7 Feb. 2017

I know what you’re thinking. You read the title above and the first thing that came to your mind was “No, he’s not really going to go there, is he?” Yes, indeedy, I am.

America has a Jew problem. The Middle East has a Jew problem. The entire world seems to have a Jew problem. Make that “problems.” But, the rules of PC don’t work right when these things are discussed. It’s sort of fascinating that after several millennia the history of Jews is still being revised, but it is.

Before I discuss the problems of Jews, allow me to recap a bit of their history as a distinct people.

If you know your Bible, you understand Jews as the lineal descendants of the ancient Hebrew tribes, specifically those descendants of Abraham’s grandson Jacob. Jacob fathered 12 sons by four wives. Descendants of those sons became known in history as the 12 tribes of Israel. It is thought the tribes dwelled in and near the land now known as Israel for over 1,000 years, with a couple of interludes of some decades where they were captive “guests” of the Pharaohs of Egypt, and later of the Babylonians.

Once freed from Egypt the Israelites reacquired their former territory and established their independence. As was the custom of those times, they had to fight for their right to exist on the land and then to stay there. Sometime later King Nebuchadnezzar II, the ruler of Babylon, sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple King Solomon had built. He removed the Hebrew population, taking them to Babylon to serve him. It was during their time in captivity in Babylon that the ancient Hebrew religion was reformulated and re-branded as something more akin to modern Judaism. They entered Babylon as Hebrew slaves. They left Babylon as free Jews, went home to Israel to re-establish their presence there, and rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. It was as Jews that the Greeks knew them during the Hellenic period, and the Romans knew them as Jews during their own time as the rulers of the region. The Romans destroyed the second temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and forced the population of Israel out of their lands; the so-called “Jewish diaspora.”

When you look at Jewish history it’s easy to comprehend the ebb and flow of their history. It appears repetitious. They rise, they fall, they are kicked off their lands, they return, and the cycle repeats.

Jews have a fascinating history in what they call the “Christian Era.” One early proscription of Christianity regards charging interest on loans. That same proscription was captured by Muhammad and put into the Qur’an. Christians and Muslims could not charge interest on loans as a matter of religious faith. But, Jews could, and that often made them handy to have around. In all the time since the diaspora there is a continuous connection between Jews and money. That connection worked to their benefit at times and to their great despair at others.

The rulers of Europe always seemed to like having Jews around. Under many rulers, and for extended periods of time, Jews thrived. They rose to the upper reaches of society and were known and revered as creative artists and intellectuals. As a group they comprised the heart of the upper middle class in many nations; the merchant class. But, those were in good times. Many times weren’t so good. There were times when petty squabbles between neighboring kings and dukes turned deadly, and that’s when Jews always found their greatest use and profit, and their greatest peril. Most of European royalty had plenty of money to squander on their estates and their lavish lifestyles, but not when it came to making war. War meant conscripting and equipping an army. War meant buying a lot of expensive weapons. War was extremely costly, especially to a minor king or a duke. The obvious answer to aggressors and the targets of their aggression was often the same – borrow some money.

If you were the average rich Christian living in a European nation and your ruler wanted to borrow from you, what would you do? You might give some, but you’d certainly plead that you couldn’t give much because all your capital was tied up in funding the operations of your estate and feeding and clothing all your chattels and hirelings. You’d understand that loaning your ruler would only handicap your future and the best you’d do is to eventually get your principle back. You couldn’t gain on the deal. It would be much better to put your money to use in productive land or a business enterprise where you could make a legitimate profit. That’s where the Jews came in. They had money. They had convertible assets. And a king or duke could offer to pay interest. There might be sin in charging interest, but none in paying. They understood Jews wanted a profit. Who didn’t? But, they had no religious objections to making profit off loaning money. If the profit looked better than another business opportunity a rich Jew would often loan his ruler the money sought in order to wage war on his neighbor. Refusing a request for such a loan carried its own perils. That’s just the way it was.

