...born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad

Sorry seems to be the fakest word: The CJC’s Tammy Faye Farber sent out this heads-up via e-mail about his upcoming piece in the National Post (h/t J.B):

Dear Friends:

The "Lesley Hughes Affair" in which a candidate for federal office was found to have posted a column supporting the Jewish conspiracy theories of 9/11 resulted in CJC having to very publically repudiate the candidate and explain the poison of the antisemitic canard.

Nonetheless we continued to receive a number of emails which clearly demonstrated that some folks simply didn't get it. 

As a result we felt it advisable to produce an op-ed that would focus on the 9/11 issue as it pertains to the antisemitic canard with a full explanation of our concerns. The National Post has agreed to print the op-ed article on Monday. It has however placed it today on their blog. This enables you to have a bit of a sneak preview…

Thank you for that, T.F. And here is his piece de resistance—a summary of how The Protocols of the Elders of Zion became, in the world of historian Norman Cohn, a “warrant for genocide,” and a demand that troofer Lesley Hughes “apologize” for purveying canards about Jews and 9/11:

...One supposes that fantasies will always be with us, but this one is distinct from, say, the alien abduction of Elvis, for one very important reason:  it evokes the poisonous notion that Jews/Israelis/Zionists (usually interchangeable in this calculus) callously engineered the slaughter of thousands of innocent people, including two dozen Canadian victims, as part of a malevolent plan to rule the world.  
 
It is for this reason that Canadian Jewish Congress so vigorously opposes the purveyors of such obscene allegations and challenges the veracity of the misinformation, innuendo and outright lies that purportedly underpins their “search for the truth,” It is why CJC sought, and still seeks, an apology from erstwhile Liberal candidate Lesley Hughes. Last week Hughes' attempted apology was nothing more than a confused, defensive ramble, blaming readers of her post for concluding that her offensive, batty blog was, well, offensive and batty. No facts have ever been presented to verify the chilling accusations that Israel had foreknowledge of the September 11th terror attacks, and that an Israeli tenant vacated one of the Twin Towers a week before, “breaking their lease to do it.” Indeed, a simple Google search would have shown that no leases were ever “broken” by Israeli firms housed at the WTC. And the only former Israeli tenant, ZIM lines, had announced it would leave the WTC a full 6 months before the tragic attack by Al Qaeda terrorists. That is why we welcomed her dismissal, even if it meant the voters of Kildonan-St. Paul would have no Liberal candidate as an option.

Let’s be clear: CJC has never accused Ms. Hughes of being an antisemite. Nor is she the object of a witch hunt or the victim of thought police. She was damned by her own hand because of her unapologetic association with 9/11 Jewish conspiracy theories. If Ms. Hughes was, as she has suggested, simply “reporting” alternate theories to the generally “accepted” version of the events of September 11, she would have done well to clarify that those theories were antisemitic in nature because they represented a collective assault on the Jewish people and the essence of the community’s nature.
 
The reality is that people sometimes make unfortunate choices to support unsubstantiated theories. When these allegations create harm like this one does, though, those people must be held accountable. In a press conference held on Oct. 2, Ms. Hughes maintained her stubborn and seemingly purposeful wilful blindness on her wrong-headed embrace of this terrible slander. No one who subscribes to these hateful fantasies, and then refuses to recant when challenged, is fit to serve in the national legislature of a proudly pluralistic nation that counts respect for diversity among its core values.  
 
The 9/11 Jewish conspiracy theories have no place in Canada. Repeated often enough they become the warrant for genocide for our time.

Now, I happen to agree with the germ of what Tammy Faye has to say. There is indeed (and once again) a bad crazy loose in the world; once again lies are being told about the Jews; once again an eliminationist agenda designed to remedy the “Jewish problem”  is on the table, this time courtesy the OIC and  the UN, among others. Was The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, in the words of historian Norman Cohn, “a warrant for genocide”? Absoluement. It was embraced by Hitler and justified, he believed, his obsession with the Jews and the need to do the world a big favour by eliminating them (just as, today, his book about his “struggle”—in Arabic, "jihad"; in German, "kampf"—as well as that earlier “warrant” inspires contemporary eliminationists). But do I think anything is served by compelling the foolish, feckless Ms. Hughes to recant and publicly apologize—as if that’s going to keep Canadian Jews safe and sound? Nuh-uh. All that does is give us a false sense of security—the same sense we get whenever another basement Nazi is chastised and prodded to fake-apologize by one of our state censors. And anyway, what’s the point of forcing an insincere apology out of a person in a show of faux “niceness”? Who comes off looking worse when a phony slicha (BTW a most un-Jewish type of atonement) is squeezed out of a person—the apologizer, or the person doing the squeezing?

My favourite instance of a forced, fake statement is the one made by Sigmund Freud, the condition of his release by the Nazis. In a brazen display of cheek that went right over his captors’ heads, Freud said: “I can most highly recommend the Gestapo to everyone.”

It is clear that Ms. Hughes is not a garden-variety Jew-hater, but rather, a paid-up member of the silver beanie brigade. Having exposed her as such, let us leave her to commiserate with the other little troofers, the ones who, like her, derive such comfort from over-arching explanations for confounding events. Is anything to be gained from bullying Ms. Hughes into pulling a Freud, and most highly recommending the Jews, or the CJC, to everyone? I think not.  

Update: How did I miss this one--Tammy Faye's heated yet utterly lame defense of CIJA advising Canuck Jewry that "poverty" is their numero uno issue in the upcoming election?

