Extremist Jewish factions and far-right parties team up against "Islamisation" despite the latter's anti-Semitic past.
Right-wing movements previously associated with anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi ideologies are increasingly opting for a surprising tactic to garner legitimacy within mainstream politics: Forging alliances with extremist Jewish organisations under the banner of fighting "Islamisation".
"Far-right parties are professing a new found love of Israel as a way of escaping their past anti-Semitism and racism, and to justify their prejudice towards European Muslims as not being racist," Toby Archer, a researcher who studies far-right parties and the "counter-jihad blogosphere", explained to Al Jazeera. "Parties like the British National Party (BNP) in the UK, Vlaams Belang in Belgium, and the National Front in France are all coming out from a neo-fascist past."
These parties have stopped using anti-Semitic rhetoric, Archer said, which had prevented them from attracting support. It is important to distinguish between the traditional far-right, who are historically anti-Semitic, and the populist new-right, who have emerged in the last two decades and partake in an anti-Muslim discourse, he said.
The article doesn't quite get the differences between the various wings of the JDL, but whatever. My question to Meir (and, tangentially, to the people at CIJA, who have been courting similar folk) is: how deep do you think the conversion among these far right groups runs? I would suggest not very: consider the case of Lemire and the Fairness Fairy. And are you willing to trade off support for Israel in exchange for giving Holocaust Denial, among other things, a pass? Because that is what the stakes are. The people who bash Muslims can, currently, in this country, bash them about as hard as they are capable of. The day after Section 13 goes, the organized Jew Bashers in Canada will declare victory, toss off this nonsense about being supporters of free speech, and get back to job number one (and, Meir, I am not referring in this case to some lady in a Bhurka thinking dark thoughts about Israel).
PS. Richard Warman debates Nathalie Des Rosiers re Free Speech and Section 13 at the George Ignatieff theatre in Toronto. Meir will be there, asking Richard some "pointed" questions. I might try and get there myself, esp. if the concession sells draft beer.
18 comments:
Extremism in all forms is invariably ugly.
If memory serves me correctly didn't the Canadian Jewish Congress heavily criticize the JDL for its association to the EDL?
They did.
I love reading Meir's personal statments on his website. It is like reading a story written by a a 5 year old.
Google tells me that Bernie Farber rode pretty rough-shod on the JDL. Does it really have credibility in the Jewish community? I'm skeptical.
CJC and Bernie are gone. What's left are the right leaning groups. One thing I would like to do on this blog is help make the JDL and co. achieve less credibility within the community, unless Meir reverts back to the young Weinstein, who history says wasn't such a dick.
No, Harvey. Three million were killed by Pakistani govt and troops, of which 2.4 million were Hindus and 600,000 were Bangladeshi Muslims.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Bangladesh_atrocities#Violence_against_minorities
The minorities of Bangladesh, especially the Hindus, were specific targets of the Pakistan army.[1][2] There was widespread killing of Hindu males, and rapes of women. More than 60% of the Bengali refugees who fled to India were Hindus.[53] It is not exactly known what percentage of the people killed by the Pakistan army were Hindus, but it is safe to say it was disproportionately high.[54] This widespread violence against Hindus was motivated by a policy to purge East Pakistan of what was seen as Hindu and Indian influences. The West Pakistani rulers identified the Bengali culture with Hindu and Indian culture, and thought that the eradication of Hindus would remove such influences from the majority Muslims in East Pakistan.[55]
R.J. Rummel has stated states that
The genocide and gendercidal atrocities were also perpetrated by lower-ranking officers and ordinary soldiers. These “willing executioners” were fueled by an abiding anti-Bengali racism, especially against the Hindu minority. “Bengalis were often compared with monkeys and chickens. Said General Niazi, ‘It was a low lying land of low lying people.’ The Hindus among the Bengalis were as Jews to the Nazis: scum and vermin that [should] best be exterminated. As to the Moslem Bengalis, they were to live only on the sufferance of the soldiers: any infraction, any suspicion cast on them, any need for reprisal, could mean their death. And the soldiers were free to kill at will. The journalist Dan Coggin quoted one Punjabi captain as telling him, "We can kill anyone for anything. We are accountable to no one." This is the arrogance of Power.
—R.J. Rummel, Death by Government[56]
Hey Ron, why do you call yourself "canadian hindu advocacy" instead of the name your mamma gave you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i1nrU1IOKA
You might be in the wrong line. That's some comedy gold right there, Ron.
Such academic rigor here. I will give Ron credit atleast he acknowledged the Muslims who died in east pakistan.
But here is the thing, the only place i hear the 2.4 million hindu killed number is from Banerjee (the "logic" presented is that 80% of the refugees were hindus and thus 80% of those killed were also hindus). yes a disproportionate number of hindus died and yes also a large number of prominant bengali muslims died. Yes this was a genocide not against a specific religious group but against an ethnic group that consisted of both Muslims and Hindus.
Now back to topic, Will banerjee be at this town hall and will he speak? I feel it is important that CIJA and this town hall hear from Mr. Banerjee.
I honestly wonder if CHA is real or if comedian Russell Peters has perhaps created this group as part of a future routine he is testing here
Hey Canadian Hindu Advocacy, why don't you and Meir speak out against the Gujurat government using pro-Hitler history textbooks in schools?
Speaking of european far-right wingers it seems that Breivik (contrary to popular claims on Sun News, fox news and a plethora of unemployed far right bloggers) is not insane and is not being treated for any psychopathic behaviour.
In the end he was just far right.
http://bit.ly/xtHDeR
It seems hard to believe that Jewish community leadership would associate itself with the JDL. This has nothing to do with politics or even Israel. The JDL is seen as very extreme in my community. The people I know would never be seen with anything the JDL sponsors. Are you saying that the new CJC has associated itself with the JDL. Sorry to seem dense but I just can't see it.
MM,
If that question is directed to me, its more as if the JDL has aligned itself with CIJA (the new CJC). I would say that CIJA hasn't really shown too much of its hand, but it is definitely right of CJC, and its CEO has cuddled up with some nasty folk (the Shaidles) when he was with the CIC.
The Canadian Hindu Advocacy will definitely be sending some of our executives to represent Hindu viewpoints at the town hall.
Our inter faith dialogue with the Jewish community on this matter and other issues will continue.
For the record Shimon Fogel, CEO of CIJA .. publically defended JDL on al Jazeera.
Many rabbis respect Meir a great deal, and we have seen this with our own eyes.
The JDL position is now the default position of the Jewish community, just as the CHA is the acknowledged leader of Hindus.. see
http://www.southasianfocus.ca/community/article/102811
"just as the CHA is the acknowledged leader of Hindus.. see"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i1nrU1IOKA
bwaaaaahahaha!
Thanks to Lenny for that clip. It's almost Pythonesque. I'm beginning to believe as have others that the CHA is a set up to discredit the JDL, not that it needs a lot of help. But how else to describe Ron Banarjee.
Perhaps it's CSIS at work again, but this time instead of Grant Bristow it's Ron Banarjee. It's just too odd to be real!
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