A Labour Purge of Anti-Semites?!?

First, you may wish to sit down before reading this….

Good.  For two aspects of this post may floor you.  First, I am compelled to now praise the Labour Party.

Yes, I know.  Shocking.  But don’t stand up yet… Second, the Labour Party may be purging its anti-semites.

Already, the Labour Party has suspended (Still sitting?) past Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.  And other Corbynistas are in danger as well, including (Please God!) Dianne Abbott.

I have to praise the courage of Labour leader Keir Starmer.  At the same time, I wonder if Labour will now split into a semi-sane, non-Communist Party and a silly Left Islamonazi Party.

Now if only the U. S. Democrat Party would purge its anti-semites.

Antisemite Linda Sarsour a Speaker at Democrat National Convention UPDATED

Someone forgot to tell the Democrat Party that the antisemitism of the U.K. Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn was something to be avoided, not imitated. 

For look who is a speaker at the Democrat National Convention – Linda Sarsour, someone so antisemitic that the Women’s March booted her from leadership.

I’ve got no words, except to say that if the purpose of the DNC was to repel decent people, they are doing a good job of that.

UPDATE:
The Biden campaign NOW realizes how toxic Sarsour is and is trying to disassociate him from her.  Then why was she a convention speaker?

They are trying to have it both ways with a wink and a nod to the antisemites.

Sermon for Presentation of Christ in the Temple - "We Are All Jews"

If today, February 2^nd, 2020, you were to ask someone, “What day is it?”, he or she would likely answer, “Sunday.” And of course it is. If someone is alert to it being February 2^nd, he might answer, “It’s Groundhog Day.”  If he enjoyed numbers, he might note that it’s 2-2-2020.  Or if that person is a football fan, the answer for February 2^ndthis year is, of course, “it’s Super Bowl Sunday.”

Those are all correct answers.  And Super Bowl Sunday is certainly a feast day in the secular American calendar.  But for some reason, it is not to be found in the Book of Common Prayer. 

Instead the Book of Common Prayer has today as the day of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.  And so it has been in the church since the 6^thor 7^thcentury if not before.  In times past, this was a major feast day especially in the medieval Western church.  The custom of blessing and distributing candles and then processing with the lit candles became especially popular in the medieval church to the point that Candlemas became a common name for this day.  Some more high church congregations still break out the candles today as did my Oxford home away from home, Pusey House, this morning.  

So today many are still observing the Presentation with enthusiasm. But it is safe to say that it is not as well observed or as well known today as in times past.  Even for some in this pious congregation, to hear that today is a holy day called the Presentation of Christ in the Temple might be a surprise. 

So what is today about?  Well, if we were having Holy Communion, the Gospel would be from Luke 2:22-40.  That passage tells us all about the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple, so let’s turn there.  (And if you don’t have a Bible handy, you can find this passage in our Book of Common Prayer on page 250.)

And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to presenthimto the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. (v. 22-24)

We see here Mary and Joseph, with the baby Jesus, obeying the Mosaic Law in two ways.  First, forty days after the birth of a son, the mother is to become ritually pure by the sacrifice of a lamb or of two doves. For this reason, today is often called the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The option of two doves is a concession in the Law for those too poor to afford a lamb.

Mary and Joseph could not afford a lamb so they offered two doves. But, although they probably did not know it, Mary and Joseph werepresenting a lamb; they were presenting Jesus the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world. 

By the way, it is interesting how so much of the Mosaic Law, the Torah, is a foreshadowing of what God was going to do through Jesus Christ.  This is only one such case.  The Law designating a lamb to be presented for sacrifice 40 days after the birth of a son foreshadows Jesus, the Lamb of God, being presented in the Temple 40 days after his birth. 

The second requirement of the Law observed here is that every first born son was to be offered to God.  BUT remember that the Lord does not like human sacrifice.  So the first born was to be presented then redeemed by making a monetary offering. (Numbers 18: 15, 16)

Note the humility of the Holy Family.  Mary knew that her birth was different, a virgin birth by the operation of the Holy Spirit just as it had been announced to her by the angel.  And unlike other children, Jesus was not a sinner.  So there was hardly any need for purification.  But they complied with the Law anyway.

As for Jesus being presented to God, how do you present God to God? But in this and in any number of ways, Jesus and his parents complied with the Mosaic Law.  Remember that Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it.

Up to now, if one had been there, Jesus and his parents probably seemed like any other family of modest means fulfilling their religious duties in the Temple.  But then something very different happens.

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose namewasSimeon; and the same manwasjust and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

If these words seem familiar, it is because this is the Nunc Dimittis which we sing at Evening Prayer.  Simeon proclaimed Jesus as the Salvation of God and as the Light of the World, and we do so also.  In this significant way, we remember the Presentation of Christ in the Temple every time we do Evening Prayer. 

Continuing…

And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, thischildis set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And shewasa widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but servedGodwith fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

St. Paul, while making a defense for the Faith before King Agrippa, said these things have “not been done in a corner.” (Acts 26:26) He was referring mainly to the Passion, death and resurrection of Christ.  But the same could be said about the birth of Christ.

