I don’t write this so much because I care what Joy Behar says, but to make a broader point, so stick with me.
But let’s start with what was said on The View yesterday, in which they were interviewing former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. The sit down came on the heels of a murderous rampage being carried out on a Jewish Kosher deli in Jersey City. The assailants, as I reported yesterday, were black nationalists and had a history of rabid anti-Semitism.
Despite those facts being readily available, Behar decided to say this on-air, a full day after the attack.
“Is it anti-Semitic?” Behar asked. “What happened?”
The former New Jersey governor relayed the Jersey City mayor’s belief that the kosher supermarket “was targeted” before discussing the officer who was murdered, detective Joseph Seals.
“It’s a really terrible thing, and we need to pray for this detective’s family,” Christie said. “Those five children lost their dad.”
“Yes,” Behar said. “You will concede that the nationals — these white nationalists have been let out of their holes.”
That seems like a rather odd take when the murderers weren’t even white, much less white nationalists. Imagine if after a white supremacist committed an attack, a Republican said: “But you will concede that the black terrorists have really been let out of their holes.” Aside from making no sense, it comes across as seeking to cover for those who actually committed the act.
And that’s really the issue here. Behar, and many liberals, continue to show that they don’t give a crap about anti-Semitism unless it fits their narrative, so much so that they’ll turn black nationalists into white nationalists. Even if you want to argue this was a subconscious faux pas, it shows where her thinking is at.
With the mainstream media, we see that this shooting has completely dropped off the map already. We spent the better part of a month (and rightfully so) analyzing the Tree of Life shooting. Yet, when one is carried out by black nationalists, it doesn’t even remain in the news for two days? That’s not a coincidence. It’s a direct indictment of how much politics drives the media coverage when it comes to anti-Semitism.
Then you get takes like this, which subtly try to make all anti-Semitism fit under the banner of white nationalism.
One thing we see with white nationalist groups (and since HI is basically Christian Identity for black people, it makes sense) is that “membership” can be an amorphous idea.
— Jane Coaston (@cjane87) December 11, 2019
If you keep reading the thread, she goes on to claim that the Black Hebrew Israelites are “far-right,” because everything bad must be labeled right-wing. It’s just silly and it ignores the vast history of Arab and black anti-Semitism, which may have similar connotations but are still distinct from white nationalist anti-Semitism. The Black Hebrew Israelites did not wake up one day, look at the KKK, and think “hey, hating Jews would be cool.”
But it’s not just about harmless political machinations. It’s about real dangers being ignored and buried in order to not conflict with a narrative, which is that all anti-Semitism is somehow Donald Trump’s fault. This is how you end up with a massive spike in anti-Semitic attacks in New York City being completely ignored, and it’s how you end up with a racist attack against Jews in Jersey City being a one day story.
All anti-Semitism should be treated with the same level of seriousness, whether it comes from the evils of white supremacy, black nationalism, or Islamism.
———————————————
Enjoying the read? Please visit my archive to read more of my latest articles.
Find me on Twitter and help out by following @bonchieredstate
Join the conversation as a VIP Member