennials and now, I guess, Gen-Zers that are coming up, they are not stupid about the demographic trends and what they portend for the future. That angst, that anxiety that plagues them, drives them to do rash things whether its that rash or not I can empathize with. I would humbly suggest we believe that Roper is being sincere, and that he speaks for many.

Roper and Roof are only two of those affiliated with the 148 white-nationalist hate groups in this country. Though it is impossible to calculate their exact membership numbers (as individual groups either conceal or inflate them), their violence is indisputable. White supremacists were responsible for the deaths of at least 39 people in 2018 alone. And the activity has not slowed this year: not in January, as neo-Nazis plastered flyers outside newspaper offices and homes in Washington State and the Carolinas and an army veteran pleaded guilty to killing a black man in New York to ignite a racial war; in February, as Vermont synagogues and LGBT centers were vandalized and a self-described white-nationalist Coast Guard lieutenant was arrested for plotting a domestic terror attack; in March, as WELCOME TO GERMANY and GAS THE JEWS were spray-painted outside Oklahoma City Democratic Party and Chickasaw Nation offices and, on the Upper East Side, classmates handed their schools only black ninth-grader a note reading ns dont have rights; in April, as a shooting at a synagogue left one dead and three injured and FBI Director Christopher Wray called white supremacy a persistent, pervasive threat to the country; in May, as swastikas fell from the sky on flyers dropped by drones outside an Ariana Grande concert and were scrawled on public spaces in at least three states; in June, as far-right groups rallied in Portland, Oregon, for the first time that summer; in July, as a man promoted a white-power manifesto on Instagram before killing three and wounding 17 others at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California; in August, as another angry young man this one 1,000 miles away in El Paso, Texas posted an anti-immigrant manifesto online then committed this years most deadly mass shooting, killing 22 and injuring 24 at a Walmart; in September, as the Department of Homeland Security added white-supremacist extremism to its list of priority threats, the same month a swastika appeared on its walls; in October, as swastikas also appeared on Cape Cod and invitations to a white-supremacist gathering were mailed to Maine residents; in November, as a white-supremacist group filmed a video outside Mississippis Emmett Till Memorial; nor this month, as students flashed possible white-power signs at an Army-Navy football game.

The photojournalist Mark Peterson has documented this year, traveling the country to surface the extent of the activity and catalogue the most dangerous ideologies. His quotidian look at contemporary American Confederacy and white nationalism shows us our neighbors in other robes. The people portrayed are living among us in every region of the country, in our workplaces, in our government, on social media, and, for some, in our homes. Their culture is made up of both public rallies and private rituals. We see their homes and their streets and their schools, and that these are also our streets and our schools and our neighbors. These pictures werent just taken in the South, says Peterson, who covers the right wing and began documenting the rise of white nationalism after the 2016 election. They were taken in New York, in New Jersey, in California, in Portland. The idea of quarantining it or ignoring it: That didnt work in the past when they tried to do that, and it wont now.

The barrage of daily headlines makes it easy to see this years incidents as isolated, as white noise in the background of our relentless political moment. But as disturbing as they are, these images portray the American story. It is our inheritance, institutionalized since the Civil War by a government that only recently, and tentatively, began to address domestic terrorism for what it is. White nationalism, legitimized by our presidents support of very fine people, has flourished in part because of this refusal to look it squarely in its face and acknowledge it as homegrown. Without a full accounting of the reality, there can be no remedy. To look away is a form of collaboration. Claudia Rankine

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images

Ill be honest with you, we dont have as many members as they do down in North Carolina or South Carolina, said the Grand Dragon of the Loyal White Knights of the KKK for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut (in green),here in his home in suburban New Jersey on October 5. Since first joining the Klan in the 1970s, he has been a member of Aryan Nations, the National Alliance, and the Imperial Klans of America. One state over, the grand dragon of the Loyal White Nights of the KKK (in white) is seen near his home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Both men were photographed in the months following Homeland Security named white supremacy a primary security threat.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, KKK membership has declined in America even while the industry of hate has thrived, fueled by the next generation of white supremacists who have aligned with newer alt-right and white-nationalist organizations (the kind whose members carry tiki torches and wear khakis instead of hoods). White supremacists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis overlap with self-described identitarians like the American Identity Movement, fascists like the Patriot Front, ethno-survivalists like the Shield Wall Network, white-power fight clubs like the Rise Above Movement, and antiwhite guilt provocateurs like the Proud Boys. Sometimes even they have a hard time describing how their ideologies differ. Reporting by James D. Walsh

