Daily Kos has become a haven for anti-Semites. There, I said it. Sure, the anti-Semitism is usually couched in "but Israel" terms, but it's there. Allow me, please to give a recent example of the Jew Rule here, the one that says, "every other form of bigotry and hatred is rejected here, but feel free to blame the Jews, as long as you use the word 'Israel' when you do it."
I'm going to compare two recent incidents, and diaries about each. The first is the murder of three young Muslim students in North Carolina. The second is the murders the other day in Denmark. I'll assume, for the sake of this diary, that readers are familiar with both.
First, the North Carolina story. Three young Muslims were murdered by a resident in their apartment building. The official line is that they were killed as part of an ongoing dispute about parking. Many, though, feel that their religion was the driving motivation. We've had plenty of diaries about them, too.
Man charged in killing of three Muslim students in North Carolina
Nowhere in this diary, nor in the comments, does anybody say, "well, it's a pity they were murdered, but we can't have an honest discussion about this without talking about ISIS, or al Qaeda, or 9/11." Nor should they, for such a comment would be ignorant and hateful. Instead, we have people writing about how terrible it is that people are anti-Muslim or that they are blaming all Muslims for the acts of a few horrible people. We have comments like this:
Let me guess: he's only a lobe wolf... (4+ / 0-)
A Muslim would kill 3 Christians in the US: ALL Muslims would be accused by conservatives and Murdoch.
A Christian kill 3 Muslims in the US: conservatives and Murdoch will call him a lone wolf...
by freeportguy1 on Wed Feb 11, 2015 at 11:05:53 AM EST
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UNC & NCstate endorse 11 muslim-hate radio (4+ / 0-)
stations.
that blast the state with anti-muslim hate from shits like limbaugh and savage and local equivalents all day long.
whether or not these psychopaths listen to republican radio all day should be included in profiling them.
whether or not this guy was a talk radio or fox hater, how can our universities continue to support this hate?
their mission statements would prohibit it if taken seriously.
republicanradio.org / republiconradio.org Why RW radio kicks liberal ass and what to do about it.
by certainot on Wed Feb 11, 2015 at 11:27:40 AM EST
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There's another diary about the same subject,
About That 'Atheist' Who Killed 3 Young Muslims In North Carolina…. Again, the diary did not blame ISIS or al Qaeda for the murders. One person went there in the comments, and got more doughnuts that you'd find at Dunkin' on a Saturday morning:
He went to an Ivy, you don't read newspapers (0+ / 16-)
Newsflash: We are having problems with religious extremists who deny science; when Bill is attacking Christian fundies, you approve, but when he points out the obvious about Muslims, you're pissed. Grow up.
Are you seriously asserting that what's happening in the Middle East has nothing to do with religion? Are you a heroin addict? If so, I can understand your illogical conclusions. If you're a Muslim (and I'm guessing you are), you're behaving childishly, and frankly, the vast majority of you do behave childishly about FUCKING cartoons. When you get murderous , you tempt the rest of us to simply nuke you. Israel is the only thing that protects you; I sincerely wish you'd push her into the sea. We have neutron bombs to test, and you're the preferred target.
by CatKinNY on Fri Feb 13, 2015 at 02:24:51 AM EST
That comment got responses like this:
Whoa! There are so many things wrong, offensive, (27+ / 0-)
racist, and hate-filled in the above comment. It's so horrendous, I thought it was satire.
Just in case, the comment thread gets skewed, I'm talking about CatKinNY's comment stating:
Are you a heroin addict? If so, I can understand your illogical conclusions.
If you're a Muslim (and I'm guessing you are), you're behaving childishly, and frankly, the vast majority of you do behave childishly about FUCKING cartoons.
When you get murderous , you tempt the rest of us to simply nuke you.
We have neutron bombs to test, and you're the preferred target.
Pure hate speech. I'd say I'm speechless, but apparently I'm not. More like shocked. I've never seen a more bannable comment in my entire 2+ years on Daily Kos. In fact, I've never seen anything like this on Daily Kos. WFT?
"In this world, hate has never yet dispelled hate. Only love can dispel hate." ~ Buddha
by Leslie Salzillo on Fri Feb 13, 2015 at 04:24:40 AM EST
and this:
Sickening! (6+ / 0-)
This comment should get you banned.
by NancyK on Fri Feb 13, 2015 at 07:36:41 AM EST
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and this:
Holy shit (3+ / 0-)
there aren't many, but this is certainly one of the posts I would describe as bannable over. Or at least an instant time-out.
by Skaje on Fri Feb 13, 2015 at 05:01:41 PM EST
Another diary on the same subject also failed to blame the murders on the acts of other Muslims, or even Muslim nations, like Saudi Arabia, which finance terrorism and subject women and homosexuals to terrible treatments.
