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Orthodox Jewish Hatred of Obama is Fine, But Racism is Not!
By Heshy Fried / June 10, 2009
By now most of the Jewish world has seen the infamous video of Max Blumenthal interviewing kids on Ben Yehuda Street about their feelings towards Obama. The video is disgusting, shocking and a terrible shonda – unless you find yourself hanging around the ultra-Orthodox community where these feelings are the norm, regardless of whether you are drunk or sober.Â
The kids were drunk and stupid, but the vile filth that is coming from their mouths cannot be excused. Drunken kids do stupid things, but calling for the shooting of the president and then saying that he hates America and is a terrorist is completely ridiculous. It is understandable if you dislike the man, but to call for his death, is not only wrong it’s goes against everything you and your publicly displayed yarmulkes and tzitzit stand for.
There have been a lot of complaints about the video, specifically that he used drunk kids for his interview, but anyone who has spent any period of time in the frum community realizes that these views on Obama (and African-Americans in general) resonate throughout ultra-Orthodoxy and I am sick of it.
So I figured I would write about this on my Blog (for the purpose of having a wide range of people discuss the issue), Facebook and Twitter and I was attacked. Recovery Rabbi had the gall to reply on Twitter that he thought the video was comedy (it was obviously not) and that he ROFL. On Facebook I was told by multiple people to remove the video, which I certainly would never do and I had to tell one person who called me a disgrace to G-d to go fuck himself.
I don’t believe in any way that this video represents the Jewish community, but I can guarantee you that if this was a bunch of drunken Muslims or White Supremacists (the kids on the video would be mistaken as such if not for their yarmulkes) there would be a completely different reaction.
Just because you are drunk doesn’t mean you have excuse to disgrace the Jews and pour forth your racist filth. I’m pissed and ashamed of my community! Â
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In my opinion:
Drunk people say stupid stuff and it would of been more interesting and appropriate to hear thier opinions when they were sober.
Not all Orthodox or Non-Orthodox Jews have issues with blacks there are a few that do. There are always people in any group that have issues with some other group. It’s one thing to disagree or dislike someone but it’s another if you hate someone because of their color, religion, ethnicity, etc..
Do I think the president is an anti-semite? No.
As a Jew of color I am disappointed with the administration and how they are dealing with Israel in the middle east peace talks. I think they need to get on the PLO’s behind instead of putting the pressure on the Israelis. I visited Israel during December 2008 when they were fighting Hamas in the Gaza strip and I was appalled at how on the news channels that people were attacking Israel.
Israel isn’t perfect (no country is) but they try to do the right thing and they shouldn’t apologize for trying to defend and protect their people.
And that’s my opinion.Â
"I’m pissed and ashamed of my community!"
In the U of K, being pissed means being drunk. Irony-pointing-out-er.
http://www.prozacville.co.uk/
The whole point of this video is to smear and slience ANY Jewish opposition to Obama by a lefty tool like Max Blumenthal by saying they are all racist.
Just like the big lie that the manaic shooter at the Holocaust Museum was influenced by conservative talk even though he was a 9/11 troofer, anti-Israel, anti-neo-con, anti-Bush, and anti-Iraq War which is ALL talking ponts of the left.
The left is control now and unlike the last eight years, dissent will not be tolerated.
Are you going to condemn Obama for
1) Praising the brigand murderer or Arabian Jews. The Rapper and piliger of Khaibar deserves no praise.
2) Quoting the Koran, including most of, but not all of, the famous passage calling Jews the descendants of Pigs and Monkeys.
3) Creating a moral equiavelence between the Holocaust and the Nakba, while ignoring the similar ethnic cleansing of Jews from Muslim lands.
4) Calling for a Judenfrei Judea and Samaria.
Heshy Fried was in New York a bit back and preformed. He was funny.
But there is a big difference between satire — be it "frum" or otherwise — and legitimate analysis.
Those in the video (note to Jewcy webmaster: It has been removed) are clearly NOT ultra-Orthodox. They are "religious Zionist"-types, likely on their nearly-mandatory "Year In Israel" program.
The exception may be the guy in Peyiss who clearly appears to be a BT — not that there’s anything wrong with that.
That the video was taken on Ben Yehudah Street is obvious to anybody who spent time in Jerusalem. For an "ultra", being spotted there is a BIG no-no. Being filmed there would be grounds for expulsion from one’s yeshiva. Even with the liklihood of one’s rosh yeshiva (dean) not seeing the video, no SANE yehiva guy would risk footage preserved for posterity landing in the wrong hands.Â
There’s been a lot of hype about the aforementioned "year in Israel" in regard to the so-called "flipping out" problem. Rest assured that those who have begun to embrace a more religious outlook and lifestyle aren’t getting drunk on Ben Yehudah Street.Â
Nobody is saying there aren’t ultras who aren’t overt racists. (Every community has its haters) But before making sweeping charges about entire communities, investigate a bit.Â
There are folks here who may well be uninformed and just might mistakenly take a satirist seriously.
"The irony is just how many anti-Semites hate Obama because he has so many Jewish friends and advisors"
I guess you can count Rev. Wright in that grouping considering his most recent comments.
The irony is just how many anti-Semites hate Obama because he has so many Jewish friends and advisors.
What is this stupidity from the interviewer in the video?