The downside to bankrolling royals was the usual risk of war. The king who won might be generous and repay the loan to his Jewish backer. The king who lost would often not be able to do so, and would all too often look for a handy way to erase his debt instead of retire it. The traditional way of doing that was to convince the population the nation lost their recent war due to Jewish intrigues. That agitation often led to popular uprisings against Jewish citizens, with confiscation of property, imprisonment, and murder as standard uprising characteristics. Those uprisings eventually came to be known as pogroms. And, there were many pogroms in Europe’s bloodstained history. From the standpoint of the royals, it was all about the need for money, followed by the need to avoid repaying debt. From the standpoint of the citizens, it was about an embedded class of strange people who preyed on their society, stripping it of its wealth, then conspiring with their enemies to destroy them all. From the standpoint of Jews it was about the risks of being a successful Jew in a Christian land, always living in peril, knowing the next time some petty royal spat got out of hand a request for financial assistance was in the offing, along with the commensurate and ultimate risk of a grisly demise. It wasn’t easy being a Jew in Europe.

One big change had to do with the rise of the Rothschild family and their network of international banks. It’s true that in many instances Rothschild money financed both sides of a war. But, the family considered the risks worth it, and over time that viewpoint proved to be right. But, I don’t want to dwell on the Rothschild family and its many intrigues. I’d need another lifetime to fully explore that topic, and it would detract from the theme of this missive. So, I return to that theme.

The history of Jews in the post-diaspora era created many myths and legends. It created strong emotions and some odd actions and reactions. It was probably those emotions that resulted in the publication of one of the most dangerous anti-Semitic works ever written, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The Protocols first appeared in 1905 as an appendix to The Great in the Small: The Coming of the Anti-Christ and the Rule of Satan on Earth, by Russian writer and mystic Sergei Nilus. The Protocols was the subject of much debate and scrutiny, often being proclaimed a fraud. After an investigation in 1921 the London Times declared The Protocols a work of plagiarism, derived mostly from Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu a French political satire written by Maurice Joly in 1864. There is no mention of any Jew in the Dialogue. Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini evidently bought into The Protocols hook, line, and sinker. The Protocols served as inspiration for Hitler when he wrote his own screed, Mein Kampf.

The 2,000 year history of struggle in western lands led many Jews to deny their heritage and faith. Even today many Jews so want to be considered everyday citizens that they completely turn their backs on who they are as Jews. Countless numbers of them intermarry with non-Jews, the ones they refer to as Gentiles and Goyim. They adopt names that don’t identify them as Jews. They join Christian denominations and profess to love Jesus. They profess their love for mankind and deny there is any evil in the world that can’t be overcome with enough love and understanding. These Jews, who have turned their back on their people, their traditions, and their religion, are often found in the forefront of radical movements. They were great supporters of Karl Marx. They were stalwart supporters of Lenin and Stalin. They were prominent in labor and social movements in many nations. They have always been a significant presence in the American progressive movement. They are the politically correct Jews, who no longer consider themselves as Jews. This is the problem of Jews in America, just as it is for much of the world – the non-observant Jew.

Observant Jews understands and appreciates their heritage. Observant Jews strive to obey God and to live decent lives. Observant Jews protect their family, their property, their neighbors, their communities, and they help protect their nations. Non-observant Jews are often atheists, having abandoned belief in their religion altogether. They often ally themselves with causes and ideals that promote secular humanism, rather than religious-based concepts of morality and community. Non-observant Jews are all around us. They’re prominent in the arts, in business, the law, education, and in politics. They have incredible influence in their chosen undertakings, though they will often deny it. We have all witnessed such denials many times. They deny their domination in Hollywood, just as they deny their prominence in the Ivy League law academy, and the various “rights” movements. Their denials are partly based on their status as non-observant Jews, who hardly think of themselves as Jewish at all, except when it suits their purpose.

