Distrubing Trends

Disturbing Trends

                                          Micaiah Ben Malachi

One of the benefits to be a Jew who is not connected to a Jewish Community or Jewish House of worship is the ability to focus on trends globally.  These trends are economic, political and social changes.  The trends that I am speaking about are, the great shift of people relocating for a better life or other reasons.   In particular, religiously observant people immigrating into Europe, Oceania and the United States of America.  Catholic, Protestants and Muslims dominate those groups.  Another trend is the global depression effecting almost every Developed and Under Developed nation.  The best examples of this is, the collapse of the US housing giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Lehman Brothers Holding Inc, which filed for bankruptcy.  Lehman Brothers was a one hundred and fifty eight years old bank.  Its failure was due to, too many risky assets, with too little capital.  In other words, it loaned out too much money with too little money in the bank to cover its losses.  Another example is AIG (American International Group) an American insurance corporation, the 6th largest company in the world with offices in the UK, France and Hong Kong; is in danger of failing.  Its problem is the same as Lehman brothers.  They made too many risky loans and not enough capital to cover their losses.  Next, Bank Of America bought out Merrill Lynch an investment company which had been considered financially among the strongest and stable companies on Wall Street. 

Politically, Russia appears to want to reclaim its satellite nations of the former Soviet Union.  It has invaded the Georgian Republic and still has troops there.  Despite statements of condemnation, the Western powers who preached Democratic values did nothing.  This sent a clear statement to other "break away" countries in the Balkans that they cannot count on the Western Powers to come to their aid.  Moving on, Iran,  wish to join the list of nuclear powers.  It continues to develop its nuclear enrichment program despite warnings from the United Nations, United States and Israel.  China, is quickly becoming a economic and military power in Asia.  It speaks of friendship but continue to build its military forces.  Also, it is using its political power to force Taiwan to return to being a territory of China.  Israel, has begun to court its enemies in a bid for peace. Meanwhile, the Palestinians still threaten Israel with rocket attacks and suicide bombers.  Hezbolluah, in Lebanon continues to build and purchase more weapons and will attack Israel.  India and Pakistan both have nuclear weapons and it is only  matter of time before one use their nuclear weapons on the other. The country of Bolivia is endanger of declaring Martial Law.  The war of words continue between the United States of America and Columbia.  Finally, The United States of America and coalition forces are fighting a two front war in Iraq and Afghanistan. This undeclared war is not only costing lives on all sides of the conflict but demoralizing the troops who are fighting it.

Socially speaking, the countries in Europe and Oceania are experiencing a large shift of immigrants.  These nations has always been White and Christian.  However, a great number of immigrants are Muslims.  Their loyalties often are with their faith first. This has caused many immigrants to experience xenophobic attacks, racism, discrimination and "ghettoization" in their new found host nations.  Regardless of how much they work, they're still treated as "second class" citizens or not citizens at all.  Unfortunately, this mistreatment has produced a first and second generation of youth who do not feel a need to join their host nations.  They have become ripe for others who wish to destroy their host nations and replace it with a religious one. In America, there is a great push to close and police its borders and stop the flow of immigrants from Mexico and Central America.  On the surface, it would appear the complaints are based on politics, however, beneath the surface is the same xenophobia, racism and isolationism found in Europe and Oceania.  We live in  world that has been dominated by White people.  They opened their doors to non-white populations often out of guilt for past discrimination.  However, the immigrants today, have brown skin and are increasing whether it be legal or illegal immigration.  Their numbers cause a shift in political decisions, housing patterns and school curriculum.  Changes which are not welcome by most White Americans.  Many white Americans fear their way of life will change.  In addition, they fear the lowering of social barriers between Whites and non-whites will lead to sexual contact with non-whites, the eventual progeny will not be White but mixed race.  One need only turn on their televisions and look into the newspaper and other print media to see the fear of miscegenation and ethnocentric feeling which are present in this society.  This is not to exclude Afro-centric, Hispanic centric and other racial centric group behaviors.  Often the products advertised are for whites and often they are portrayed in dominant roles.  Minorities such as Asian Americans, Black and African Americans all play a support or minor role in the commercials, print media and prime time televisions networks controlled by White Americans such as ABC, NBC and CBS.   An example of this is, images babies with fine smooth creamy complexions, blonde or brown hair are shown in most commercials, white children shown as intelligent and resourceful meanwhile there are few Asian, Hispanic or Black, African American or Native American babies and children shown as such.  These images reinforce White American values and make it difficult for non-whites to feel apart of their country or host nation.

