Anti-Semitism
December 30, 2012 — Scott Johnson
In his quest for appointment as Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel has earned the endorsement of Patrick Buchanan. Buchanan of course is a true believer in the key components of the Hagel thesis, right down the line. Ron Radosh explicates the meaning of Buchanan’s endorsement. Does Hagel’s nomination remain on track? I was dubious, but Hagel seems to have one thing going for him. He represents some of Obama’s deepest,
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December 21, 2012 — Scott Johnson
Chuck Hagel’s past comments continue to haunt the man who is rumored to be President Obama’s top candidate for the position of Secretary of Defense. Last night an interview reemerged of Hagel insisting that James C. Hormel, President Clinton’s 1997 nominee to be ambassador to Luxembourg, was unqualified for his appointment because he was “openly, aggressively gay.” It didn’t take long before a prominent gay rights group declared his views
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November 25, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
John wrote here about the display of anti-Semitism directed by fans of Lazio, an Italian soccer team, against Tottenham Hotspur supporters in Rome last week. Before the match, Lazio’s “Ultras” attacked Spurs fans, sending one to the hospital with serious stab wounds. Then, during the match, they chanted “Juden Tottenham” – using the German word for Jew — and unfurled a “Free Palestine” banner. Tottenham, as John noted, is strongly
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November 24, 2012 — John Hinderaker
On Thursday, Tottenham Hotspur played Rome’s Lazio club in a Europe League game. Before the match began, a number of Spurs fans were hanging out in Rome’s Campo de Fiori square when they were attacked by 50 to 100 “Ultras” armed with knives, baseball bats and brass knuckles. The Ultras are described as right-wing, which I take it means left-wing. They trashed a bar called the Drunken Ship and seriously
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November 14, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Post assures its readers that “Obama [is] relatively unscathed by [the] Petraeus investigation.” In the online version, the Post goes further, describing Obama as “untouched” by the affair. The Post is right, I think, provided that Obama did not receive word of the investigation of General Petraeus before the election. If Obama did receive such word well ahead of the election, questions will arise as to what he
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November 14, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Post reports that Jill Kelley, a close friend of both General Petraeus and General Allen, “cultivated close ties to the military.” She did so, in part, by throwing lavish parties for “military brass” that featured “valet parking, string quartets on the lawn, premium cigars and champagne, and caviar-laden buffets.” Meanwhile, the Kelley family (her husband is a surgeon) is massively in debt, with foreclosure proceedings initiated on two
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September 25, 2012 — Scott Johnson
Jews begin the observance of Yom Kippur tonight at Kol Nidre services. Last year a Christian friend asked to join us at our service. She pointed out to me in our prayer book an adaptation of the prayer composed by the progressive German Rabbi Leo Baeck for delivery in German synagogues during the Kol Nidre service on October 10, 1935. It is a prayer that, to say the least, remains
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September 12, 2012 — Steven Hayward
The shocking events yesterday in the Middle East threaten to upend what is supposed to be (but substantively isn’t) a strong point for Obama—foreign policy. The Administration’s pathetic response to the embassy sackings and killing of diplomatic staff in Egypt and Libya, combined with the hastily-arranged phone call between Obama and Netanyahu after refusing to hold a face-to-face meeting, reminds of nothing so much as Jimmy Carter—and especially the infamous
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August 27, 2012 — Scott Johnson
Robert S. Wistrich is one of the world’s foremost scholars of anti-Semitism. Witness his monumental history A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism From Antiquity to the Global Jihad. In this column, Professor Wistrich assesses the state of leftism vis-a-vis Israel and holds out some slight hope for the left to reconnect to an authentic emancipatory vision. Although it’s a hope that we have long since abandoned. we are proud to present Professor
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July 28, 2012 — Scott Johnson
Reader Jason Mart writes regarding the story of the Greek triple jumper that John Hinderaker explored here: I keep waiting for someone to point out the hypocrisy that is the London Olympics and the IOC… Paraskevi Papachristou — a young and, it would seem, not very politically correct) triple jumper from Greece — is expelled for a childish and stupid re-tweet about Nile virus mosquitoes being able to acquire “homemade
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July 22, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
I wrote here about the refusal of the International Olympic Committee to set aside one minute of silence at the opening ceremony at this year’s games to commemorate the Israeli athletes who were murdered 40 years ago at the Munich games. Since then, the IOC has held fast to this position despite mounting pressure. Deborah Lipstadt at Tablet has no difficulty demolishing the pretexts, and identifying the true reason, for
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May 23, 2012 — Scott Johnson
Robert S. Wistrich is one of the world’s foremost scholars of anti-Semitism. Witness his monumental history A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism From Antiquity to the Global Jihad. See also the squib below. In this column, Professor Wistrich remembers Vidal Sassoon, who died on May 9: I first became aware of Vidal Sassoon’s rise to prominence about 45 years ago as a young student at Cambridge University. It was the age of
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May 18, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, I opined that Jeremiah Wright should not be off-limits in the 2012 campaign unless research demonstrates that bringing up the Obama-Wright relationship will not hurt Obama. My suspicion is that Obama has some vulnerability here. That suspicion is confirmed, I think, by the Obama campaign’s shrill reaction, and that of its MSM friends, to reports that a PAC might inject Wright into the race (the PAC decided not to).
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May 17, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
Word that a conservative super-PAC was contemplating an ad campaign, to the tune of up to $10 million, attacking President Obama’s association with Jeremiah Wright has generated plenty of buzz. It now appears, however, that no such campaign is forthcoming. The PAC that was considering this approach, the Ending Spending Action Fund of billionaire Joe Ricketts, says that, although the idea was put forth as a possible direction to take,
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May 2, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
As expected, Marine Le Pen has declined to endorse Nicolas Sarkozy for president in Sunday’s run-off election. Her decision is probably the final nail in Sarkozy’s electoral coffin. Le Pen finished a strong third in the preliminary election, and support from her right-leaning voters is crucial to Sarkozy’s hopes of defeating Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande. Some have estimated that Sarkozy needs 80 percent of Le Pen’s vote. But polls
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April 21, 2012 — Steven Hayward
The Left and the media (but I repeat . . . oh why bother) are making a fuss about an ambush put on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor by Mike Allen of Politico about purported anti-Semitism in the House Republican caucus, shown in the video below. It turns out that Cantor contributed $25,000 to a primary challenger against an incumbent House Republican who had commented that Cantor couldn’t be “saved”
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March 22, 2012 — Scott Johnson
Mohammed Merah’s standoff with the French police outside his apartment in Toulouse has ended with his death. The Telegraph’s live coverage takes readers through the shootout with police. It has a “come an’ get me, copper” feel to it. Merah proclaimed his pride in killing a rabbi, three Jewish children and three French paratroopers in three separate motorcycle shooting attacks. The AP story peddles the “lone wolf” theme that is
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