Not only did angels proclaim his birth to shepherds, and the shepherds passed on that proclamation.  A star proclaimed him in the East.  Magi came from the East and proclaimed his birth in the courts of Jerusalem. And now as the baby Jesus is presented in the crowded Temple, two prophets, Simeon and Anna, greet him and proclaim him also. 

By the way, do you notice echoes of Christmas in the Presentation of Christ in the Temple?  You have a baby Jesus.  You have Mary and Joseph. You have the theme of light. Remember Simeon proclaimed him a light to the Gentiles in the Nunc Dimittis. In Christmas, in Epiphany, and in the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, you have people of all sorts, Jews and Gentiles, shepherds and magi and prophets coming seemingly out of nowhere saying, “It’s Him! It’s the newborn Savior! It’s the newborn King of the Jews! It is Christ the Lord!” 

It’s no wonder that for some, Christmastide does not end until today, forty days after Christmas, on the Feast of the Presentation of Christ.

And you think I am bad about prolonging Christmas!  I will have you know I took my Christmas tree down only two weeks after Epiphany.

But echoes of Christmas do continue into the Presentation of Christ in the Temple and really throughout the church year.

The passage on the Presentation of Christ concludes:

And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

And this prompts me to make two very practical and somewhat difficult applications of the Presentation of Christ.  This is such a rich episode and passage – so much could be said!  And kick-off isn’t until after 5! But I will be merciful and confine myself to two matters.

First, note that Jesus, though unique and sinless and divine, Jesus grew. Jesus matured.  And his growth into maturity was a process.  Luke makes this point again at the end of the next passage about Jesus returning to the Temple at age 12:

And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.  And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Luke emphasized biographical detail more than the other Gospel writers.  And there surely was curiosity around about the childhood and youth of Jesus. There certainly was later on when a so-called Gospel of Thomas came out.  Of course, it was neither a Gospel nor written by St. Thomas. But it supposedly has episodes from the childhood of Jesus.  And in it, Jesus is something of an obnoxious Superboy; whose super powers were causing such problems that neighbors pleaded with Joseph and Mary to take Jesus and move away.

Luke lets us know it was not like that.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

In other words, Jesus was a good neighbor. Neighbors were glad to have him around.

And as unique and perfect as Jesus was, his growth was a process. He grew; he increased in wisdom and in stature.  He was not Superbaby or Superboy.  Not only that, remember Jesus did not begin his public ministry until he was about age 30.  Now if anyone was ever entitled to take shortcuts to maturity, it was Jesus Christ.  Yet he did not.

If God saw it as necessary for Jesus to growinto godly maturity, how much more is that the case for us!  To become godly men and women of God is a process.  That process is part of sanctification.  And just as physical growth and health is an everyday process, so it is with sanctification.  It’s much more than just one morning a week for us – and  for our children.

A whole series of sermons could be preached on this process of sanctification, of growth into Christian maturity.  So I will confine myself to pointing you to an excellent passage on raising children, Deuteronomy 6: 6, 7.  This is the Lord speaking:

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Raising and teaching children into Christian maturity is an everyday process.  And so is tending to our own learning and Christian growth.

At this point, I want to speak especially to the youth and young adults here this morning.  So if you were up too late last night, wake up and listen up!

You might think that teaching children is a parent’s responsibility, and you’re right; it is.  But teaching children is also your opportunity.  Children really look up to older youth and young adults like you.  They watch you, and they listen to you.  And as I see often in this congregation, they love you and want to be with you.

What an opportunity to teach these children that so look up to you!  And I’m not saying you have to have an organized Bible study with them – although that might be a good idea.  But use everyday life and everyday opportunities to teach them from God’s word both in what you say and in what you do.

But guess what is necessary to teach God’s word to the next generation.  Youneed to learn God’s word.  You need to read and study the Bible just about every day. We study the Bible, not just for our own benefit and growth – although that is certainly important: we read and study the Bible so we can teach the next generations.

So let us not be lazy about this, especially you men.  I say this because I’ve been around long enough to see that men are worse about spiritual laziness than women are. That may be sexist for me to say that, but I don’t care; I’m right.  And when men are lazy that way it does great harm to the generations that come after them.  So I plead with you men, young and old, fathers and future fathers, big brothers, uncles and older friends, do not do that to the next generations.  Don’t drop the ball!  

Yes, I have to remind myself of that as well.

So this is a vital way we all need to be more like Jesus -- to learn from scripture and to grow into Christian faithfulness and maturity as an everyday process, not only for our own benefit but for the benefit of others, especially for the benefit of the next generations.

The second point I want us to note – and forgive me for stating the obvious – Jesus and his parents were Jews.  And they were observant Jews, “perform[ing] all things according to the law of the Lord.”  Sometimes it is easy to miss the obvious, but let’s not miss that Jesus was Jewish.  And because of the Incarnation, he remains Jewish.  When Jesus ascended to the Father, his humanity was glorified but it was not wiped away. Instead he took his humanity, our humanity, into the presence of the Father to be our Intercessor.  And that humanity includes his Jewishness.

And beyond that, all of the Old Testament and most of the New Testament was written by Jews.

