New York City International Muslim Anti-Semitism Conference-Part 2

Details of the Muslim Anti-Semistism Conference

Voices Against Muslim Anti-Semitism

On October 2-3, the Journal for the Study of Anti-Semitism (JSA) held their inaugural conference on ‘Muslim Anti-Semitism, which I wrote a brief overview shortly after the event. (Link: beforeitsnews.com/story/203046) The following is the 1^st of my two-part account giving more detail on the panel discussions.

It should also be noted at this time that according to Steven Baum, co-editor of JSA, several Muslims were asked to participate in the conference and they all declined.

The conference began with a cocktail reception accompanied by a prominent photo display of Anti-Semitic and Anti-Zionist rallies in Britain and numerous books and literature on the subject. The book titles alone told the story that was going to be the narrative of this conference: Jihad and Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism; After Auschwitz; While Europe Slept; Muslim Anti-Semitism in Christian Europe; Surrender: Appeasing Islam; Sacrificing Freedom; Hatred of the Jew in the 21^stCentury; The Nazi Roots of Middle Eastern Anti-Semitism: A Shared Legacy;and the ADL’s paper American Muslim Extremists: Fueled by Anti-Semitism, just to name a few. The display included studies on how Anti-Semitic incidents are drastically increasing around the world; a partial list of specific Anti-Semitic incidents around the world for 2010; information on hate crimes against professors; and articles on Hamas influence in Boston, MA. The overall tone of the conference was reflected in the literature.

The two-hour reception in the hotel’s penthouse offered attendees the opportunity to mingle with the speakers and panelists. It seemed that a good deal of the conversation heard around the rooms centered on Israeli-Palestinian issues and the division it has caused in the Jewish community. This was summed up in a conversation with an attendee from Florida: “I just don’t understand why Jews are fighting Jews on these critical issues…why some want to boycott Israel, why some support ‘J Street’ or organize a boat to try to break the blockade of Gaza. Don’t they realize that we are all Jews to Palestinians, with no distinction between a ‘conservative or liberal.” However, there seemed to be no question in the minds of the participants that Muslim Anti-Semitism is a grave issue for all non-Muslims, not just Jews.

The evening presentations included welcoming remarks by Steve Baum and Neal Rosenberg, co-editors of JSA. Mr. Baum referred to “the unprecedented levels of anti-Israeli sentiment and record levels of Anti-Semitic attacks, giving cause for the conference.” He read off a list of book titles to show how “logic is leaving the world“ while Mr. Rosenberg spoke of “an ideological war going on and we are losing it. We cannot wait any longer. Now is the time to address these Anti-Semitic attacks and get the information out to the public.”

The main speaker of the evening was Rabbi Richard L. Rubenstein, president emeritus University of Bridgeport, CT and author of several books on Anti-Semitism. He gave a riveting Keynote Speech much on the topic of his latest book ‘Jihad and Genocide.’Rabbi Rubenstein said that he “realized at an early age that religion is a most important and influential force in the world.” He stated that he believed that the goal of the present day radical Muslim is to eradicate Israel and the Jewish people. He made several specific references from the Qur’an and speeches by Islamic Prophets to concretely show where Muslim Anti-Semitism has its roots. “There are no unalienable rights for non-Muslims, only Allah’s rights that are contractual.” The fact that Jews are referred to in the Qur’an as pigs, swine, and apes is enough to give “Muslims a license to kill and should take this as their duty. The Kibar armies will return and there will be the final eradication of Jews.”

Rabbi Rubenstein stated his reasoning for the rage that Muslims feel against Israel and Jews and openly express thru Anti-Semitic hatred and violence. “Islamic rage is Allah’s rage as written in the Qur’an. Muslims are taught to look down on Jews and think that they must accept a servitude position in life. But, instead, the Israelis win and prosper. This has enraged Muslims because according to the words of Mohammad, Jews have a conditional relationship and are only meant to survive, not thrive.”

Rabbi Rubenstein spoke of the success of Muslim intimidation techniques. “In London, police run away from demonstrations in fear that any actions would be seen as anti-Muslim…Westerners are asked to avoid negative talk in public so as not to flare-up Muslim sensibilities…Americans are held hostage to these tactics.”

Rabbi Rubenstein revealed his frequent disappointments in dialoguing with Muslims, even those who call themselves moderates. He continues to see Anti-Semitic preaching being quoted directly from the Qur’an and interpretations of the Qur’an (tafsir), along with Muslim leadership speaking more radically to their Muslim audiences than to Western listeners (Taqiyya). With this in mind, he admitted “I don’t engage in dialogue anymore…I think it’s a waste of time…Dialoguing with Muslims is fraudulent…It gives them a legitimacy in the US that they do not deserve.” There appeared to be a large proportion of the audience whose heads were nodding in agreement. Rabbi Rubenstein ended his remarks with a warning: “We better realize the choice that was made on behalf of the Jews…the choice of sovereignty. Subordination has led to extermination, not survival.”

The next morning, after a buffet breakfast, the attendees were offered a day of panel discussions. Participants were able to choose between 2 different groups each hour, and then a long lunchtime to talk. Some of the panel topics included: Anti-Semitism vs. Anti-Zionism, Campus Jihad, Teaching About Anti-Semitism, Denial of Islamism, Mosques and North America, Understanding Islam in Islamic Anti-Semitism,and International Relations. (Note: It was impossible to attend every group discussion, so the information presented here relates to those panel discussions I attended.)

