Jonathan Greenblatt is discovering that any dissent, no matter how small and qualified, from the far-Left agenda — which is increasingly open in its hostility to Israel — will get you defamed as an “Islamophobe,” no matter how much you pander, no matter how much you desperately try to stay in the good graces of those who set the tune to which the rest of us must dance. The sinister Salam al-Marayati of MPAC has smeared ADL as “anti-Muslim” for supporting Israel, and Greenblatt is dismayed, saying that “the allegation that ADL falls along the same side of Islamophobes is patently false.”
Of course it is. The ADL has repeatedly done to foes of jihad violence against Israel and other states, and foes of Sharia oppression of women and others, exactly what Salam al-Marayati is doing to him now. Greenblatt could have used this as an occasion to wake up and realize how he is being played, and how the entire “Islamophobia” enterprise is a scam designed to intimidate people into fearing to oppose jihad terror, for fear of falling prey to what al-Marayati is doing to him now. But instead of having an original thought for the first time in his life, Greenblatt is doubling down, pleading with al-Marayati to accept him. Will it work? Almost certainly not, but it will likely lead the ADL to become even more anti-Israel than it is now.
“ADL: We’re proud of our record defending Jews — and Muslims,” by Jonathan A. Greenblatt, Forward, December 16, 2020:
As one of the oldest civil-rights organizations in the Jewish community, we’re not unaccustomed to criticism, even in the pages of one of America’s oldest Jewish news outlets. But the OpEd by Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, which the Forward published on Tuesday morning, was illuminating about how certain quarters in our society desperately try to employ cancel culture to silence others. In this case, the author is trying to marginalize ADL and make support for the State of Israel disqualifying in pursuing civil rights for all Americans, including the Muslim-American community.
Al-Marayati argues that ADL is a source of “anti-Muslim” rhetoric and cannot be fully trusted as an ally in the fight for civil rights because of our support of the Jewish state. It is an argument taken from the playbook of a fringe smear campaign being run against ADL that, to its credit, MPAC has not signed his name to, but which he still chose to directly quote in his piece. Still, their campaign is wrong and without merit on a number of levels. It is also dangerous, creating a space where we as a Jewish organization are judged more for what we do or do not say about Israel than for all of the advocacy work we do here in the U.S. and abroad fighting for marginalized communities.
This is a common tactic in a smear campaign – narrow down a broader argument (in this case, about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) into a singular, unfounded allegation (in this case, that ADL is Islamophobic because of our support for the Jewish State). But the allegation that ADL falls along the same side of Islamophobes is patently false….
revereridesagain says
Greenblatt should know better than this. Another example of the dreaded Feeding the Crocodile virus.
gravenimage says
ADL smears foes of jihad violence against Israel as ‘Islamophobes,’ gets canceled as ‘anti-Muslim’ anyway
………………………
That says it all–Jews can never be Islamic enough, just by remaining Jewish.
Infidel says
A part of me disdained the ADL all these decades – even though I’m not Christian: in the name of supporting Jewish identity over being subsumed in a Christian environment, they promoted all that was evil (banning prayer in school, objecting to crosses in public places and so on, more often than not joining hands w/ the ACLU) that I’m not sorry to see them be at the receiving end of this insanity
Not that I expect them to ever realize what they helped unleash!
gravenimage says
Infidel, it was more aggressive Atheists like Madalyn Murray O’Hair with her constant lawsuits throughout the 1960s and into the early 1980s than it was Jewish people that led to this. (Not all Atheists are like this, either, but she certainly was).
Infidel says
Very true!
Sue says
The ADL is now an NGO taken over by Obama and Soros, like most Jewish organizations. Jewish Family Services should rename itself muslim family services as it aided and abetting the immigration of terrorists now inciting hatred and violence against Jews and funnelling money to the Democratic Party to further its goals of overthrowing the United States in this ongoing attempted coup.
LB says
Exactly. What all these well-funded leftist Jewish orgs fail to realize is that no matter how hard they try to appease the muslims and pander to the left PC multiculti mantra by throwing everyone else under the bus, they too will eventually find themselves on the chopping block for the sole reason of being Jewish. Extreme cognitive dissonance or something else entirely?
gravenimage says
Many Jewish people–just like many Gentiles–just tink that Muslims are poor persecuted victims who need a helping hand. Suicidally foolish, but not intentionally evil.
LB says
I agree, but you can’t help but notice that there are overwhelming number of specifically Jewish orgs which are funding the Dems and rabidly promoting multiculti PC leftist bullshit (pandering to muslims is only a part of it) despite the Jews making up a SIGNIFICANTLY smaller percentage of the US population compared to white people. One look at the donor list of any Democratic fundraiser will tell you all you need to know.
My questions is why? Despite the Dems being pretty much transparent in their motives (hatred) against the Jewish state of Israel, why do all these Jewish orgs and Jewish wealthy families still keep supporting them? I thought Jews were the smartest people in the world! It takes literally sub zero IQ to support the people who tell you to your face that they will destroy your home country for which your ancestors fought tooth and nail for to preserve against the muslims. So forgive me if I take their “foolishness” with a grain of salt.
L Mayor says
For far too many American Jews, leftism is their true religion, with the democrat party being their temple. Mr. Greenblatt is just another example of this unfortunate reality.
mortimer says
It depends what the party line says at any moment … that might change next week.
Leftists have inconsistent doctrines regarding nationalism. When they CANNOT use a nationalistic movement to spread Leftism, they condemn nationalism. When they CAN use nationalism to promote Leftism, then they promote nationalism.
The goal of Leftist propaganda is to promote Leftism at all costs. Jewish Leftists are Jewish in name only and so their loyalty is to godless Leftism Israel is a take-it-or-leave-it notion for them.
Roland says
American Jews unhappy with ADLand other Jewish groups hijacked by the Left should carefully reallocate their charitable dollars and political efforts to Jewish organizations that truly defend Jewish rights in America and Israel and to anti-jihad persons and groups.
gravenimage says
+1