So what does all this have to do with being a Jew and one who lives outside the Jewish communities. Well there is a axiom which says; "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". Santayana 1905.

When the news of Lehman Brothers, AIG and Merrill Lynch became public knowledge, Monday, September 15,2008, I recalled the failures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  I had seen this foot print before but could not place it.  Finally, it occurred to me where. On Tuesday, October 29, 1929.  The Stock Market crashed sending Wall Street into a frenzy of selling by investors trying to gain their money.  Many lost it all.  The depression was global in scope. As it was then and is today.  People lost their homes and their jobs as well. The news of September 15,2008 was almost 79 years from our last major global depression.  At that time, as is now, people began to mistrust their governments and their economies.  Politicians made promises of jobs, food and better living conditions for the masses. Yet, things continued to go from bad to worse.  Eventually, "scapegoats" were chosen from the population.  As we Jews know, Jews, Romas, Intellectuals, Homosexuals, "The Rhineland Bastards (mixed race children of German women and African soldiers) and the Mentally ill were singled out to bear the hatred of "White" people.  This hatred and mistrust was found not only in Europe but America as well.  On September 14,1930, almost ten years after the global depression hit, German industrialist and socialites began to support the Nazi party.  Jews were among those that supported the Nazis in hope they would turn around the economy and bring Germany back to its pre-World War I status in the world. 

Many Jews had thought they assimilated into the mainstream of German society.  They wore the same clothing, spoke German fluently, their children attended German schools and universities and worked in numerous occupations. However, they were still Jews in the eyes of their fellow countrymen and women.  The same is true for Jews and other minorities in the Developed and Undeveloped countries of today.  They had adopted the dominant cultural views and values.  History is repeating itself.  Then and now, Jews looked down on their fellow Jews.  They distance themselves from poor Jews and other minorities. Their communities are often closed to Jews they did not know.  Today Jews must recall that it was our own people who helped put poorer Jews into those boxcars knowing they were sending fellow Jews to their death.  Even if they wished to believe the lie of "resettlement".  It did not bother them until the deportations began to include their own relatives and friends.  Yes, the Nazis and others were guilty of murder or what is called today "Ethnic Cleaning". But, there were Jewish communities and committee who were just a guilty.

The point of this commentary is to focus your attention on the beginning stages of a near future Pogrom.  It is to alert you to certain situation that indicate this shift.  It is also meant to be a wakeup call to Jews who live in Jewish congregations and communities.  You must begin to outreach to Jews who feel left out and ignored.  You must begin to draw us into your congregations regardless of where we live from your synagogues and temples.  Your communities have begun to reflect those in the 1930's. Communities composed of the wealthy and middle class, college educated and white.   It was easy to single us out because we of our traits.  By opening your doors to other races and cultures, you will be enriching your congregations. By inclusion, many windows of positive change can wake up our apathetic congregations.  It has only been an estimated 75 years since our people were sent to their deaths at the hands of the Nazis and other followers of their doctrine.  Let us also not forget the Chmielnitzki massacres, Einsatzgruppen massacres and the Hebron massacres. In these Pogrom many of our ancestors died.  They too, like the German Jews, fooled themselves into believing they were equal in the eyes of their neighbors.  They were not.  Have Jews forgot the lessons of the past?  Makedah and I would give our lives to protect a fellow Jew. But we wonder if they would do the same for us?

Racism and Ethnocentric Attitudes Among New York Jews

    David Sasha wrote an article about the 92nd Street Y catalogue for 2008-2009.  The catalogue outlined the various conference groups to be held in New York with the focus on universal issues, such as beliefs and culture, that were of concern to all Jews.  However, the focus was not universal.  Rather, it slanted toward the Ashkenazi point of view.  Sasha explained that one of the Ashkenazi's beliefs is that a "real" Jew should speak Yiddish.  Also every "true" Jew must conduct their customs and rituals from the Ashkenazi view.  They leave no room for Jews who perform their own rituals and customs which could be different from the Ashkenazis.  Sasha went on to tell us that the conference chose themes and speakers who held the same pro-Israel or Zionist beliefs as they did, and that the Sephardim and Arab Jews and non-Jews who did not espouse the same beliefs of the Ashkenazim were not invited or were simply excluded from those who were chosen to speak at the conference and its focus groups.  Thus, many important voices among the Jews and non-Jewish populations were not being heard.  The conference focus was not on about the ever-changing diversity of American and world Jewry.