So, friends, there is no place for anti-semitism among God’s people.  Again, forgive me for stating the obvious, but it has to be said given the resurgence of anti-semitism in the West – there is no place for anti-semitism among God’s people or in a decent society.  Given the Jewishness of Jesus, to be anti-semitic is really to be anti-God.

A year ago, I stood before you and expressed my concern about the resurgence of anti-semitism in the West.  In the year since then there have been some encouraging developments and some discouraging ones.  If I may venture into British politics, I am encouraged that one factor behind the results in the recent General Election is that many rejected the anti-semitism that has been running rampant in one of the two major parties there. To their credit, even many longtime supporters of that party voted differently this time in part because they were rejecting anti-semitism.  There has to be a political cost to politicians who coddle anti-semitism, and I am glad that was the case in the U K General Election. And they have set forth a good example for us here in the United States. 

But a few weeks after that, in New York City, there was a rash of violent attacks on Jews during Hanukkah.  And the response of authorities there was often to let the attackers go right back out on the streets.

As I said a year ago, it is beyond sad that we in the United States and Europe still have not adequately learned the lessons of the past.

Instead, let us remember and be like Roddie Edmonds.  The following is from a Fox News story in December 2015:

It was January, 1945 and Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds had a gun to his head.

The commandant of the Stalag IXA POW Camp near Ziegenhain, Germany, ordered Edmonds, of the 422nd Infantry Regiment, to turn over the Jewish-American soldiers under his command. Edmonds and his men – Jews and non-Jews alike – stood together in formation.

"They cannot all be Jews," the German said, looking over the more than 1,000 POWs.

"We are all Jews," Edmonds responded.

"I will shoot you," the commandant warned.

But Edmonds had his own warning: "According to the Geneva Convention, we only have to give our name, rank and serial number. If you shoot me, you will have to shoot all of us, and after the war you will be tried for war crimes."

The commandant stood down.

Those four words uttered by Edmonds echo 70 years later, as a testament to the solidarity he and his men showed to their Jewish brothers in arms. And because of that, Edmonds’ name will be etched in history when he becomes the first American soldier to receive the Yad Vashem Holocaust and Research Center’s Righteous Among the Nations recognition and medal.

Only four other American civilians have received the honor – Israel’s highest for [Gentiles] who risked their lives to save Jews during World War II.

Edmonds saved an estimated 200 Jewish soldiers, whose chances of survival if turned over to the Nazis were slim.

Instead of cooperating with Nazi anti-semitism, Roddie Edmonds stood his ground and said, “We are all Jews.”

Let us follow his good example and stand our ground against anti-semitism.

And in all of life let us follow the example of Jesus Himself, who with perseverance and patience, by God’s Holy Word and by the Holy Spirit, grew every day into godly maturity and faithfulness.  May we all, young and old, do likewise by his ever present help for His glory, for our sake and for the sake of the next generations. 

Amen.

Let us pray.

ALMIGHTY and everliving God, we humbly beseech thy Majesty, that, as thy only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in substance of our flesh, so we may be presented unto thee with pure and clean hearts, by the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Jemar Tisby’s Double Standard on Anti-Semitism

Last May, just after an attack on a Poway, California synagogue by a shooter identified as a White Nationalist, Jemar Tisby wrote an article of concern that came very close to blaming the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and conservative evangelicals opposing “social justice” teaching for the Poway attack.  This passage stood out:

If denominations like the OPC wish to make their churches inhospitable to people who harbor white nationalist views  — or to confront the sins of racism and white nationalism in hopes that church members will repent of them — then they’re going to have to offer unequivocal and direct teaching refuting the ideology.

White denominations, especially in the theologically Reformed branch of the church, should hold specific workshops, classes and special events explaining white nationalist beliefs and tactics so their members can guard against subversion.

White churches and leaders must bring members who express white nationalist views or sympathies under church discipline, with the ultimate goal of discipleship and restoration. But, if necessary, suspension from the Lord’s Supper and excommunication should be an option.

In addition, white churches in Reformed traditions must probe exactly why people who hold white nationalist and other racist beliefs may find a comfortable home in their fellowships.

Perhaps it’s because pro-slavery theologians such as R.L. Dabney are still cited as positive examples of godly men.

Maybe it’s because black liberation theologians such as James Cone are demonized and if they are read at all, it is merely to discount their viewpoints.

Perhaps it’s because of the almost unshakable loyalty of many white evangelicals to Republican officials who express racist ideas.

Maybe white racists and nationalists can sit comfortably in the pews of certain churches because whenever calls for social justice arise their leaders say that such issues are a “distraction” from the gospel.

So if Reformed Christians and “white evangelicals” oppose Black Liberation Theology and James Cone, support Republicans, and oppose so-called “social justice”, then anti-semitism and racism is their fault.  Got it.  

Tisby does have a point that the church has a role in opposing racism and anti-semitism and teaching against it (as I have and intend to do in my next sermon), but that is to oppose racism and anti-semitism whatever the source.  Speaking of which…

As I’ve noted, late last year there was a rash of anti-semitic attacks in New York City.  Most of these attacks were committed by blacks.  And the silence from Jemar Tisby has been deafening.  Now I am hesitant to say he has said nothing – that would be very hard to prove.  But a painstaking search, including his twitter feed, reveals nothing from him on this matter. (And, please, if I am missing something, let me know in the comments.)