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images

This rally in Portland, Oregon on August 17 one of at least eight such far-right events in major cities this year was organized by the Proud Boys, which claimed its goal was to drain Portland of its law-enforcement resources until the city condemned antifa. Critics, led by Fox News, often compare antifa with violent far-right groups, calling it the radical lefts violent mob. But statistically the equivalency is unsubstantiated. We counted a representative sample of antifa attacks and threats on MAGA supporters, said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino. The bottom line is we havent seen any hard-left or antifa homicides.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images

On June 8, about 15 members of the National Socialist Movement the largest neo-Nazi group in the country, with 30 to 40 core members protested Detroits Motor City Pride parade, captured in these two photographs. We were legally armed, said leader Burt Colucci. The Detroit Police Department was criticized for providing an escort for the protesters, a measure Police Chief James Craig defended as an attempt to prevent a Charlottesville No. 2. No one was arrested, but a GoPro video Colucci shot of himself shoving a counterprotester to the ground was later released.

Public events like this one led to tensions ratcheting up among law enforcement, far-right groups, and the public. It didnt help that, also this year, hate was regularly exposed in the ranks of those charged with fighting it: In April, two Virginia police officers were fired because of their links to white nationalists. Two months later, Reveal reported on nearly 400 current and former law enforcement officers who were members of, or engaged with, extremist Facebook groups, including anti-Islam groups and anti-government militias like the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters. In St. Louis, 22 police officers were added to an exclusion list, prohibiting them from bringing cases to prosecutors after the Plain View Project found racist and anti-Muslim comments they had made on social media. Earlier this month, a photo surfaced of 37 West Virginia corrections officers performing a Nazi salute at their graduation ceremony.

After a white supremacist killed 51 people in two New Zealand mosques in March, President Trump was asked if he thought the threat of white nationalism was on the rise. I dont, really, he responded. I think its a small group of people that have very, very serious problems.

Hate-crime statistics are notoriously difficult to calculate. Local and state law-enforcement agencies are not required to submit numbers to the FBI, laws defining hate crimes vary from state to state, and experts estimate that more than half of all hate crimes go unreported. According to the FBI, hate-crime violence hit a 16-year high in 2018 with the black, Jewish, Latino, and transgender communities being targeted more than ever and the nations largest cities seeing the most activity. The FBIs 2019 numbers wont be available until next November, but indications suggest they will continue to trend upward. The most deadly mass shooting of 2019 was committed by a xenophobic extremist in El Paso, Texas. Lone wolf killers have found their pack.

Fractured as it may be, the far right is now connected by public figures arguing for some form of ethno-nationalism. One such figure is Jared Taylor, founder of the New Century Foundation and the American Renaissance Conference, which brings together far-right leaders from various strands of neo-Nazism, the KKK, and the alt-right. Not long ago, Taylors pseudo-intellectual ideas were widely considered fringe. Now, they have a powerful advocate in the White House: Before becoming a top Trump adviser, Stephen Miller cited Taylors American Renaissance work to a Breitbart News reporter, suggesting that she aggregate a recent AmRen story on the (specious) link between immigration numbers and crime rates.

Taylor has also counseled Patrick Casey and Richard Spencer, members of the alt-right involved in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. Nate Snyder, a former counterterrorism official in the Department of Homeland Security, says activity on the neo-Nazi website Stormfront jumped after the rally. But when it really hit a spiking point was directly after the presidents comments, his infamous words about very fine people on both sides. You saw activity on this thing exponentially spike, he explains. It was a validation point. You started seeing posts like We now have an ally in the White House. Im setting up a similar rally in my town. Lets take this online action and move it offline and supply it with money and supply it with people. It was a mass mobilization. James D. Walsh

JANUARY: Jared Taylor, head of the New Century Foundation and the American Renaissance Conference. SEPTEMBER: Chester Doles, a self-described fourth-generation KKK member, at a pro-Trump rally he organized in Dahlonega, GA. Counterprotesters, police, and media outnumbered Doless allies. Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

JANUARY: Jared Taylor, head of the New Century Foundation and the American Renaissance Conference. SEPTEMBER: Chester Doles, a self-described fourth-g... more JANUARY: Jared Taylor, head of the New Century Foundation and the American Renaissance Conference. SEPTEMBER: Chester Doles, a self-described fourth-generation KKK member, at a pro-Trump rally he organized in Dahlonega, GA. Counterprotesters, police, and media outnumbered Doless allies. Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

