Let’s imagine that the Washington Post published this tweet:
Then once you click on the link, it turns out that the article in question is primarily about ex-Mormon white kids who live in SLC, yet two out of three images illustrating this article about gang violence & the drug trade are of young black men in NYC. How long would it take before the tweet is taken down?
Forget about the tweet being taken down; how long before the people who selected those images or authorized the article’s publication are fired?
The NCAAP would not have to make a call. Al Sharpton wouldn’t even need to tweet up a storm about it. As soon as someone else in the managerial staff realized what went up, the Washington Post itself would have taken action to avoid bad publicity and the media storm resulting from inaction.
You can bet that the New York Times would not have printed a crossword in the shape of a burning cross on the first day of Black Heritage Month that also contained hints related to lynchings. They certainly wouldn’t have told us not to believe our lying eyes, either. If it had somehow made it to print, they probably would have had the puzzle composer himself burned to the stake in atonement.
So what’s going on? What’s the difference?
After all, we constantly hear from antisemites that Jews control the media, that anyone who dares speak against the Jewish/Israeli Lobby or Israel will have their lives upended, or that the ADL is this nebulous unopposed cartel wielding censure against its enemies & free speech without recourse. Yet, over and over again, actual antisemitism is not punished or its wielders suffers minimal repercussions.
The difference is that our Jewish Establishment Organizations [JEO from then on] have long become addicted to Fame, Fortune, and Force.
Celebrity Is A Mask That Eats Into the Face
Oh, to be highly placed in the ADL or a high-profile clergy member connected to them. Can you imagine how many celebrities you get to rub elbows with? I don’t just mean with the Whoopis, Nick Cannons, or Broadway producers, I mean at posh fundraisers where you have figures like Steven Spielberg, Jeff Bridges, or Mark Burnett to speak for you, raise funds for you, create publicity for you.
Is it out of goodwill and the kindness of their heart? Because they genuinely care about antisemitism? No. Like everything else they do in Hollywood, it's entirely self-serving. It's purely transactional and to keep a very delicate ecosystem balanced. So, how does it further their interests to give money and raise funds for the JEO?
The ADL's deal with Hollywood, for example, is quite simple: You make mistakes, you write a check, you meet with us, you get away with it. In exchange, you show up at our fundraisers, help us make money, and let us rub elbows with you. That way, everyone's happy. It’s their standard deal with D.C., major sports leagues, and so on.
"Wait!" I hear you say, "it's not true!" They have condemned people, leading to them losing their opportunities, jobs, careers, and even livelihoods!" A few, yes. Those were primarily people who either refused to play ball, people already on their way out, or had already run afoul of the major players of their respective power structures.
As I've mentioned before: the reason why Kanye lost all this money and those contracts is not because of his antisemitism; it was for his erratic behavior and the uncertainty of what he was going to do next. If his antisemitism was to blame, then after he proudly proclaimed how much he loves Hitler & the Nazis, whatever was left of his empire would have crumbled. His songs would have been pulled from streaming services, videos off of YouTube, etc. None of it happened because there's no financial loss that will come from Kanye saying those things, and companies determined that there's nothing to gain from stopping his fans from accessing his music that can’t be offset by how much money they’ll be making as a result.
When Ricky Gervais quipped that if ISIS started a streaming service, Hollywood celebrities would call their agents to get signed on, he wasn't wrong. There's no morality in show business, or the media at large, for that matter. As their industry proudly proclaims, "If it bleeds, it leads."
There's no denying on the other hand that certain celebrities did not get away cleanly from their public displays of antisemitism. Some will claim that it's because those celebrities are right-wing, and therefore that's the reason why they were not absolved of their sins but instead cast away to the wilderness. Out of Beverly Hills and off to the Valley with you!
They will say that there's a bias against the right and that the slightest comment that possibly reeks of antisemitism will usher in your life enough chaos and condemnations to destroy your career. At the same time, if you're on the left, you can flirt with Holocaust denial, and you will be okay. After a cursory look at the treatments of Whoopi versus Mel Gibson, it's hard to say they are wrong.
Yet, I'm afraid they are entirely wrong.
The celebrities or politicians hounded for antisemitism are not hounded because they are right-wing; it's because they are part of the out-group and, as a result, displeasing or irrelevant to those in the halls of power of their respective industry. If all of Hollywood, Academia or the Press wore MAGA hats, then it would be antisemitism from the left-wing outliers that would be grounds for career immolation, while right-wing antisemitism would be given a pass. We only need to look at right-wing ecosystems where this exact situation happens in reverse: outraged condemnation of the left-wing out-group but general silence, tepid rebuke, or equivocation regarding their side.