Now I will not make a similar mistake to his by saying if you are not vocal about every injustice then you are complicit.  But he said so much after an anti-semitic attack by a white Reformed man.  Yet now that blacks are the attackers of Jews, there is virtually nothing from Tisby.  He wrote when anti-semitic attacks were linked to white racist groups.  He is quiet when anti-semitic attacks are linked to a black racist group, namely the Black Hebrew Israelites.

He was so concerned (mistakenly) that Reformed churches and “white evangelicals” were enabling anti-semitism.  Perhaps he should be concerned that Critical Race Theory and other ideologies that give blacks a pass on racism might be enabling anti-semitism and other forms of racism.  He should be especially concerned given his own associations with these woke ideologies.  He certainly has the stature to stand up and state that, no, people of color do not and should not get a pass on anti-semitism and racism.

But, no.  Now Jemar Tisby is silent.  

His double standard is deafening.  

A Hard Question After the New York Hanukkah Attacks

There are some questions that are so sensitive that the prudent rather not touch them with a ten-foot pole.  But sometimes those are the very questions that should be asked.  So with trepidation, I proceed.

Violent anti-semitism has been a problem in New York City for some time although it has not gotten much attention from the mainstream “news” media.  But the rash of attacks against Jews in New York during Hanukkah has been hard to ignore even for the Democrat “news” media.

Yet one inconvenient fact about these attacks is still being largely ignored.  These attacks, like many (if not most) of New York City anti-semitic attacks, have been committed by Blacks.  Pointing that out is politically incorrect, goes against “the narrative” and practically asks to be smeared as racist, so it doesn’t get pointed out much.   But as David Marcus notes, if the perps were White, reporting would be very different:

Make no mistake, if white supremacists in MAGA hats were shooting minorities or carving them up with machetes, it wouldn’t just be news, it would be the only news. So satisfying would that narrative be to our politicians and scribes that we would scarcely be able to turn away. But alas, it’s Jews being killed and maimed. And the criminals don’t fit the bill of right-wing, Trump-supporting Nazis, so, you know, it’s complicated.

That anti-semitism among Blacks is swept under the rug in spite of its virulence in New York City, that some of the perps have been released quickly on bail, and the silence from some on the Left and deflection from others are among the factors that compel me to ask a question that is very inconvenient, including for me:

Are identity politics, intersectionality and Critical Race Theory enabling Black anti-semitism and other forms of racism from people of color?

(And modern anti-semitism, being based mostly on ethnicity, is indeed an especially toxic species of racism.  I do not have the time to go into all the history of that here.)

What are the messages that CRT (I focus on Critical Race Theory as it is a chief source of identity politics and intersectionality.) and cultural elements influenced by CRT are sending to Blacks along with other people of color? You are oppressed. And the oppressors are Whites, including Jews.

Yes, adherents of CRT frequently lump Whites and Jews together when they are not singling out Jews as oppressors.  See the BDS efforts on campuses and elsewhere for some of their singling out. Further, identity politics activists have long stoked anti-semitism as William Jacobson and Samantha Mandeles documents.

Continuing, CRT further tells Blacks: Because Whites and Jews systematically oppress you and because racism is prejudice pluspower, it is virtually impossible for you to be racist against Whites and Jews.

Thereby racism and anti-semitism from people of color is neatly redefined not to be racism at all.

This message is far from merely theoretical or academic.  It is hard to miss that Western society and culture applies much more pressure against racism and anti-semitism from Whites than against racism and anti-semitism from people of color.  (Of course, one can argue that is justified given past history, but it that justified given society today?)

For those who think I am wrangling about words, definitions have power.  It’s not for nothing that most White racists are loath to admit they are racist.  Many instead say they are just realistic, and/or they use other words to define their prejudice.  The Monty Python troupe once noted the use of “racialist” by racists in its Hilter – National Bolcialist Party sketch (Those are not typos.  Watch it sometime.).  Society rightly rejects and ridicules such redefinition.

But Critical Race Theory conveniently performs the redefinition for Black racists and anti-semites and that with the approval of academia and even woke church people.

Now, of course, most Blacks completely reject violent racism and anti-semitism, just as most Whites do, even with the influence of CRT.  But toxic woke ideologies, such as CRT, and the accompanying coddling and even encouragement of racism against Whites and Jews do affect people at the margins, including those who may be prone to bigoted violence due to their own prejudice or mental illness.  Certainly, thanks largely to CRT, Western culture treats the explaining away or justification or redefinition of Black racism very differently than that of White racism.

Now, in this post, I am surely oversimplifying matters.  And perhaps my brief analysis is off in a significant way. I am certainly no sociologist. Further, anti-semitism from all ethnicities certainly pre-dates CRT.  We cannot blame all violent anti-semitism on CRT in any case.

But I would consider myself a coward if I were to remain silent after what I see. So, yes, I do ask: Are identity politics, intersectionality and Critical Race Theory enabling Black anti-semitism and other forms of racism from people of color?