"Three young Muslims" murdered in Chapel Hill NC; shooter in custody
So now let's look at what happens when somebody writes about murders in Denmark, first shooting at a cafe where a cartoonist was at a seminar, and then at a synagogue where, well, Jews.
Jews are NOT at war with Islam. But jihadi terrorists have declared war on Jews. Note, please, that the diarist very clearly asked people not to turn it into yet another I/P diary, saying:
If you want to discuss Israel/Palestine, take it somewhere else. I mentioned criticism of Israel in the post in a very specific way, but in no way does that open the door for I/P 'debates' here. It's my house, it's my rules.
Anything that even smacks of an attempt to say that Jews anywhere/everywhere in the world did something to deserve being murdered is beyond the pale.
So what happened? People got angry with the diarist for the attempted restriction because, of course, hatred and murder of Jews is explained by Israel's actions. It's not the murderer's fault, or at least not entirely, because - Israel!
Of course they did nothing to deserve being (56+ / 8-)
killed. But the role the current Israeli leadership plays in endangering Jews around the world cannot be ignored. Otherwise you're discussing the issue in a vacuum.
"When dealing with terrorism, civil and human rights are not applicable." Egyptian military spokesman.
by Paleo on Sun Feb 15, 2015 at 11:08:46 AM EST
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If the poster thinks this important topic (62+ / 0-)
... can be discussed while completely ignoring the I/P issue, he's crazy. And he's not crazy.
The actions of the Israeli state create a clear and present danger to Jews across the world. That's not debatable. To discuss the issue of murderous anti-Semitism among jihadi extremists without acknowledging their best recruiting tool is simply dishonest.
Our form of democracy is bribery, on the highest scale. --Gore Vidal
by Dallasdoc on Sun Feb 15, 2015 at 11:29:06 AM EST
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You cannot discuss this in a historical bubble (8+ / 0-)
of your own framing. To do so does nothing but make you feel better about your position and does nothing to help solve the issue you correctly state is anti-Semitism. Whether the Jewish people of the world like it or not, they are tied to the actions and existence of Israel as a Zionist state. I can understand you do not want to discuss it but unless you want to turn this into a book review of Leon Uris's Exodus book, expect others to disagree with you.
Do facts matter anymore?
by Sinan on Sun Feb 15, 2015 at 01:30:39 PM EST
[ Parent | Reply to this ] Recommend Hide
I don't think Bibi got the memo (12+ / 0-)
Hillary does not have the benefit of a glib tongue.
by The Dead Man on Sun Feb 15, 2015 at 11:08:57 AM EST
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If you truly believe the problem is one-sided.. (10+ / 1-)
..you'll never solve it.
Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations. - George Orwell
by Wayward Son on Sun Feb 15, 2015 at 11:10:34 AM EST
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Disingenuous (21+ / 2-)
It is quite disingenuous to state that it is clear that "...Muslim leaders have a particular responsibility regarding anti-Jewish hatred..."while not addressing the anti-Islam, rabid hatred of Palestinians that is becoming increasingly prevalent and quite acceptable in Israeli society, including the military.
To not address the obscene Israeli policy, euphemistically called "mowing the Palestinian lawn", which involves the starvation, imposition of drought and killing of innocent Palestinians as having some relationship to the re-emergence of anti-Jewish violence may be interpreted as purposely deceptive.
When the noble term "Never Again" is meant not as a declaration that humanity will no longer abide by genocide, no matter who the victims, but is instead used as a justification for Israeli preemptive violence against their neighbors, that declaration loses all moral authority.
If we're attempting to analyze the circumstances that contribute to such violence, we must not be myopic and view events in a vacuum.
by elesares on Sun Feb 15, 2015 at 11:36:05 AM EST
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Jews may not be at war with Islam, (2+ / 0-)
but Israeli politicians are. And many American politicians hate the Jews, but love Israel, so they are at war with both the Jews and Islam.
"What are we afraid of, and why are we holding back, when nobody's gonna listen to this shit anyway?" -- magic mitch
by oldmaestro on Sun Feb 15, 2015 at 12:04:09 PM EST
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This bodies aren't cool yet, and people are incredibly anxious to say, "but Israel."
I compare this to the North Carolina murders, but I could just as easily compare it to racist acts, homophobic acts, or anything else motivated by an -ism here on Daily Kos. all would be decried, and any attempt to "explain" them would be doughnuted into oblivion. With just one exception.
I know more Jews who have left Daily Kos than those who remain.
The reason is very simple. It's dKos's Jew Rule. And if you don't believe it exists, you're part of the problem.
And now I will leave this to the comments, which will devolve into yet another I/P war blaming Israel for anti-Semitism world-wide. Because, as we all know, it wasn't a problem before 1948. Right?