Very few people genuinely care about antisemitism to begin with, even less so when it comes to their side. After all, then it cannot be wielded as a weapon against their enemies, and it only hurts the tribe. The truth is that most people are in it for themselves, and when their tribal affiliation becomes part of (or their entire) identity, they will protect it even when it's detrimental to their distinct interests. Even Jews who put politics before Torah or their core Jewishness are almost always guilty of this.
Bread and Circuses
We've established why certain celebrities are set aside for devastation while others are given a pass. Now let's explain why them suffering consequences are not about justice or revenge but rather keeping a delicate power ecosystem intact. Part of it requires the occasional sacrifices to appease the masses. Our modern panem et circenses.
By whitewashing the sins of those favored by the Powers That Be [PTB from now on], it guarantees the Jewish Establishment Organizations steadfast access to the glamorous world of celebrities, politicians, and successful fundraisers; it ensures that they will take their phone calls, that stars will smile at their functions and retweet & repost their videos when called upon.
By throwing to the wolves anyone on the wrong side of the PTB at the mere prospect they perhaps said something antisemitic will, in turn, satisfies said PTB by ridding them of those they find disdainful while simultaneously showing the JEO's supporters base that they truly, genuinely, honestly care about antisemitism. It also buys them goodwill for the subsequent celebrities or politicians they'll have to give a pass to. (Not a free pass, mind you). When the PTB call and say, 'Let this one go,' they mean it.
As far as those unfortunate ones who ran afoul of the system?
All of this holds true except when, of course, those same PTB in Hollywood, Arts, Academia, Media, or Politics decide that the previously cast aside are worth more to them making movies, recording albums, selling paintings, writing articles, or passing bills, then suddenly everyone in the JEO gets collective amnesia and forgets the egregious sins of those previously banished to the wilderness as they return to feed the very machine that fills their coffers.
Does anyone remembers that Will Smith declared, "Even Hitler didn't wake up going, 'let me do the most evil thing I can do today.' I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was 'good.'"? Even the journalist who interviewed him added, "Remarkably, Will believes everyone is basically good."
Almost verbatim, this could be one of the comments Ye made on either the Alex Jones or Gavin McInnes shows. The essential distinction being that Will Smith cleansed his sins by taking the sacraments of the ADL, while Ye did not. He performed the ceremony, and was declared pure! That's precisely what would have happened to Ye and Kyrie, too, hadn't they doubled down instead. It's such a known ritual that an article from almost 15 years ago opened with the line:
It appears that everything's kosher between Will Smith and the Jewish community.
The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that battles anti-Semitism, bigotry and racism, accepted the actor's statement that Hitler was a "vicious killer" today, after some speculated that Smith believed the Holocaust orchestrator was a good guy.
"We welcome and accept Will Smith's statement that Hitler was a 'vicious killer' and that he did not mean for his remarks about the Nazi leader to be mistaken as praise," the Anti-Defamation League's national director said in a statement posted on the group's Web site.
It's obviously not only the ADL but the entire Jewish Establishment that is guilty of this, and it certainly is not confined to the realm of actors and sports figures. Remember when then-President Trump said that liberal Jews betrayed him and Israel? The defense was, 'How could I be an antisemite? I won the 'Friend of Israel' prize before!'. It doesn't matter whether you thought he was right or wrong about this; the point is that he could use his participation in a Jewish organization and the prize he received as a shield against accusations of antisemitism, and he knew how unlikely it was that there would pushback from the organization itself.
To fulfill their need for validity, these organizations are more than willing to serve as a shield and protect those who give them access to power, the powerful, and powerful riches, at least to a certain extent. After all, is there more validation today than having the artistic, political or economic stars smile down upon you? It used to be that the world's nations worshipped the constellations and made sacrifices to harness their power; they could only have dreamt of how lucky today's idolaters are. Did anyone ever take a selfie with Saturn or the Aquarius constellation before?
The Ouroboros of Power
With access to fortune and fame, you get to use force. However, the amount of power wielded by the ADL, for example, is only tantamount to how much capital and access to those with high-profile they possess. And their access to fortune and fame also depends on how much force they can wield.
If the ADL were part of the out-group, then it would require a tremendous amount of force, primarily reliant on public sentiment, to be able to have an impact on the halls of power. It would need to depend on assets from those of the out-group to fund its operations without access to either government funds or the type of money only inner circles of the rich & powerful can afford.