SEPTEMBER: Anthony Petruccelli, member of the National Socialist Movement, is surrounded by Nazi paraphernalia in his Lynn, MA, apartment in September. MAY: A Proud Boy covers his face at San Franciscos Demand Free Speech rally. Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

SEPTEMBER: Anthony Petruccelli, member of the National Socialist Movement, is surrounded by Nazi paraphernalia in his Lynn, MA, apartment in September... more SEPTEMBER: Anthony Petruccelli, member of the National Socialist Movement, is surrounded by Nazi paraphernalia in his Lynn, MA, apartment in September. MAY: A Proud Boy covers his face at San Franciscos Demand Free Speech rally. Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

MAY: Patrick Casey, the leader of the American Identity Movement, at Tennessees American Renaissance Conference. SEPTEMBER: Arkansass Shield Wall Network celebrating the birthday of George Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party. Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

MAY: Patrick Casey, the leader of the American Identity Movement, at Tennessees American Renaissance Conference. SEPTEMBER: Arkansass Shield Wall Ne... more MAY: Patrick Casey, the leader of the American Identity Movement, at Tennessees American Renaissance Conference. SEPTEMBER: Arkansass Shield Wall Network celebrating the birthday of George Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party. Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images

Billy Roper, leader of the Shield Wall Network (pictured below holding the letter from Roof and wearing a white shirt), says their protests are intended to polarize: to force normal white Americans to choose between us and them. This year, Members of the Shield Wall Network celebrated Hitlers birthday on April 20 on Lake Dardanelle (photographed above) and protested a Holocaust Remembrance Day march on May 5in Russellville, Arkansas (pictured preparing and marching, below).

In June, Calfy, 24 (on the far right of the boat, above, and seated next to the Confederate flag, below), Nicholas Holloway, 20 (seated far left in the boat), and John Carollo, 29 (standing at left of boat, with neck tattoo), created a Grindr account for a fictitious 15-year-old, used it to lure a man to Calfys home (which they called the Hate House), and assaulted him, leaving a scar across his chest and a welt the size of a golf ball on his head. Calfy called 911 and claimed they had apprehended their victim as part of a vigilante To Catch a Predator scheme. All three were arrested and, earlier this month, took plea agreements and were sentenced to probation, including Calfy, who previously served five years in prison for possession of explosives and threatening to carry out a mass shooting at his high school.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images

Loyal White Knights of the KKK chaplain Douglas Munker is pictured on September 8 in Yanceyville, North Carolina, with the head of the group, Chris Barker, Barkers wife, Amanda, and another member at a gathering at the Barkers home (photos above). In 2017, when Munker lived on Long Island, he was found distributing KKK literature near East Hampton Middle School. Flyering is a way for hate groups to recruit and stir up fear with little risk. According to the Anti-Defamation League, white-supremacist propaganda surged 182 percent in 2018. In a review of news items from this past year, New York found at least 300 incidents of vandalism involving a swastika: at a Queens elementary school and a California synagogue, at Yale Law School and a Missouri park, on a baby crib at a hotel in Florida, and in dozens of other states.

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux Images

Neo-Nazi Jovi Val, pictured above on Fifth Avenue on September 18, was disowned by the Proud Boys a year ago after he organized a rally in support of members of the far right facing charges for violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, including James Fields, who would be convicted of murdering Heather Heyer. The Proud Boys sought to distance themselves from Charlottesville. Many of the subjects in these photos were eager to condemn violence when interviewed, but their actions this year suggest otherwise: Many were training for a race war, or carrying shotguns at a Pride parade, or bragging about beating up anti-fascist protesters. In October, two Proud Boys were sentenced to four years in prison for attacking protesters outside the Metropolitan Republican Club in Manhattan.

*A version of this article appears in the December 23, 2019, issue ofNew York Magazine. Subscribe Now! To read more about the reporting process behind this story, click here.

See the original post:
Inside the White Nationalist Terrorist Movement in America - New York Magazine

The rebranding campaign made a warm and fuzzy appeal: Facebook is where you look at pictures of puppies and babies. Its where you can stay connected with loved ones, wherever they may be. But in private, the company was embracing Thiels conservative values.

Much of this has come out via the companys shifting relationship with the media. Last year, Facebook empowered former Republican Senator Jon Kyl to investigate the conservative claim that Facebook, like other Silicon Valley tech companies, was suppressing speech from the right. Like a similar partnership with the Heritage Foundation, the move may have been intended to bolster the companys credibility with conservatives. But it backfired, with Kyl blasting the company for not taking conservatives concerns about speech seriously, even though those concerns had little to no basis.

