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asher553Excellent article in the Jewish Chronicle by Melanie Phillips, whom I've long admired.
Meanwhile Kay Wilson - who miraculously survived a terrorist attack in which her friend was killed - posted (in a public Facebook post) this recollection of her talk at UCLA:
Kay Wilson did the right thing by mentioning the decent, honorable Muslims who saved her life and who work with her for a better future.
She was wrong, though, if she thought that doing so would shield her from accusations of "islamophobia" by the folks who make it their business to throw that word around.
As I've said before, I don't worry myself much about your opinion of my religious beliefs. I'm also not going to lose much sleep over whether somebody thinks I'm an "islamophobe" or a bigot because I see a connection between Muslim fundamentalism and violence. There are a lot of folks in the cultural and intellectual elites who are johnny-on-the-spot to speak out against "islamophobia", but it's easy to be zealous for the rights of people who are going to cut your head off. I salute people like Melanie Phillips and Kay Wilson who have the courage to speak out.
'Leaked evidence collected by the Jewish Labour Movement exposed a virtual tsunami of crazed venom, with statements that Jews were “subhuman” and should “be grateful we don’t make them eat bacon for breakfast every day”, that they were connected to Isis or 9/11, or they were traitors and “bent-nosed manipulative liars”.'
[So far, just good old homegrown Labour antisemitism. But after the revelation of Hamas-linked Walid Abu Rouk's connection with the Corbyn campaign, the connection with Islamic extremism - and Labour's silence on it - became urgent. - aa]
'Palestinian misdeeds, including Jew-hatred, can’t be acknowledged. Nor can the Jew-hatred coursing through Muslim society in general.
And that’s because the Islamic world is given a free pass on the grounds that it is the historic victim of the west. So any such criticism is silenced by the claim it is “Islamophobic”.'
[So far, just good old homegrown Labour antisemitism. But after the revelation of Hamas-linked Walid Abu Rouk's connection with the Corbyn campaign, the connection with Islamic extremism - and Labour's silence on it - became urgent. - aa]
'Palestinian misdeeds, including Jew-hatred, can’t be acknowledged. Nor can the Jew-hatred coursing through Muslim society in general.
And that’s because the Islamic world is given a free pass on the grounds that it is the historic victim of the west. So any such criticism is silenced by the claim it is “Islamophobic”.'
Meanwhile Kay Wilson - who miraculously survived a terrorist attack in which her friend was killed - posted (in a public Facebook post) this recollection of her talk at UCLA:
'I woke up this morning still unable to absorb what happened in my lecture to students from UCLA yesterday, in which I told them...
1) a Muslim surgeon saved my life
2) I have sheltered 2 Muslim youth - frankly at the risk of my own security
3) I have crowdfunded 3 Palestinian businesses
4) I have initiated a grassroots project in a Muslim refugee camp
5) I am on a think-tank with Islamic scholars who are trying to reach out to their community in an effort to de-radicalize potential terrorists, by theologically countering Jihad.
I forgot to tell them I found employment for 2 young Muslim women and have thrown a birthday party for a Palestinian young man, in which the only guests present, were Jews- who brought him beautiful gifts...
I also told them Islamic terrorists murdered my friend and nearly murdered me.
They had no questions about how I coped with the attack, or what it means to have PTSD, or what it was like to face my attackers in court, or what my relationship is like with my dead friend's parents, or how did this event make me think of G-d, - which are usually the questions I am mostly asked after a lecture.
Instead, they were offended.
These people were more offended that I named my assailants as "Islamic terrorists" rather than the fact that I was nearly hacked to death by them.
I was accused of "Islamophobia." ...'
1) a Muslim surgeon saved my life
2) I have sheltered 2 Muslim youth - frankly at the risk of my own security
3) I have crowdfunded 3 Palestinian businesses
4) I have initiated a grassroots project in a Muslim refugee camp
5) I am on a think-tank with Islamic scholars who are trying to reach out to their community in an effort to de-radicalize potential terrorists, by theologically countering Jihad.
I forgot to tell them I found employment for 2 young Muslim women and have thrown a birthday party for a Palestinian young man, in which the only guests present, were Jews- who brought him beautiful gifts...
I also told them Islamic terrorists murdered my friend and nearly murdered me.
They had no questions about how I coped with the attack, or what it means to have PTSD, or what it was like to face my attackers in court, or what my relationship is like with my dead friend's parents, or how did this event make me think of G-d, - which are usually the questions I am mostly asked after a lecture.
Instead, they were offended.
These people were more offended that I named my assailants as "Islamic terrorists" rather than the fact that I was nearly hacked to death by them.
I was accused of "Islamophobia." ...'
Kay Wilson did the right thing by mentioning the decent, honorable Muslims who saved her life and who work with her for a better future.
She was wrong, though, if she thought that doing so would shield her from accusations of "islamophobia" by the folks who make it their business to throw that word around.
As I've said before, I don't worry myself much about your opinion of my religious beliefs. I'm also not going to lose much sleep over whether somebody thinks I'm an "islamophobe" or a bigot because I see a connection between Muslim fundamentalism and violence. There are a lot of folks in the cultural and intellectual elites who are johnny-on-the-spot to speak out against "islamophobia", but it's easy to be zealous for the rights of people who are going to cut your head off. I salute people like Melanie Phillips and Kay Wilson who have the courage to speak out.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-25 22:30 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-31 01:44 (UTC)There is a meme invading our society (it's broader than "islamophobia"), where any group that has *any* claim to having been a victim gets a free pass to victimize others -- even those who *also* have claims of victimhood. It seems to be more about accumulating virtue points for the favored group of the day than actually doing justice. :-(
no subject
Date: 2019-12-31 02:57 (UTC)I was reading about what happened to you on SO/SE and it's disgraceful.