Trump Signs EO Against Campus Anti-Semitism

I’m in a slight rush this morning.  But something overlooked last week amidst the UK election and US shampeachment news is that President Trump signed an executive order directing and empowering the Department of Education to go after anti-semitism on college campuses.

I was very glad to see this.  It is much needed.  Two examples:

Harassment of Jewish and pro-Israel students has been going on for a long time. At Temple University in August 2014, SJP members called Daniel Vessal, a Camera on Campus fellow and a member of the Jewish fraternity AEPi, “kike” and “baby killer,” and punched him in the face. Vessal explained that he tried to engage SJP members in dialogue, but “people at the table were calling me a ‘baby killer’…And then this kid just rocks me in the face as hard as he can. My glasses flew off. After a two-second blur I had no clue what had happened. I couldn’t believe the kid actually hit me. When the police came over and were filing the report the kids at the table were screaming ‘You Zionist pig, you racist, that’s what you get.’” Police did not arrest the attacker. 

In May 2016, Eliana Kopley, a sophomore at the University of California at Irvine (UCI), was trying to enter a screening of an Israeli documentary about the IDF called “Beneath the Helmet” when she was accosted by an angry mob screaming “Long live the Intifada!” and “F**k Israel!” The protesters prevented her from entering the building where the film was being shown and even chased her into a nearby building, where they pounded on the doors and windows while continuing to scream their slogans. Police ultimately escorted Kopley into the screening. The UCI chapter of the SJP was thrilled with this thuggery and praised the mob.

It will take more than an EO to bring justice, free speech, and sanity even back to U. S. campuses.  But Trump’s EO is an appreciated step in the right direction.

Do Not Vote Labour … Say 15 Labour Former MPs UPDATED

Those who follow me, especially my Twitter feed, know I can be tough on the Labour Party.  But I have to admit I am still thankful that Gordon Brown’s government banned indoor smoking in 2007.  That may have saved my health as I studied at Oxford that same year.

But Labour under Jeremy Corbyn has become so extreme and toxic that even many Labour people will be voting against them tomorrow. Especially notable is that fifteen Labour former MPs are publicly urging people not to vote for Labour this time.

I particularly appreciate that they cite Corbyn/Labour anti-semitism as one big reason for their stand:

Despite what Jeremy Corbyn says about anti-semitism, we need to accept that most Jewish people have well founded fears about what Labour has become.  British Jews deserve our support.

I will add that, unless one’s Labour candidate is an exceptionally principled person who has strongly and without equivocation opposed anti-semitism through the years, a vote for Labour is indefensible, especially for Christians. 

Yes, I said it.  Although I have strong political convictions, I am one to allow a lot of leeway for personal political decisions.  But the rampant anti-semitism of today’s Labour Party puts it beyond what is acceptable.  Even many past Labour voters and officials are seeing that.

UPDATE:
On the last night before the election, Labour anti-semitism was on open display, complete with that lovely genocidal chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and more. Watch for yourself.

Bernie Sanders' Anti-Semite

In the UK, it is hard to miss that Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour Party have a serious problem with anti-semitism.  He and the Corbynistas are that blatant at times about their Jew-hate plus the UK has a politically diverse print news media, remarkably so. Yes, there are UK newspapers willing to do actual journalism on the sins of the Left.

The US “news” media lacks such political diversity.  That is one reason it is easy to miss that Democrats also have a problem with anti-semitism.  For example, I bet most of you good readers, though unusually well informed, did not know that Bernie Sanders has added to his campaign as a surrogate the notorious anti-semite Linda Sarsour.  But now you do.

You’re welcome.

Now, yes, Sanders is technically an independent Socialist, but that’s pretty much the same as a Democrat nowadays, and he is again running for President as a Democrat.  I should also say that not all Leftists and Democrats are okay with anti-semitism.  To their credit, some left the Women’s March due to anti-semitism from Sarsour and others.

But the Democrat Party is still the Party of Linda Sarsour, Ilhan Omar and their ilk.

And, not so by the way, I still have heard just about nothing about the Democrat’s anti-semitism problem from the woke church crowd, from the AND Campaign, from the Anglican Multi-Ethnic Network (AMEN), etc.

The AND Campaign tells us, “Christians can hold both parties accountable.” But when it comes to Democrat Anti-Semitism, AND and most other woke churchers are not among said Christians.

NOTE: AMEN has a new director now, the Rev. Canon Lawrence McElrath.  May his leadership be more balanced and edifying than Esau McCaulley’s was.

Democrats Go Deeper into Anti-Semitism

One would think it would be a no-brainer that a country has the right to bar from entry those who are publicly bigoted against its people and who are allied with those who oppose its very existence.  But if one’s brain is infected by anti-semitism, then apparently Israel has no right to bar from entry virulent anti-semites Ilhan Omar and Rachida Tlaib. (Israel did actually allow Tlaib entry to visit her grandmother, but she then refused the offer in what appears to be a set up designed to make Israel look bad.)

But for the rational, it is indeed a no-brainer that Israel is well within its rights to bar and defend itself from anti-semites like Omar and Tlaib. 