Then, in October, Facebook launched a partnership with a number of news outlets. Facebook had become synonymous with the fake news problem, and its response was to empower legitimate outlets by launching Facebook News, a tab on its mobile app. But one of Facebooks new partners was Breitbart, the alt-right hub that regularly publishes racist stories. As The Verges Casey Newton noted at the time, Breitbart was included in the tab precisely for ideological reasons. Certainly no one at Facebook seems to be suggesting that Breitbart is a reliable producer of high-quality journalismthe argument seems to be rather that it would be poor form to exclude them just because they once (for example) tagged relevant stories with the label black crime.

Meanwhile, Zuckerbergs public rhetoric has gotten more MAGA. He now makes a nationalistic argument on behalf of Facebook: Empower us, or cede ground to China. Defending the companys digital currency, Libra, before Congress this summer, Zuckerberg said, I believe that if America does not lead innovation in the digital currency and payments area, others will. If we fail to act, we could soon see a digital currency controlled by others whose values are dramatically different.

Read the original post:
Facebook Is a Right-Wing Company, Part One Million - The New Republic

Spoiler alert! The following reveals key plot points from"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker." Stop reading now if you don't want to know.

When they say don't feed the trolls, it's implied that you shouldn't make movies catered to their every whim, either.

Like politics and journalism, Hollywood movies inspire their fair share of abusive and abhorrent behavior online. These trolls aren't just expressing negative views of a movie they're campaigning to take that movie down at the box office and to hurt the people who made it.

But in the quest to please all potential moviegoers, there has seemingly been an alarming trend in filmmaking of late that is starting to trickle into theaters: creating films designed to satisfy the most hateful, abusive segments of the internet.

'Star Wars': 'The Rise of Skywalker' is getting the worst reviews since 'Phantom Menace'

'Sonic the Hedgehog': Trailer re-do earns praise from fans who criticized first look

One of trolls' complaints about Daisy Ridley's Rey: She couldn't possibly be important to "Star Wars" if her parents were junk traders.(Photo: Disney)

One of the most toxicgroup of fans online is a certain segment of the "Star Wars" fandom, and the new film will all but make them giddy."Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,"directed by J.J. Abrams, concludes the latest trilogy about the Skywalker clan that was last seen onscreen in 2017's "The Last Jedi," directed by Rian Johnson. "Jedi" is a film that is systemically hated by many trolls. "Skywalker" makes many choices that are counter to what "Jedi" established, and containsso much fan service it might as well have been made by them.

Many complaints about "Jedi"are either subtly or overtly sexist and racist. The men are emasculated. The women are too powerful. The characters of color don't belong. Rey can't be important if her parents were junk traders.Many complaints are more about story and character, arguing that the film flew in the face of "Star Wars" tradition and broke the rules of the universe.An alt-right troll claimedcredit for tanking the film's audience score on popular review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes (the site has denied this), and there was intense racist, sexist harassment aimed atKelly Marie Tran, who played Resistance fighter Rose Tico.

Spoilers!How 'The Rise of Skywalker' is a final 'Star Wars' tribute to Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia

Ranked: All 11 'Star Wars' movies, including 'The Rise of Skywalker'

Sparks fly in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" between Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) and Finn (John Boyega).(Photo: DAVID JAMES)

It'san awfully big coincidence that so many of the gripes about "Jedi from the bowels of the internet were heeded in "Skywalker." Its a coincidence that Tran's Roseis sidelined completely in this film. Its a coincidence that Rey is suddenly the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine. Its a coincidence that Han (Harrison Ford), Luke (Mark Hamill), Lando (Billy Dee Williams) and even Wedge Antilles (Denis Lawson) all return, some from beyond the grave.

Whether or not "Skywalker" was a direct response to the backlash against "Jedi," it is undeniably a retreat from the risks Johnson took with that film, landing the franchise so safely it becomes boring and messy. The film looks and feels like it was designed by committee, with too many acts, too many fight scenes and too little emotional resonance. It was trying to please everyone and offend no one.

'Ghostbusters: Afterlife': The trailer is here, with Paul Rudd and a 'creepy old farmhouse'

More 'Star Wars': How director Rian Johnson's 'Last Jedi' backlash inspired a 'Knives Out' internet troll

The redesigned Sonic the Hedgehog, shown in a still from the latest movie trailer.(Photo: PARAMOUNT PICTURES)

This trend goes beyond an overly cautious "Star Wars" film. Two films that haven't even been released yet, "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," are heading down this same path.