So, what’s my big problem with Jews? It’s rather complicated, but I’ll try to make it simple. Sometimes they’re a huge pain in the backside. I’m not usually bothered by the religious Jews, those observant ones. I understand them well, and they’re just like most people once you overcome their seemingly innate suspicion of anyone not Jewish. No, it’s not they who bother me, but the non-observant ones do. Not all of them, mind you. Just the ones who are prominent in the progressive movement, and the ones who want to perpetuate political correctness as a means of controlling others. Yes, it’s those who are a problem. They are the ones who look down on their own brothers – the observant ones – and who seem to be in the forefront of all the anti-Israel crowd.

That anti-Israel part really gets to me. There are few things that irritate me more than seeing Jews on my TV promoting the causes of terrorism over those of their own people. It’s not PC to call it that, but what else would you? Those people put their progressive, secular humanist gobbledygook, politically correct outlook on life ahead of common sense. They play to the interests of their adversaries in the name of “common decency and human compassion.” They are just as much enemies of Israel as Hezbollah or Hamas, because they consistently work to promote the myths of the persecuted Palestinian.

Because I brought it up, I’ll dispense with that last statement with one declaration, then leave it. The greatest enemy of average Palestinians living in either the West Bank or Gaza is their own leadership, who keep their population living in abject poverty and near despair for their own economic and political gain.

There’s an historic fact to contend with regarding non-observant Jews. It’s the truth that their non-observance isn’t a consideration of their enemies. Their enemies hate them at a visceral level. Think of a radicalized Islamist Palestinian. Do you think that person cares whether a Jew is observant or not? Do you really think any other person who professes hatred for Jews cares either? If so, you’d be wrong. Regardless of the reason anyone might conjure up to justify hating a Jew, the Jew’s own view of his “Jewishness” isn’t germane. The imperial Russians didn’t care when they promoted their pogroms. The Nazi Germans certainly never did. No society that ever went on an anti-Semitic bender cared whether their Jewish victims worshipped on the Sabbath or not. When the intent is to identify and eliminate enemies no one cares to make that fine a distinction. Any Jew will do. The observant Jews seem to under-stand. Many non-observant Jews seem not to, to their own detriment.

PC and Jews. They seem inextricably tied together in America. The prevalence of Jews in all forms of media mean they have tremendous influence regarding what the rest of us see and hear each day. They help perpetuate dumb politically correct stereotypes instead of truth and honesty. Their efforts help muzzle true free speech. Their activities promote notions of fairness above justice. One would think that 5,000 years of documented history would inform all Jews of what is true and what is not, but that’s just not so. Far too many have turned their backs on the truth of their own history, and they court disaster in doing so.

Jews have a very long and proud tradition in the United States. They’ve been here from the very beginning of immigration from Europe, and have contributed to our American experience in countless ways. There’s no undertaking or occupation in our land that didn’t benefit from Jewish contributions. The first Jewish congregation in the US was Congregation Shearith Israel, founded in New York City in 1654. It is still an active congregation. The oldest standing Jewish temple is Truro Synagogue in Newport, RI; in active use since it was built in 1759. Those facts might incline one to consider Jews among the most patriotic of Americans, whose stake in our society is at least as great as that of the American of white European descent or of other Americans of black African descent. Perhaps it’s that paradigm that makes it hard to understand why Jews participate to the degree they do in activities and organizations that have the effect of weakening America. But, far too many, mostly non-observant, secular humanist Jews, do.

By inclination I’m what the old non-PC people used to call a “Jew Lover.” It’s true. I admit it. I don’t subscribe to the international Jewish banker conspiracy theory, or that Jews are somehow behind every war fought for the past 1,000 years. Instead, I have a deep admiration and love for the Jewish people. Their enemy is my enemy. That may be the reason I get so stirred up when I see Jews say and do things I view as invitations to disaster. I believe they say and do those things because of the pressures of political correctness. I believe if they keep on the politically correct road they imperil their very existence. Jews in America are all too often blind to the reality of hate in the world. They understand it at the visceral level, but believe they are somewhat immune to it in our country. That’s a dangerous belief. Jews in America are just as vulnerable as Jews anywhere else in the world, including Israel. But, politically correct Jews sometimes forget who they are, which may ultimately prove their undoing.