Posted by: scaramouche at 09:24 | link | comments (12)

Comments:

#1  04 October 2008 - 18:05

 

Scaramouche, asking for an apology may be a tad naive but by focusing your angst on Farber (who I think you agree his article is pretty good) simply moves the focus from Hughes to Farber. Frankly, that's dumb.

Anonymous

#2  04 October 2008 - 18:49

 

Must beg to differ. Farber, unfortunately, had placed himself front and centre in battle to divest Canadians of free speech in the assinine belief that it will help "protect" Jews. He's dead wrong--and must be derided for his mishegas. Asking for an apology is more than a tad naive. As I tried to explain, it's part and parcel of his censorship project that upholds what is by far the biggest danger to Canadian values. No, not creeping or galloping sharia--the slow suffocation of free speech under the imprimatur of human rights. Bernie--and those espousing the same dangerous tripe--must be taken to task for steering us so wrong--a task I'm delighted to take on whenever possible. One Mo'nonymous's "dumb" is another Mo'blogger's well-considered mission to puncture the foolish and self-important.

scaramouche

#3  04 October 2008 - 19:06

 

Scramouche blooger m'onoy her/himself may be a "Tad naive" but I agree on one vital element--we shouldn't make this about Farber. There will be plenty of time and other opportunity for that.

He has pegged Hughes and this Jew hating conspiracy. we really do give Hughes a "get out of jail free" card by making this about Farber. remember sometimes the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Anonymous

#4  04 October 2008 - 19:17

 

It's still about Hughes. But it's also about Bernie, since he's the one who keeps insisting on the utility of these bogus "apologies"--to the detriment of us all, I'm afraid.

scaramouche

#5  04 October 2008 - 19:34

 

I just don't get you. The apology issue is one thing. But come on are you equating that with the vile antiSemitism Farber wrote about?

And in the end Hughes was forced to resign anyway cuz the Jewish Congress simply didnt believe the sincerety of her apology or what have you. Whatever the case Im more concerend about anti-Semitism than arguing if an apology is the way to go that's for sure!!

Anonymous

#6  04 October 2008 - 19:40

 

Not equating it. Debating it. Big diff.

scaramouche

#7  04 October 2008 - 19:45

 

Sorry S you are equating it.

Anonymous

#8  04 October 2008 - 20:49

 

Scaramouche is neither equating the 2 issues or debating them. She has clearly in her post made Farber's request for an apology the focus. Those who have pointed out that by doing this she downplays the inherant anti-Semitism of the 911 nuts are quite right.

Scaramouche, you have done Hughes and her gang a great favour by attacking Farber over such a trivial thing.

Anonymous

#9  04 October 2008 - 21:21

 

I am now beginning to wonder if you are a shill for Lesley Hughes. Bad enough you troll on this apology issue taking your readers away from the anti-Semitism of the 911 "troothers" but now you ask why CJC has targeted POVERTY as an election issue? You have got to be kidding!!! Are you really so desperate to get people's minds off the anti-Semitism of Jewish conspiracy theories that you are willing to go so far into the gutter as to question whether we need to eradicate POVERTY???

Look I agree its not the number one issue of the election but its a real issue. That's all I will say about this. I don't want to fall into your trap of letting Jewish conspiracy theories ride into the sunset over this that's for sure.

Anonymous

#10  04 October 2008 - 21:43

 

#9 Mo--Alas, it is far from trivial. What's happening in Canada today is that an Iron Veil is descending on our land, in no small part due to the efforts of Bernie and his henchmen. (See this recent decision by the CHRC which, chillingly, identifies the "hallmarks" of hate; "hallmarks that are entirely in keeping with OIC concepts of "blasphemy" and "Islamophia": http://www.freedominion.com.pa/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=105026 No less an authority than Tarek Fatah has said that the CHRC--which Bernie continues to support wholeheartedly--is now in the hands of the Islamists.

You may be distubed about the Lesley Hughes and the zany troofers. Me too. But I'm also concerned about the big chill of state censorship. And I'm sorry--one article by Bernie about the Protocols and troofers doesn't absolve him from leading us down the garden path and being so short-sighted, so desirous of "building bridges" with Muslims merely because they are seen as another of Canada's "victim groups" that he can't see that he's really building a bridge on the River Kwai--i.e. a bridge that ends up benefitting our enemies. And, really, if he can't be honest and say that urging Canadian Jews to see "poverty" as their top-of-mind issue is essentially a call to vote for ABC--anyone but Conservatives--then who needs him, since he seems far more concerned with pushing the Liberal agenda than anything else.

And that, mes amis, is my final word (at least for now) on the subject.

scaramouche

#11  05 October 2008 - 01:53

 

Alas though tis not my final word.

You seem so obseesed with "Bernie" one person, that you are willing to sell your soul in order to get him. How sad. Because you are not a stupid person though you are acting stupidly.

We can agree or disagree with Farber. Part of what makes this such a great country. But you are so single-minded that anti-Semitism happening right under your nose is relegated to second tier status because you cannot seperate personal feeling from actual downright Jew-hatred. Very very sad.

Anonymous

#12  06 October 2008 - 09:11

 

In the final analysis, Bernie Farber is leading the CJC down the road to complete irrelevance. The Jewish community knows this as it knows that these "apologies" are worthless and Canadian HRCs are dangerous.

Farber and his ilk must be stopped. Perhaps that process starts by simply ignoring Princess Bernie's diatribes.

Anonymous

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