"Sonic" (in theatersFeb. 14) has admittedly been influenced by online reaction.When the first trailer for the live-action film about the video-game characterwas released online, the backlash was swift and vitriolic. In particular, fans took issue with the humanoid appearance of the CGI Sonic. The response was loud enough, apparently, that the studio reversed course immediately, with director Jeff Fowler tweeting that the character would be redesigned.

"Ghostbusters: Afterlife" will be the second attempt at revisitingthe 1980s "Ghostbusters" franchise. The first was Paul Feig's 2016reboot "Ghostbusters," featuring a primarilyfemale cast, which became a slight box-office disappointment and the victim of an organized troll campaign, particularly a racist one directed at star Leslie Jones.

"Afterlife" (out July 10)is directed by original director Ivan Reitman's son Jason and stars Paul Rudd, andthe first trailer revealed an achingly sombertone with littlelevity. The message to fans of the Feig movie appeared to be: The studio didn't take "Ghostbusters," and the man children who cried that it "ruined their childhoods," seriously enough. Now just look how seriously they're taking it.

"Ghostbusters: Afterlife," hitting theaters in 2020, will have original and new cast members.(Photo: COLUMBIA PICTURES)

As loud as online voices can be, they are not usually indicative of what the greater population thinks.Hatred for "Jedi"is a distinctly online phenomenon. Despite alow user rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie receivedan "A" from moviegoers on Cinemascore. The movie didn't make as much money as "The Force Awakens," but it did make a cool $1.3 billion at the global box office. But, sure, everyone hates it.

It seems uncanny,bad forbusiness and terrible for storytelling for any kind of mass-produced productto try to capture the attention of so few people. The rest of us are left wanting."Skywalker" is getting eviscerated by critics in large part because of its undoing of "Jedi." How many more movies can we redesign via trending Twitter topics? Many thought Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" was too long, so maybe Netflix should cut an hour because some anonymous hashtag said so.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Although the "Sonic" director explicitly stated his movie's redo was the result of online response, we can't know for sure about "Ghostbusters" or "Skywalker." And there is theslim possibility thatthe first trailer for "Ghostbusters" could be a head fake in terms of its tone.

But even if the storytelling choices had nothing to do with the online discourse, they skirt too close to it. Like a child who throws a temper tantrum in the store for a piece of candy, we shouldn't reward those who abuse internet platforms with moviescurated to their tastes, even if the parent was going to give the kid the candy bar anyway. It doesn't help make good movies, it doesn't help clean up the internet wasteland, and it certainly isn't helping casual moviegoers enjoy a well-produced film.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2019/12/20/star-wars-rise-skywalker-ghostbusters-afterlife-sonic-hollywood-trolls/2690020001/

Original post:
Was 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' made to please 'The Last Jedi' trolls? It sure seems like it - USA TODAY

Writer-director Rian Johnson took inspiration from his favorite Agatha Christie mysteries for Knives Out, which has has been holding its own with adult audiences at the fall box office. But he told the crowd at Deadlines recent The Contenders New York that he also wanted to write a modern-day original.

In the tradition of Christie ensembles, the all-star cast of the Lionsgate film plays possible suspects in a murder mystery. Daniel Craig is Benoit Blanc, the sleuth investigating the Thrombey family and their maid (Ana de Armas) after the death of patriarch author Harlan (Christopher Plummer). Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Katherine Langford and Jaeden Martell play the Thrombeys. They represent the 1%, with some specific 2019 digressions. For example young Jacob (Martell) is an alt-right online troll.

We see it today, its usually an Agatha Christie adaptation, Johnson, joined onstage by his producer Ram Bergman, told the DGA Theater crowd of Academy and guild voters. Its usually a period piece set in Britain. Its easy to forget that when she was writing, its not like she was a heavy political writer, but she was always engaging with contemporary British society of her time through her characters.

He added: I love the Agatha Christie adaptations, but the notion of doing an original and really plugging it into 2019 America, not just giving it a modern skin but using this little microcosm to look at that, that seemed like that could be really interesting.

The mystery unfolds in the Thrombey house, which is a character unto itself. One day we saw a picture, we said, This looks like the house, Bergman said. I took Rian there while he was still writing and we zeroed in on the house, but it took us like months and months to actually negotiate a deal. We literally cemented it like two weeks before we started filming.

Check out the conversation in the video above.