In ‘Anti-Semitism vs. Anti-Zionism,’ Leslie Klaff, a senior lecturer in law at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK and an affiliate professor of law at Haifa University, presented photos that were taken in Covent Garden and Sheffield, UK. The Sheffield demonstration was silent and organized by Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and the Covent Garden was a regularly held (every 2^ndSaturday afternoon) boycott rally against Israeli products outside the Ahava store. Ms. Klaff explained the “3-D test for Anti-Zionism: Demonstrate, Delegitimize, and Double-standards as the method to judge and rid the world of the Jewish state.” Her photo display clearly showed the use of the 3-D’s in action.

Rabbi Rubenstein added to the discussion with the concept of ‘cognitive dissonance,’ which is the uncomfortable feeling caused by dealing with competing claims of religions simultaneously, as strongly felt between Jews and Christians. “The rivalry over the biblical promises God made and the claim to the land of Israel led both groups towards the Nazi death camps…Jewish claims to Israel are only ‘as witness’ for the Messiah and Christians’ real claim to the land.”

Steven L. Jacobs, rabbi, associate professor at the University of Alabama’s Department of Religious Studies and author, broadened this discussion with his topic ‘Islamic trend towards Biblical revisionism.’  Rabbi Jacobs remarked that there are “Islamic academics who attempt to slant the data and its sources to discredit the interpretation of archeology and to reframe history in order to diminish and delegitimize Jewish rights to Israel. Anthropology is being used by Muslims against Jews and Israel and this is Muslim Anti-Semitism.”

The last panelist in this group was Richard Landes, Professor of medieval history at Boston University, co-founder and director of the center for Millennial Studies. His forthcoming book ‘Heaven on Earth: The Varieties of the Millennial Experience,’was the topic of his presentation. He sees “Islam making millennial claims, promising that once Islam rules everywhere, there will be world peace. Jihad is the millennial war that operates in modern times on two major levels: Outright violence and demopathy, or the invocation of civil society’s values to undermine that system from within. There is a significant overlap between the religious Hamas and the secular PLO in their use of apocalyptic rhetoric. Its characteristics include global conspiracy theory, total war, virulent Anti-Semitism, contempt for human live and child sacrifice.”

During ‘Mosques and North America,’ Charles Jacobs, organizer of the ‘American Anti-Slavery Group, co-founder of ‘The David Project,’ founder of Americans for Peace and Tolerance, and named by ‘Forward” as one of America’s top 50 Jewish leaders, spoke about American mosques. The Roxbury Mega-Mosque in Massachusetts and the Murfreesboro Mosque in Tennessee are examples where Imans, Directors and Trustees are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood; are funded by Saudis; and support Hamas. Mr. Jacobs claims that American liberals, including Jews, want to prove to Muslims how tolerant a people Americans are. “The moral narcissism of the politically correct liberals has created a ‘demo-path’ where our democracy is used as a weapon against us. We are embracing those who want to destroy us.”

‘Understanding Islam in Islamic Anti-Semitism’ was a discussion that included Andrew G. Bostom and Alyssa Lappen, two prominent writers on Islamic Anti-Semitism. Bostom’s book ‘The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism’is considered by many in the field to be the fullest anthology of primary sources and secondary studies on this theme to date. Bostom stated: “One third of the Qur’an deals with Muhammad’s hatred of Jews and reasons to kill them…proving Jewish hatred is deep in the Islamic texts and is religious bigotry…The Qur’an curses the Jews and Allah says they are pigs, apes, and swine…It is because the Jews rejected Muhammad that love of the Prophet means killing Jews…Muslim Jewish hatred is mainstream in Muslim countries and in their leadership …Jews are the enemies of Islam and the only good Jew is one who becomes a Muslim.”

Alyssa Lappen is a freelance investigative journalist, editor and poet specializing in Islamic history. She stated: “9/11 continues to empower Muslims as propaganda spreads that Jews were behind the attack and infiltrated the White House.” There is an “escalation in America of Muslim Anti-Semitism inspired by Muslim radicals.” She listed dozens of recent Muslim attacks against Jews and added: “the list goes on and on.” It must be noted that during her reading of these documented assaults, her co-panelist Andrew Bostom kept dropping his head into his hands in what was apparently an emotional response this list evokes. It was truly a reflection of the grief felt in the room.

Ms. Lappen also used Iman Rauf, known for the ‘Mosque at Ground Zero,’ as an example of an Islamic spokesperson who claims to be a moderate, but does meet her criterion of a moderate Muslim: “One who self criticizes publicly.”

The fact that no Islamic ‘mea culpa’ (self-criticism) has occurred in all of Islamic history and is still missing from the public arena was the focus of much conversation. Whereby the Catholic and Jewish faiths have gone thru transformations, ‘modernization’ or ‘reformation,’ Islam has remained as it has been throughout history.

The morning’s events concluded with the film ‘The Mufti of Jerusalem: Father of Contemporary Genocidal Anti-Semitism’ by author and artist, David Sokol.

Rabbi Rubenstein

Covent Garden Anti-Zionist

Tennessee Mosque

Anti Zionist

Anti-Zionist Ahava