That's exactly how it started with the ADL, too. After the lynching of Leo Frank, they sprang as a popular organization defending a marginalized group with very little access to polite society. We are talking of days with open quotas against Jews in Academia, Politics, and the Arts; you name it, Jews had restrictions and impossible hurdles to jump through. Everyone was hostile to their cause and resented their attempt to break the status quo. There was real endemic and systemic antisemitism to fight again and no Powers That Be to depend on.
Thanks to their efforts, doors started to open up to Jews slowly. And doors began to open up to the ADL slowly as well. The problem is that, more than a century after they formed, they have long stopped being those on the outside fighting for the cause; they became part of the Establishment. It’s a shame, because it was one of the single most important American Jewish Institution for a long time.
Very few can resist the sirens' calls of ritzy galas and economic prosperity. It doesn't matter if you're on the left or the right, whether you're a socialist or from the tea party; the hallowed halls of D.C. or the hollow halls of Hollywood offer you so much at the cost of only a tiny sacrifice here, ignoring a small principle there, closing your eyes or ignoring your conscience just this once. Eventually, there's so little left of our soul to chip away that you've betrayed every single principle you held dear, did every single thing you told yourself you'd never do, and became what you said you'd never turn out to be.
Don't think this doesn't apply to activists outside of the political system, the scrappy underdog with no access to anything but the grassroots. By definition, those organizations become part of the political system once they reach a certain size. Once they cross a particular economic and power threshold, they are swallowed whole and only allowed to continue existing as long as they buckle and bend and fit those circles into squares to perpetuate the system.
It's a story as old as time. The Prophets of yore, such as Yirmiyahu or Eliyahu, screamed in the wilderness, ignored by the fat cats of their days. They mocked them as madmen; they laughed at and scorned all that the Prophets had to say as their destruction and doom loomed over them.
We simply need to look at the Second World War years; lone voices screamed about what was happening to European Jewry, while the Establishment stayed silent in orders not to offend the Powers that Be, not to upset the balance of power, and not to lose their access to connections they worked so hard to create.
The Community That Banned Dancing
Imagine you had a superpower. With a simple song and dance, previously closed doors would open for you, your bank account would fill up, celebrities would spend time with you; wouldn't your life turn into a constant Broadway musical?
As I described in Kanye's article:
I will be the first to admit that I initially wrongfully dismissed the infamous "Deathcon 3" tweet. My somewhat cynical thinking was that this would turn into the same old dance that happens every time a celebrity or politician makes an antisemitic statement.
Step 1: Radio silence as the PR firm hired to clean the mess up assesses the situation.
Step 2: A carefully crafted statement about how none of it was meant with ill will is published.
Step 3a: If benign enough, jump to Step 5.
Step 3b: If the incident is too bad to sidestep, blame stress, substance abuse, divorce, or mental illness.
Step 4: Time off the limelight (length determined based on how egregious the statements were).
Step 5: Meeting(s) with activists/Rabbis/visiting a Holocaust museum, depending on what was said.
Step 6: Possible donation to a Jewish foundation
Step 7: Antisemitism absolved! Nothing happened! We're all good!
Whether it's Mel Gibson, Whoopi Goldberg, or the Squad, this is the scripted waltz that everyone dances to; it allows everyone to save face and safeguards the illusionary equilibrium that leaves America thinking that it is not plagued with antisemitism. This is something especially important for those who live in the Upper East Side or Beverly Hills. It's not like the unprecedented levels of hate crimes, ranging from vandalism to daily assaults and downright murders of Orthodox Jews, are ever cause for national concern. No #StopOrthodoxHate campaigns for that lot.
This is the JEO's superpower. Whenever a celebrity, politician, or academic says something antisemitic, if they can use to leverage themselves more money, power or access, they immediately jump into action and offer them a hand. They do not need to make a phone call, and there's nothing to coordinate either; everyone knows what's going on for decades.
It needs to stop. No more forgiving, no more expiating, no more cleansing of sins to benefit the institutions while antisemitism increases and Jews suffer in the street. Sure, if there is a genuine change of heart, we must accept apologies; but we can't tolerate the song and dance anymore.
We have to stop cheapening antisemitism and make it transactional, especially when it only benefits those who don't suffer from it. We have to go to war against it.
What Now?
If the JEO were to suddenly crack down on all antisemitism, wherever it comes from, it would endanger their position. When they condemn politicians from a party they align with, you can be sure that many calls were made beforehand to negotiate whether there would be condemnation in the first place, its language, and many more details.