Here is the original post:
'Knives Out's Rian Johnson On The One Thing Missing From Modern Mysteries The Contenders NY Video - Deadline

Its time to have a national conversation about antisemitism. Not an abbreviated one that starts with neo-Nazis and ends with the alt-right. No, a real one.

For the mainstream media and many public officials (cough,Bill de Blasio, cough), its been convenient and even preferable to discuss antisemitism in that one, narrow way. Like a predictable movie, the narrative about American antisemitism has long been that its a far-right problem. Its true, the far-right has always been antisemitic. Ive yet to meet any Jew who would say otherwise.

The less convenient corollary is that antisemitism is not confined to the far-right, not least because the political spectrum is increasingly egg-shaped, especially where Jew hatred is concerned. When discussing Jews, the language of the far-left and far-right is increasingly overlapping, which is no coincidence, according to a new reportfrom Zachor Legal Institute and StopAntisemitism.org. Its why activist Linda SarsourreferencesDavid Duke, whopraisesRep. Ilhan Omar.

Antisemitism is the great unifier, ideologically aligning those who may dress differently but think similarly. Unless and until thats widely accepted, it will be significantly harder to push antisemitism back to societys fringes and we must. Its not only a matter of safeguarding the lives of Jewish citizens, but also of protecting American democracy. Widespread acceptance of conspiracy theories like antisemitism is not a mark of a healthy, vibrant society.

In little more than a year, antisemitism has turned deadly three times for American Jews. On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman murdered 11 Jews gathered for prayer at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh. On April 27, 2019, another gunman attacked the Chabad of Poway, California, taking the life of another praying Jew. Then last Tuesday, three people were murdered at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The victims in Jersey City included store owner Leah Minda Ferencz (age 33), Ferenczs cousin Moshe Deutsch (age 24), and store employee Douglas Rodrguez (age 49). The attackers also killed Detective Joseph Seals, a father of five. These deaths were totally unnecessary. Yet as heinous as this attack was, knowingthe intended target was likely the 50 children attending the Jewish school beside the grocery store is even more horrific.

For Jews whove watched antisemitic violence rise first overseas and now here at home, the Jersey City attack recalls the assault on the Paris areaHyper Cacherin January 2015, when an Islamist gunman killed three customers and an employee at the kosher market, which burned down precisely three years later. Such attacks are not random. They clearly target Jews.

Reportsindicatethat Jersey City attackers Francine Graham and David Anderson attended an anti-Semitic Black Hebrew Israelite church in Harlem. Aneighbor also reported overhearingAnderson repeatedly listening to recordings of Louis Farrakhan, a virulent antisemite with links to the initialleadership teamof theWomens March and congressional Democrats, who has been photographed with Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. That is to say, the attackers appear to have been inspired by sources that were neither white supremacist nor of the right.

Antisemitism takes numerous forms. For the safety of American Jews, its time society takes all those threats seriously.

So its not helpful when New York Citys mayor doubles down on his insistencethat antisemitism is a right-wing problem,tellingNew York public radiosBrian Lehrer last Friday, We have to have an honest conversation. There are folks who identify on the left who are saying and doing antisemitic things although it has not taken a systematic violent form. I think there is a lot of evidence in this country, not just in terms of antisemitism, but violent acts in general thats coming from the white supremacy movement.

This is an epic refusal to acknowledge reality.Ongoing attacks on visibly Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn have been violent. They have occurred for years now, and white supremacists are not perpetrating them. Just this month in Brooklyn, a Jewish womanwas called the F Jew with the wig, as another woman threatened to throw her onto subway tracks, and three teens stoned a Jewish girls school bus, shattering a window.

Downplaying deadly attacks on Hasidic Jews and explaining the Jersey City attacks as some sort of response to tensions in the community or gentrification by relative newcomers, as the Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker have, would be considered victim-blaming in other contexts.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, police are investigating the Friday night attack on a Persian synagogue in Beverly Hills. Bizarrely, in spite ofreligious ritual items, such as Torahs, beingmistreatedinside asynagogue, police say there are no overt signs of antisemitism. Have words lost all meaning?

It just shouldnt be this hard for our leaders and the media to recognize and condemn antisemitism. Without widespread pushback, antisemitism could become normalized.

Historys already broadcast numerous episodes of this same show. A society that cant truly tolerate its Jewish minority quickly becomes a dangerous place for other religious, racial, and ethnic minority groups, too. If were going to prevent a rerun of some of historys worst chapters, we must stop antisemitism now.

Read more here:
Pretending Racism Against Jews Is Only The Right's Problem Is Fueling It - The Federalist