Now, of course, Omar and Tlaib are playing the victim – and lying to do so.  What astounds is that House Democrat leaders are backing them up and attacking Israel over this. Even relatively moderate Steny Hoyer has said Israel’s decision is “deeply disappointing,” “disrespectful,” and “unacceptable.”  And key House committee leaders are aiming to make life difficult for U. S. Ambassador to Israel and for Israel’s Ambassador to the U. S.

This anti-semitic double standard from Democrats is appalling. Heck, the U. K. has barred entry to people with less grounds.  Does only Israel not have the right to bar those hostile to its people, values, and even existence?

Early this year, I warned against the rise of anti-semitism in the West, here and while leading Morning Prayer at my church.  That I was right so to do is sadly becoming more and more evident.

Woke and Semi-Woke Churchers Rather Quiet About Omar’s Anti-Semitism

If there ever was a teachable moment about anti-semitism, last week’s  controversy and sham vote about Rep. Ilhan Omar’s anti-semitism was surely one of them. So I have been wondering if the usual social justice church crowd would take the opportunity to speak out and teach or whether they would shy away because a Somali immigrant Leftist Democrat Congresswoman spouting off anti-Jewish tropes and the said Congresswoman not being called out on that by the Democrat-controlled House does not exactly go with The Narrative, don’tcha know.

Well, after this controversy has been going on for a week, it is fair to say that the dominant response from the woke and semi-woke church crowd has been . . . quiet.  And that is charitable.  I have not heard a peep.  And God knows I’ve been listening and looking.

Here is a good place for a disclaimer. I obviously am not omnipresent nor omniscient.  So if I have missed something of import, please feel free to comment.  Also, it is possible that some are being very careful about what they say and are about to post something.  I wish they would exercise such care about many issues, but I can relate to that; heck, I have delayed making this post. It is possible someone mentioned below speaks up after this post. And with that, here goes with a sample.

At Russell Moore’s site, I see nothing about anti-semitism.  Now I grant he does not post with the frequency of say…

…Al Mohler.  Yes, yes, he is hardly a flaming woke church guy.  But it is fair to say he is sympathetic.  And he does post very frequently on the events of the day.  But scrolling the topics of his daily briefing, I see nothing on anti-semitism the past two weeks.  And that although he tends to be quick about commenting on the events of the day.  For example, this morning he comments on the latest academic cheating scandal.  But I see nothing on Omar and anti-semitism. Why?

The Southern Baptist Convention’s and Russell Moore’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission?  Nothing recent.

The Gospel Coalition’s site?  Nothing recent.

National Association of Evangelicals? Nothing recent, but their site is not frequently updated.

Here in the Anglican Church in North America, we have the Anglican Multi-ethnic Network (AMEN), which is very sensitive to racial and immigration issues.  Are they sensitive to Leftist anti-semitism?  You would not know from their site. But they are not frequent posters, so maybe they will pleasantly surprise me some day. 

I hesitate to lump Sojourners in with the above.  Those Leftists are hardly Christian at all anymore.  But they are oh-so-concerned about everything woke under the sun and do they post their concern and wokeness!  Are they concerned about Omar’s anti-semitism?  No. 

This is obviously not comprehensive. (Again, feel free to add in the comments.) But I think all of the above people and groups would say that how we handle social and cultural issues should enhance our witness to the Gospel, not detract or distract from it.  And on that much, yes, I agree.

So what kind of witness is this recent quiet about anti-semitism?

Democrats’ Planned Resolution Against Antisemitism is a Sham.

When Speaker Nancy Pelosi put Freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar on the Foreign Relations Committee, it was already well known and documented that the Congresswoman from Mogadishu was an antisemite in line with her Islamist tendencies.  With that committee being so important and privy to classified information, putting Omar on it was reckless and dangerous at the very least.

So – surprise! or not – Omar has doubled down on her antisemitism.  So to cover their rears, the Democrat House leadership is preparing a resolution condemning antisemitism.  But unless Omar is removed from the Foreign Relations Committee, and there is little indication she will be, the resolution is a sham.  Not to mention that it might not even mention Omar by name.

House Democrat leaders don’t care about the antisemitism in their midst.  Otherwise Omar would not be on the Foreign Relations Committee in the first place.  They are just trying to appease both their Jewish and Muslim supporters along with Leftists, who are chock full of antisemites.  The Left would not take effective real action against Omar well.

I pray Jewish Americans along with all decent Americans won’t let them get away with this sham resolution.

Anti-Semitic Incidents Up in UK

I’ve noted here the revival of anti-semitism in the West.  So it is with sadness that I see there continues to be a marked increase of anti-semitic incidents in the UK:

CST has today published our 2018 Antisemitic Incidents Report, which shows that CST recorded a record high total of 1,652 antisemitic incidents in the UK last year. 2018 was the third year in a row that CST has recorded a record high incident total and means the problem of rising antisemitism in our country continues to grow.

Thoughts on Holocaust Remembrance Day

We rarely note secular observances at my church.  We do recognize mothers and fathers during Mothers and Fathers Day.  (But we do NOT allow those days to hijack our services as so many churches do.)  And that may be about it.

But during announcements yesterday while leading Morning Prayer, I could not allow Holocaust Remembrance Day to pass unnoted.  For, as I told the congregation, this is personal with me.  About half the kids I went to school with were Jewish.  And I remember as a youth watching documentaries on the Holocaust and thinking the West has learned its lesson; there will never be a revival of anti-semitism in the West again.