The problem doesn't lie with individual activists. It's the organization themselves who are now part of the machine that are the problem. There are quite a few activists who genuinely value their work and do work of value. Many of them probably agree with me (begrudgingly, I suspect) in my assessment of their own organizations.
If the ADL didn't exist, we'd need to create it. Now that it exists, it needs to change direction drastically or face being eventually replaced. The same goes for most Establishment Organizations. The solution is not to burn it all down, at the very least not without setting up alternatives. We genuinely need those organizations, but we need them to do their jobs, not to hold galas.
When a Jenna Ortega says that we need to "decolonize palestine" and posts the praises of a terrorist, we need a Jewish organization with teeth to come out and point out that:
Jews are indigenous to the Land of Israel, and it's the worst kind of antisemitism to deny our ties to the Land and to call for over 6 million Jews to be ethnically cleansed, regardless of your views on the two-state solution.
Support for terrorists is utterly unacceptable. If a celebrity expressed admiration for Al Qaeda or ISIS in the public sphere, they would be destroyed, and it should be no different here.
It doesn't matter how many feathers it ruffles in Hollywood, how many Executives at Netflix are going to be unhappy, or how many people at Times would prefer they not get involved. This is the truth, and we need to stay it loud and proud: Jews belong in the Land of Israel, and those terrorists are monsters, not fit to be idolized.
Instead, the JEO stay silent.
When the Washington Post illustrates an article about vaccine hesitancy of Somalis in Ohio with the pictures of Haredi Jews in Boro Park, they need to come out and point out that:
This is akin to medieval blood libel accusing Jews of poisoning wells or Nazi war propaganda that Jews are dirty and spreading Typhus.
The Orthodox Community has a higher rate of vaccination than the rest of the population (around 95-96%), and it's scapegoating to point to us as if we're the reason for outbreaks.
The reason why the Orthodox and Haredi communities were first hit by COVID is that we're a very tight-knit community, and it's not something we should be attacked over.
It's why you see breakaway cases in our community despite the high rates of vaccination, and we're not going to stay home and stop having social lives to avoid finger-pointing.
Instead, the JEO stay silent.
When the New York Times publishes swastika-shaped puzzles, or swastika-inspired articles about the Haredi Yeshivot, they need to come out and point out that:
The idea of a Haredi cycle of poverty is false.
The average household income of Haredi families is higher than the national average.
Many NYS public schools are in a worse shape when it comes to secular studies.
Haredi schools do not take in more money than we provide to the system.
Our education system does not create criminals and people on welfare, but upstanding and moral citizens.
Now, you might disagree regarding how much focus we put on secular studies, and you might even want us to add significantly more than we currently have, but that doesn't mean the lies and slanders of the NYT should be tolerated either. It’s our communal discussion to have, not theirs to lie about.
Instead, the JEO either stayed silent or joined in.
When there's an epidemic of attacks on Ultra-Orthodox Jews in the streets of New York City, and newspapers like the NYT openly admit that they do not cover the story because it's inconvenient for them (they couldn't find a single attack amongst thousands that was motivated by right-wing violence), they need to come out and point out that:
The attackers' identity is irrelevant, daily antisemitic attacks are a crisis, and they need to be addressed.
If other minority communities are dealing with an increase in antisemitism, it needs to be addressed, not ignored and left to fester.
Instead, the JEO stay silent as Orthodox Jews are beaten up daily in the streets.
Whoopi came out and repeated the very same words that got her in hot water the last time, before the JEO jumped in and once again played defense for her and told us all how she regretted her words, had grown, and to forgive her. So far, no major reaction, but I ask you, what is more likely? That they will come out and say ‘Enough is enough, time for Whoopi to go’, or start the music, extend a hand, say ‘let’s dance’?
The longer the Jewish Establishment Organizations care more about their access to power, fame, and riches than their core mission, the more it becomes a necessity for a new, young, more dedicated group of activists to create alternative organizations to compete and eventually replace them.
That is, until they, too, become the Establishment, and a newer, younger cadre of more dedicated activists to replace them, ad vitam eternam. So it is, so it was, and so it will be. After all, there's nothing new under the sun.
At least until Mashiach comes.
I have always been puzzled by the JEO's opposition, or lack of support for the 2nd Amendment. They tout their "protection" of the Jewish community yet do very little to effect their "goals". It seems to be the same as the BLM model.
Another brilliant piece. 🙌