    Many of us who converted to Judaism, or were born as Jews come from different ethnic, cultural and racial backgrounds.  Thus, we  do not know how to speak Yiddish or Hebrew.  Yet, Ashkenazi Jews expect everyone to speak Yiddish and Hebrew fluently.  We are also expected to conduct our customs and rituals according to the Ashkenazi view, such as eating brisket and/or latkes on holidays, singing songs that reinforce the Yiddish culture and expecting all Jews to be Orthodox Jews.  As a result, non-Ashkenazi Jews are made to feel isolated and unwelcome in Ashkenazi communities.

    Another area of contention between Ashkenazi Jews and non-Ashkenazis is in the area of politics.  Ashkenazi Jews expect all Jews to be pro-Zionist, which means that Jews support and defend the State of Israel no matter the situation.  Non-Ashkenazi Jews, on the other hand, do not feel that Jews should support and defend the State of Israel blindly.  While we believe that the nation of Israel should be supported by Jews, we stop at the belief that Jews should support all the actions of the State, regardless of the moral and social implications of those actions.  For example, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.  Israel should have the right to exist and expect that her sovereignty be respected by the Palestinians.  She should be able to live side by side with the Palestinians without fear of attacks, harassment or attempts to destroy.  This does not mean that the State of Israel has the right to punish all Palestinians because of what right-winged Palestinian militant groups do in their name.  Israel should also not mistreat Israeli Arabs simply because they are Arabs.  If they live within the borders of Israel, then they should enjoy the same and equal rights as any other Israeli citizen does.

    It saddens us to know that there are Ashkenazis who are totally blinded by their beliefs and prejudices.  This prejudice causes them to be looked down upon by other non-Ashkenazi Jews.  Ashkenazi Jews are living in a vacuum of their own creation, and this vacuum does not allow for a complete and open discussion of issues, customs and beliefs among their population.  As a result, many non-Ashkenazi Jews are made to feel unwelcome, and their opinions are often not heard by Ashkenazi.  Some non-Ashkenazi Jews become disillusioned with Judaism because of their encounters with rigid standards imposed on them by Ashkenazi culture and communities.  Ashkenazis should open the doors of their communities to complete and open discussion about their rigid requirements regarding culture, customs, and religious practices.  They should also allow for open discussion and debate of their political ideas.  There are many views to an issue or idea.

 

Makedah bat Leah & Micaiah ben Malachi

Reputed Klansman's conviction overturned in 1964 deaths

CNN) -- A federal appeals court overturned the kidnapping conviction of a reputed Klansman in connection with the 1964 deaths of two black teenagers in Mississippi.

James Ford Seale, a former sheriff's deputy, was convicted in June 2007 of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in the disappearances of Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, both 19.

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit Court Appeals sided with Seale's claim that he should have never been tried in connection with the teens' deaths because a five-year statute of limitations on kidnapping-related offenses had expired.

"The more than 40-year delay clearly exceeded the limitations period," Judge Harold DeVoss wrote in the panel's ruling. "While we are mindful of the seriousness of the crimes at issue, we cannot abdicate our duty to faithfully apply a valid limitations period."

The ruling brought a surprise turn to a case that the FBI once trumpeted as an example of its efforts to close cold cases from the civil rights era.

"Today's indictment is one example of the FBI's strong and ongoing commitment to reexamining and investigating unsolved civil rights era murders and other crimes," FBI Director Robert S. Mueller said after Seale's indictment was announced in January 2007. "Under our Cold Case Initiative, we will continue to identify and pursue these cases of racially motivated violence to ensure justice is served wherever possible."

Seale was not tried for murder, but prosecutors alleged he and fellow Klansmen conspired to abduct, beat and murder Dee and Moore in May 1964. An indictment accused the Seale and his cohorts of picking up the two men hitchhiking and driving them into the Homochito National Forest in Franklin County, Mississippi, where the teenagers were beaten and interrogated at gunpoint.

Dee and Moore were then bound with duct tape, weighted down by an engine block and railroad rail. They were still alive when they were thrown into the Old Mississippi River, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Their decomposed bodies were found two months later during a search for three missing civil rights workers that would later be known as the Mississippi Burning case.

Seale and another man, Charles Edwards, were arrested in the slayings in 1964, but released on bond and never tried. The FBI turned the case over to local authorities, and the case was dropped after a justice of the peace said witnesses had refused to testify.

The cold case was revived in 2007 when Moore's brother discovered Seale was still alive during a visit to Franklin County to help research the case for a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documentary.

Thomas Moore told CNN in January 2007 that he gave the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi FBI files on the case, which he had obtained from a Mississippi reporter.

U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton helped form a task force that led to Seale's indictment. Seale was the first and only person convicted in the Moore and Dee murders, the Justice Department said.