"Do you think Obama cares about Jews?"Â
That is exactly what Kanye West so indignantly said about Bush: "Bush doesn’t care about black people!"Â
No! No! Obama, Bush, Carter: they do not care about Jews. They do care about Muslims, or Blacks, or anyone else. They care about who will finance their campaigns every four years.Â
I just got done writing about this on ha’aretz, after reading about the video for the umpteenth time and noticing that the "producer" and "co-producer" both had their names above the title in every article I’ve read so far.
It isn’t hard to find kids acting like idiots and tape them. It’s particularly easy to find American kids in Jerusalem (enjoying the permissive alcohol culture no doubt) saying stupid stuff. Honestly, the "producer" and "co-producer" know how to run a publicity campaign. The way this tape is making the rounds you’d think they’re Woodward and Bernstein uncovering Watergate.Â
Generally, youtube videos like this don’t feature the name of the "producer" at the top, let alone a "co-producer". Some people will do anything to get famous. Â
"..notwithstanding the fact that his dispatching of his VP and then his speech in Cairo contributed to Hezbullah losing ground in Lebanese elections this past Sunday"
And Ahmudinejad won a "landslide" in Iran. Again. Despite all the Obama promises of change and negotiations without preconditions. Siniora is looking to form a unity government with Hizbullah, according to Haaretz.
So let’s not throw our garters at the "prophet of peace" just yet.
Obama’s speech changed nothing. It portrayed the U.S. as a groveling, obsequious entity that is trying to use false flattery to win favor. That is the lowest of the low.Â
"..notwithstanding the fact that his dispatching of his VP and then his speech in Cairo contributed to Hezbullah losing ground in Lebanese elections this past Sunday"
 I still don’t understand the pathological willingness of some to believe everything they are fed from Obama worshipers in the US media.Â
The Cedar Revolution has been going on for years and is finally bearing fruit thanks to lots of blood, sweat and tears….not Obama waving a magic wand and clicking his heels. Â
The story here is the twisted sense of entitlement that American Jews feel regarding Israel policy. The President says clearly that settlements are a problem, and suddenly he’s an enemy of the Jews (notwithstanding the fact that his dispatching of his VP and then his speech in Cairo contributed to Hezbullah losing ground in Lebanese elections this past Sunday).
Introspection and self-critique are essential to vibrancy and long-term security. Deflecting and saying, "Yeah, well you should see what the Arabs say!" is like saying, "Yes my kid has a drug problem, but my neighbor’s kid is a rapist so gimme a break."Â
I still don’t understand the pathological unwillingness of some to acknowledge vast room for improvement. But my theory is that they’re pathetic.
You caught some Taglit kids drunk: hard – hitting story. Good Job.Â
The funniest bit was the large-chested political-science major girl who did not know who Netanyahu is. That just shows what the U.S. system of higher education in humanities has become.
As an American who often reads the online editions of London newspapers, I’m sad to say that you’ve confirmed my suspicions, Jane.
The thing that Heshy can’t see is the forest for the trees.
Max Blumenthal sets out to embarrass drunk kids acting like punks and saying stupid and hateful things and Jews are shocked and revolted by what they hear as they should be.
For decades the same kind of scenes (and much, much worse) has been on display of Arab (and leftist) youth and the reaction of Islamic elders, the mainstream media and liberal Jews is to defend them and make excuses as they "speak truth to power" in their frustration or to just cover the whole thing up from view.
Where is the Arab Max Blumenthal cheerfully setting up his fellow Arabs in the bloom of their hate or the Arab Heshy expressing horror and disgust at the behavior of his community. Â
That is why the freedom and liberty that exists in Israel must spread to Arab nations so they to can engage in debate and discussion and Arab people who are shocked by all kinds of racism and hate can expression their indigation in freedom just as openly as Max and Heshy.
As a Jew living on London, while no-one would know I am Jewish unless I
told them, I do hesitate sharing my religious beliefs with anyone but
close friends.
I was raised in the States, and while there is hate everywhere – I
never felt the fear of revealing my religion before as I do now in
London.
The irony is just how many anti-Semites hate Obama because he has so many Jewish friends and advisors.
If, as Heshy claims, "these views on Obama (and African-Americans in general) resonate throughout ultra-Orthodoxy," then Heshy should provide real evidence rather than a single video of drunk teenage idiots acting like …drunk teenage idiots.Â
 And saying "everyone who hangs out among the orthodox knows XYZ" is not evidence.
–Z
Ah, yes…Max, son of (Friend of Bill) Sidney Blumenthal out to make a name for himself doing the old sophist moral equivalency dance. What is Max calling this tape? "Jews Gone Wild"? This will make a great audition reel for 60 Minutes.
A bunch of drunk kids saying offensive things (if that scares you never venture near a college town) compared to 70 years of vicious and racist hate propaganda churned out by sober and sophisticated adults and governments who piously avoid alcohol.
Say what you will about the dancing masses on the streets of the West Bank on 9/11 but at least they were not drunk and being photographed by a sluming rich kid on a lark.
There is a website called ZombieTime.com that has documented left-wing protests over the last several years and the shocking and disgusting displays that are exhibited out in the open by grown men and women but high-handed lefty prigs reserve fake outrage when dumb drunk kids attack the wrong people.
BTW…what’s millionaire David Letterman’s excuse for the "slut" and "knocked-up"Â Â comments about Gov. Palin and her family and Rev. Wright’s recent comments about Joos. Nevermind, let’s talk about the acne ridden teenager experiencing his first Goldstar.
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