Mideast War blowback

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I think recent threats to Jews are more troubling than threats to Muslims, because anti-Muslim sentiment is broad but shallow, knee-jerk in nature, mostly on the part of people who are basically stupid, and will probably diminish over time. Anti-Jewish threats include those from well-organized actors who have pursued their agenda across generations. The Decolonization Narrative is an example of one facet of this entrenched phenomenon.

Right after 9/11 people were riding around with slogans written on vehicles that said , “Death to all towel heads.”
No way could you ride around with a slogan that said , “ Death to all Catholics or Jews.”

didn't Hamas offer to release the hostages once that puppet state with state-of-the-art weapons and billions of dollars in western backing for their genocide striked back against a desperate Palestine?

people forget that Israel from the beginning should never have been there.

Yeah, even now, it seems like prejudice is tolerated towards Muslims, Arabs (usually the Western interpretation of that word), etc. that wouldn't be tolerated towards other groups, not that I really want to go there.

The point is that Islamophobia and racism associated with it runs very deep although I suppose this is off-topic.

Blowback, whether it occurs to Jews or Muslims (etc.), is awful.

My take is very different on this topic. Islamophobia runs very deep in America. It's like a festering wound (based largely on ignorance) that has never fully healed although it certainly existed before 9/11. It's inconsequential whether it's occurred for generations or not although it certainly has. In any event, those who are victims of hate crimes whether Jewish or Muslim aren't going to feel any less hurt or victimized if the crimes are happening less overall in their specific demographic.

I don't feel more for one group than another. Certain parts of the country are probably more Islamophobic or antisemitic than others. In any event, it's ALL troubling.

Apparently in London, antisemitism increased 1350% due to the war compared to an increase of only 140% in Islamophobia:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2023/o ... r-met-says

I usually try to avoid saying who has it worse. It reminds me of specific contentious debates in L&D.

It doesn’t mean much on an individual level. If I experienced a hate crime as a Jewish or Muslim person, the fact that my group supposedly experiences less blowback than the other wouldn’t make me feel any better. It’s all awful.

^^ I don’t think I ever used the phrase “Christian West.”

I believe that blowback towards ALL individuals involved is concerning, but this specific thread is about Jews. It makes sense that it would be devoted to antisemitism.

If I were the mother of the 6 year old boy who was murdered for being Muslim, the fact that my group supposedly has it better, which I seriously doubt until sufficient evidence demonstrates it, wouldn’t make me feel any better.

I usually try to avoid saying who has it worse. It reminds me of specific contentious debates in L&D.

It doesn’t mean much on an individual level. If I experienced a hate crime as a Jewish or Muslim person, the fact that my group supposedly experiences less blowback than the other wouldn’t make me feel any better. It’s all awful.

The Biden administration is unveiling new actions Monday to combat antisemitism on college campuses after an “alarming” uptick in incidents since the Israel-Hamas war started in early October.

The departments of Justice and Homeland Security are partnering with campus law enforcement to track hate-related rhetoric online and provide federal resources to schools, according to the plan, which was shared exclusively with NBC News.

Dozens of cybersecurity and protective security experts at DHS have been detailed to engage with schools as they navigate incredibly tense environments, a White House official said.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona will meet with leading Jewish organizations to discuss the issue of growing antisemitism at colleges Monday, the official said.

The White House will also highlight how the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights has expedited an update of its complaint form. For the first time, it will make it clear that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits certain forms of antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Later this week, Cardona and White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden will visit a college campus and hold a roundtable with Jewish students.

The Education Department has conducted site visits to gather more information about antisemitism at schools in San Francisco, St. Louis and Maine in recent weeks, with stops planned in New York City and Baltimore this week, the official said.

The White House recently expressed deep concern over “an extremely disturbing pattern of antisemitic messages” on college campuses since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, which left 1,400 people dead, including protests calling for the annihilation of the state of Israel or for genocide against the Jewish people.

“These grotesque sentiments and actions shock the conscience and turn the stomach. They also recall our commitment that can’t be forgotten: ‘never again,’” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said.

Just last month, two weeks before the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, the administration rolled out additional actions to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia more broadly across several federal agencies, citing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

For the first time, federal agencies clarified that the 1964 law prohibits “certain forms of antisemitic, Islamophobic, and related forms of discrimination in federally funded programs and activities.”

Efforts to “inform communities of their rights to be free from such discrimination and how to file complaints” will be accelerated under the new plan in the coming days, an administration official said.

The White House has faced significant criticism from Muslim and Arab American communities that it has not shown the same sort of attention to their concerns as it has to those of the Jewish community. In recent days, White House officials have increased their outreach. Biden called the family of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy who was murdered in what authorities are calling a hate crime, and White House aides have reached out to Muslim, Arab and Palestinian American elected officials across the country.

Last week, the White House hosted a meeting with a handful of Muslim leaders, although it was done with little fanfare and no public announcement — in marked contrast with the meeting Biden held with Jewish leaders a few days after the Hamas attacks.

The White House has also gone after former President Donald Trump — who is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — over his push for an expanded travel ban that would affect many people in Muslim nations, calling it “revolting and disgusting.”

In a statement over the weekend, Bates decried "disgraceful attacks against Arab Americans and the Muslim community," saying they "are the opposite of what we stand for as a country, and they must be forcefully condemned by all Americans who, like President Biden, believe in human dignity."

"The spike in Islamophobic incidents is a direct attack on the character of our nation," he added. "It’s critical that we give hate no safe harbor”

people forget that Israel from the beginning should never have been there.