I was wrong.  There is a revival of anti-semitism today.  

Although I avoided getting into politics in a church setting, and although I freely admit no political party is immune to anti-semitism, in the U. S. it is the Democrat Party that is enabling a revival of anti-semitism. Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s appointment of the anti-semitic Congresswoman from Somalia, Ilhan Omar, to the House Foreign Affairs Committee where she will be privy to sensitive intelligence is particularly alarming and outrageous.

As I told the congregation, we should pray as to how to combat anti-semitism.  The best way I can think of is to call it out.  The exposure of the anti-Jewish bigotry of the leaders of the Woman’s March took a while to be effective.  Nonetheless that organization has now lost much of its power and credibility as several prominent Lib/Left women have disassociated themselves, to their credit.

I think similarly we should be unceasing in calling out those who embrace Louis Farrakhan and refuse to disavow him.  I’m talking about you, James Clyburn.

There is more that must be done.  But prayer and calling out anti-semitism among political and religious leaders is a good start.

Again, it is sad that we in the West have come to this yet again.

Anti-Semitism in The Episcopal “Church” (Yes, I will use scare quotes.)

William Murchinson documents well the vomits of anti-semitism at the General Convention of The Episcopal “Church”:

Resolution after resolution targeted Israel for its apparently endless failures to bestow full rights on Palestinians in the so-called “occupied” territories. Resolution authors wanted the church, through its investments, to pressure Israeli acquiescence in a pro-Palestinian policy.

A convention deputy from Hawaii spoke of Israel’s “brutal occupation” of the West Bank and Gaza (from which, actually, Israel withdrew formally in 2005), saying, “We as a church are complicit in the occupation. We have money invested in it.”

The resolution’s authors desired an “investment screen” to make sure Episcopalians, bless their compassionate hearts, refuse help to the Israeli oppressors, affirming that “Palestinian lives matter.” As they do: just as Israeli lives matter — lives menaced daily by the Hamas terrorists whose anger breaks out whenever there seems any chance of getting away with it.

The resolution passed the convention’s House of Deputies 619-214, only to stall in the House of Bishops. Six other resolutions, out of 15, passed both houses . . .

Now don’t give me the bovine excrement that criticism of Israel does not amount to anti-semitism.  Yes, Israel isn’t perfect nor beyond criticism.  But this sort of obsession with bashing the most free nation in the Middle East while paying little to no attention to, say, Iran, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Muslim persecution of Christians, etc. comes from one source – the Satanic evil of anti-semitism.

Which brings me to a matter which has been implied here on this blog but should be spelled out, and now is as good a time as any: why do I use scare quotes when referring to The Episcopal “Church” and to likeminded “bishops” as well?

First, I do not consider The Episcopal “Church” to be a legitimate church anymore. Likewise for similar libchurches such as my past “mainline” Presbyterian “Church.”  You go apostate; you lose the right to be called a church.

Second, TEC, PCUSA, etc. push such pure evil such as anti-semitism and abortion on demand, that I consider it important for Christians to denounce them and not allow them the dignity of being called a church.  Christians, the faithful church, should disassociate themselves from such evil in the strongest possible terms.  And that includes making it clear that those who advocate for such evil are not the faithful church.  To fail to do so enables the deceptive evil of apostates and their pseudo-churches.

(I realize that some faithful Christians remain in the Episcopal Church.  The presence of such in an otherwise evil organization does not make said organization a legitimate church.) 

I fully realize that some consider my use of scare quotes to be rude, even *gasp* uncivilized.  I refer those to how the church fathers and even St. Paul referred to heretics and apostates.  They make scare quotes look very tame.

I will also say that if one is more offended by my scare quotes than by The Episcopal “Church,” one’s priorities need serious self-examination.

So I intend to continue to use scare quotes and the equivalent and may increase my use of them in referring to libchurches. 

Obama and Allies Blame Foreigners and, of course, the JOOOOS!

Something modern totalitarians have in common is any opposition to their designs is an unprincipled attack on the Volk and on the Fatherland!  And any such opposition is inspired by foreigners and, of course, The JOOOOOS!

And thus is it with opposition to Obama enabling deal with genocidal Iran.  Why would anyone oppose that? . . . unless they were in league with foreigners and JOOOOOOS!

Cue Barack Obama’s fanboys at the Daily Kos.

Daily Kos is calling Chuck Schumer an Israeli Jew Traitor for opposing Iran deal. Seriously: http://t.co/JWxHdXgZeY pic.twitter.com/kf02VlM2Ny

— Jeff B@AoSHQDD (@EsotericCD) August 9, 2015

Yes, I am siding with Senator Schumer here.  Sit down and take some smelling salts if you need to.

Cue Obama in saying Republicans and hardline Iranians are in league.

"In fact, it's those hard-liners who are most comfortable with the status quo," Obama said Wednesday afternoon. "It's those hard-liners chanting "death to America" who have been most opposed to the deal."

"They're making common cause with the Republican caucus," Obama said to laughter and wild applause.