Since then, other notable cold cases from the civil rights era have also gone to trial. In 2005, Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of manslaughter for his role in the Mississippi Burning case.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/09/09/conviction.overturned/index.html

Commentary: Reputed Klansman's conviction overturned in 1964 deaths

Commentary:  Reputed Klansman's conviction overturned in 1964 deaths

 

I was very hurt upon learning of the overturning of the conviction of James Ford Seale, a former Mississippi Deputy Sheriff. He was convicted in 2007 for kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnapping of two black Mississippi teenagers, both 19.  They were Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee. The deputy and his cohorts of picking up the two men hitchhiking and driving them into the Homochito National Forest in Franklin County, Mississippi, where the teenagers were beaten and interrogated at gunpoint. Dee and Moore were then bound with duct tape, weighted down by an engine block and railroad rail.  They were still alive when they were thrown into the Old Mississippi River.  Seale and another man, Charles Edwards, were arrested in the slayings in 1964, but released on bond and never tried. The FBI turned the case over to local authorities, and the case was dropped after a justice of the peace said witnesses had refused to testify.

 

The Fifth Circuit Court overturned the lower courts decision stating "...[Seale] stated he should have never been tried in connection with the teens' deaths because a five-year statute of limitations on kidnapping-related offenses had expired."  The Court ruled. "The more than 40-year delay clearly exceeded the limitations period," Judge Harold DeVoss wrote in the panel's ruling. "While we are mindful of the seriousness of the crimes at issue, we cannot abdicate our duty to faithfully apply a valid limitations period."

 

While I understand the reason for the ruling, I also understand the Fifth Circuit of Appeal's decision, sent a clear message to those who wish to ethnically cleanse the United States of America of Black Americans, African Americans, Native American, Asian Americans and Hispanic American and Jews can do so without playing the ultimate penalty, the death penalty. There are examples to validate my opinion.

Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of manslaughter for his role in the Mississippi Burning case in 2005, yet he was never convicted of First Degree Murder, which carried a death sentence.

Shawn Allen Berry, the last of three white men to stand trial for the dragging death of a black man, escaped the death penalty late he was sentenced to life in prison. Under Texas law he must spend 40 years behind bars before he can be considered for parole. He and two others murdered James Byrd Jr., Two other men, white supremacists John William King and Lawrence Russell Brewer, already have been convicted and sentenced to die for chaining James Byrd Jr. by his ankles to a pickup truck and dragging him along a country road until his body was torn apart.

Four members of a white supremacist group plotted to kill Alan Berg, the Jewish host of a radio talk show, because of his religious background and argumentative personality.  The defendants are charged with violating the civil rights of Mr. Berg, the talk show host on radio station KOA-AM in Denver, who was shot to death with a submachine gun outside his town house here on June 18, 1984. The defendants are Bruce Carroll Pierce, 33 years old; David E. Lane, 39; Richard Scutari, 40, and Jean Margaret Craig, 54. All of the defendants were members of a right-wing group based in eastern Washington and northern Idaho known as The Order or the Silent Brotherhood. ''They all believed in something called the Aryan race, and they believed the Aryan race was in danger from what they saw as the enemy of the Aryan race: the Jewish people. They shared a belief that there was Jewish control of our country.'' A 'Plan to Save the Aryan Race.  They agreed upon an ambitious and serious plan to save the Aryan race, and this plan included assassination. The defendants are serving prison terms ranging from 40 to 100 years for a wide range of terrorist acts, including bank robberies and three armored car robberies. Robert Matthews, founder of The Order, who was killed in a shootout with the police at his hideout on Whideby Island in Washington in December 1984, actually murdered Mr. Berg.

For many decades Blacks and other racial and religious minorities counted on the Federal Courts to protect their rights and lives.  However, in the past few years, most of the achievements of the Civil Rights era have been diluted until the laws have only lost all meaning.  Nor longer can minorities depend on their government to protect them. In some cases they have more to fear from law enforcement officials and the courts.  Whites bigots and racist can openly express the hatred of brown skinned people and Jews without sincere condemnation, unless it causes the focus of the press on them and their activity. In 2008, there are whites, which continue to flee to the suburbs or rural communities to avoid minorities. Their suburban and rural communities are predominately white and use the law and social sanctions to isolate those minorities who wish to move into their communities.  In addition, many urban whites put their children in private schools to keep their children away from possible miscegenation later in the children's lives.  I am fearful that this country will recreate the era in which "brown skinned people and Jews" lived in fear of the "White man", instead of being his equal.