Yes, wild applause.   Praise the Dear Leader for exposing the connections of Running Dog Republican Traitors with nefarious foreigners!

Cue any number of thinly veiled accusations of duel loyalty and JOOOO money from the Obama regime’s various fronts.  Check out this from Honest Reporting (scroll to item 2) for a taste of that.

This is becoming too much for even the Left-of-Center Tablet whose editors have sounded the alarm and with passion:

What we increasingly can’t stomach—and feel obliged to speak out about right now—is the use of Jew-baiting and other blatant and retrograde forms of racial and ethnic prejudice as tools to sell a political deal, or to smear those who oppose it. Accusing Senator Schumer of loyalty to a foreign government is bigotry, pure and simple. Accusing Senators and Congressmen whose misgivings about the Iran deal are shared by a majority of the U.S. electorate of being agents of a foreign power, or of selling their votes to shadowy lobbyists, or of acting contrary to the best interests of the United States, is the kind of naked appeal to bigotry and prejudice that would be familiar in the politics of the pre-Civil Rights Era South.

This use of anti-Jewish incitement as a political tool is a sickening new development in American political discourse, and we have heard too much of it lately—some coming, ominously, from our own White House and its representatives. Let’s not mince words: Murmuring about “money” and “lobbying” and “foreign interests” who seek to drag America into war is a direct attempt to play the dual-loyalty card. It’s the kind of dark, nasty stuff we might expect to hear at a white power rally, not from the President of the United States—and it’s gotten so blatant that even many of us who are generally sympathetic to the administration, and even this deal, have been shaken by it.

We do not accept the idea that Senator Schumer or anyone else is a fair target for racist incitement, anymore than we accept the idea that the basic norms of political discourse in this country do not apply to Jews. Whatever one feels about the merits of the Iran deal, sales techniques that call into question the patriotism of American Jews are examples of bigotry—no matter who does it. On this question, we should all stand in defense of Senator Schumer.

But then the Tablet is published by JOOOOOOS!

In all seriousness, the editors of the Tablet are right.  I think it important to add and emphasize that this is how totalitarians act, from the dictators of Venezuela and Cuba who blame their failures on the Yanqui and yes, the Jews, too, to the 20^th Century Nazi and Communist regimes that plagued Europe.  Any failure of and any opposition to the regime is never the fault of the Glorious Leaders but of foreigners and Jews and of traitors in league with them.

It is beyond sad that here in the United States we now have a regime that so conducts itself.

Yale’s Episcopalian Chaplain Blames the JOOOOS for Anti-Semitism

Yes, those - those - JEWS have the gall to defend themselves!  They do not just tolerate incoming missiles and give away their land to enemies.  No wonder there is a rise in anti-Semitism!

To the Editor:

Deborah E. Lipstadt makes far too little of the relationship between Israel’s policies in the West Bank and Gaza and growing anti-Semitism in Europe and beyond.

The trend to which she alludes parallels the carnage in Gaza over the last five years, not to mention the perpetually stalled peace talks and the continuing occupation of the West Bank.

As hope for a two-state solution fades and Palestinian casualties continue to mount, the best antidote to anti-Semitism would be for Israel’s patrons abroad to press the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for final-status resolution to the Palestinian question.

(Rev.) BRUCE M. SHIPMAN 
Groton, Conn., Aug. 21, 2014

Yep, anti-Semitism is Israel’s fault.  Got it.

Anti-Semitism always has its excuses.

The Rev. Shipman is the Episcopalian Chaplain at Yale in case you could not tell already.

Anti-Semitic Mainline Presbyterians

What is with the mainline Presbyterian Church in the USA (PCUSA) and the state of Israel? My (thankfully) former denomination in recent years has gone out of its way to bash Israel, in the process alienating Jews and a great many of its own members. And now there’s the Middle East Study Committee (MESC) report, which the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism has rightfully taken to task.

The following points from the United Synagogue stand out to me:

The MESC is an apologia for terror, blaming Israel for the violence it endures. There is a complete failure to address pre-occupation Arab and Palestinian violence, rejectionism, and aggression. The report says: “If there were no occupation, there would be no Palestinian resistance. If there was no Palestinian resistance, Israelis could live in peace and security.”

Given that Israel has been under attack since its founding, this assertion from the MESC is absurd. In the eyes of terrorist scum, Israel’s chief evil is merely existing. Numerous statements from the PLO and Hamas through the years have said as much. Or is the state of Israel itself an "occupation"?

The MESC describes Israel’s and Iran’s nuclear capabilities as equally threatening to world peace. After discussing Iran’s nuclear program, the report continues: “…an equal concern is the number of nuclear warheads that Israel currently stockpiles and thus the growing sense of Iranian vulnerability and insecurity. While Israel will not confirm its possession of nuclear weapons or the number held, it is generally agreed that Israel has stockpiled close to 100 nuclear weapons.”

So Israel having the bomb is a concern “equal” to Iran getting the bomb?

In the light of such absurd assertions, it is hard to escape the fact that there is virulent anti-semitism among the leadership of the mainline Presbyterian Church. It will be interesting to see to what extent the PCUSA’s General Assembly in July endorses or rejects this evil.